Soulless (Parasol Protectorate, #1)

by Gail Carriger

While Miss Tarabotti was a proper English young lady, aside from not having a soul and being half Italian, she did spend quite a bit more time than most other young ladies riding and walking and was therefore unexpectedly strong.

“People actually thinking, with their brains, and right next door. Oh, the travesty of it all.”

Many a gentleman had likened his first meeting with her to downing a very strong cognac when one was expecting to imbibe fruit juice—that is to say, startling and apt to leave one with a distinct burning sensation.