Schiller did not hesitate. He crossed the hall and headed for the back garden. He thought he should leave himself enough time to observe before Bruce discovered him. He wanted to know how they got along.
Soon, a figure appeared in the hall of Wayne Manor. A smaller figure followed behind him. She was an extremely frail little girl. Her body was so thin that her head looked disproportionately large, drooping over her shoulders as though it might fall off. She was Novie.
Bruce's attention was entirely on the little girl, so he did not notice Schiller standing by the back door. Schiller stood there quietly, watching the two interact. But the longer he watched, the deeper his frown became.
Bruce was struggling to explain the situation to the little girl. He was telling her that she was safe. But the little girl paid no attention to his explanation and ran into a corner of the room. Bruce followed her there.
By then, Schiller had actually remembered seeing similar traces in Wayne Manor before, and had concluded that the little girl Bruce brought back might have died of cardiopulmonary failure caused by an acute stress response. It now seemed that judgment had been correct.
Some of Bruce's actions had indeed been unwise, but that was more likely because he lacked understanding of children.
Many people knew that pediatrics was also called the "mute specialty." Children were extremely difficult creatures to communicate with. They might not be able to speak, and even if they could, what they said might not be true. Even if it was true, it might not be useful. Treating children was therefore much like treating kittens and puppies. You could not expect them to communicate effectively with you and then solve the problem through conversation.
Even leaving