I've not got as far as any direct expressions of lust on Malcolm's part, other than to himself ('warm young girl' indeed). I have had a relationship with the same age gap at the same ages. Nevertheless I've not followed any comparable attractions as the gaps have got bigger and thankfully as I get older feel more like Master Brabandt does in such situations. But these questions do seem to be preoccupying Pullman slightly too much, and the clarification of what Lyra and Will did or didn't do was an answer to a question which I thought irrelevant.