"She deserves a family," he said firmly. "And I'm not <i>using her. But I am responsible for her, Pel. She went her whole life assuming I would never be in it, which was bad enough. I'm not going to - I'm not going to just - No. No, I won't." He took a deep breath.

"We'll go away. I'll figure something out. And if I-- If I really can't, then I'll find something better for her. But I owe it to her, to try."