He does understand. He understands exactly what he understands. And that's what makes him want to strangle Miles, Piotr, both of them - they don't get it. They assume that his only interest is sleeping with her - that he's convinced that she's swooningly head over-heels-for him - and they talk about how it's fine, women have survived having their hearts broken. But this goes deeper than a broken heart. It's...It's like burning down a home. It's painting a fantasy of a better life, a better world, and then shattering it in front of her. The cruelty goes far, far beyond a scoundrel's betrayal.

The first statement isn't what gives him pause. No. That second, though -

What she's done? Byerly's brows draw down in confusion. What on earth could that mean? "I hope," he says, a little uncertainly, "that you don't take me for the sort of man who would be shocked and appalled by someone's sexual exploits. Especially a woman's."