Ah, here is the difficulty with sharing bits of yourself with others. They like you to keep on sharing. Jacob can't offer that same hopeful tone that the young knight managed, his own relationship with his father too rotten right from the start, but...

"They tend to go around and around in your head like a good musical hall tune, don't they?" He agrees, avoiding his own experience, which really would sink the conversation still further. "But the bad things are always easier to remember than the good. Put your effort into that instead, if you can. It'll serve you better."

He pauses, then carefully, almost uncertainly, he asks, "Did he ever tell you that he was proud of you?"