The Wallflower Wager Quotes

“Wounded male pride has caused the world more destruction than the Black Death and the Great Flood put together.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“I'm not your 'poppet' any longer. I own you. And in the future, if you address me at all, it will be as Lady Penelope Duke." A more fitting idea struck her, and a cold smile touched her lips. "Better yet, you may call me the Duchess of Ruin.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“What happened?"
"This happened." He shifted his arms to reveal a bundle of tiny, knobby joints and fluffy patches of black and white.
A newborn goat.
"Oh, my goodness." She knelt behind him, peering over his shoulder. "Surely not Marigold?"
"I told you so," he said irritably.
As if she'd be intimidated by gruff words from a man cradling a newborn goat in his arms. She'd always known he had a capacity for gentleness.
I told you so, too.
She reached to stroke the little goat's fur.
Gabriel's shoulder muscle flinched in annoyance. "My shirt was ruined, I'll have you know. Completely unsalvageable. And then this runtish little thing wouldn't stop shivering."
"Would it help if I told you that I've never found you so wildly attractive as I do in this moment?"
"No.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You know," Gabe said, "Lady Penelope might actually like some of this artwork. Take a bit more care."
Ash retrieved the small, oval frame from the floor. It held a phenomenally ugly sketch of a cross-eyed, squished-face pug. "This is hideous."
"Yes," Chase agreed. "It's probably her favorite.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“The older woman smiled. “Now, that was satisfying. I never knew until this moment how much I wanted to have henchmen.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Spare change. Can't imagine how it got there."
She tipped her head in reproach.
He exhaled, sounding resigned. "It's not what you think."
She turned her hand palm-up between them, letting the coin serve as its own accusation. "I think I know a shilling when I see one."
"Look again."
She looked down at the coin in her gloved palm, where its embossed face stood out in sharp relief against white satin. Light glinted off the surface, revealing the color to be not the expected dull silver, but a coppery hue instead.
Oh.
A sharp pang of surprise caught her heart. He'd been telling the truth. It wasn't a shilling after all.
It was a penny.
A bright, newly minted penny. One he'd been keeping tucked in his breast pocket. Right next to his heart.
She drew a shaky breath. "Gabriel."
His hands went to her shoulders- but it was his low, husky voice that reached out and drew her close. "You know the squalor I was born to. And you know I promised myself I'd never be that barefoot, starving boy again."
She nodded.
"I have every luxury a man could desire. Hundreds of thousands of pounds in my accounts. I worked like hell to build a fortune, and yet..." His thumb met her cheek with a reverent caress. "Now I'd sell my soul for a Penny.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“What's the latest beast in your collection, I wonder?"
"Me." Metal clanged as Gabriel flipped the helmet's visor. "I'm her latest beast."
The Irving sisters choked on their laughter, then swallowed it hard.
He took a clanking step forward, towering over them. "Let me tell you, Lady Penelope has her hands full. I'm vicious. Untamed. I won't come to heel." He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a growl. "And I bite."
He turned, and- confronted with the wall of hedges- stormed through it like the Ottomans breaching the walls of Tyre. Once he'd cleared a path with his armored body, he extended a gauntlet, inviting Penny to follow.
She put her gloved hand in his shining one.
Rather than leading her through, he pulled her to him, slid his hand to her backside, and lifted her off her feet, keeping her slippers free of the trampled shrubs.
Her beast in shining armor.
As he carried her through the hedge, she waved farewell to the bug-eyed Irving sisters. "It's been lovely seeing you.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Just as a point of clarification, in case you do die . . . Which of us would you say was the second, and which the third?”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Oh, Penny. He must truly love you," Emma said. "Ash and Chase ate the sham. Gabriel made more."
Penny couldn't believe it. He must have arranged the menu. Of course, he would have done so days ago, well before their argument today. Nevertheless, she was touched by the gesture. He truly had planned this evening for her, down to the last detail.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Every man has his weakness."
"I know they do." She lifted an eyebrow. "I'm still looking for yours."
Cheeky girl. She had to know she took his breath away.
God, she was lovely in the moonlight. She was lovely in sunlight, for that matter, and in the pouring rain. Gabe suspected that even in total darkness, she would be radiant. Because though her features were exquisite, and her lips the pinkish hue of rose petals, her most beautiful feature by far was her heart.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“A lady must attend her own engagement ball."
Penny sat up straight. "Gabriel Duke. I know you did not just propose to me in the mews, without so much as going down on one knee, while my hair is a bird's nest and we both smell like goat."
"I didn't propose to you." He swung his arms into his coat. Before disappearing, he gave her a slight, mischievous grin and a single syllable that had her heart cartwheeling in her chest.
"Yet.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“He didn't need to read a book on childbirth to know that the longer this went on, thee greater the danger to both Marigold and her kid. "I'll do it."
Gabe didn't know what the hell he was doing, but he was dead certain about one thing: He had to be in love with Lady Penelope Campion. Nothing less could have persuaded him to do this.
Penny, this is for you.
He rolled his sleeve to his biceps, drew a deep breath through his mouth, and shook out his hand. "I'm going in.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Maybe I'm willing to take that risk."
"Well, I'm not." He slid one arm about her waist, tucked the other beneath her knees, and hauled her out of the water, into his arms. Like a damned mermaid. A sparkling, golden-haired, ruby-lipped mermaid. "I can't lose you."

