"Not entirely, lass," Scrooge countered. "This isn't some childhood accident coming back to bite me years later: I was born like this and any children I have might have the same issue or worse. While others may or may not see the same virtues in me that you do..." Here she would see a full-body blush at the admittance. "...but that hanging concern is likely to turn someone away. It's expensive to raise a child with a deformity and it puts a strain on everyone."

He'd seen that first-hand.