The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 2

by Beth Brower

“I believe a few more desserts would give us the clarity we need.”

“You wield your smile very irresponsibly.”

“Only who is that man and how do you know him? He gives me a shiver up and down my spine.” “That, Roland, is because you are made of the sun. He would spoil your pleasant weather.”

“St. George is not the only one who can slay a dragon, Emma Lion. I’ve seen you wield a sword.” It was, perhaps, the most wonderful compliment I’ve ever been paid. I intend to keep Roland.

Beside him, I felt smaller than I do with most people. True to form, I vocalized a version of the thought before thinking through to the end, a habit I must break with. “You are, I believe, the tallest of my acquaintances save one. Charles Goddard has a good hand on you, but he is gangly and unattractive whereas you are…not. What I mean to say is— Yes, well. The Diagonal is quite crowded today. Are you going home? So am I.”

If one is to be slandered, it should be in the broad daylight of more than one sentence.

“Mr. Pierce,” I said, “I have found that on occasions of high absurdity, one either discovers a great friend or someone to never speak with again. Having now experienced a disastrous evening in Lapis Lazuli House, I leave it to you to decide which you would prefer.”

“Arabella Spencer is one of the most beautiful women in the history of this world, Emma, but you are seen more than you believe.”

“I’ll meet you on the balcony. It’s the safest place. Aunt Eugenia doesn’t believe in balconies. She thinks they make light of the law of gravity.”

he not only sees every line of beauty, but writes it in such a way as to make his subject fantastical.

“If I cannot worship in a majestic building, I have no interest in the practice,” she snipped. Which I assume is not a direct quote from the New Testament.

Never trust a man who can say so many things with a single syllable.

Our conversation was very June and very Afternoon, meaning it meandered like a honey bee.