“He considered what he had seen of the woman who had stood so briefly in the shadows of the doorway, but he could not recall the exact color of the sash that waisted her soft white dress, nor whether it had been pearls or stars in her hair, nor even how deeply winter dreamed in her lovely eyes.”

Ned thinks these thoughts when he first sees Cecilia after knocking on her door to attempt to warn her about Lady Armitage’s bounty on her head. From the very first chapter, he is enamored with her beauty and nonchalance in dealing with him, introducing the theme of Romance and Partnership Between Equals.

“She tugged unconsciously on the silver locket that hung from a black ribbon around her neck.”

Cecilia touches her locket, which contains a portrait of her mother. She performs this gesture unconsciously when under stress. The portrait is an early example of Cilla’s presence in the narrative, even though she is dead (See: Symbols & Motifs).

“Ned would have whispered, I don’t need anyone at all, but at that moment a shadow fell over him, a coolness, a great dragging silence like the empty dark chambers of an ancient abbey.”

Ned’s emotional state changes throughout the narrative, as at first, he believes that he needs no one to support or love him. Later, he realizes he needs Cecilia, that he loves her deeply. The imagery of the abbey is also evocative of Northrangerland Abbey, demonstrating the connection between Cecilia’s childhood loneliness and Ned’s current loneliness.