This was the best outcome, given the circumstances. He still had a hard time believing a child had been behind the mysterious letters he'd been intrigued by for months, but that appeared to be the case. No good could come of him interacting with a young girl, in public or otherwise. There was a reason he hadn't protested when Ana's relatives said they were going to look after the girl, when Ana died.

And then suddenly it hit him.

"Wait," he said. He was frozen in place: hadn't moved from his cavalier posture in the chair or even set down his glass, but tension transformed it. "What's your name?"

---