"Absolutely not." Benjamin cut in. As Benny spoke he had turned redder and redder. "Please don't put any strange notions into these children's mind, ser. They'd get themselves killed along the way."
The older children shifted uncomfortably, but the eldest girl looked up at Benny.
"Whitby's a safe place, ser, where we know who we are and we have our family to look out for us." she explained. But something uncomfortable had settled on the table between them, a shadow so grim, even the girl's explanation could not quite lift it. And it seemed to hold every member of that family in its silent grip for a while - apart from the youngest, who seemed to feel the tension, but who looked at his siblings fearfully, rather than at his plate.