"Maybe," he replies, breaking into a smile. "I did go in there, after all, danger or not."
And then he flinches as if struck, turning his face away from her in shame. What was that he told Cosima about his ability to say spectacularly stupid things? "Of course," he says, softly, "And in the face of all that, gifting them back a better garden seems like mercy, like charity, whether or not they wanted a change to what they had. I'm sorry if it seemed I thought otherwise."
He reaches out in her direction, hesitant and fumbling, to pat her hand or whatever his fingers might encounter first. This is territory as new as the forest to him. "The world is full of unearned suffering, and whatever we do to improve that--to put aside what's been done to us and do better to others--is to the good. It's made. You did something worthy, and I'll pray the people of Kirkwall come to understand that in time.
"To say nothing of trying to persuade them of it myself. Thank you for this."
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And then he flinches as if struck, turning his face away from her in shame. What was that he told Cosima about his ability to say spectacularly stupid things? "Of course," he says, softly, "And in the face of all that, gifting them back a better garden seems like mercy, like charity, whether or not they wanted a change to what they had. I'm sorry if it seemed I thought otherwise."
He reaches out in her direction, hesitant and fumbling, to pat her hand or whatever his fingers might encounter first. This is territory as new as the forest to him. "The world is full of unearned suffering, and whatever we do to improve that--to put aside what's been done to us and do better to others--is to the good. It's made. You did something worthy, and I'll pray the people of Kirkwall come to understand that in time.
"To say nothing of trying to persuade them of it myself. Thank you for this."