[He does want to be supportive. As a general rule, after all, Horatio Hornblower is a supportive person, particularly to his betters--and, in all honesty, most people are his betters.
More than that, he wants to be supportive here and now to this young woman who clearly seems to know what she's about, with a voice that cuts well through the hubbub of shrieking chaos and a gentle manner the little ones seem at least moderately inclined to respond to. Surely that deserves his bolstering.
It's just this is genuinely something he cannot help with.
Not directly, anyway. Perhaps it will be sufficient to simply underline her thought.] Will-- you start them off, perhaps, ma'am?
Terrible Two(hundred)s
More than that, he wants to be supportive here and now to this young woman who clearly seems to know what she's about, with a voice that cuts well through the hubbub of shrieking chaos and a gentle manner the little ones seem at least moderately inclined to respond to. Surely that deserves his bolstering.
It's just this is genuinely something he cannot help with.
Not directly, anyway. Perhaps it will be sufficient to simply underline her thought.] Will-- you start them off, perhaps, ma'am?