Regency England Quotes

“He'd missed matching wits with her. "Shall we duel with our lips?"

"You may find yourself eating grass for breakfast.”
― Vicky Dreiling, How to Marry a Duke

“By some miracle, Charlotte's polite smile never wavered. It was a proud moment for her. After all, it wasn't every day that a little old lady told you right to your face that your bosom was as flat as a flounder.”
― Olivia Parker, To Wed a Wicked Earl

“There’s a Lady Amelia Pembroke here to see you, my lord. She was most insistent.”

Benedict glanced up from his desk. “I trust you informed her that I was not receiving, and refused to let her in?”

“Of course.” The butler hesitated before continuing, “She said she would simply wait until you are receiving.”

Benedict put down his pen. “Wait where, pray?”

“Upon the front step, my lord. I’m afraid the lady brought... the lady brought... a book. She cannot be budged.”
― Erica Ridley, The Viscount's Christmas Temptation

“The ladies, I daresay, will have already selected silk gowns and appropriate jewels," the countess droned on, "and are quite capable of comporting themselves in line with both propriety and fashion.”

“I don’t care about fashion,” Lord Sheffield murmured into Amelia’s ear, “but I’m sorely disappointed whenever a lady I escort decides to comport herself with propriety.”
― Erica Ridley, The Viscount's Christmas Temptation

“We should go,” he said gruffly, his face inscrutable.

“Why?” Her heartbeat thundered. She gripped his arms tight to keep herself from twining her own about his neck.

He lowered his mouth to her ear, brushing it with a feather-soft kiss. “It isn’t safe.”

Her answering shiver had nothing to do with the cold. She had never stood so close to any man, had never fought the urge to press herself even closer.

“What could happen?” she whispered.

He cupped her face in his hands. “Anything.”
― Erica Ridley, The Viscount's Christmas Temptation

“I've never met anyone as kind as you are, except me Mum, o' course." --Benjamin Trimmel to Lady Alexandra.”
― Lisa Prysock, To Find a Duchess

“That’s not a catalog!” Amelia's brother set aside his empty glass and plate to peer across the maplewood table. “Why the devil are you reading Debrett’s Peerage?”

“It most certainly is a catalog," she replied, "and the most expedient one at my disposal. I’ve decided to take a husband. His name must be within these pages.”
― Erica Ridley, The Viscount's Christmas Temptation

“Who said the soirée needs to take place in the same old ballroom?" Amelia arched a brow. "All we need is a new venue.”

“We?” Ravenwood reared back, horrified.

“Not you, dear brother. Viscount Sheffield and I.”

“Does the poor flat even know who you are?” Ravenwood burst out.

Her smile turned calculating. “He’s about to.”
― Erica Ridley, The Viscount's Christmas Temptation

“What shall we say when people ask us how we met?”

The corners of her mouth twitched. “We’ll say I was in my nightrail, brushing my hair in peaceful solitude, when you climbed up to my balcony and—”

“Do you even have a balcony?”

She pursed her lips. “You’re not invited upon it, regardless.”

He gave her a slow, naughty smile. “No one’s ever *invited* to scale a balcony.”
― Erica Ridley, The Earl's Defiant Wallflower

“The only thing he was sorry for was slamming the door and perhaps raising his voice to the woman who'd been like a mother to him since the passing of his parents. Perhaps she hadn't really deserved his reaction, but he was, justifiably, weary of their meddling and hearing about his father's will. Apparently no suitable maiden was going to appear on his doorstep. He seemed to be looking for a needle in a haystack.”
― Lisa Prysock, To Find a Duchess

“I saw your intelligence, and I was intrigued. I saw your humor, and I was charmed. I saw your soul, and it was beautiful. I'm in love with you, Mary Bennet.”
― Nancy Lawrence, Mary and the Captain: A Pride and Prejudice Continuation

“It was William who would climb out of his carriage unafraid and help a farmer drive a herd of cattle or sheep across a road when necessary.”
― Lisa Prysock, To Find a Duchess

“I love stepping back in time”
― Frances McCarthy, The Colonel's Secret Rendezvous

“Does this feel like pity to you, Alex? I assure you a great many emotions for you fill me, but pity is not one of them.”
― Dominique Eastwick, For Love or Revenge

“Blindly, Grace pushed away from the velvet-lined wall...

Right into the path of a giant as tall and as hard as an oak.

A firm hand caught her about the waist as strong fingers captured her wrists. She blinked the sting of unshed tears from her eyes to find herself entangled not with an oak, but with a man possessed of dark brown hair and dangerous golden eyes. A wry smile curved his lips as the orchestra began the opening strains of a waltz.”
― Erica Ridley, The Earl's Defiant Wallflower

“Oliver couldn’t walk away. Not when the wallflower needed rescuing. His goddamn Achilles heel, no matter how disastrous the outcome tended to be. He just wished his heroics would work out for once.
He kept his eyes trained on the pretty black-haired American, every muscle tensed for action. An eternity ticked by. No one approached her. She had no one to dance with, to talk to. She looked... lost. Hauntingly lonely. Frightened and defiant all at the same time.
’Twould be better for them both if he turned around right now. Never met her eye. Never exchanged a single word. Left her to her fate and him to his.
It was already too late.”
― Erica Ridley, The Earl's Defiant Wallflower