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Except the look on his face was so serious. This guy who looked and acted like he was from the Middle Ages wasn’t just messing with her. He’d never heard of the United States. Or cell phones. But wouldn’t that mean . . .

Of course, that wasn’t possible. Hannah turned and ran before he could stop her. She followed the smell, up and up, until she came to a landing. She ran down a corridor, hardly noticing her surroundings, until she reached an archway.

Hannah took one look inside the hall in front of her and froze.

* * *

Tristan nearly ran into her.

And for the first time since this strange encounter had begun, he was genuinely worried. The look on her face was one he’d never forget. Preparations for the meal were nearly complete, and though he spied nothing unusual, she certainly seemed agitated by the scene. He couldn’t explain why he felt the need to protect her, but he did.

Grabbing her arm none too gently, he led her back to the stairwell and then up to the next floor. That she did not protest told Tristan what he already knew. He’d seen that look on the battlefield plenty of times, though it usually came just after a man caught his first glimpse of a few hundred mounted, armed knights sitting across the open field.

He’d planned to bring her to the constable’s tower, but instead he guided her to a wall-walk outside the keep that led to the great chamber. The others knew she was here and would be looking for him. But he needed answers first.

He opened the door to the chamber where he’d laid his head these past ten years. Tristan moved to a trunk, pulled out a woolen cloak, and handed it to her. She really should remove those wet clothes, but he didn’t think she’d be amenable to the suggestion. He led Hannah to a wooden chair, its plush red velvet cushion one of the remnants of the former lord, an Englishman whose extravagance had known no bounds.

Grabbing a pitcher from a table next to it, he poured goblets of wine for them both.

“Drink.”

Surprisingly, she listened.

“Did you remember something?”

She shook her head but didn’t answer.

“Do you know why you’re here? Did Sutherland send you?” It didn’t seem likely his enemy would use this woman to kill him, and when she looked at him with the same vacant stare with which she’d regarded the hall, Tristan had his answer.

Already finished with the wine, she placed her goblet on the table next to her.

“What year is it?” she asked.

So she had injured her head after all. He suspected from the look on her face that she’d not listen to him, or answer his questions, until she had answers of her own. So he stopped trying for the moment. “The year of our Lord thirteen hundred and ninety-four.”

“And I am in England?”

“Saxford Castle, Northumbria, just south of the border.”

Hannah took a deep breath, let it out and frowned, the creases at the corners of her mouth not marring her beauty in the least. All the ferocity and fight in her appeared to have bled away. The change in her, frankly, worried him.

Ignoring the knock at the door, he said, “Tell me. Everything.”

She opened her mouth but didn’t speak. The look she gave Tristan told him she didn’t trust him. Nor should she. But she had no other choice.

“Let me help you. I would not presume to hurt an innocent woman, no matter her manner of dress. Or speech.”

“You would help me?” The vixen who’d kicked him with such conviction on the stairs sounded almost plaintive. It didn’t fail to move him, and he found himself saying, “Aye, I would.”

“Dry clothing.” She looked down at the fur-lined cloak. “I could use some dry clothing please.”

This he could not manage on his own. But he knew who could. “Done.”

“And I need to get back to Leannan Falls as soon as possible.”

With war on the horizon, his men would be particularly suspicious of her—her motives, her strange clothes and words—and Tristan knew too little about her to allay their fears. But either she was the least-trained spy he’d ever met, or she was in need of his assistance. Though he had many questions for her, he had no doubt she was genuinely panicked and confused. No one could feign the kind of response she’d had in front of the hall.

“You said it is near Edinburgh?” He’d not heard of the place himself, but as long as it was not on Sutherland’s property, bringing her there should not be a problem.