“He was pleased to be in these beautiful places, which he had known all his adult life, with someone who gave them a new sense of being enjoyed.” (p. 62)
“When the storm began, they were all glad of the interruption. There was quite a lively conversation about storms in general. Darkness, in this long, large room lined with furniture and dim paintings, drew them closer together.” (p. 81)
“It was as if she had taken leave of her senses – or come into their full possession at the expense of her reason; as if she had no capacity to consider her actions in light of their consequences, as if she thought it could go on forever, this disregard for the eventual course of her life, and his.” (p. 110)
“‘What a lovely dress,’ he suddenly said to her. Her beauty had seemed to him so remarkable as they sat at table that he could not keep from making at least this indirect reference to it. She was wearing a simple dress of a splendid color, the sort of dress that might turn up in one of his memories.” (p. 112)
“Since his nostalgia for her was inevitable, he preferred to embark on it as soon as possible – even in her presence.” (p. 114)
He was like someone who, at the close of a beautiful day, constantly shifts his chair to enjoy the last of the light.
She said: ‘Don’t be anxious to find a reason.’
He had forgotten what they were saying. She saw that, and added: ‘To come to the end of this.’ (p. 115)
Yellow Crane in the Rain 