Christina (The Edge of the Cloud) Quotes

“William was right to have chosen Aunt Grace for refuge. Although surprised, she was entirely practical. Her life was in order, her house clean and neat, her advice would be to the point.”

“Where was romance now, in the cold house of her great-aunt? Her eyes fell bitterly on the sensible underwear and the sombre skirt. The ball-dress had fallen off the chair out of sight, as if quenched by the stark uniform of everyday. It symbolized exactly Christina’s feelings.”

″...she knew now that she was afraid of what she had done, not afraid of loving Will, but of having turned herself out of Flambards, which was the only real home she had ever known.”

“She had nothing, now. Only Aunt Grace’s charity. She could not get out of bed, because she did not even have a dress to wear for everyday.”

″‘We’ve eloped,’ Christina said to Aunt Grace. She had not meant to use the silly word, but it had got stuck in her head, and she was too befuddled with cold to catch it before it slipped out.”

“Ever since the age of five, when her parents had been killed, she had been anxious- understandably- as to what was become of her, and had looked for her fortune in every teacup, and every fireback.”

″‘Why does he bother now?’ as Aunt Grace quickly put it, her voice full of suspicion. ‘He’s after the money,’ Christina said, having heard it so often before.”

“Christina wished they were girls. But she did not argue; she was used to being moved about, following an exchange of letters, or a family discussion. It never occurred to anybody that she should ever be consulted as to what was best for her. It never occurred to Christina, either, that she should.”

“A great shiver of self-pity shook her, and she had to steel herself not to cry, clasping her hands under the rug the groom had tucked round her. Similar situations in the past had taught her how to cope.”

“To her surprise, she was instantly moved with pity. He looked so small and crushed, and so frail; she had pictured a strapping youth bravely biting his lips and smiling through his pain, but not this utterly vanquished child whose face showed only fear and bewilderment.”

“There were times, Christina knew, when it would be very nice to feel loved and wanted and pampered, and she felt that this was one of the times, for William.”

“Russell’s gaze stopped her. She knew then that everybody in this house did as he said. Even poor William.”

“Life had already dealt her some cruel surprises, and the present surprise had yet to reveal its nature, cruel or otherwise.”

“She looked very self-possessed, perhaps more so than she felt, for in her twelve years she had come to the conclusion that it was rash to show one’s feelings too quickly.”