Bill listened to her quietly. He reddened a little when she mentioned the shouting. It wasn't something he was proud of when he reflected on it, even less when someone else mentioned it.

The fair maiden and dragons bit only reaffirmed how much of a child she was. And yet, he felt he understood her meaning. The girl had spoken about being miserable at home. Bill had seen what the brother had done to Joe. Could he treat his own blood as horribly? And he had met the father and that hadn't left a good impression. A recovering alcoholic by Bill's crude observations. How much had the family suffered under that? Bill had seen enough alcoholic husbands and fathers back in North Shields and later in Whitby, to imagine what the poor child might have suffered. And even sober, Mr. Carrington had seemed the most utterly useless piece of self-pity Bill had ever come across. He had sent his servants to investigate, yes... But if Ruth or Kate had been kidnapped, Bill would have been out there looking for her himself and with hopes of closing his fingers around the neck of the bastard who took her. There was the murderer brother too. How long had he terrorized the household? What kind of miseries had this poor child faced in her short life? Perhaps he had been too harsh on Joe. Joe was an idiot, yes, but an idiot with a heart of gold, as Bill had always known him.

"Och, lass, I know 'e didn't mean harm... And neither did you. I don't blame ye. I only meant, it ain't right for a man to marry a woman when 'e doesn't even 'ave a job to support 'er or a 'ouse to put a roof over 'er head. And ye are both so young. I'm sorry yer own folk didn't treat ye well, though. Aye, our Joe never could see anyone sufferin' and not do sum't."