"I could hardly call you and old bat, my lady, I am nearly eight years older than you are. If you are an old bat I would hate to think what that would make me. And I find it hard to believe that your life could be so dreary, a woman with a mind of her own rarely leads a dreary and dull life." he was being completely honest with his opinions, he saw no reason to speak otherwise.
"I should ask you to forgive the whole of my gender, we are but men and prone to mistakes in thinking, but you are correct in your thoughts in many are threatened by women. So I must ask you to take pity on those of us that do not follow the common way of things and try to better ourselves through understanding."