It hasn't really worked out for me so far, though, settling. [ Giles keeps his eyes closed, though his mouth curves into a somewhat rueful smile. ] I think the idea of settling suits me more than the act of it.

[ He thinks of himself as something of an emotional liability; god only knows if he gets through the rest of this year and remembers it when he reaches the next. His memory is so cloud nowadays. Things that happened only a few months ago are hazier than they ever were before, and in the mornings he spends a few minutes staring at the ceiling, waiting for yesterday to come back to him fully, going over the memories carefully when they do. ]

Honesty's often the best policy in general, I say. It has to be one hell of a circumstance for it not to be.