Puck and Prejudice

by Lia Riley

“It’s a quietly acknowledged truth that a single man in possession of a good fortune would be welcome to make any sensible woman a widow.”

“Real hearts aren’t happy all the time. And they aren’t perfect. They get angry, envy, hunger for more, and still crave. But we are all beautiful in our ugly little ways as well. At least that is what I think.”

Lancelot had embarked on a quest for the Holy Grail to elevate himself in the eyes of Guinevere. Romeo had scaled Juliet’s balcony despite her relatives wanting him dead. Tristan had evaded the gallows to rescue Isolde from a leper colony. Tucker Taylor? He stood in front of her family and declared that she, Lizzy—the underloved, overlooked daughter—was extraordinary.

“Don’t do that. Apologize if you’ve done something wrong and you want to make it right. But don’t say sorry because you think I’m getting annoyed; that’s not who I am, and that’s not what we are. I respect you too damn much to need you to make yourself small in the hopes that I’ll listen.”