"You're right," Altair said easily, pouring himself another cup of tea and topping off Siana's teacup as well. "I don't suppose I've earned the right to call myself your friend. My comrades and I were certainly not in the sewer that night for altruistic reasons, and fighting along side one another was no more than an arrangement of mutual necessity."
He set the teapot down and met Siana's eyes across the table with a level gaze. "I also don't suppose you'd accept an apology from me. I have been complacent in my family's treatment of you. While I believe my inaction was necessary for my own self-preservation, that must surely seem a weak excuse when compared with the judgment and scorn you've suffered by my family and friends."
He took a sip of tea before continuing, "I hope you realize, there is not one of us in this district who can claim our family is completely free of scandal. Those of us more afraid of our secrets coming to light also tend to most fiercely condemn the scandal of others."