The Ranger of Marzanna (The Goddess War #1) - Jon Skovron Page 0,67
reading it to eating one’s vegetables. A necessary and healthy, if not altogether pleasant, enterprise.
“Captain Portinari here to see you, miss,” Masha said from the doorway.
Galina closed the book as she looked up from the high-backed chair in which she sat. “Captain?”
Sebastian stood behind the maid, shifting his weight back and forth and displaying what Kantemir, with his insistence on using the vernacular of the peasantry, would have likely described as “a shit-eating grin.” Either Sebastian was immensely pleased with his promotion, or his expression was indicative of an even more exciting development. As Sebastian had never before expressed a desire for promotion, she suspected it was the latter.
“Thank you, Masha, that will be all,” she told the maid.
Masha bowed and took her leave as Sebastian entered the room. He appeared barely able to contain his excitement, and yet there also seemed to be a great deal of anxiety. Galina could think of only one thing that would produce such a conflicting state. But she would wait for him to broach it.
She smiled. “Congratulations, Captain.”
“Oh, yes, thank you,” he said distractedly, as if he’d already forgotten about the promotion. “Listen, Galina, I hope you will forgive my forwardness, but as you know, I find it difficult not to speak my heart to those I care deeply about.”
“I am pleased to know I am numbered among such a cherished group of people.”
He dropped suddenly to his knees and took her hands, his own trembling with emotion. “That’s just it, Galina. There is no one in the world I treasure more than you. Your intelligence, beauty, and kindness are unmatched, and I want nothing more than to spend every day for the rest of my life with you. And so I’ve come… to ask… if you will marry me.”
And there it was, just as she’d suspected. Certainly both their mothers had been planning it all along, but poor, sweet Sebastian presented the proposition as if it was some wildly impulsive notion. She wondered if he would always be stumbling around in the dark, ignorant of the fact that his life was mostly determined by those around him. Perhaps one day he would find his own way. Until then, she would have to protect him as best she could. Really, it was going to be a great deal of work, but that was likely the trade-off when avoiding marriage to one of the arrogant, pig-headed fools that composed the majority of the male Izmorozian nobility.
“Have you approached my father yet?” she asked.
He blinked. “Er, no… I thought it best to ask you first.”
“Indeed so. Very insightful. That gives me time to prepare him.” Now that the engagement was official, there were a great many things that needed to happen. Her thoughts began running in several directions at once, like children on a scavenger hunt.
Sebastian grew increasingly pale, and his hands trembled more intensely. “So… Galina… wh-what is your answer?”
She looked at him. “Hmm?”
“W-will you marry me?”
She laughed gaily and pressed her hand on his suddenly flushed cheek. “Silly boy, there is no one else I would marry.”
“R-really?”
“In fact, I’d already decided months ago.”
“You… had?”
“That day in the garden when you confessed your trepidation regarding the use of sweeping power. Do you recall?”
Relief washed over his face. “Of course! I felt the same! I had never known such acceptance, such comfort from another soul. I had not believed it even possible.” He winced. “Should I have asked for your hand then?”
“No, my sweet Sebastian, that would have been far too abrupt, even for you.” She stood, bringing him up with her. “Now, presumably you’ve spoken to your mother about this already?”
“Er, yes.”
“And she is poised to begin preparations for the traditional engagement ball?”
“So it would seem.”
“Wonderful. Tell her I will speak to my father at once. I expect to have no trouble putting him in a favorable mind, especially since my mother has no doubt already spoken to him about it.”
“She… has? But how could she have known?”
She smiled fondly at him as she brushed an errant curl from his forehead. “Did you think it a coincidence that two people so well suited for each other just happened to meet? Our mothers planned this from the very beginning.”
He looked shocked. “That’s just…”
“It may not be as romantic as a meeting fated by the hand of Lady Zivena,” conceded Galina. “But it does express how well our mothers know us, and how deeply they care for our happiness.”