Hazel Holt

“Stimulating,” like “challenging,” is a word I do not greatly care for, since it implies a greater degree of effort and commitment than I am usually prepared to give.

"One thing I will say about your mother: she's never been inhibited by consistency!"

Still, Desmond never really required any sort of logic when it came to finding someone to blame.

"He does have a great line in sarcasm. Not very pleasant, but he gets things done. An active retired man is always in demand, so people put up with his unpleasant manner.

(…) After all,” she added with solemnity that sat oddly upon a teenage girl, “we all know that drink can be just as destructive as drugs, but people never seem to face up to the fact.

“The real country, as you call it, has many disadvantages,” I said with feeling. “Unreliable septic tanks, floods in winter and dried-up wells in summer, not to mention an electricity supply so delicate that a brief flurry of the lightest snow can cast one into darkness for days!”