The Talisman Ring Quotes

“You would more probably have gone to the guillotine,' replied Sir Tristram, depressingly matter of fact.

'Yes, that is quite true,' agreed Eustacie. 'We used to talk of it, my cousin Henriette and I. We made up our minds we should be entirely brave, not crying, of course, but perhaps a little pale, in a proud way. Henriette wished to go to the guillotine en grande tenue, but that was only because she had a court dress of yellow satin which she thought became her much better than it did really. For me, I think one should wear white to the guillotine if one is quite young, and not carry anything except perhaps a handkerchief. Do you not agree?'

'I don't think it signifies what you wear if you are on your way to the scaffold,' replied Sir Tristram, quite unappreciative of the picture his cousin was dwelling on with such evident admiration.

She looked at him in surprise. 'Don't you? But consider! You would be very sorry for a young girl in a tumbril, dressed all in white, pale, but quite unafraid, and not attending to the canaille at all, but--'

'I should be very sorry for anyone in a tumbril, whatever their age or sex or apparel,' interrupted Sir Tristram.

'You would be more sorry for a young girl--all alone, and perhaps bound,' said Eustacie positively.

'You wouldn't be all alone. There would be a great many other people in the tumbril with you,' said Sir Tristram.

Eustacie eyed him with considerable displeasure. 'In my tumbril there would not have been a great many other people,' she said.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“I may have said that I wanted to have an adventure," replied Miss Thane. "But I never said that I wanted to be murdered in my bed.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“After all, when one approaches Middle Age…"
"Middle Age? Has anyone ever boxed your ears Miss Thane?"
"No, never," said Miss Thane, looking blandly up at him.
"You have been undeservedly fortunate," said Sir Tristram grimly.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“If you want to see her, you can do it here, can’t you? I’ve no objection.’
‘I fear you can have no romantic leanings,’ said Shield, before Miss Thane could speak. ‘A star-lit sky, the balmy night breezes–’
‘But this is February! The breeze isn’t balmy at all – in fact, there’s been a demmed north wind blowing all day,’ pointed out Sir Hugh.
‘To persons deep in love,’ said Sir Tristram soulfully, ‘any breeze is balmy.’
‘Hateful wretch!’ said Miss Thane, with deep feeling, ‘Pay no heed to him, Hugh! Of course, I did not go to meet him!’
Sir Tristram appeared to be overcome. ‘You play fast and loose with me,’ he said reproachfully. ‘You have dashed my hopes to the ground, shattered my self-esteem–’
‘If you say another word, I’ll box your ears!’ threatened Miss Thane.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Miss Thane gazed at him with an expression of outrage in her face, and said: ‘Tristram, are you daring – actually daring – to choose this out of all other moments to make me an offer?’
‘Yes,’ replied Sir Tristram. ‘I am. Why not?’
Miss Thane sat up. ‘Have you no sense of romance?’ she demanded. ‘I won’t – no, I won’t be proposed to with my hair falling down my back, a bandage round my head, and very likely a black eye as well! It is quite monstrous of you!’
He smiled. ‘Indeed, you will. You look delightfully. Will you marry me?”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Unfortunately, you, Sir Tristram, knowing nothing of me, and being possessed of a tyrannical disposition – I beg your pardon?’
‘I did not speak,’ replied Sir Tristram, eyeing her frostily.
Miss Thane met his look with one of limpid innocence. ‘Oh, I quite thought you did!’
‘I choked,’ explained Sir Tristram. ‘Pray continue! You had reached my tyrannical disposition.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Yes, but if you cannot clear your name, what then are we to do?" she demanded.
"Forget we ever met!" said Ludovic with a groan.
This Spartan resolve did not commend itself to Eustacie at all. Two large tears sparkled on the ends of her eyelashes, and she said in a very forlorn voice; "But me, I have a memory of the very longest!”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“How cross you are!’ marvelled Miss Thane. ‘I suppose when one reaches middle age it is difficult to sympathize with the follies of youth.’
Sir Tristram had walked over to the other side of the room to pick up his coat and hat, but this was too much for him, and he turned and said with undue emphasis: ‘It may interest you to know, ma’am, that I am one-and-thirty years old, and not yet in my dotage!’
‘Why, of course not!’ said Miss Thane soothingly. ‘You have only entered upon what one may call the sober time of life. Let me help you to put on your coat!’
‘Thank you,’ said Sir Tristram. ‘Perhaps you would also like to give me the support of your arm as far as to the door?”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Sir Tristram was contemplating with grim misgiving the prospect of encountering vivacity at the breakfast-table for the rest of his life...”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“And everything – but everything! – we did was quite useless!’ said Eustacie, quite disgusted. ‘I know,’ said Miss Thane, sadly shaking her head. ‘It does not bear thinking of.’ ‘I do not know why you should complain,’ remarked Sir Tristram. ‘You have had a great deal of adventure, which is what I understood you both to want.’ ‘Yes, that is true,’ acknowledged Eustacie, ‘but some of it was not very comfortable. And I must say that I am not at all pleased that it is you who have found the ring, because you did not want to have an adventure, or to do anything romantic. It seems to me very unfair.’ ‘So it is!’ said Miss Thane, much struck by this point of view. ‘It is quite odious, my love, for who could have been more disagreeable, or more discouraging? Really, it would have been better in some ways had we insisted upon his remaining the villain.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Mr Lavenham just asked if you were still importuning Eustacie to marry you.’
