He looked down, stepping back, his hands finding his pockets again. "I'm not sure," Julius admitted. "Your father knew that your mother would be unhappy to hear about us, though he seemed to think that he'd be able to... deflect the argument, I suppose, though you're right in that the burden might fall on Penny, now. I-" he hesitated, then walked over to where Zephira had wandered into her stall, and unbuckled her bridle. "If you want to delay our engagement to save Penny the... worry..." Except he couldn't quite finish the thought.