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This was not how he’d planned to “take care of it.” If he were found anywhere near Sutherland’s property, it would give the old man the excuse he’d been looking for.

Which was why he’d decided to take her alone. If someone who did not know Tristan spotted them, they could perhaps pass themselves off as a married couple. Still, Walter and John had not needed to tell him it was a bad idea, though they had, and more than once.

“How long will it take us to get there?”

Tristan tried to ignore the feeling of Hannah’s arms around his waist, concentrating instead on keeping her mounted. The revelation that she’d never ridden a horse before had nearly convinced him to believe her fantastical tale. It was obvious from the way she rode that she was being truthful. At least he’d chosen a smaller, lighter horse for the trip, one with a special ability for navigating through the mountains.

“We’ll camp just over the border tonight. According to John, Leannan Falls is at the intersection of the River Tweed and Whiteadder, so we should arrive tomorrow.”

“Why did you decide to take me?”

“Does everyone in your time talk so much?”

“So you believe me now?”

Of course he did not believe her.

So how do you explain her clothing? Her speech?

When they’d left earlier this morning, Tristan had found himself studying her as she walked through the castle. She looked at it as if, well, as if it was all new to her. She reached out to touch everything, eyes as wide as a babe.

“No.”

Tristan slowed when the path split into two. He knew the terrain well, and while he did not think reivers would be a problem, he wasn’t inclined to take chances. They’d meet less travelers if they stayed away from Saxford Village. When he turned his mount, the top of Saxford Castle came into view behind them. He marveled that it was truly his, just as he’d done nearly every day for the last ten years.

He turned, wanting to gauge Hannah’s reaction.

“It’s very pretty,” she said softly.

He was inclined to agree. Whatever century she was from, Hannah’s wide eyes and perfectly smooth cheeks gave her a look of innocence that her expression never quite matched. A mystery, one he’d likely not solve. If she found what she was looking for tomorrow, he would never see her again.

“Thank you,” he added, spurring the horse forward into a stretch of marshland.

“Yesterday you said this trip could be dangerous . . .” Hannah trailed off, her words tinged with fear. He wished he could say he’d exaggerated the matter, but he had not.

“I suppose I should finish my story. Ten years ago I was nothing more than an armorer’s apprentice—”

“A position your mother had secured.”

“Aye. I told you of the Earl of Kenton. He took notice of my work and eventually became our sole patron. One day, he came to our shop himself and found me attempting, poorly no doubt, to wield the small sword my master had given me.”

“How old were you?”

“Ten and six by then. Most squires are already trained for battle by that age.” And he’d never so much as felt the clang of an opponent’s sword. “He offered to train me, and of course I accepted.”

He remembered the first time he’d entered the training yard . . . the other squires and knights had not attempted to hide their scorn. He tried to remember those first days with gratitude, but those sneers had marred his memory.

When they hit a bump, she tightened her arms around him, her breasts pressing up against his back. Perhaps he should have worn armor despite the fact that he hoped not to need it.

“I see.”

“Kenton and his wife were never able to have children,” he said, as if that explained it. Of course, it did not. Plenty of boys had squired for the earl over the years, but Kenton had seen something special in him. “His castle was where I met Gerard, my steward. He was also fostered by Kenton.” The third son of a minor baron, fostering by Lord Kenton, he’d held no title other than “sir” and no prospects other than the ones he took for himself. They’d gotten along from the first.

“So how did you come to be lord of Saxford. Or how do you say it?”

She didn’t understand titles?