"So...is
this Ekaterin another passing fancy?" The Count hesitated, his eyes crinkling.
'Or is she the one who will love my son forever and fiercely, hold his
household and estates with integrity, stand beside him through danger,
and dearth, and death, and guide my grandchildren's hands when they light
my funeral offering?"
Miles paused in momentary
admiration of his father's ability to deliver lines like that. It put him
in mind of the way a combat drop shuttle delivered pinpoint incendiaries...
A Civil Campaign by Lois McMaster
Bujold.