Ozymandias thought he had finally put an end to the conversation, and when Endymion lingered in the doorway he was more annoyed than he might have been had the question simply followed from the rest of the conversation. He set his glass down on the nearest end table with enough force that it made an audible thunk. "Endymion, really," he started in. "Do you think I'm daft? Do you suppose I proposed to her on a whim, without any forethought whatsoever, and then failed to think through the consequences for seven months? You thought you'd waltz in here and say it's not too late to change your mind and I'd go oh, goodness, I never thought of that — how lucky I am to have a brother like you!" Ozy used a mild falsetto for both of their voices in his rendition, sparing no snark.

At this point he rose from the chair, abandoning his drink on the table, and threw one hand in front of himself in a flippant gesture. "Did you honestly think I'd allow myself to be trapped — as you put it — in a marriage I hadn't chosen? As though I were stupid." This implication was what had riled him; Ozymandias' pride could not contend with anyone thinking him anything less than clever. "And even then, you thought Thomasina Pomfrey would be up to the task of entrapping me? I'm insulted. I know you've been gone, but Merlin, don't you know me at all?" He let out a breath and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm marrying her. I decided to and I shall and no one is going to talk me out of it," he said, trying not to notice how petulant this declaration sounded even to his own ears. "And if no one else has tried, maybe it's because everyone else trusts me to make decisions for myself."

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