Accepted!

Lorcan stared, open mouthed, at the far end of the room they had just walked into. There wasn’t anything amazing to see, but what the people were doing was very odd. The people in line were handing their papers to some clerk or something at the head of each line, and he was taking the papers and putting them in some slot or something. Then, a few seconds later, the papers would come neatly out again.

“What are those?” he asked his uncle, pointing at the slots.

“It is an accepted tech. Our clan has always used it, despite the high taxes. We use it for several things, but in our case we will feed your proposal into the machine and it will search the other proposals for a match, or at least a partial match. We will come back every day for updates until we freeze a proposal.”

“What does that do?”

“It will give your father time to negotiate,” his uncle said. “Perhaps the gift isn’t quite what we hoped, or, well, you didn’t really list much else… except for ‘at least willing’.

Lorcan nodded, his heart racing faster as they moved up the line. He had worked so hard on his proposal but now he only had to wait, to step forward as each person in front of them finished their business and then the accepted tech would do its thing and, somewhere, maybe, his proposal would match with some girl…

It seemed to take forever, but was all too soon, when they reached the front of the line and, paralysed, he stood next to his uncle. The clerk there, a very tall man with a broad smile, did not, Lorcan was glad to see, examine the document they handed him, but merely fed the sheets into a slot in front of him.

A few very, very long seconds passed as they all stood waiting and then the sheets spit out again, followed, mere seconds later, but another sheet. The clerk took it, read it, and his grin broadened. “Well, aren’t you lucky! Four yellows and a green! Must have been a very well-written proposal.”

Lorcan looked at his uncle, but he seemed to have his face fixed in a neutral expression. “If you would put a freeze on the green, please?”

“Of course! Strike while the iron is hot, I always say.” The clerk pushed a few buttons. “There. That will be one thousand keshef in earnest money.”

Lorcan gasped, but his uncle kept his neutral expression as he pulled out his wallet and passed over the required letter of credit. After receiving a receipt and a sheaf of papers the machine spit out , his uncle turned, grasped him very firmly by the arm, and led him out of the building.

“Uncle,” Lorcan protested, as the grip was becoming painful, but his uncle ignored him, his eyes seeking out and finding a cafe almost directly opposite. Only when they arrived at a table did his uncle release his grip and sit down.

“What was that about?” Lorcan asked.

His uncle opened the envelope and pulled out the papers, then looked at Lorcan. “Green, my dear nephew, means ‘meets or exceeds’. For two proposals!”

“Can I take your orders, Sirs?” said a young waiter who had come up, a smile on his face.

“Yes, yes,” Lorcans uncle said, impatiently. “An appetizer tray, please. Some Grengin eggs, some smoked Crencha, and small breads.”

“And to drink?”

“Soft cider for me,” his uncle said.

“Light beer, please,” Lorcan said.

The waiter left and Lorcan turned back to his uncle, “I don’t understand… two proposals? I thought the clerk only said one green.”

“Yes, no, I’m sorry, I should have said ‘both other proposals’. One complete set of proposals. You managed to match both your wife and your exchange on your first try.”

Lorcan’s heart skipped a bit at hearing ‘your wife’ but- “Isn’t that what we expected?” he asked.

“Not on the first try! One of them, certainly, perhaps. Or both after some negotiations. These things usually take a couple of weeks and multiple negotiations! But both at once… and ‘meet or exceed’! I hardly dare to look!”

“I’ll look,” Lorcan said, reaching forward.

“No!” His uncle said, pulling the papers back. “Not so fast!” He grinned.

“I tell you what we’ll do, my lad. The green results are directly underneath the receipt. I saw that when he was putting them together. So I will lift the receipt, and you take the first set of papers… whichever they are… and I’ll take the second set. That way we can both have a pleasant surprise.”

“Ok,” Lorcan said. His uncle seemed almost as excited as he was about this whole thing!

His uncle closed his eyes and lifted up the top paper, and Lorcan pulled the top set toward him, and turned it over so he could read it. There, in a neat and delicate hand, he read,

Proposal of Marriage by Andreina Jenadine, Summary Page

Having reached an appropriate age, with the encouragement of my mother and cousine, and permission of my father, I am looking for a husband.

His eyes skimmed over a long list of her qualities. He wasn’t particularly interested in needlework, although some of the dishes she listed as liking to cook sounded good. His eyes lingered a bit more on her measurements… short and very thin. Better than short and fat, or too tall, that was always embarrassing when the lass was taller than the lad.

He came to the critical points…

My ideal husband would be a candidate for the Army, although I am perfectly willing to marry into any profession.

He would be someone who would rejoice with me in full fertility, with the complete definition thereof as recognised by the clan.

And he would compensate my family as he is able, but at least thirty thousand Keshef.

A straight Fully fertile contract! He hadn’t been allowed to ask for that, not directly, and his uncle had said very, very few lasses would do so either.

He looked up and saw his uncle grinning at him. His uncle passed him the papers he held, and reached for the lass’s proposal. Lorcan looked down,

Proposal of Exchange involving Gaspard Moravian and others, Summary Page

Gregory Moravian, the father of Gaspard Moravian, being of age to seek a profession, wishes to fulfill my obligation to the clan but finds in my son a desire to join the Navy, leaving our family in danger of missing our obligation to the Army. We have otherwise met our obligations to the clan in the number of offspring we bring to it, however we have discovered a family who has not yet been able to do so. Together we have written this proposal.

