From her new vantage point, Tatiana surveyed her suitor carefully. Mr. Macmillan appeared decidedly out of sorts—more so than she would expect for a man who had been (mostly) rejected. Continuing the pretence, Tatiana took several long, slow breaths before she spoke again.

"Mr. Macmillan," she started, "as I am sure you can imagine your...your declaration is flattering but dreadfully ill-timed; as such, I fear my head is far too aflutter to give you any sort of answer today. You have said yourself that a marriage is a critical decision, one that cannot be made in error, however, I also believe that a woman's word should be as reliable as any man's, and so I am incredibly reluctant to unsay what has already been said, particularly given the affection I bear Mr. Macnair as a kinsman."

She already knew Tiberius' mind on the subject, and suspected she knew her aunt's as well. While she held her friends in high esteem, however, she would not place such a weighty decision in the hands of Liberty or Ingrid. Tatiana was adrift, and she hated it.

"I need to know, before I consider unravelling this tapestry I have woven, that it is the right thing to do," she finished—at least, for the moment.