Juliana was surprised and pleased that he deemed her his intellectual peer, not because she had any doubts that she was but rather because it was unusual to hear a man admit that women could have any merit to their thoughts at all, much less place them on equal footing. It was a reminder of why she liked Mr. Ainsworth so much; he seemed to be a kindred spirit with her in certain regards, and it was lovely to have a conversation with someone where she didn't always have to be on the watch for little barbs they said without even considering how they might come across. Phrases like for a woman tacked onto the ends of compliments, things like that — Mr. Ainsworth wasn't that sort, unlike most men.

All this said, she was quite shocked by what followed. His bride. He wanted to marry her. Why did he want to marry her? This was not exactly a romantic proposal, so she discarded the notion that he had somehow fallen in love with her. They were in his office at the library, with the door half-open. He considered her a friend and an intellectual peer. He wondered if she would do him the courtesy of becoming his bride — not the honor or the pleasure or the delight, the courtesy. Hm.

Juliana had frozen up a bit and realized she ought to provide an answer, but she wasn't sure she had one yet. "This is quite unexpected," she said as a sort of defense for being left momentarily speechless.

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