Kerri Maniscalco Quotes

I love when you look at me that way."
I searched his eyes. "How?"
"Like you might possibly love me in the same extraordinary way that I love you.

BONE WHITE, BLOOD RED. ALONG THIS PATH YOU'LL SOON BE DEAD.

Her dress was made of watered silk and was of the most gorgeous lavender I'd ever seen. The stitching was superb. A flash of the last cadaver I'd sewn back together crossed my mind. Not to boast, but my stitches had been as good. Perhaps a pinch better.

We both knew that sometimes stories and reality collided, with devastating effects.

Oh, how I despised remaining silent under such awful judgment. I'd like to remind each man who held such poor opinions of a woman that their beloved mothers were, in fact, women.

I didn't see any men running about, birthing the world's population then going on to make supper and tend to the house. Most of them buckled to their knees when the slightest sniffle attacked them.

Such sharp words," he said. "Your tongue ought to come with a warning."

"Truth is often compared to a blade," I said. "I question those who marvel when it pricks.

Surely choosing the perfect silken shoes isn't more important than finding a blood-crazed murderer. Yet… look at those things on your feet, getting all stained and gory. Is your interest in science simply an attempt at finding a husband? Shall I grab my coat, then?

Behind me a door swung open, revealing a tall figure gilded by light - the background din of staff cleaning up after the terrible opening show accentuated his own silence. He stood there, too shrouded in shadows for me to make out his features, but judging from the involuntary flutter in my chest, it was Thomas.

I want our passion to ignite the stars around us, making even the stars jealous.

Mistakes were a learning experience, not the end of the universe.

Have you no - " He brushed his lips against mine and I forgot about my worries, just as he'd intended. The kiss started off tentative and sweet, a distraction and promise itself, but soon turned deeper and more urgent. I wound my arms around his neck, bringing him closer, getting lost in the rhythm of both the sea and our kiss. Even on the coldest night, he could ignite a fire within me. I worried that one day the blaze might consume me entirely.
Much too soon, he broke away. In times like this I thought he was right - we ought to announce our intentions and marry immediately. Then I might kiss him whenever I pleased.

Always foster and grow that unquenchable curiosity of yours." I smiled. That was a promise I fully intended to keep.

A heart was a curious thing. So contradictory. The way it ached in both good and bad ways. The way it leapt with joy and ceased with sorrow. It could beat madly and wildly during both pleasure and pain.

You'd discover your morals aren't defined in terms such as black or white, good or bad. Most shy away from that level of introspection. It makes us realize we're villains. At least in part. We also all have the capacity to he heroes.

Those who deserve respect are given it freely. If one must demand such a thing, he'll never truly command it. I am your daughter, not your horse, sir." I

Love strangles intelligence, even in the best of us.

I was emotionally stronger now. Capable of so much more than I'd ever known.This strike would not force me into compliance; it would propel me into an offensive position. I was no longer the prey, but the hunter.

It was more than lust. More than a physical need. I adored every part of her. If she asked me to, I'd unleash every one of my desires, pleasuring her in a way that would let her know precisely how much I cherished her.

Normal is overrated." Cassie nudged me toward the bar. "Extraordinary is unforgettable.

I don't believe it," I muttered. "How on earth did he manage to get the padlocks back onto the can?"

Thomas opened his mouth, but Mrs. Harvey silenced him with a look. "Not a word out of you, dear. Or I swear I'll finish my story about poor Mr. Harvey and his underthings.

All my life I'd longed for freedom - freedom to pick and choose every detail of my life. To make good decisions and horrible ones. Decisions that would break my heart and remake it ten times over. I just never knew having choices could be so hard.

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Uncle Jonathan to worry about prostitution being too much for my feminine persuasion, yet think nothing of me seeing a body spliced open before I'd even had my luncheon.

Just because I was interested in a man's job didn't mean I had to give up being girly. Who defined those roles anyhow?

I hate that there's a chance you might care for someone else. I've never despised something more in my whole existence, but I refuse to become the monster my father believes I am. I will never force myself upon you, even if some untamed, wild beast thrashes inside me, begging for a chance to destroy anyone or anything that might steal you away.

I'd agreed to meet him here only to go over case details. Now he was doing that infuriating thing where he'd inevitably guess my secret plans, and I'd have to murder him. In front of all these witnesses, no less. What a pity.

