Alas, she was dealing with management, not the engineers. - Lois McMaster Bujold

Those who do not know their history, his thought careened, are doomed to keep stepping in it. Alas, so were those who did, it seemed.

Check your assumptions, Cordelia thought to herself in amusement. In fact, check your assumptions at the door.

“Honesty is the only way with anyone, when you’ll be so close as to be living inside each other’s skins. So…is this Ekaterin another passing fancy?” The Count hesitated, his eyes crinkling. “Or is she the one who will love my son forever and fiercely—hold his household and estates with integrity—stand beside him through danger, and dearth, and death—and guide my grandchildren’s hands when they light my funeral offering?”