The possibility of Christabel marrying someone else had not occurred to him until Oscar mentioned it, and he did not entirely like the way the thought made him feel. It was his own fault, for phrasing his response that way — in hindsight it was no surprise at all that Oscar had interpreted it that way, though it wasn't how Victor had meant it. It seemed to him that Christabel had simply realized that the things she had gained from their marriage — a chance to make herself the center of attention, to have everyone fretting and fussing over her feelings — could be better achieved by leaving him than by staying. But there was no reason to expect that this would last, either; her family would shelter her now, but eventually they would move on with their own lives and stop paying so much attention to her, and what would she do then? Maybe she would remarry. The idea made him — not jealous, not angry, but tired. He imagined drifting out somewhere over the ocean, waiting them all out and only coming back to hover over dry land again once everyone who was tedious was dead, but he knew he didn't have the grit to go through with it. (Maybe in that way, he and Christabel had been well-matched after all; maybe the thing they chiefly had in common was a lack of resolution).

"It's not really my business," he said with a shrug, sounding about as hollow as he looked. "I just hope if she does anything scandalous she holds off until Bea is married."

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