- Jane Fosset: Oh, you English are so funny about smells. You hate garlic, you're frightened of perfume unless it's very cheap and very nasty, but you *love* the smell of fish and chips. First time I went out for a walk with an Englishman, he took us two miles out of our way so I could smell a fish and chips shop.
- Toby: Oh, well, you see it's a very powerful aphrodisiac for an Englishman. Before the war, most children were conceived on Friday nights.
- Jane Fosset: You can't afford it.
- Toby: I *know* I can't afford it. I can't afford *any* of the bloody decencies of life. I can't afford to take you out, I can't afford to buy you a proper Christmas present, I can't afford even to be able to tell you not to worry.
- Toby: Look, I'm 28 years old, and I'm still living hand to mouth like a bloody tramp. I've been writing for ten years, I've written five stinking novels that nobody wants to wipe their behinds upon, and now you tell me I can't even afford a bottle of non-vintage wine. Well, don't tell me, because I don't want to know! I just don't want to know about it!