Excerpt A Proposal
I opened my eyes and gasped. There before me was a four poster bed complete with canopy and fresh linens. The posts of the bed were intricately carved with symbols of my family's crest and trade, my skills and mixed in with those of his family and his own trade. On the foot board was a place to carve in our family tree as it grew, and sitting in the middle of the bed, atop the feather mattress was the cause of that somewhat familiar sound - Sash. I barely recognized my youthfull kitten in the nearly full grown cat that sat before me preening herself and purring. She remembered me though and instantly walked over so I could scratch behind her ears.
"Sash, I can't believe it! She has grown so much. How, how did you do this?"
"I had some help from Geren."
"And the bed," I continued, "'tis amazing, unbelievable." I had tears in my eyes now. "You must have been working on it for months, and you kept if from me, this whole time?"
"I started it shortly after Lapis's wedding. I could carve by lantern or candle or firelight so I worked on it in the evenings. It was just luck you didn't find it before I was able to ask one of my rescuers to hide it. While you were gone to market or to town, one of them would bring it to me, or me to it, to work on it and then come fetch it when you returned. I wanted it to be a surprise. The linens and mattress are gifts from Catrina and Geren respectively."
"What other secrets do you have hidden away?"
He looked at me then with a twinkle in his eye cast by the fire in the fireplace. He took my head between his hands and gently kissed my lips. "You shall see, my sweet. Come, sit here, your feet must hurt you terribly." He led me over to the side of the bed and helped me to lie down then he removed my shoes, kissed the tops of my feet and began to massage them. It felt devine and a sigh escaped my lips.
"Just relax and let me take care of you, like you have been taking care of me. 'Chite, I have something to ask you. I've asked it before, but 'twas the wrong time, the wrong way. This time I want it to be right. I want my intentions to be clear. I want you to know that I know and realize what I am saying, that there is no outside influence causing me to say things I don't really mean."
I looked up at him as he spoke, all humor gone from his face. He rarely looked so serious. What could he possibly be planning to ask me?
(cont.)