"I am," he confirmed with a nod and a fond grin. "There's not a guard here I don't know personally. I know their families and their histories. They're all good men, and I trust them. And outside of the castle, of course, I have a lot of friends." Some of which wouldn't talk to him anymore, now that he was Duke, and some of which he could no longer be seen with...
But, then, there was the Blue Goose. His eyes shone, suddenly, at that thought. "If you don't mind trying a bit of common food, I'll take you to meet some of them after you're settled in here. Rosie'll be glad to meet you. She's kind of adopted the entire standing army of Allar as her own sons, and she's been after me to get married for years."
The proposal was entirely unorthodox, yes, but he was comfortable in asking...and that said a lot about how highly he thought of his wife-to-be.