“’You’re sure she doesn’t know?’ said Georgie.
‘Antonia? About us? Certain.’
Georgie was silent for a moment and then said, ‘Good.’ That curt ‘Good’ was characteristic of her, typical of a toughness which had, to my mind, more to do with honesty than with ruthlessness. I liked the dry way in which she accepted our relationship. Only with a person so eminently sensible could I have deceived my wife.”
‘A Severed Head’ by Iris Murdoch 
Amazon

Try these other 1^st paras by Iris Murdoch:-
‘The Sea The Sea’
‘The Philosopher’s Pupil’

And read about the first edition of The Sea The Sea, first published by Chatto & Windus in 1978.

Try one of these 1st paras & discover a new author:-
‘Nineteen Minutes’ by Jodi Picoult
‘1984’ by George Orwell
‘The Cement Garden’ by Ian McEwan

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
A 1^st para which makes me want to read more: A SEVERED HEAD by Iris Murdoch #books https://wp.me/p5gEM4-ml via @SandraDanby