I should rather have you than a heap of gold, even if it were very comfortable to sleep on. - Naomi Novik

I am not your subject or your servant, and if you want a cowering mouse for a wife, go find someone else who can turn silver to gold for you.

The only thing that had ever done me any good in my father’s house was thinking: no one had cared what I wanted, or whether I was happy. I’d had to find my own way to anything I wanted. I’d never been grateful for that before now, when what I wanted was my life.

“I’m sorry,” I said, feeling stupid in the way I’m sorry always feels stupid when you mean it.