Galina did not speak, but simply nodded her head to the Japanese gentleman's question. Yes, yes of course she could read English, and [i]very[/i] well at that. But Souma would discover that soon enough.

And her gentle, yet surprisingly strong hands provided a steady hold as she helped him to a nearby loveseat, upholstered in thick velvet damask. As she took his champagne flute from his hand, setting it gently to the floor beside his seat, her subtle smile reassured Souma there was absolutely no need for apologies of any kind from him. Not in the least.

Galina leaned to look thoughtfully into the young man's face where he sat, her fingertips gently tracing the outline of his cheek, his jaw, almost tenderly before she stood once more to her full height and turned toward the roomful of books, as tall and far as her eyes could see. With a single look over her shoulder, one finger raised to silently ask Souma to give her just a moment. Just a moment please, to find just the right reading material.

The gentle [i]swish[/i] of her skirts may as well have been the only sound in the room as she moved slowly, leisurely from shelf to shelf, her eyes roving the varied titles until she found one that made one brow raise in delighted surprise. It seemed this was meant to be a [i]very[/i] private library indeed, and Galina simply could not resist pulling one black and gold leather bound volume from its roost.

She moved with a preternatural grace back to the loveseat where she had left Souma for a moment, taking the walking stick from his fingers and leaning it carefully against the upholstered arm. "There now, you will not be needing that for a while, Mr. Takahiro," she said easily, all trace of the halting English of the Baronessa disappearing completely as the dulcet, musically-accented words of Galina danced in the air between them.

The young woman settled easily beside Souma, setting her prize book on the marble-topped end table before she leaned toward him, wrapping her arms about his shoulders, whispering soft reassurances as she pulled him toward her. Were there any other eyes to see them this moment, Galina's actions would have been shockingly bold, unseemly at best as she let the handsome young man's head rest in her lap, one arm cradling his neck and shoulders as she made a pillow of herself. The fingers of her free hand gently pushed wispy tendrils of Souma's black hair from his forehead and face, a wide, wolfish grin spreading across her lips.

"Are you comfortable, Mr. Takahiro?" she asked solicitously, her head tilted curiously as if truly waiting for his answer. "Please do not be troubled - I would not hurt you. You are a kind man, and decent, and [i]so[/i] splendidly accommodating. No dear man, you will simply... [i]Sleep,[/i] but only for a short while, an hour - two perhaps. You may even wake in time to enjoy the rest of this lovely party, though I shan't be seeing you again." 

"And so I would like to leave you with a little something, a small token of my esteem - though I fear the chances you will remember this may be slim indeed." Galina pouted prettily, as if the thought truly pained her, before she continued on. 

"Still, I can leave you with a good night story. And this tale comes from 'The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night' - neither Russian, nor Japanese, but Arabic." Galina reached across Souma to the end table, pulling the volume she found and perching it with one hand on his chest, flipping the pages until she found just the place she wished. Still cradling the young man to her lap, she held the book in her free hand, dexterous fingers holding down the pages.

"The king of this land once had an unfaithful wife, who he discovered and had executed. Every night after that, this king would take a new bride to his chambers, and thereafter have her executed in the morning. This went on for some time, until he was finally married to the inestimable Scheherazade, who told him a story a night, always leaving the tale undone to buy her one more day of life until the next. This magnificent woman is described right here, a lady who [i]'... possessed courage, wit, and penetration. She had read much, and had so admirable a memory, that she never forgot anything she had read. She had successfully applied herself to philosophy, medicine, history, and the liberal arts; and her poetry excelled the compositions of the best writers of her time. Besides this, she was a perfect beauty, and all her accomplishments were crowned by solid virtue... "[/i]