"She was eight years old today, would be nine tomorrow, and she was meant for the house, not the field. Everyone, white, colored, and Negro, told her how much pride there was in that." Chap. 1, p. 8

"He looked the part of the older-generation Creole French planter, from his pomaded thinning gray hair to his black suit and riding boots. The role had been handed to him whole on the day he was born." Chap. 1, p. 16

"But all that Suzette could make out was a sound just this side of hearing, like dreams drifting out of reach, slight as a soft spring wind." Chap. 3, p. 46

"The mouse had dashed to freedom, damaged, probably easy game for the next predator, but it had gotten away. Escape was unlikely but it was possible." Chap. 4, p. 64

"Suzette approached her meetings with Eugene Daurat with the same state of mind she had when...