He shouldn't say this, but — his traitor tongue was going to say it even though he knew he ought to hold back."I think she knows she can't choose exactly what she wants, anymore," Noble pointed out. Verity had wanted to marry into the upper echelons of pureblood society; she'd wanted a Lestrange, and even if Everett Swann was perfectly fine — even if he loved her — he was a far cry from a Lestrange.

(That Noble had always considered a Lestrange an impossibility for her was not necessarily relevant to the current dilemma; he'd always had lower expectations for his sisters than Verity had, or than their mother had. If this engagement hadn't happened in the aftermath of Verity's kidnapping, he wouldn't have felt any guilt about it at all. Noble was aware of this entire chain of thought, but it was not making him feel any better now.)

"But — this is the right thing for her," Noble pointed out. It was the right thing for her because it was the only real option, but it was the right thing nonetheless. "And I think she knows that, too." If Verity had been staunchly opposed, she would have said no. Even with the taint on her reputation, it wasn't like she was pregnant — he'd made sure of that — so they could have perhaps, maybe, found something else if they really needed to.

He could tell himself that.

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