Ford was starting to wonder if he ought to be taking Cash's refusal to let this drop personally. Was it so impossible to believe that he might have gotten someone to fall in love with him? — but this was a short-lived consideration, because of course what Cash couldn't believe had nothing to do with love at all, and it was out of character for Ford to get caught undressing a young woman in a coat room during a ball. And obviously Cash was right that there was more to the story than that, but it was hardly as though Ford could admit to that.

"And there are worse people to be marrying," he protested. He had no real evidence that this was true, since he didn't know her, but he had to hope it was. "Planned or not."

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