Despite the poor showing of her observation skills in their conversation, Titania put her faith in what was before her, in experience and fact. Fighting the urge to mask her fear and appear the ice queen she could never truly be, she watched him carefully, trying to take in what she could. While he seemed to catch on to Isobel's plans, he had stayed with Anya, he left the buzz of the ballroom to see to her comfort. He'd joked with her; put her at ease, and had read Titania's needs and hesitations with little effort. He'd paid attention. She had repaid his kindness with repeated missteps.

He was still showing the upmost care when she had failed to earn it. The idea of Isobel still forcing her upon her brother was insane. She knew the two rarely had time together, yet Isobel chose to burden her brother with Titania tonight. Would she sacrifice time with her brother for a laugh? "Isobel has been my dearest friend and confidante since she befriended me on the Hogwarts Express. She has adored and praised you from the first. I find it strange that she would so poorly force a coupling on you this evening." The idea of the poor man being forced into her company was horrific.

Her cheeks flared red again as it was Mr. Murdock that thought to silence their conversation to outside ears. Anya had lost sight of her surroundings, missed her sister-in-law's alleged motives, and now endangered a man's privacy in her distraction. Seeing his frustration, she had to drop her eyes. "We should consider me shameful for ensnaring you in such a situation. I assure you, I did not know you would be here tonight and I certainly did not mean to all but accost you inside."

The very idea of what he termed a 'set up' made Anya want to apparate to some seafloor and die in peace. While she had made a mockery of her own breeding this evening - who was this awkward in the face of kindness? - she would not resort to tripping into a man for his affection. No, she'd made peace with her fate; freedom from failed attempts at enticing a man was meant to be her reward.

Taking a settling breath, Anya forced her eyes up, fighting fond admiration for his authentic voice and expression. Even here, in a near-private moment, she had maintained her carefully cultivated posh English dialect out of habit. Doing her best to return the favor of transparency, Anya allowed the English sounds to fade, breathing in the more natural Scots tones from home. "I would never claim such a right to your time nor imagine such a privilege."

She knew something of the demands upon him. He was the Greyback patriarch and, while his sister was the perfect match for Anya's own brother, that was not the destiny of Titania Allaway. Mr. Greyback had known a love match with a breathtaking witch and only lacked a son. "While I will try to thank her, I am very sorry such a thing was imposed on you. Truly, I would have spared you this unpleasantness had I known her plans for this evening."

Biting her lip before she thought better of such an obvious sign of unease, Titania extended a hand, needing his forgiveness more than she needed to reestablish distance. "You have not deserved my incivility. I have questioned you this evening and, unknowingly, led dear Isobel to believe I would be worthy of your time. I can only ask that, in time, you think better of me than this evening. "

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