" Serafina said, 'Have you been married, Mr Scoresby? Have you any children?'
'No, ma'am, I have no child, though I would have liked to be a father. But I understand your question, and you're right: that little girl has had bad luck with her true parents, and maybe I can make it up to her. Someone has to do it, and I'm willing. "

― Philip Pullman , His Dark Materials