I was determined to be both pretty and fierce, as Mother had said I could be. Just because I was interested in a man's job didn't mean I had to give up being girly. Who defined those roles anyhow? "Truly,

She's the muscle. I'm clearly the charm.

He reminded me of the caterpillar from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, sitting upon his giant mushroom, lazing about without a care in the world. If only he were small enough to squish beneath my boots.

"That's a disgusting habit."

"So is dissecting the dead prior to breakfast. But I don't scorn you for that unseemly habit. In fact" - he leaned closer, dropping his voice into a conspiratorial whisper - "it's rather endearing seeing you up to your elbows in viscera each morning. Also, you're quite welcome for the flower. Do place it on your nightstand and think of me while dressing for bed.

Love was a tricky, complicated thing - so morally gray. Both grand and terrible things were often done in its honour. But could something truly be done out of love if it had the potential to hurt the one at its heart?

But while life does remain to cheer me, I'll retain
This small violet I pluck'd from my mother's grave.

One fact was slowly taking shape: I was in jeopardy of admiring Mr. Cresswell against my better judgment.

I tried again, but the door refused to open. It was like everything in life; the more one struggled against it, the harder it became.

I'm in favor of hiding in your chamber for the remainder of the week." A smile twitched across his lips as I raised a brow. "Drinking, kissing, debauching ourselves until we arrive in New York." He sighed dreamily. "You must admit, we'd be safe from the murderer. Deliriously happy. And both of those options are much better than standing over cadavers.

I wanted her to choose me without being influenced by my own feelings.

I can snap open corsets faster than bones." He held his knife up, his attention fixed on my chest. "Interested in a demonstration, fancy lady? Say the word and I'll show you what else I can do with such a fine figure."
Liza stiffened beside me. People often called women of supposedly questionable morals "fancy ladies." If he thought I'd blush and run off, he was sorely mistaken.
"Unfortunately, sir, I find I'm not terribly impressed." I casually slipped a scalpel from my wristlet clutch, enjoying the familiar feel of it. "You see, I also eviscerate bodies. But I don't bother with animals. I butcher humans. Would you care for a demonstration?

Everyone makes mistakes, Wadsworth. There's no shame in that. It's how you go about mending them that truly counts.

Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return, the priest quoted from the book of Genesis, holding his arms skyward. May your soul rest more peacefully than the manner in which you left us, beloved sister.

I was a gruesome monster wrapped up in delicate lace.

I had no idea you were also a chiropterologist," I said blandly. "Is this how you impress all the young ladies?"

He surveyed me with interest. "Well, I had no idea you knew the scientific term for bat study.

To help those he loved, he'd rear apart the world.

Mephistopheles waved her off as she left. "One more woman running off with another man. I'm losing my touch."

"Have you considered you might be a Thorne in their sides?" Thomas asked. "You certainly can be a pric - "

"Thomas," I whispered harshly, pinching the inside of his elbow.

"How clever," Mephistopheles said blandly. "You've made my name into a pun. What other comedic brilliance will you think of next? I wish I could say I missed this" - he motioned between himself and Thomas - "but that sort of lying doesn't pay my bills."

"Nor do the gemstones on your suits," Thomas muttered.

"Are you still jealous about my jackets?" Mephistopheles grinned.

"For the love of the queen," I said, interrupting before they really got into it.

Hurry along, then," I said, grabbing my orchid and securing it safely in my journal. "I want to sit by the window."

"Hmm."

"What now?" I asked, losing patience.

"I usually sit by the window. You may have to sit in my lap.

Do not turn your back on a love that could jump the barrier between life and death.

Aunt Amelia would perish on the spot if she walked in on such… impropriety."
"Hmm. Her untimely end would excuse you from any more embroidery lessons, would it not? Perhaps we should skip the dancing and passionately embrace instead."
"Thomas," I chided. I told myself the sooner we discovered who the murderer was, the sooner I'd be rid of Thomas Cresswell and his devious ways. We'd be kissing in back alleys before I knew it. Then my reputation would truly be in the gutter.

The snake stuck its tongue out, tasting the air as we inched by, then hissed. Nathaniel nearly tripped over the man seated beside the aisle, trying to dodge the reptile. I ran my fingers over its large, leathery head as I passed - stifling a giggle as my brother's eyes bulged and he swiped my hand away.

