No, Theodore was not shirking responsibilities on a whim. There were real, serious dangers that he was facing, if his father's information was to be believed. Soon they would try to put him under that potion, and he didn't know when.
"My father was a part of the government," he said. "And in his will - well, just by writing his will to me, I -- well, I don't want to speak ill of the dead, but I'm fairly sure he could be posthumously convicted of treason." His brow furrowed. "I don't know whether I would be getting myself into trouble with the information that he gave me, but I'm not sure I can risk it."
He hoped that by explaining it this way, he wasn't making her concerned that he was a criminal himself, that she was in any danger from him. There was a possibility he would be painted that way, once he had taken the route that put him on the wrong side of the law - though, in truth, he had never done anything illegal or against his morals in his life, and it was mainly for that reason he could not give up his free will or commit violence on behalf of the government.