Nova was utterly oblivious to what her friend was thinking or how her words had been construed, had she known she might have been a little offended. "No, he hasn't." This both relieved and dismayed her simultaneously. If he had written she would have felt compelled to write back but in doing so would have felt guilty about it, as if she was doing something underhanded despite her husband not having prohibited her from communicating with her now infamous brother. That didn't mean she was glad not to have heard from him, she wanted very much for a letter in his hand to turn up at her window but so far nothing had.

"I fear Miss Finch may be very cunning, I think she may have coerced my brother somehow." What could possibly induce Reuben to do something like that, she wasn't sure. That was the troubling part, what could Miss Finch possibly offer her brother that would prompt him to shackle himself to her forever at great person cost for both of them? If Nova was less prudish and more worldly she would probably assume sex had something to do with it, but she wasn't and the thought hadn't crossed her mind.

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