That much, he could personally empathize with. Well, not the sudden desire for involvement, but the need to be left alone because that was the norm. So with a delicate touch, Pierre found her hand, and he gave her fingers a gentle squeeze -- a strange show of affection, especially for this particular child, but it was needed at the moment.

"I prefer for my own mother to leave me alone, as well, you know. I'm thirty-five years old and would be perfectly happy if she never contacted me again." Admittedly, his reasons were far different than her own, but the point stood. "You should probably tell her that the whiplash makes you uncomfortable, though. Or tell Elisha, perhaps."

Tell the man who could act as a buffer between mother and daughter. Surely that would end well, right?