November was definitely not in her right mind, Ophelia concluded as she continued. This was not exactly a denial of the fact of the marriage itself, but it scored just as highly, in Ophelia's estimation, in terms of how unreasonable it was. The idea that a well-bred woman of society, from a good family, with plenty of wealth to her name, and a pending engagement might be sitting around in her bedchamber not dreaming of her upcoming honeymoon but rather plotting how she might ruin herself with Reuben Crouch, was utterly ridiculous. Nova might have been blinded by her affection for her sibling, but Ophelia was not, and while she did not go so far as to dislike Reuben, neither would she have been glad to be seen in his company at a society event. He worked for a brewery, or so she had last heard, and he lived in a gentleman's club. He was entertaining, but presumptuous, and always flirting with girls he had no intention of moving forward with. There was nothing at all to recommend him, particularly not by comparison to what Miss Finch had given up to (according to Nova's narrative) ensnare him.

"But what could she have had to gain?" Ophelia questioned gently, hoping to guide her friend to see reason rather than start an argument when she seemed to be in a delicate mental state. "From marrying your brother? She was set to be married to that American later that month," she pointed out. It need hardly be said that the American was far wealthier than Reuben, who did not even (to Ophelia's knowledge, anyway) own a house.