"Sorry, what!?" Matthew sputtered out, at Stephen's remarks about his lack of bond with his own mother. "Sorry, Stephen, but... I don't believe that's true -- not at all -- what you said about the lack of bonding with Mother, and my father's 'aversion to submission' passed down to me! I loved my mother, deeply, and honestly, as well! I mean, we had a great intellectual bond when I grew old enough to understand logic and the like -- much the same sort of bond we once shared, Stephen!" He grimaced apologetically at his friend, as he realised now that they were well past relying on an intellectual bond -- particularly now that Matthew had shared with him so much emotional baggage!
"And as for my father," he spit this word out as if it was something as dirty as what he had called the old man earlier in the conversation, "I'm sure he loved his wife, as well! I mean, we wouldn't even be here if he hadn't!" The little voice in his head murmured, And wouldn't that have been better for humanity? If you had never been born at all? He tried again to silence the voice, with another deep gulp of the wine...
"And besides which, Mother never behaved as Di did! I mean, she always seemed so... well-adjusted, really... Particularly when you compared her to me...!" He allowed a small ghost of a smile to cross his face, at that. Yes, his mother was remarkably well-adjusted, apparently ignorant of the fact that she was married to a complete monster!
Then the smile vanished, as he realised he had yet to address the question of a genetic aversion to submission, and there was really only one way he could refute that claim: "And as for your first point -- well -- would I have submitted to the Dark Lord if I'd had any such aversion?"