“I couldn’t let him have you, Jessalyn,” he said, his throat raw. “I know that I am worthless, a degenerate Trelawny buried in debts. But you’re all I’ve ever wanted out of this life, the only thing I will ever need. Without you I have no reason to live.” He held his hands up to her, spreading them in supplication, and they shook as if he had an ague. “I have no pride left. You have it all.”
