Lord Raphael looked at him for a moment. “In the beginning, you said that, even if there could not be love, maybe there could be companionship. I do not deserve to ask anything of you now, but if I did, it would be for you to let me prove myself to you—that I will no longer put you in danger. That I will do all I can to never let anything like this happen to you ever again,” he implored.
