Gareth quietly confided his two explanations in Sophia, "I mean I... fancy... Thomas, and I don't want to, uh, make a fool of myself before you." He was much calmer, pacified by Sophia's gentle reassurance, although he still seemed just a tad unsettled, he kept some degree of composure nonetheless. Harker wished she'd put no shame on him for his little outburst of trepidation, and she probably wouldn't mind him, but his petty paranoia tried to convince him otherwise. It seemed a little bit foolish itself, him stressing over something so small, so simple, too trivial to jeopardize anything, but it only happened because Gareth let emotions like anxiety have power over him. He felt like that man on the field, always forced into a position of defeat no matter how he moved, except his battle was not with swords and spears. The man on the field went down helplessly, and Gareth knew then that the knight had won.