‘Why should I be doing anything of the sort?’
‘On account of her being an heiress,’ explained Sarah.
Sir Tristram said dryly: ‘Of course. I should have thought of that. I trust neither of you will hesitate to vilify my character whenever it seems expedient to you to do so.’
‘No, of course we shall not,’ Miss Thane assured him.
‘But you do not mind, mon cousin, do you?’
‘On the contrary, I am becoming quite accustomed to it. But I am afraid even your imagination must fail soon. I have been in swift succession a tyrant, a thief and a murderer, and now a fortune-hunter. There is really nothing left.’
‘Oh!’ said Ludovic gaily, ‘we have acquitted you of theft and murder, you know.’
‘True,’ Shield retorted. ‘But as your acquittals are invariably accompanied by fresh and more outrageous slanders, I almost dread the moment when you acquit me of fortune-hunting.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Eustacie drew a deep breath. ‘I see that I have misjudged you, Cousin Tristram,’ she said handsomely. ‘One must make reparation, enfin. I will marry you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Sir Tristram, ‘but the matter does not call for such a sacrifice as that, I assure you.’ He saw a certain raptness steal into her eyes, and added: ‘Don’t waste time picturing yourself in the rôle of a martyred bride, I beg of you! I haven’t the smallest desire to marry you.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Sally, I swear you’re an angel!’ he declared.
‘Anything less angelic than her conduct during the past half-hour I have yet to see,’ observed Sir Tristram.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“In my back bedchamber, sir,’ said Nye loudly. ‘I always house smugglers there to be handy for the riding-officers.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“To tell you the truth,’ repeated Sarah coldly, ‘she had a fright, and the bandboxes broke loose.’
‘What frightened her?’
‘A Headless Horseman,’ said Sarah. He was frowning again.
‘Headless Horseman? Fiddlesticks!’
‘Very well,’ said Sarah, as one making a concession, ‘then it was a dragon.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“I have yet to learn that a governess’s life is adventurous!’ he said. ‘I should be grateful to you if you would tell me the truth!’
‘Come, come, sir!’ said Miss Thane pityingly, ‘it must surely be within your knowledge that the eldest son of the house always falls in love with the governess, and elopes with her in the teeth of all opposition?’
Sir Tristram drew a breath. ‘Does he?’ he said.
‘Yes, but not, of course, until he has rescued her from an oubliette, and a band of masked ruffians set on to her by his mother,’ said Miss Thane matter-of-factly. ‘She has to suffer a good deal of persecution before she elopes.’
‘I am of the opinion,’ said Sir Tristram with asperity, ‘that a little persecution would do my cousin a world of good!”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“It is a long time now since I have been able to look at you without thinking how very beautiful you are,’ said Sir Tristram simply.
‘Oh!’ said Miss Thane, blushing, ‘you forget yourself! Do pray, recollect that you do not look for romance in marriage! Remember your previous disillusionment! This will never do!”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Help a smuggler!’ said Miss Thane in shocked accents. ‘My good man, do you know that you are addressing the sister of a Justice of the Peace? Let me tell you that my brother, who is in the house at this moment, holds the strongest views on smugglers and smuggled goods!’ This, after all, she reflected, was quite true, and ought to impress the Exciseman – provided, of course, that Sir Hugh did not take it into his head to appear suddenly and explain the nature of his views.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Eustacie, finding her tongue, blurted out: ‘But Sarah, do you want to marry Tristram?’
Miss Thane’s eyes twinkled. ‘My love, when a female reaches my advanced years, she cannot be picking and choosing, you know. She must be content with the first respectable offer she receives.’
‘Oh, now I know that you are laughing at me!’ Eustacie said. ‘But I do not understand it. I find it quite extraordinary!’
‘The truth is,’ said Miss Thane confidentially, ‘that I cannot any longer bear his odious way of calling me ma’am. There was no other means of putting an end to it.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“But it is infamous that they have not told you!’ declared Eustacie. ‘Je n’en reviendrai jamais!’
‘If it’s all the same to you, miss, I’d just as soon you’d talk in a Christian language,’ said Mr. Stubbs.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“I wish you will rid yourself of this nonsensical notion that I disapprove of you.’
‘But do you not?’ inquired Miss Thane, turning her head.
He stopped two stairs below her, and stood looking up at her, something not quite a smile at the back of his eyes. ‘Sometimes,’ he said.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Miss Thane turned her head to look up at Sir Tristram. ‘I wish you will tell me what you did,’ she said. ‘You were not on the Brighton mail, were you? Is it possible that you rode here ventre à terre?’
‘No,’ replied Sir Tristram. ‘I came post.’
Miss Thane seemed to abandon interest in his proceedings.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Damn this curst family nose!’ said Ludovic. ‘It’ll ruin me yet.’ ‘That’s what I’m thinking,’ agreed Bundy.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“Them Frenchies!’
‘Unchristian, that’s what I call ’em,’ responded Mr. Stubbs severely. ‘I fair compassionate that wench.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“He was not at the moment in very good odour at Bow Street. Such epithets as Blockhead and Blunderer had been used in connection with his last case. 'Jeremiah Stubbs, miss,’ said the Runner. ‘I am here in the execution of my dooty.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring

“People who collect objects of rarity, my dear Eustacie, will often, so I believe, go to quite unheard of lengths to acquire the prize they covet.”
― Georgette Heyer, The Talisman Ring