I can't lose you, he said.
I can't fell my elbows, Penny thought.
She couldn't help but give a long, swooning sigh.
This man was so dangerous. He had a habit of blurting out these growly, possessive statements, punctuated by intense gazes and capped by displays of sheer virility.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Listen to me, you bastard."
"No," Gabriel said.
This simple response left Ash nonplussed. But fuming.
"I'm listening to exactly one person in this room," Gabriel said evenly. "It isn't you. The lady can speak for herself."
Oh. Penny's heart fluttered in her chest.
If by chance, he did mean to seduce her, repeating that sentence fifty times over might do the trick.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Dear Mr. Duke,

As requested, here is an inventory of the animals in my care:

*Bixby, a two-legged terrier.
*Marigold, a nanny goat of unimpeachable character, who is definitely not breeding.
*Angus, a three-year-old Highland steer.
*Regan, Goneril, and Cordelia- laying hens.
*Delilah, a parrot.
*Hubert, an otter.
*Freya, a hedgehog.
*Thirteen kittens of varying colors and dispositions.


Gabe leafed through the report in disbelief. It went on for pages. She'd given not only the names, breeds, and ages of every misbegotten creature, but she'd appended a chart of temperaments, sleeping schedules, preferred bedding, and a list of dietary requirements that would beggar a moderately successful tradesman. Along with the expected hay, alfalfa, corn, and seed, the animals required several pounds of mince weekly, daily pints of fresh cream, and an ungodly number of sardines.
The steer and thee goat, she insisted, must go to the same loving home. Apparently they were tightly bonded, whatever that meant, and refused to eat of parted.
The laying hens did not actually lay with any regularity. Their previous owners had grown frustrated with this paltry production, and thus they had come into Her Ladyship's care.
And the lucky bastard who accepted a ten-year-old hedgehog? Well, he must not only provide a steady supply of mealworms, but remain ever mindful of certain "traumatic experiences in her youth.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Gabe watched her move to the center of the green. In one gloved hand, she clutched a leash. The other end of the leash was attached to... something furry and brown that rolled.
"What is that?"
"That would be mongrel with two lamed hind legs. Apparently, Her Ladyship's friend devised a little chariot for his rear half, and the dog careens around the neighborhood like a yapping billiard ball. If you think that's strange, wait until you see the goat."
"Hold a moment. There's a goat?"
"Oh, yes. She grazes it on the square every afternoon. Doesn't precisely elevate the atmosphere of Bloom Square, now does it?"
"I see the problem."
"I'm only getting started. Her Ladyship has single-handedly set us back a month on the improvements." Hammond pulled a collection of letters from a folio. He held one aloft and read from it. "'Dear Mr. Hammond, I must request that you delay completion of the parquet flooring. The fumes from the lacquer are dizzying the hens. Sincerely yours, Lady Penelope Campion.'"
He withdrew another. "'Dear Mr. Hammond, I'm afraid your improvements to the mews must be temporarily halted. I've located a litter of newborn kittens in the hayloft. Their mother is looking after them, but as their eyes are not yet open, they should not be displaced for another week. Thank you for your cooperation. Gratefully yours, Lady Penelope Campion.'"
Gabe sensed a theme.
"Oh, and here's my favorite." Hammond shook open a letter and cleared his throat for dramatic effect. "'Dear Mr. Hammond, if it is not too great an imposition, might I ask that your workers refrain from performing heavy labor between nine o'clock in the morning and half-three in the afternoon? Hedgehogs are nocturnal animals, and sensitive to loud noises. My dear Freya is losing quills. I feel certain this will concern you as much as it does me. Neighborly yours, Lady Penelope Campion.'" He tossed the folio of letters onto the table, where they landed with a smack. "Her hedgehog. Really.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Every creature has a soft underbelly. I'm going to find yours."
"Search me if you like, Your Ladyship. I warn you, it's not softness you'll find.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“It's my latest recipe." She beamed. "Roast leaf."
"It's gone off. That's not like any roast beef sandwich I've ever tasted."
"No, no. Not roast beef. Roast leaf."
He stared at her.
"I'm a vegetarian," she explained. "I don't eat meat. So I create my own substitutions with vegetables. Roast leaf, for example. I start with whatever greens are in the market, boil and mash them with salt, then press them into a roast for the oven. According to the cookery book, it's every bit as satisfying as the real thing."
"Your cookery book is a book if lies."
To her credit, she took it gamely. "I'm still perfecting the roast leaf. Perhaps it needs more work. Try the others. The ones on brown bread are tuna-ish- brined turnip flakes in place of fish- and the white bread is sham. Sham is everyone's favorite. Doesn't the color look just like ham? The secret is beetroot.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You couldn't possibly."
