The man beside him was very good at spouting golden words. They weren't answers but they seemed to offer him something towards a solution. There was also the shame as he spoke of dishonesty, and the ad in the paper waved through his thoughts. He cleared his throat and forced a small smile.

"That is very kind of you, Father. I.."

He seemed to look around then back down as if rolling through his mind the possibility of speaking to the new priest. He seemed nice and like he'd want to help him. Elijah did help the man's niece out, but he didn't do it for any reason so he couldn't pretend that Brennan owed him anything.

"If... I could speak to you in private, at a later time. And if other names are mentioned, I beg you to forget you ever heard them. Anything I do wrong, it is all on me. I want no one else to be associated with me and anything i could tell you. But only because... I feel with certainty there is no answer that can save me. But I am willing to tell me." He sighed and hung his head dragging his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I really want there to be answers or at the least, another to know my shame that hasn't.. nevermind." He stood straight and looked back towards the boarding house. "Just.. maybe I can tell you a little.. another time."

Crane appeared to be seriously considering his offer, and that was enough for now. That was all he could ask for.

Malachi's own smile did not falter, and he dipped his head in response.

"Of course; no need to spill your heart here on the street. I just wanted you to know that you can, when you're ready."

The constable was a reasonable man, from what he'd seen, and he didn't deserve to let his shame drag him down and rule his life. Malachi could only guess what that shame centered itself around. Looking back to the entrance of the boarding house, he conveniently reminded, "I'll be coming alone to return your basket, I would be happy to speak with you then. And fear not, nothing you share with me will ever reach anyone else's ears."

That he could guarantee.

"Until then, I hope you keep in mind that you are a good man, constable, regardless of your sin."

Elijah seemed in thought and scratched his neck as he seemed deeply in thought. Slowly, the constable glanced towards Malachi and gave him a slight nod. "Yes, I might wish to do that. It is hard having something heavy on one's mind , heart, and soul." He sighed slightly.

"Thank you. For everything." He smiled weakly and closed his eyes leaning against the wall. Just then the door opened and Nettie came out without her bag.

"It's done! Now you know where to find me any time you need to." She cheerfully walks up to Malachi, brimming with excitement, then nodded to Elijah. "Thank you for your help."

Elijah smiled slightly and nodded back.

The hesitance was understandable. Sharing one's hardest struggles was never an easy thing to do, even with a man sworn to secrecy from everyone but God. For all his careful, practiced calm, Malachi was visibly pleased with the constable's answer.

"There's no need to thank me," came his easy response. "It's what I'm here for."

With a turn of his head, his eyes found Nettie, without a bag but no longer without a place to stay. The boarding house would be good for her (or so he hoped), whether she ended up staying long-term or, if she liked Whitby enough, found a proper place of her own later on.

"I'm glad. And I'm happy that you like the place, too," said Malachi, with a smaller smile directed both towards his niece and the constable.

"Forgive us for pulling you away from your work, but we appreciate your time, constable. I do hope the rest of your day goes well."

When Nettie had returned, she saw a clearly uncomfortable constable nodding his head towards Malachi and it sounded like he was thinking him. She cut in to tell them about moving in and her excitement and quickly took her place near her uncle hoping something hadn't happened. Her uncle was a fragile man.

She immediately smiled when spoken to and agreed before the constable named Crane looked to them both. "Oh, you didn't pull me away from anything. It's all part of the job and I hope you both feel welcome. If there's anything I can do, let me know. I will hopefully see you soon, Father Brennan. Maybe I shall make something for the both of you to enjoy to welcome you to town." He smiled though there still seemed to be a cloud glooming behind his eyes.

She waited until he left and looked to Malachi, her head tilted in curiosity. "Let's look around some more. And you can tell me all about the interesting chat you two had while I was gone!" She teased.

Malachi nodded again to the constable. Part of him wished to tell the man not to worry, that it was unnecessary to go out of his way for them -- but he had a sneaking suspicion that doing such things helped Crane feel better about others helping him, so he let it be.

"Peace be with you, constable," offered Malachi as he watched Crane depart.

As soon as the man had stepped away, he turned back to his niece. Without registering that he even did so, Malachi mirrored the curious tilt of her head.

"Nothing I can share, I'm afraid," he informed, his tone kept light. Pivoting away from the stone building, he motioned for Nettie to follow and resumed their stroll. "Is there anything you need now that you have a room? We could still see if any of the shops look decent."

Nettie rolled her eyes and gave a cheerfully insincere pout. "Work.." She said for him. "Alright, I see. It's most certainly not something for my maiden ears to hear." She playfully put her hands over her ears as she walked beside him, her hands dropped to her side a moment later.

