Words&Dirt

“A sense of doom swamped Aliena. This was to be their fate, then: Richard would avenge Father, and she would take care of Richard. For her it would be a mission of revenge, for if Richard became earl, William Hamleigh would lose his inheritance. It flashed across her mind that no one had asked her how she wanted to spend her life; but the foolish thought was gone as fast as it came. This was her destiny, and it was a fit and proper one. She was not unwilling, but she knew this was a fateful moment, and she had a sense of doors closing behind her and the path of her life being fixed irrevocably. She put her hand on the hilt of the sword and took the oath.”

––The Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, loc. 6874

“What of my side of these dialogues did our partners dismiss as American mythology? When I talked about self-determination? Cultural pluralism? The curative effect of elections? And when were my partners patiently waiting while I finished before we got back to ‘serious’ talk? I never figured that out, but the longer I did this, the more certain I was that it had to be going on.”

––Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror, by Michael V. Hayden, pg. 317