““Men made games of religion, did they not? They made God into a reason for warfare. Who was to say that He was anything more than an excuse, an invention, a convenient cause? Adrian had never felt Him save in His absence. Nothingness, then: no punishment for sin but death; no reward for virtue but the grave. Yet, even if there was a master in heaven, it would make no difference to his course. He would accept damnation as his due in exchange for an earthly life in which he and his were no one’s slaves””
![“Speak plainly, sir.' '*Sir*? I say, Lyd. Are you always so formal with men you've made love with?' The whip of her head caused the bird [on her hat] to saw wildly, like a famished woodpecker in range of a tree.” quote by Meredith Duran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/3d6/meredith-duran-2968_quote_speak-plainly-sir-sir-i-say-lyd-are-you_184237.jpg)
