Proposals

Lorcan scratched in the last words and handed the final copy of his proposal to his uncle. It was three days after the fateful meeting, and the two had spent nearly every waking hour since then, even taking meals in his father’s office which had been reserved exclusively for their work. He hoped he wouldn’t have to copy it over again.

“Do you think Father will be pleased?” Lorcan asked., as his uncle ran his eyes over his penmanship.

“I think they all will be surprised,” his uncle said, “And your uncle Borron will no doubt amuse himself greatly at your expense if you can’t find a girl that is ‘at least willing’. But there is nothing at all in this to be displeased by. And it is your contract, after all, they are only there to advise and approve.”

“You needn’t throw yourself away for the family tho, nephew. I know I have said this before, but a final try before I call my brothers together. Not putting any particular physical limitations will mean you can make a match more easily, and most lasses are not displeasing, but, still, you might end up with a lass that is… I don’t even know what kind of lass you like, truth be told. You are very discreet.”

Lorcan was quiet for a few moments. “Obviously I would like to choose some combination of physical features that would please me. But the very part of the contract that my eldest uncle will find amusing is actually what I find attractive.”

Well, choosing ‘at least willing’ is a bit of a gamble, but you have been more than generous with the offer of fifty thousand, so it shouldn’t be difficult to negotiate that. So if that is really what attracts you, I think you will get it. Even if the lass is fat, or has an unfortunate wart.

“She can’t be too fat, or she won’t be qualified to pass the physical.”

True, true. And the results of those negotiations will not be released, so you needn’t fear teasing by the general public about… I know you are hoping for ‘fully fertile’.

Yes, any lass that would put down both that she was available for the army and ‘at least willing’ will be an interesting lass. since we already have provisional acceptance for your speciality in the Army, a specialty I had never heard of… although perhaps I read it in the book all those years ago… your exchange negotiations will go easily.

Your total for the exchange is stiff, but it isn’t poor people that seek to cheat the Army. A rich merchant family will not quibble at eighty thousand to keep a favored older son in the business. Perhaps he is already working and doing well. No, I think my brothers will be pleased with this.

And it is well copied, and should scan well. I will meet with them tonight and give them a couple of days to go over it… by the time a week has passed from our first meeting you and I should be ready to go to the Contract Office.

Andreina stood with her cousine and her mother in their school room, nervously watching her father read their proposal. She hadn’t dressed up for this occasion and was beginning to feel as if she should have, the whole thing seemed so formal.

She watched her father’s eyes and guessed when he reached each section of the document; happy with her choice of the Army, disturbed by her insistence on ‘fully fertile’, and then widening in surprise at the size of the portion of the exchange gift she was asking for.

Then he turned past the summary page and read through all of the various explanations and appendices. There was nothing to surprise him there, but he was a careful man and he read it all through slowly.

He went over the entire document once again, scanning each word, then he looked up and looked at her. Then at her mother and at Aleshia. And then back at Andreina.

“I do not wish to insert myself into female affairs,” he said, finally. “So I will not ask thee the obvious questions. However if this proposal has not at least produced a counter within a week, I think we shall need to meet again. Is that acceptable to thee?”

Andreina nodded. It was better than she had hoped. She had been afraid he would question her, and perhaps even get her to back down, to produce an entire new document.

“Now, I am sure that your mother and your confidant would have emphasized this, but I will still say it. This marriage proposal is a legally binding contract. If it is accepted you will be bound, strictly bound, by all of its provisions. Usually, but not always, there is a period of negotiations… but I want to be clear that once I send this in it is very possible you will be bound to a husband the minute I turn it in. So if you put in anything merely to have something to negotiate over you need to make sure that you wrote it that way. You put nothing about what class he is in, about where you would live…”

“We discussed that,” her mother agreed. “Her confidante and I went over every clause, and made sure that they were appropriately written. This our daughter is willing to every clause that is firm. And willing to whatever extreme the other clauses might take her.”

“I have a wonderful daughter,” he said. “And she has a wonderful mother and, I’m sure, a careful confidante. I just had to make sure.”

“I will take this down this afternoon,” he continued. “I would advise thee to cloister thyself for a while in prayer, my daughter. We will send thy meat up to thee.”

Andreina nodded. She didn’t really even want to see anyone except Mother and her confidant during this time, anyway, and they would both be allowed to visit her.

“Come give me a kiss, then,” he father said, and she duly kissed him and, her confidante following, she went back upstairs.

“Ooooh, he sounded so serious!” her confidant said when they reached her room and were behind the curtain.

“It is a serious thing,” Andi said, watching her cousine take her baby off her back. Her baby which had remained remarkably quiet but would, no doubt, now eat busily.

“Oh, yes… and no…” her cousine said, popping the baby on her breast. “Let’s face it, it is all a roll of the dice anyway. Even when you match with someone you grew up with it is a roll of the dice. You remember Susanna…?”

Andi shuddered. “Well, yes. But why isn’t it serious, then?”

“‘Cause however hard you work, life still throws you curves. Better to take everything a bit lightly. Come, lets guess what kind of lad will answer your proposal.”

“If any do,” Andi said, and her cousine stared at her.

“Darling, now that’s just silly. Lads must have lasses. Someone will come for you and sweep you behind some curtain. Now, I am guessing that he will be tall, and fat. And late to rise.”

“Well, if he is fat he may well be late to rise. Better that than short and fat. I’m going to guess that he lives on the coast, and his family are fishers.”

“Well, that would be interesting! I’ve only been to the coast once…”

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