The Gentleman's Gambit (A League of Extraordinary Women, #4)

by Evie Dunmore

First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, she thought darkly. Then, the drink takes you.

It was as though a woman could have either a brain or a heart, and whichever way, she was allowed only half a life.

“An interesting hypothesis,” he then allowed. “But no one is ever just themselves.”

It seemed her world would just become smaller and smaller over time as she’d have to avoid more and more places and people. On the one hand that sounded comforting, quiet and safe, just her and good books and cozy blankets, on the other hand, it didn’t seem right, not yet, not like this. Solitude that wasn’t freely chosen was no better than loneliness.

In the end, I would have to choose between the happiness of the man I love and living in a way that suits me, which is dreadful;

“I’m wondering how misshapen I am,” she whispered. “I wonder how bent out of shape I am from these attempts to exist around some fear, instead of just growing, straight and up, as I should have.”

“She said it wasn’t the actual noise that sets me on edge around people, but everything they bring with them. As though we’re all surrounded by invisible nuisances.” As though they all had their ghosts trailing along.

“We’re old, you especially, you will be thirty in a few years—what

WOW WHY YOU GOTTA HURT ME LIKE THAT

“In Emilia, I had a companion,” he said. “A friend. A clever counsel. And so much joy. We were separate creatures, of course, but from the beginning, we were also extensions of each other.” He looked at her quite sharply then. “Let me be clear: if you found a love like that, I would expect you to marry.

“no, you don’t owe a man a yes or even your affection just because he wooed you.