Bryony and Roses Quotes

“Would you like some wine, or would you prefer to yell at me for a little longer?” asked the Beast pleasantly. “I could leave, if you prefer, but I generally hold that those who leave the room when you wish to yell at them are among the most despicable of beings.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“That the Beast was a person, Bryony did not even question, but then, she believed on some level that Fumblefoot was a person, and Blackie the goat, and the neighbor’s large and grumpy tomcat.  It was not that she was sentimental about animals. Chickens, for example, were not people. You looked into a chicken’s eyes and you saw the back of their skulls.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Oh good,” said the Beast dryly. “Here I was afraid that I had kidnapped a sane person by mistake.”  “If you are going to kidnap travelers, you will simply have to take what you can get,” snapped Bryony.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“You don’t like pink?”  “I shouldn’t think anyone likes pink as much as that room does,” said Bryony.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Holly had a cheerful pink face and big, twinkling blue eyes, and Bryony occasionally had to remind herself that her sister also had a mind like a handful of razors.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“I can’t wait for you to meet him. You’ll say such horrible things to each other. I’m sure you’ll be friends.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Occasionally, she drank a second glass of wine in the evenings, which made her feel rather giddy and amused, and which one night led to her poking the Beast with one bare toe when she thought he wasn’t looking up from his book fast enough. (A week ago, the notion of touching the Beast voluntarily would have made her tremble, but there was something deeply unthreatening about him when he was reading. He had to fold himself into the chair for one thing. For another, he was desperately near-sighted and had to hold the book a few inches past the end of his muzzle when reading. Apparently House could not provide adequate reading glasses.)”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“The Beast looked faintly alarmed.
"Don't worry, I never stab anyone twice in the same hour. I don't want them to think I'm unoriginal."
"I confess, I am more afraid you will clip me bald."
"Vain Beast.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Bryony closed her eyes.  I am making an enchanted house sad. God help me.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Oh dear God, no, stop!"

Fumblefoot gave her a reproachful look. Stop what?

I have broken into an enchanted manor house and my pony has crapped on the floor. Oh God.

-Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Bryony began laughing, with a great deal of bitterness to be sure, but still, laughter. That had always been her great gift and her besetting sin, that even in the darkest and most somber times, she had the urge to laugh.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“I did bring seeds,” she admitted. “But some of these plants are my friends. I wasn’t going to just leave them.” She ruffled her fingers through the lavender.  “Oh good,” said the Beast dryly. “Here I was afraid that I had kidnapped a sane person by mistake.”  “If you are going to kidnap travelers, you will simply have to take what you can get,” snapped Bryony. “If I don’t meet your standards, I’d be happy to return home.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Did he feed you poisoned food and if you don’t come back in seven days, you don’t get the antidote?” “I—wait, what?” “Are you enchanted?” Holly leaned forward and peered at her pupils.  “How would we tell?” asked Bryony, exasperated. “And the Beast did save my life—” “Yes, yes, he’s a great humanitarian.” Holly waved this off, then paused. Her finger drifted to her lower lip. “Unless he is a humanitarian…and he’s looking for a next meal…”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“That had always been her great gift and her besetting sin, that even in the darkest and most somber times, she had the urge to laugh.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Don’t stop me,” said Bryony. “I’m pulling a weed. This is amazing.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“You never forget some things,” said Bryony. Three deportment teachers had nearly broken themselves training those things into her, and one had actually quit and gone into the seminary afterwards.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“It is not wise to hurt the house’s feelings.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“There could not be a manor house. There had never been a manor house anywhere near Lostfarthing. Nobles did not come to Lostfarthing. It was not possible for a noble to disgrace themselves badly enough to be exiled this far east. The Duke of Entwood had been convicted of black magic, cannibalism, and high treason, and while he’d been burned at the stake, his heirs had only been sent as far east as Blue Lady, which was still two day’s travel west of Skypepper.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Did any gardener ever have such friends?”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“If our every wish is granted, we begin to invent work for ourselves, so that we have a thing that we have earned that is ours…”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“I have a regrettably sharp tongue,” said the Beast, “and you likely already despise me for kidnapping you, but as there are only the two of us, I will endeavor to be a considerate—er—captor.” Since this ran perilously closely to her own thoughts, Bryony felt one corner of her mouth crook up. “And I suppose I will endeavor to be a considerate—er—victim. At least until I find a way to kill you and escape and so forth.” “Well, naturally,” said the Beast, smiling a little. His tusks gleamed in the candlelight. “I would expect no less. If there is any way in which I may assist you with the killing and escaping and so forth, please let me know.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“If that could happen to us, if we could be rich and then suddenly have nothing—if life could change that much, overnight—then anything could happen. Birds could turn into fish. The sun could rise at midnight. I could learn to fly. The world was obviously wilder and stranger than anyone knew. And there was nothing left to lose. Nobody could take anything from us, because we didn’t have anything left to take. I felt invincible.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“that could happen to us, if we could be rich and then suddenly have nothing—if life could change that much, overnight—then anything could happen. Birds could turn into fish. The sun could rise at midnight. I could learn to fly. The world was obviously wilder and stranger than anyone knew. And there was nothing left to lose. Nobody could take anything from us, because we didn’t have anything left to take. I felt invincible.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“Holly rolled her eyes and dropped a shawl over Iris’s shoulders. (It didn’t stop the crying, but it did rather muffle it, and it usually calmed Iris a bit, like covering a birdcage.)”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses

“I have no particular predilection for tortoises,’ said the prince, ‘it is only this particular tortoise that I wish to marry.”
― T. Kingfisher, Bryony and Roses