"Well, it wouldn't hurt to get some supplies for my job, but I haven't put it in the paper yet, so there is no rush. I can't think otherwise, but we can still browse the shops. It could teach us both where to go for things." She offered as she walked beside him, her hands folded behind her back politely.

"Uncle.." She said softly before her head turned towards him. "Do you want me to visit you after mass on Sundays? I know you are busy, but just for a little while."

Ha. As if Malachi would ever keep something from her for the sake of her 'maiden ears.' Her commentary earned a half-smile, in spite of his attempt to seem unaffected and clear his head of his curiosities regarding Crane. The questions would eat away at him until he dug up the answers, so it was best to cover them for now until he could.

"Alright," he motioned to the side, turning down a different street. "I have not been to many myself. I was considering finding some clothes..."

Not that he had any idea of where to start. What clothes he had outside of his vestments were few, since his life didn't call for much more.

Malachi's steps slowed when Nettie addressed him, but did not stop. His head turned just enough to meet her gaze.

"I'm not too busy to see you. I would like that," said Malachi. While a part of him wondered if she was simply asking for his sake -- if he'd somehow portrayed himself as lonely, and worried her -- he always appreciated having company. He only hoped that she did not compromise any social life she could have of her own, with people her age, in spending time with him.

"You aren't worried about me, are you?"

Nettie was quick to turn to the direction he went to keep at his side as she listened and she gave a little skip as her hands clasped together.

"Oh that would be wonderful! I will be happy to help you pick something out if you wish. Not that you need me, you've always known how to dress very sharply." She mused as she looked around at the places they passed. "I am sure we can find something here for you."

Her eyes ran over every shop sign they passed and checked the windows' contents for anything of use. "And if your clothes need tailoring, it could be good practice for me. And save you money! " It was the best and most sensible option in her opinion.

A shop caught her eye, Pennyfeather's but they weren't looking for books. She slowed but didn't stop as she didn't know how long Malachi could spend, she could ask him later. While happy he liked the idea of spending some time with her, his question had her look very sheepish though she attempted to hide it terribly.

"Ah, I mean.. of course I worry about you. I always do. But I mean, you're quite capable of taking care of yourself doesn't mean I don't want to pencil in a little time to check on you. I worry sometimes you keep things to yourself. And maybe you're struggling, cause things have happened in the past. And I don't want to see it repeat itself. I can't do much, but that doesn't mean I won't try!"

Nettie stared forward with a shameful look but smiled and took a deep breath. "Want to hear something awful? When I was younger, before... this." She gestured to his priestly robes. "I used to wish that mother and father would grow tired of me and just get rid of me. Then you could've adopted me. You already took care of me so much. But i know that was just the wish of a selfish little girl. " She went back to looking at windows do she wouldn't see his reaction.

While Malachi offered no explanation as to why he wanted other clothes, he was glad to hear his niece agree so wholeheartedly. She was right, too, in that it could provide a good excuse for her to practice the skills she had acquired. As they walked, his eyes wandered the passing shops, never lingering too long on any in particular. The most shopping he'd had to do for the last... fifteen years, or so, had been for whatever was needed of the church.

He kept his focus off of Nettie as she spoke, sensing perhaps the sheepishness that accompanied her first admission. There was nothing wrong with worrying for someone else -- he worried for her, too, but kept his anxieties in check with the knowledge that she could care for herself and had a full life of her own. She was not a child in need of constant supervision, no matter how often his thoughts defaulted to the idea when he let himself think of her.

What incident, specifically, she referred to when she said 'things have happened in the past' was not immediately clear to him; many things had happened, but which did she fear he might repeat? The question was not voiced, for the lack of privacy on the street.

But Nettie continued. Confessed, shamefully, to the fact that she had once wished for him to adopt her, and Malachi was taken aback. For all the reasons that he couldn't have done such a thing, her parents were probably the least of them, but he knew well that wishes were not bound by realities of fact. The young woman beside him had wanted him to be her father, not in the religious sense that he was, and he nearly felt his breath catch for the sorrows of a child's trampled wish. The answer would have been to tell her that it didn't matter, that she could think of him however she pleased, that he was a father to the faithful and faithless alike before he was anything else.

What came out instead was, "I would have."

Malachi glanced at her then, for but a glimpse of her face before he looked away. A redness pricked at his eyes that he neither acknowledged nor allowed to bloom into anything else. There was no use in thinking about what could have been, had his brother given her up, and had he not become a priest. Those decisions had been made for them both.

"If I had been able to. I would have."

It would have been impossible, of course, for reasons beyond those they could help.

"That is not an awful thing to have wished for. I wish that your parents had been more present, and that you wouldn't have even needed me," Malachi's smile was light; indecipherable. "But I am glad, too, that their absence meant that I could care for you. If anything is awful, it is that."