“You promised not to leave me,” she mumbled, stifling a yawn. “I don’t want to be alone here.” She let him guide her back out, through the courtyard, briefly interrupted by a stableboy coming to hand Sir Isaac the saddlebags. Compared to the castle, his house seemed small, but it was still larger than the cottage she’d lived in — and much less crowded. “You live here by yourself?”
“I won’t; not if you don’t want me to,” he reiterated firmly and kept his arm wrapped around her smaller shoulders, before nodding a greeting at the stableboy. “Yeah…I think the Hales let me have it with the intention that I’d marry and raise my own family here. But then, I chose to become a knight and I’ve unfortunately had very little luck with the opposite gender.”
She blushed at the mention of marriage, then pushed away from his arms to stare at him. “Wh-what do you mean? How is that possible? You’re so handsome! How do all the ladies here not — ” She stopped, turning away, embarrassed by her outburst.