"It's just that..." Victoria raised her head and looked at Arthur, her eyes clearly filled with some frustration. "I haven't quite learned how to handle this kind of topic yet. If he were talking about books, or the nature of characters, the arrangement of plots, I could still respond to him a few words. But when he talks about those children, those women, suddenly it feels as though no matter how I answer, it seems too untimely."
As she spoke, she furrowed her brow slightly. "If I appear too serious, it feels like I'm making some sort of promise, but I cannot privately promise to alter such a significant law without consulting the Cabinet and the Privy Council. Yet if I merely listen, it seems too frivolous, too lacking in empathy. If you see Mr. Dickens, please be sure to pass along that I'm truly grateful he was able to inform me of so many social realities that day."
