"Hey, hey, don't blame yourself," Soren said encouragingly, heroically keeping up all of this intense eye contact, keeping his own gaze level and reassuring. "You did nothing wrong and you are not a coward. I'm sure escaping to safety is exactly what your driver would have wanted you to do, okay?"
What he was thinking, though, was that he really hoped all these waterworks would stop soon. They just made him, eh, uncomfortable. These days, it seemed, teenage girls had a real knack for making Soren Levi feel awkward. And even as he thought these things, he berated himself. Here she was, just a girl, who'd gone through a terrible shock, lost someone who maybe she'd been close to, what did he know?, and forced to flee into the woods, lucky to escape the bandits... And what could he think? 'Ew, please stop crying. It's making me uncomfortable.' What a shmuck.
"Look, we're going to get you to a safe town, okay? From there you can send word to your family that you're all right and that you've been delayed and that you're in safe hands. I'm from these parts and I'm happy to guide you to the nearest village, okay?" Please stop crying, please stop crying. "We'll do that first, okay? And from there you can decide if you want to wait there for a family member to fetch you, or, if you like," because Soren had heard that bit about being 'handsomely rewarded!' (though how he'd manage such a long journey with another person without them seeing, well... he'd figure that out as he went along!), "I'll take you all the way to Serendipity. I have family there myself." Yeah, family who'd chase him out in disgust, but that was besides the point!
All the time, he'd kept a firm arm around Gardenia's shoulder. "I have a camp nearby. We can get some food there - few things are better comfort!" and who can cry when they're eating? "and rest before heading onto the next town. How does that sound? I'm Soren, by the way, Soren Levi. And I'll get you home safe."
Or, he figured, at least try. Probably.