“Thirty years of marriage to Erasto had taught her much, namely that men were reckless by nature, full of bluster, most incompetent, the rest fortunate to have a wife to keep them from allowing their innate ineptitude to engulf all around them.”

“Everything has changed, and nothing has altered. Oh, what a fate.”

“The ambition of men compels them to break even the most heartfelt vows.”

“We are just peasants with money.”

“It is far too late for bloodless hands.”

“Beware the wounded lioness, for she is a natural hunter.”

“I love you for unfathomable reasons”

“There are no moral obligations in the game of empire.”

“Seconds feel like centuries when I am not in your presence.”

“Even in peace there is war.”

“Crowns are hourly tumbling.”