"Are you mad?" he whispered harshly. "That beast tried eating me whole, now you're making a pet of it. Can't you be normal and like cats?" He shook his head. "If we make it out alive I'll buy you as many kittens as you'd like. I'll even purchase a farm in the country where you can house hundreds of them.

I smiled, leaning over the desk and used the sweetest tone I could muster. "In my spare time I flay open bodies of the deceased. Two of whom were victims of Leather Apron. The scent that hung in the room would drop a man to his knees, and I aided my uncle during the postmortems while standing in gelled blood." I sat back in my chair, the leather squeaking its own disapproval. "Whatever you have to show us won't be too much for my stomach to handle, I assure you.

Legends are meant to inspire fear. Anastasia stood. They must be larger than the life we lead in order to maintain their lure for generations.

Death was not prejudiced by mortal things such as station or gender. It came for kings and queens and prostitutes alike, often leaving the living with regrets. What might we have done differently if we'd known the end was so near?

I cannot have men stationed outside the first-class promenade. How will that look to well-paying passengers? This is not a workhouse and I will not treat my passengers like prisoners. They're not being terrorized with a theatrical murder tonight and I intend to keep it that way. I will not make them suffer."

I physically had to check to see if my head had exploded from such a ridiculous statement. Gentle prodding of my hair proved my skull was still intact, miracle of all miracles.

"You cannot be serious." Thomas tossed his hands in the air. "It would seem an awful lot better to have crew members posted along the decks than to see dismembered body parts floating about while first-class patrons made their way to breakfast and tea. 'Oh, look, Miss Eldridge, there's a mauled torso. Won't you pass the cream and sugar?'"

"Don't be absurd," the captain said, aghast.

"Apologies," Thomas said, not sounding at all sorry, "I'm only following your lead.

Sometimes we choose not to see things we know are true, simply because we wish to keep the fantasy of what could have been alive,

She moved with me, a huntress sighting her prey. The trouble was I wanted to be caught more than I wished to run.

Though I knew there were many sides to each person if one searched hard enough. No one was entirely good or evil.

There were only the two of us left standing in a star-filled sky oblivious to anything but the way our bodies fit together like constellations. He was my match in all ways.

I love you... More than all the stars in the universe. In this life and ever after. I love you.

Seeing the truth was never easy, especially when it revealed those closest to us could be monsters hidden in plain sight.

Perhaps it'll give me an idea for the perfect main course. What do you think of roasted goat?"

"After witnessing its beheading or before?" she asked, looking like she was moments away from vomiting. "You do know that's what cookbooks are for, correct? Inspiration without the labor. Or carnage. I swear you miss being surrounded by death.

Beware of trusting beautiful creatures. They hide the most wicked surprises.

People were always providing in death what they would not do in life, it seemed.

What a fortunate surprise, Miss Wadsworth." He took my hand in his, pretending to kiss it, and pulled an ink-blue rose from the air. "A rose for the lovely Audrey Rose."

"Oh, wonderful." Thomas said. "Satan has decided to claw his way out of Hell and join us. I had no idea he did subpar tricks, though.

Science was an altar I knelt before, and it blessed me with solace.

No matter if something was thought to be very bad. There was nothing to be afraid of other than our own worries.

The proper society girl in me was loath to admit it, but his flirtations kept me afloat in a sea of conflicting feelings. Passion and annoyance were fire, and fire was alive and crackling with power. Fire breathed. Grief was a vat of quicksand; the more one struggled against it, the deeper it pulled one under. I'd much rather be set ablaze than buried alive. Though the mere thought of being in a compromising position with Thomas was enough to make my face warm.

Darkness made confessions easier - it comforted me in a way the light never could.

We needn't complete each other, we complemented each other.

I think you've broken one of my ribs. Was that really necessary? Next time you tackle me, be sure it's in one of our bedchambers.

I wondered how I could appear so whole and serene on the outside when inside I was thrashing with turbulence.

His eyes are golden brown when he's intrigued by something. He's regal-looking and handsome, but he's more interested in formulas and solving crimes than he is in me or poetry. He acts devilishly warm one moment, then frigid the next," I said. "So there will be no children or any beautiful paradise in our future. Most of the time I cannot even tolerate his presence. His arrogance is… I don't know. Annoying.

The dead speak to those who listen.

You've stared Fear in its nasty face and made it tremble. You will make it through this, Wadsworth. We will mange it through this. That is a fact more tangling than any dream or nightmare. I promised I'd never lie to you. I intend to honor my word.

