[ He's quiet a moment. Taps his finger lightly against his desk. Finally: ]

My hesitation comes from the fact that the fear that I've seen from the boy is fear of people, not of mortal peril. He flinches away from scolding, from condemnation. I'll grant you true enough that I've not often seen him in life-or-death situations, but my personal thought is - has been - that he ought to build strength against people. That he ought to be exposed to people, and that he ought to learn to resist or to repudiate them.

[ And then, wryly: ] Wine and finery can require grit, as well, you know.