The Marquess and I Quotes

“know you to be an honorable man. Lord Liverpool and many others have spoken of your heroism in the war and how you fought for the lives of your men. I only needed to be sure you felt affection for my daughter, and you had not deliberately compromised her, thinking she possessed a dowry. I grant you permission to wed my daughter if she will have you.” Alasdair inclined his head. “Thank you.” He turned to walk away, but Milton’s next words froze him. “If Willow accepts you I will provide her dowry.” Alasdair glanced back at the duke, taking his measure. “No.” Milton stiffened in surprise. “Do not be hasty, Westcliffe.” His hands on the doorknob, he spoke, “While it would be a relief, I will not have Willow believing I am marrying her for what she brings to my pocket. I already face the insurmountable odds of convincing her she will never be a burden to me. I have made several investments my banker and solicitors predict will be successful. If they are right, in a few months’ time, Willow’s dowry will be negligible.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Alasdair probably shouldn’t torment himself further, but he needed to know. “Did she call for me?” His friend ran his fingers through the thick strands of his dark hair and grimaced. “Yes, for days.” Alasdair flinched. “It was stories of you that kept her sane and allowed her to fight for life.” “Why did you never tell me?” he demanded hoarsely. “Why? We are friends, Quinton. You knew how I felt about Willow.” He would never have been in any doubt. Alasdair had professed years ago with a simple declaration of ‘I love your sister, and I’m going to marry her. I will endeavor to provide for her so that she will never want for anything. I swear to you.’ It had been Alasdair’s way of declaring his intention to the one person whose opinion truly mattered to him. “She was blinded Al…blinded and broken.” The depth of fury that rocketed through Alasdair’s heart shocked him. “This is your opinion of me? You think me so shallow I would stay away from the woman I love more than life because of blindness? That I would have stayed away because she could not see?” he snarled.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“She cried for days in her room after you left. Our parents were proud of her. Hell, everyone thought she was being sensible, but she was miserable. I visited her and asked her if she loved you. I regret to this day I interfered. For when she said yes, I told her the truth, that in a few hours, you would leave London and it could be years before you returned. She rushed to our father, confessed her love and expressed only wanting to be with you, and that she needed to visit you. Her request for the carriage and chaperone was denied. She went to the stables, mounted her horse and rode for Westerham Park.” “Hell!” He glanced at Quinton and the savage fury and pain on his face told the rest of the story. “Grayson is more tormented than I am. He has never been the same, and the wild debauchery he indulges in now is to soothe his guilt. He was the one that rode after her…to stop her. She urged her horse faster when she realized he was on her trail. She was thrown.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Then not even a week later, her father informed her he accepted the Duke of Salop’s offer for her hand in marriage. She still remembered the rage on her father’s face when she had threatened to run away with Alasdair. Her father had slapped her, and the cold violence and rage behind his actions had petrified Willow. He had apologized immediately and enfolded her in a hug, then had made the chilling promise that Alasdair would regret loving her, for her father would ruin him if she ran away and married beneath her station. She had believed her father. Nothing of the rage he had shown before had been present, only an icy purpose.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Now instead of feeling the justifiable anger of the callous way she had disregarded their love, all he felt was the unfulfilled ache of desiring her and sorrow. The surge of cold rage and the need to use her body had vanished. Why? A soft breath expelled from him, and he closed his eyes. It was because of her blindness. The shock of her words had been a brutal punch to his system, and all thoughts of hurting her had vanished. The pain and vulnerability on her face had been deep; he would be an arse to even want to add to her suffering.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“You are angry,” she said blandly. It made no sense for her to pretend. His soft chuckle was mirthless. “Why are you not married, Lady Willow? Your Duke Salop, was he not all you dreamed of? Could it be he found out behind your beauty lay a heart as cold as the winter?” She flinched but looked to the direction of his voice. “I will not rehash the past with you, Lord Westcliffe. We were both young and foolish…and this is now.” Footsteps crunched on gravel as he moved closer. Too close. His heat seemed to reach out and caress against her skin. “I was young and acted like an imbecile, Lady Willow, you were a fickle and unfeeling bitch.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Unable to stop the desire, his gaze automatically sought for her. The yearning on her face drove the air from his lungs. It was intense, painful, hauntingly lovely, and suddenly he wanted to be the one to give her whatever she craved. Foolish to be certain, for he was not a man to give into flights of fancy or romantic idiocy. Not after she had shattered his heart, not after the atrocities of the war. He followed the line of her gaze and frowned. She looked toward the potted plants by the terrace. Hardly a thing to inspire the wistfulness on her lovely features. She moved as if pulled by a greater power toward the music. Her steps were hesitant, halting, as if she were unsure of what to do. Teeth sank into a pouting bottom lip, and she worried at it before changing the direction of her steps. Her sudden turn had her colliding into the footman with the tray of champagne.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Lady Willow has not made an appearance in London in years, and the family is very tightlipped as to the reason. Her dowry is rumored to be twenty-five thousand with an annuity of ten thousand pounds. Let us greet our hostess and seek a reintroduction to her daughter. I am sure the waltz will be danced tonight. You should secure her for your partner.” He grunted noncommittally. The last place he wanted to be was near Lady Willow. Touching her, smelling her. Seeing those beautiful moss green eyes turn to distaste, and he hungering for a simple smile from her. His thoughts made him cold, and the rage he had buried burned just a bit brighter. Maybe he needed to fulfill the promise he had made to himself years ago. The promise to seduce the bewitching beauty and soothe the tormenting hunger he had for her and then walk away.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“I am to marry His Grace, the Duke of Salop. My father accepted his offer yesterday. I thank you for the kind attentions you bestowed on me, but I cannot marry you. Please forget my earlier declarations. I should not have been so bold as to say I love you and will marry you. You are the third son, Alasdair…my father will never accept your courtship. Words that had been said almost six years ago still had the power to torment him, and here he had thought he was ready to see her, that she was only a phantom of his past. If only she had known then his chances of inheriting the title would be greater than anyone imagined. After all, he was now the Marquess of Westcliffe and the last of his cursed line.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I

“Sweet merciful heaven,” Alasdair Hugh Morley, the Marquess of Westcliffe muttered hoarsely. An enchantress. Nothing else made sense for how she commanded his attention. The fickle beauty stood perfectly motionless, her head tilted left, the graceful and delicate arch of her neck on tantalizing display, a sensual smile on her lips. Lady Willow Rosalind Arlington, daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Milton, was exceptionally beautiful, though not in the way society would deem fashionable.”
― Stacy Reid, The Marquess and I