She drank it as if it were perfectly warm, her expression betraying nothing.
"Please, just call me Benjamin," I awkwardly requested, feeling embarrassment and hopefulness. "The 'Sir' makes me feel like I am being addressed by a subordinate, and that is not how I want us to relate to each other. I would rather we be on more equal footing."
Marina looked at me, as usual no joy was in those dark eyes.
They were flat, unreadable, like pools of shadow that reflected nothing back.
She held my gaze for a long moment, and I could feel myself shrinking under the intensity of her stare.
Then she said again, her voice cool and deliberate: "Sir Benjamin... is this truly the reason you came to see me? All this talk of my mother and the clans, or the genetic echoes... is that truly what brought you to my chamber?"
She stood up and took off her jacket in one smooth motion, fully revealing the high quality gown she was wearing underneath.
