He's almost tempted to sleep, the sound of her voice at an even pace far more relaxing than he previously considered. But he pays attention, even if his eyes drift close and his breathing evens out. There's a huff of laughter when Scrooge chalks up the various ways his body could be making him see a ghost -- somehow it just strikes him as something his cousin would do if ever faced with anyone who might be a ghost.

The family drama with younger Scrooge and the image of his baby sister before her death makes his mind wander, thinking of Uncle Aral and whatever duty he felt he had towards Ivan -- the only child of his cousin, who in turn was the only other survivor of the massacre beyond Aral himself. But his uncle had never turned so miserly, as terrifying as he was to Ivan. He'd been kind, come to think of it, and had never made either Ivan or his mother -- as far as he could tell -- feel unwelcome in hims home or his life.

But it's the overview of the breaking of a betrothal that gets Ivan to stir from more than listening. "I thought betrothal when you're younger meant you didn't have to love each other." Arranged marriages had fallen out of favor with the Vor by his generation, although not completely. But his mother's marriage to his father had certainly been arraigned. And Uncle Aral with his first wife. Both by his great uncle, although Ivan thinks that perhaps he'd gotten it more right on the second attempt with his parents than the first.

Feel free to shush him and continue reading, Elizabeth, it's not important.