Noble hadn't expected Miss Cartwright to stay talking to him; between his sisters and the girl he secretly saw, he was fairly comfortable conversing with women in her age group, but Holden had never given him the impression that his youngest sister was particularly chatty. Also, Noble was one of the least eligible men here, being both very close to her in age and also significantly poorer even if one didn't know the Greengrass family situation. So — he was sort of a waste of her time, and he knew it. But he wasn't going to be rude, either, that wasn't in his nature; and with her on her toes, maybe she was just being polite when she looked for Holden-or-an-actually-eligible-man.

"Oh, certainly," Noble said easily, because that was what you said when you were at a girl's Coming Out Ball, and also because he was having fun. He scanned the crowd briefly just so he could re-identify Verity's location in the crowd. Noble's height was a real benefit her. "My sister seems to be enjoying herself, as well." He gave a vague indication of his head in her direction.

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