Beyond life, beyond death, my love for thee is eternal.

There's nothing better than a little danger dashed with some romance.

My love for you will be a constant in a sea of unknown variables. We may fight or be cross with each other, but our love will never fade or wilt. Trust in that. Trust in us. Forget the future. Forget worry. The only thing that terrifies me is the possibility of living with regret. I don't ever want to wake and wonder what life could have been like with you in it. I don't ever want to regret holding myself back from loving you as fully and openly as possible.

The instruments of darkness tells us truth.

Monsters are only as real as the stories that grant them life. And they only live for as long as we tell those tales.

And she hardly requires a knight to save her. She's more likely to ride in and save you and then smack you for being an idiot,

The dead speak to those who listen. Be quieter than even them.

What if" were the two most tragic words in existence when paired together.

Most people ignore what's right before their eyes. They believe they see, but oftentimes only view what they want.

Lord help the girl he set those eyes on for good. His boyish vulnerability was a weapon, powerful and disarming.

Dear Lord Wadsworth, esteemed Baron of Somerset,

I write to you under great duress. I cannot seem to properly ask to formally court your daughter and ought to be put out of my misery at once. Please send a vicious brood of vampire bats to dispatch me at your earliest convenience. It would clearly be an improvement over this letter…

Your daughter's hopeful yet stupid suitor,
Thomas

It's just... sometimes when I'm afraid or lost, I try to find the humor. Break the tension. It always helps me to laugh.

I wondered at the darkness swirling within me -- the secret part that couldn't muster up an ounce of disgust. Perhaps I needed to take up a new hobby. I feared I was becoming addicted to blood.

Without lifting his head from his own journal, he said, "Not having any luck figuring me out, then? Don't worry, you'll get better with practice. And, yes" - he grinned wickedly, eyes fixed on his paper - "you'll still fancy me tomorrow no matter how much you wish otherwise. I'm unpredictable, and you adore it. Just as I cannot wrap my massive brain around the equation of you and yet adore it.

I would not be treated as if my mind were inferior because I'd been blessed with the ability to bear children. I mentally screamed at myself to let it pass, but I couldn't obey the simple command, consequences be damned.

It is a sad truth that we do not live in a world where differences are accepted.

Where in a medical dictionary does it say a woman cannot handle such things? What is a man's soul made of that a woman's is not? I had no idea my innards were composed of cotton and kittens, while yours are filled with steel and steam-driven parts.

Magic is science. It's simply a fancier term for showing people the impossible is attainable.

If I was so apprehensive of marriage, then perhaps being caught wouldn't be the death of me. It might very well be my rebirth.

If you're not careful," I said, brushing imaginary wrinkles off the front of my riding habit and breeches, hoping the flush in my cheeks would come across as anger and not embarrassment, "you'll be the one dragged here in bits and pieces."

Thomas tilted my chin up with a finger, his intent gaze setting my skin aflame. "I do love it when you speak so maliciously, Wadsworth. Gives my heart a bit of a rush.

Why must I either be docile and decent, or curious and wretched? I was a decent girl, even if I spent my spare time reading about science theories and dissecting the dead.

You should follow your heart. Forget the rest. Ileana stood and gathered up the used plates and napkins. Thomas is human and will make mistakes, and as long as he apologizes and it's something yo can live with? It's worth loving him today. It's also worth forgiving him, too. You never know when he might be taken from you.

Surely it's prudent to plan for different possibilities for the future. Shouldn't one have some sort of goal to work toward, even if the path they take is unknown?

As forensic examiners, we cannot shut off other avenues to search. What have I taught you about trusting only that which you see?

Love makes fools of the wisest.

Hope in an invisible yet might force. Don't dismiss it's power.

I despise being the one having an emotional dilemma. It's much more enjoyable being the one consoling you. You haven't even offered to let me sit on your lap. You're terrible at this.

While my cousin had the voice of a nightingale, Thomas's singing was atrocious. A cat in heat held a note in a more pleasant manner than he did. At least it proved he wasn't limitlessly skilled, which pleased me to no end.

Foe now I'd tend to my own wounds. Thomas was correct about one thing: I needed to heal myself before I could address anything or anyone else.

If we weren't about to face another terrible passageway filled with life-threatening danger, I'd take you in my arms this instant.

Telling Wadsworth how much I loved her wasn't selfish at all. Quite the opposite.