"Come now, Darius, I know you're not the feebleminded boy your father thinks you are." She patted his hand. "I believe you can learn some of these things if you just set your mind to it. There's no need to put yourself down." She smiled at him to show her support.

Then her smile fell. "Even then, even if you do manage to... keep your father from doing harm to us, there is still the matter of Pearl..."