"Okay," Ben echoed back, not quite sure that he'd really heard her correctly. He'd convinced her, apparently — it was unbelievable, but she wasn't leaving. She was touching his sleeve, in fact — more casual intimacy than they'd had in years. He felt a flush of warmth, of excitement — like he was a giddy schoolgirl being near his crush unexpectedly. Merlin, what a change had overcome him in only a few moments. He wouldn't have believed it possible when he'd first pulled her into the shed. He'd lost his reason to blame her for everything that had happened, and when those feelings had dissipated — well, it had left nothing behind except for how he felt about her, which he'd been steadily burying and ignoring for the past two years.

"I'm not smart enough to figure this all out," he said quietly, shaking his head slightly. "But you are. So... let's figure it out. We're not — you can't just be miserable for the rest of your life," he said, which was really about as far as he'd gotten. He didn't want her getting married off to someone awful in six months — but what was the alternative? Life with him wasn't an option — it wasn't better than the alternative. He couldn't provide any of the things that she needed — but what other options were there?