The Lily of Ludgate Hill Quotes

“…when women banded together, they could make empires tremble.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“Anne laughed... Her face was awash with color.
Hart desperately wanted to kiss her again.
Who was he fooling? He wanted to lock himself in a room with her for a month.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“Cardiocrinum giganteum, or the giant Himalayan lily, is a difficult specimen. She requires inordinate patience on the part of the gentleman gardener who would seek to cultivate her. From seeds, the lily may take as many as six and a half years to reach maturity. A slow process. During this protracted wait, lesser men will be tempted to give up and turn their attention to showier, more easily won blooms. But take heart: those who persevere in their devotion to this rare and formidable plant will eventually be rewarded with the showiest of flowers, unmatched in their splendor. Tend her well. Prune her heart-shaped leaves, keep her soil damp, and do not crowd her too closely in the garden. Be patient, be diligent, but above all, my good sirs, be not discouraged.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“The more fervently the righteous oppose something, the more you can be certain they’re engaging in the behavior in private.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“Daughters are meant to sacrifice themselves. We give up our own dreams for our families. We stay at home when we’re needed. We marry where we’re told. And we’re supposed to do it all without complaint, and without benefit of acknowledgment. Whereas a man—” “When a man gives up the smallest thing for his family, he’s hailed as a hero,” Stella said. “It’s unfair. A woman’s life is no less meaningful. And our sacrifices are no less valuable.” “No, indeed,” Anne said. “They’re more valuable, for we have more to lose.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“Who among us needs more? Certainly not I. Not if it means compounding the suffering of the most vulnerable among us. We none of us require it. Business is flourishing. That’s the very issue, isn’t it? Business is so grand we must discover new sources of plumbago? Very well. Let us do so here at home.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“What workers they employed there would be paid for their labor. But it wouldn’t be enough. That was the entire point of it. Skirting standards, exploiting the miners, and giving absolute discretion to tyrannical loadmasters was all part of the business plan. None of it was, strictly speaking, against the law.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“I told you in York,” he said. “It isn’t over.”
Her eyes closed briefly against a swell of such raw yearning she didn’t know whether to weep or to swoon.
He bent his head to hers. “It never has been. Not for me.”
She felt his breath warm against her lips for a suspended moment before his mouth captured hers.
A muffled gasp. A flicker of doubt.
And then . . .
Oh, and then.
Her lips softened, yielding beneath his as if they’d been waiting for him all this time.
A low growl of approval sounded in his throat. It reverberated within her, a thoroughly disconcerting sensation. She wanted—”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“Crucibles burn away the dross... Sometimes, I fancy that’s what has happened to me.”

She studied his face. “How do you mean?”

“All of this... I lost faith. I lost heart.” His eyes met hers with rueful humor. “I lost you.”

Ann stilled. Her breath caught in her throat as he reached to brush a stray curl of hair from her temple. He tucked it back into the confines of her black bonnet.

“I suppose that sometimes you have to be put into the fire to realize what’s truly important to you,” he said. “It burns everything else away. Melts you down to your finest parts. in the end, all that was left of me were my responsibilities-- and my love for you.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“This time, Anne had...kissed him as eagerly as he’d kissed her. It was an extraordinarily powerful thing to kiss a gentleman. To feel his breath catch and his large frame quake with longing.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“He was warm and strong and safe. And she needed him desperately.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“He was warm ad strong and safe. And she needed him desperately.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill

“His words faded to a whisper as he brushed his knuckles along the curve of her cheek. "I told you in York," he said. "It isn't over.”
― Mimi Matthews, The Lily of Ludgate Hill