What would... he do, in her position? Well, that was... well... if he was a young woman with the ability to marry...

He'd marry the lawyer, of course. If the lawyer liked him well enough to marry.

(Who didn't, though? Malachi was vain enough not to consider rejection of that kind. Marriage hardly required one to love one's spouse, and he could keep someone satisfied regardless of their feelings or lack thereof.)

Then after they'd married, after he'd secured the money and gotten all the entertainment he could get out of him, he'd take the lawyer out of the picture. One way or another, everything would be his, and his alone.

Naturally, Malachi did not say this.

Instead he said, "I would trust myself. If it does not feel right, then perhaps it isn't, but... do not let your worries stop you, if it does."

The priest was quiet again for a moment, and turned slightly to better face her.

"Sometimes in life you are presented with a choice. To continue down the path you know well, or to take a chance and risk your comfort for the possibility of something better. When you first came here, you were frightened, and exhausted -- there is more of a fire in you already. Why not take this chance?"