If an exchange can be found for an extra male child, who is willing to pursue a profession in the Army, along with a lass who would at least be free for the clan, we stand ready to aid them in that pursuit with one hundred thousand Keshef payable on signing of final contract.

Lorcan looked up, “One hundred thousand Keshef!” He said.

“And fully fertile,” his uncle responded, pointing at the lass’s proposal which he had read. “Exceeded indeed. If not for the form of the thing I would not think we needed to even ask your father. As it is, we have time to eat a little something, calm our nerves, return and get his permission, and come back and lock the whole thing in.

Lorcan managed to nod and then, to his relief, the waiter brought their food and he could busy himself eating and with his thoughts. He had a wife. His uncle was pleased with the exchange price but as far as he was concerned his mind was only capable of thinking about, dreaming about… his new wife!

“Wife! Andreina! Attend me!”

Andreina, shocked, pushed her plate away and, together with Aleshia, who had been sharing her meal, they raced downstairs.

“Ah, yes, Aleshia, her confidante, thou also!” Her father said, waving a sheaf of papers around, “Come woman,” he said, as his wife came around the corner, “All three of you, into my office!”

The rest of her family staring after them, Andi, her confidante, and her mother followed her father past the curtain into the office.

“Fifty thousand!” Father said, tossing the papers down on his desk, “Fifty thousand, oh best of daughters.”

He grinned at Andi, “Met in every particular, even… anyway met in every particular, and fifty thousand. You have a husband, you have an accepted contract. Met without negotiations, accepted out of hand within a day! I didn’t think it possible! And thine new husband is from our town, too!”

Her confidante , as was her right, reached hastily forward and flipped through the summary. “Fifty thousand for each! From a navy family, and rich at that. … But uncle, what is this ‘forward colonist’ classification?”

“Do I know?” Father asked the universe at large. “Am I a specialist in the army? Do I care? But I can read figures. Fifty thousand Keshef!”

“But, Uncle, how can it be fifty thousand when we did put but thirty?”

“Because it was accepted out of hand! No negotiations. Since they put fifty on their own proposal then, without negotiations, fifty we will receive!”

While her parents excitedly discussed the success of her proposal, Andreina took the documents from her confidante and leafed through them. She finally came upon the paper written in the hand of a lad. This she read, carefully, line by line, hoping to glean some hint of what the lad who had written them was like.

Proposal of Marriage, Lorcan Moravia of Janleen Clan, Summary Page

Having reached an age where I am ready for marriage, and upon advice of my uncles and approval of my father, I submit this proposal of marriage.

I am of age, standing of average height and slightly less than average weight. My features are plain but without deformity, and I am fully able to perform all daily functions, and could be said to be in fair condition.

I have not previously married, nor are there any offspring or other obligations outstanding.

I have succeeded in several studies, being accomplished in history, geography, mathematics up to tensile calculus, and basic drawing.

We now live in the New City, and I have lived in several areas, our family moving as our fortunes increased, until now we can be said to be fully of the shop class at least.

My father offers to fully fund a seven day honey trip appropriate to my class, and all expenses related to our army training.

I have been provisionally accepted into the army with the specialty of forward colonist. My ideal wife would have the liberty to accept an assignment to the clan, all of our exchange to be used to make the contract. I propose to give an acceptable family fifty thousand in exchange. I am seeking at least eighty thousand in exchange from the market.

I seek a wife who is at least willing, and who is available for immediate marriage with consummation, and who is prepared to accept a standard clan marriage in all other respects. She would need to be at least in fair condition, with good prospects of passing an army physical. She may be of any class, as long as she possesses manners that are not offensive.

But, having read it all through three times, she did not know if she was any the wiser. He hadn’t put any physical attributes that he wanted in a lass, no doubt because his father had told him he couldn’t afford to. If he had she wouldn’t have qualified, she was so plain and thin. He had put ‘never married’ which, if taken literally, would mean he was still a virgin, which she wasn’t really willing to believe. And he had put ‘at least willing’, which meant he was actually seeking a fully fertile contract. Which meant he was promising not to seek out temporary wives, and he would be very glad that she had…

She suddenly heard the silence and looked up to see everyone staring at her. “When… what is the next step, Father?”

“Well, since there are no negotiations, there need be no delay. Thy mother and I will… no, that is for a lad… his father and his mother will no doubt send us a note of hand, and we will meet, either here or at a restaurant, we will have to decide what is best…” Her father trailed off and seemed lost in thought.

Her mother leaned over to Andreina. “Thou wilt cloister thyself this night and await thine husband. We parents will meet, perhaps tomorrow afternoon. Then we will call the two of you in, and you will sign the contract. Then, probably that evening, his father will have arranged your honey trip for you.

Which depends on their family, dear, and you are marrying into shop class and a family we don’t know. Some families send the new couple off to some hotel or resort or some such for their honey trip. Some of them do a honey tour of the family. Some do both.”

“And then?” Andreina asked.

“Well, that is entirely up to his family. But then sometime in the next few weeks you will present yourselves to the Army induction. After that, well, it is up to the army and your husband.”

There was a pause, then her confidante turned to her, “Oh, Andi,” she said, hugging her, “I had thought we would have longer together, with negotiations and all! But, thou hast a husband!”

Andi hugged her back, crying freely, although she didn’t know why.

“To thy room, Darling,” Aleshia said. “I will come by tommorrow for the dressing. I had thought we would have more time, I shall have to do a good deal of thinking what you should wear.”

Andi’s mother nodded at her, so Andi left. Fled, really. She had a husband!

Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!

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Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,

Von