Lillie measured his silence as much as she measured his vocal response, her gaze drifting over the hunch of his shoulders. Guilt curled within her and her fingers clenched tightly at the cloth she held. He had come to her asking these questions, which was more than many in his position would do. She clung to that thread of hope as she shifted slightly so that she could better face him.
"All sorts of things. They spanned many years. A letter might contain something as simple as a broken bone or a lost tooth. Sometimes mentions of boys that he did not always approve of. The typical things one expects to hear of any growing girl. And her adoptive sister as well... he wrote of her."
Lillie knew that the type of man Matthew was, not only a thief, but assassin... would not exactly speak highly of his word. But she had trusted him with her secrets and with her very life. He had kept her safe and for her that was more than enough. "Self defense was something that was deemed necessary... but taking a life was never something he advocated. I think that it was something he hoped to shield them from."
Of course, that simply hadn't been possible. Whatever had happened to cause Valere's death, whomever was responsible, it had caused Azabeth to be on the run. She'd taken a life today, of a bounty hunter intent to bring her in for pay. But she hadn't seemed unaffected by it. Lillie could not imagine that she would have easily taken the life of her adoptive mother only to feel physically ill to end the life of a violent stranger.