"That they were fanatics – and that they'd gone the way so many fanatics do, ignored into obscurity by those with sense." He sounds frustrated, not so much with her questions as that he doesn't have satisfactory answers for her. He is loathe to condemn the House altogether, but equally so to defend actions that are not his own.

"Even now, I am not privy to the House's secrets, Your Highness. When that group left I'd barely even subscribed to the newsletter. It seemed a clean break." Seemed, and perhaps wasn't. This would hardly be the first time he'd been misled by those who would back his rise to power. That's not a thought he's pleased to consider, but he is considering it, sorting out his thoughts as he talks.

"Their silence certainly speaks otherwise. I won't deny it's possible, then, that certain House members retain a connection. I would reserve some skepticism, however. Practically speaking – I don't know what these Candlelighters' intend to do, but so far the House has hardly benefited."

Anti-monotheistic sentiment being what it is in Baedal to start, and with rumor already blaming monotheists for the infestation, the Candlelighter connection would only make matters worse. If that blame is well placed, fine, but this certainly isn't how Jack would engineer a rise to power.