“I don’t know how to have a fling. I’m throwing myself at your feet because I’m hoping for a shot at forever. You don’t have to say anything now, no promises required.”
“Seriously, a thirty-something woman shouldn’t be daydreaming about a fictional character in a two-hundred-year-old world to the point where it interfered with her very real and much more important life and relationships. Of course she shouldn’t.”
“Don’t you know a Sand-fairy when you see one?” It looked so grieved and hurt that Jane hastened to say, “Of course I see you are, now. It’s quite plain now one comes to look at you.” “You came to look at me, several sentences ago,”
“As it happened, Jemima’s best friend in the whole world was called Jane. The good news was that she lived a number twenty-six Lime Street. The bad news was that her family were moving house. When the day came, Jemima and Jane were in floods of tears.”
Bridget was a brat with common sense while Jane was a soft-hearted child prone to overthinking things but they were both like able and I found their behaviour throughout to be relatable and authentic.
″ ‘Our wishes were all used up...besides, Jane, two ice-cream cones would ruin your appetite. When we get home we’re going to have clam chowder for lunch!’ ”
“What is he up to, Jane?′ ‘I don’t know,’ she said. ‘When I came up, he either saying his prayers, or being beheaded, outside the attic. I don’t know which. Keeling down.”
“The way Mama could peel apples! A few turns of the knife and there the apple was, all skinned! Jane could not take her eyes from her mother’s hands. They had a way of doing things, peeling apples, sprinkling salt, counting pennies, that fascinated her.”
“There wasn’t anyone to play with, so Jane picked up her doll, Hildegarde, stuck her in her knitting bag, and went out the back door. All the fruit trees in the yard looked inviting to Jane. She had half a mind to c limb the old apple tree, sit in one of its forks, and do some knitting.”
“This is Jane, the middle Moffat,′ said Jane, trying to act as though she were Mama, introducing her one of the ladies she showed for. That is not the way Mama actually introduced her to these ladies.”
“Well, though Jane, if she doesn’t ask me, I’ll have to ask her.′ ‘What’s your name?’ she said. ‘Clara Pringle. This is my brother. Brud, we call him.’ ‘Oh...’ said Jane. Now you ask me, she thought. And after watching Jane for a while in silence, Clara did ask her.”
“So Jane went on. ‘Middle Moffat, that’s me, is not mysterious. The middle of the night is.’ ‘The mysterious middle Moffat is not mysterious,’ said the oldest inhabitant thoughtfully. ‘No,’ agreed Jane, laughing politely. Mr. Buckle put his finger on the side of his nose the way Hawkshaw, the detective, did in the pictures, and he beamed down at her.”
“The Moffats should have a museum! Suddenly the idea popped into Jane’s head…′ Staring idly at the family’s barn one day, Jane gets the amazing idea for a Moffat Family Museum...”