"I can, and I will."
Heavens. His dark, intense stare nailed her slippers to the gravel path. Her heart pounded in her chest. And then he spoke the gruff, possessive words Penny had started to doubt she'd ever hear.
"I need you, Lady Penelope Campion. I'm not letting you go.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“You're worth a thousand of any lady there."
"Let's leave, get you into some proper attire, and find ourselves some dinner." She stroked her fingertips over his brow. "I can tell from the pulsing vein in your forehead, you're hungry."
"I'm always hungry."
"My only regret is that we'll miss the fireworks."
"You want fireworks?" He cocked his eyebrow. "I can give you fireworks."
Well, then. Penny could scarcely wait.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Over her years of caring for unwanted animals, Lady Penelope Campion had learned a few things.
Dogs barked; rabbits hopped.
Hedgehogs curled up into pincushions.
Cats plopped in the middle of the drawing room carpet and licked themselves in indelicate places.
Confused parrots flew out open windows and settled on ledges just out of reach. And Penny leaned over window sashes in her nightdress to rescue them- even if it meant risking her own neck.
She couldn't change her nature, any more than the lost, lonely, wounded, and abandoned creatures filling her house could change theirs.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Did you just compare me to a dog?” “I know, I’m not certain you deserve the compliment, either.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Your cookery book is a book of lies.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Gabriel nudged her with his shoulder. "Look."
The newborn goat was standing on his own wobbly legs, taking drunken steps. When he toppled sideways, he bleated indignantly.
Gabriel started to reach for him, but Penny held him back. "Wait."
Marigold roused herself and ambled over to her kid, licking him about the head until George lurched and swayed himself to his hooves, and when he nosed at her swollen underside, she allowed him to nurse.
"Oh. That's lovely." Penny snuggled under Gabriel's arm.
"Thank God she finally took to him," he said.
"How could she not? Look how adorable he is. Best little goat in the world.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Won't you introduce us to your friend?" Thomasina swept an unsubtly flirtatious glance up Gabriel's armored figure. "What a fine figure you must strike at the Round Table."
"At any table." Tansy giggled.
Penny seethed. "It wouldn't be a masquerade if I gave him away, now would it?"
"I suppose we'll have to tease it out of him," Thomasina said.
Was it Penny's imagination, or did her gaze linger on his cod-piece?
Get your eyes off him, you vulture.
She chastened herself for entertaining a thought so mean. It was unkind to vultures.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“There now. Better?"
He gave a reluctant nod.
"Can you move your arm in all directions?"
He rolled his shoulder to prove it. "Yes."
"What about your grip?"
"My grip is strong."
"Perhaps I should wrap the arm in a sling."
"I don't need a sling."
"Wait here. I'll dash upstairs to fetch some linen and-"
"For the love of God, woman. My shoulder is fine." He took her by the waist and lifted her straight off the floor, until they were eye to eye. "There. Believe me now?"
She nodded, wide-eyed.
"Good."
In his hands, she was delicate, breakable. Her hair was a golden treasure he should never, ever touch. And oh, how he hungered for those soft, pink lips.
The familiar voice echoed in his ears.
Don't touch, boy. She's not for the likes of you.
Put. Her. Down.
But before Gabe could lower those beribboned pink slippers to the floor, she captured his sooty, sweaty face in her hands-
And kissed him on the lips.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Penny believed in a great many things. She believed that education was important, books were vital, women ought to have the vote, and most people were good, deep down. She believed that every last one of God's creatures- human or otherwise- deserved love.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Absolutely not. We are not going into the water.” She lunged forward. They were going into the water.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“Oh, Penny. He must truly love you,” Emma said. “Ash and Chase ate the sham. Gabriel made more.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager

“At her feet, a fold of the bed linens wriggled. A wet black nose appeared, followed by a whiskered snout.
"Bixby!" She reached for the dog and pulled him into her arms for cuddles and kisses. The pup was beside himself, turning in circles and licking her everywhere he could reach. "Oh, darling. Look at you. How did you end up here?"
Gabriel crossed the room to stand at the bedside. "I knew you needed an animal in your bed. And I didn't think it should be me tonight."
"There's room for another.”
― Tessa Dare, The Wallflower Wager