[It's debatable if Goodsir even understands how to make a sexual innuendo.

He brightens, happy to have the focus off of a past so horrible and still so fresh.]

Oh, goodness. So you're a man of some standing! No wonder your manners are so impeccable.

My apologies if it was an odd question. It's been quite some time since I've known anyone who wasn't a sailor or an officer. Terribly strong fellows, you know. I'm afraid I could never measure up to them. The first time I tried to pull a sledge I fell over.

[He sips his tea. It's a veneer of civility that he pulls over himself like a blanket. He can be normal, he tells himself. Yes, he's admitted to awful things, but he's still capable of making polite conversation.

Well, as capable as he ever was.]

There is ever so much I've still to learn about you. I apologise if anything I say is inappropriate.

[He's made a very strong mental note that gay men are not wives.]