"I suppose my aunt does have sensible and impeccable judgement," Tatiana allowed, though she would not go as far to admit as much of Antigone. "But still, even you must allow, Mr. Macmillan, that even the sharpest minds can be deceived."

  

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To admit she made a valid point would be to admit that ultimately even he was not foolproof and a lucky, conniving sort of woman might fly under his radar and blight him with a second marriage from hell. Such thoughts were enough to keep him awake at night. "I grant you no one is completely infallible." But he'd come damn near close if he could help it. "However I think it unlikely unless all reason has been lost to infatuation." He had no intention of letting something like that happen, when he chose his second wife it would be with a completely level head and no emotional bias. Whim and fancy had no place in his selection, if he ever developed feelings for his wife it would have to wait until after they were married.

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"Can not a reasonable mind become infatuated with a suitable target?" Tatiana questioned the gentleman. She had little experience with infatuation herself—she counted neither her feelings towards her brother nor her feelings towards Miss Black in such a category—but rather counted on Mr. Macmillan experiencing such feelings towards her.

"Perhaps it is an exclusively feminine notion, infatuation," the witch allowed, "for I admit how silly it seems. I mean only that, should I fall victim to such a thing, my sensibility would direct such feelings towards an appropriate match."

  

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Here she was defending silly things like passing fancy and yet being undeniably practical about it. Having harbored such feelings for his cousin he was only too aware that such feelings were resistant to rational relocation or removal. Miss Lestrange must therefore be quite naive in the matter which suited him just fine. He'd given little thought to inspiring affection in the woman he chose as his next wife, only a willingness to accept any proposals he might make, but perhaps it would be a useful thing.

"As long as such feelings are well-placed then they are indeed harmless, but an appropriate match is not always a good one." Noelle had been an appropriate match on paper, but she was certainly not a good one for him, nor any other self-respecting gentlemen. Was Miss Lestrange a potentially good match for him?

The music began to draw to an end, much to his dismay. He might be on to something but it wouldn't do to monopolize Miss Lestrange all evening. People would notice, she might jump to her own conclusions, and he really didn't want to deal with complications of either. "I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening, Miss Lestrange, it's been a pleasure." 'Pleasure' wasn't quite the right word if he was being completely honest, but it was the most neutral and socially acceptable one he could offer.

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Tatiana found she could not quite discern how much headway she had made with the wizard, but felt confident that she had left some sort of impression, at the very least.

"And you as well, Mr. Macmillan," she returned with a curtsy. She would, she resolved, be mindful of him for the rest of the evening.

  

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