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He paused, wondering if he was speaking too much, his voice echoing around the small room they stood within. But Winnie leaned back against one of the stone walls and listened to him with focused eyes.

It had been a long time since he’d had someone even pretend to show interest in his love of history and the joust. Dare he keep going?

“I proved good enough in the sport to participate in a few events alongside Hubert,” he continued. “We had a great time jousting together and against each other.”

His mind strayed for a moment to those early days of jousting. The feel of the solid lance in his grasp, the focus required to succeed, the satisfaction of the cracking and splintering of wood when he struck his opponent directly on target.

“It was and has always been rewarding,” he said. “But my favorite part is the feeling that comes when I dress in the armor and ride down the list. I’m just entirely and completely immersed in history, as if I was actually a knight chosen to fight for king and country.”

He stopped again, wondering if he should be embarrassed by the things he was sharing, but Winnie still listened, her eyes even more intent than before.

“Anyway,” he continued, “I wasn’t able to do as much once I started uni. I dreamt of becoming a history professor next, graduated with my degree, and shortly after, I received a job offer at a university where I got to teach for a few months, but life obviously had other plans for me.”

“What plans?” she prompted.

“My dad being diagnosed with MS.”

Winnie’s brow furrowed at once. Matthew could understand why. Dad’s diagnosis had been a traumatic thing for the Wintour family as a whole, but together, they’d managed to grow stronger because of it.

“He needed a lot of help in the beginning,” Matthew continued, “so I moved back home to help with the estate and his recovery.”

“That must have been so hard for you to give up your dream,” she said.

But Matthew shrugged. “It wasn’t difficult, just more sad than anything. I’d worked a long time to realize that dream, but in the end, I found another one. I created the medieval festival, brought Hubert on as one of the knights, and eventually built up the event from the ground up.” He looked away. “Until I ran it back down into the ground.”

To his surprise, she laughed. “You think that’s funny, do you?” he asked, unable to hide his own smile.

“Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand. “It’s not funny, just the way you said it. In reality, you didn’t run it into the ground, or it would be completely dead. All it needs is a little…resuscitation.”

Matthew stared at her, still marveling at the change that had come over the two of them. “I think that is the nicest thing you’ve said to me about my festival, Miss Knox.”

He hoped she didn’t mind his little nickname for her. He’d used it first to annoy her, but now, he found it suited her so well, it was hard to break the habit.

“Well, it was overdue,” she said. “I’m sorry I took so long to say it.”

Their eyes met, another level of understanding passing between them before she looked away, her eyes traveling over the stone walls, flooring, and ceiling.

“I still can’t believe I’m standing inside of a real castle,” she murmured, shaking her head.

Matthew smiled at the way she took everything in, like a child in a candy shop—or like himself in a history museum.

“Do you know what Char and I used to play here as kids?” he asked.

“What?” she asked.

“Hide-and-seek.”

Winnie laughed. “Hide-and-seek? Here? That can’t be allowed.”

“Oh, it absolutely isn’t,” Matthew said, his grin growing. “We played it anyway, though.”

She smiled, just imagining the young Wintour kids hiding in the nooks and crannies of an actual castle. What a childhood that must have been.

“Did you ever get caught?” she asked.

“By our parents, yes, but it didn’t stop us from playing again. We added more rules, so if other people were around, we had to walk when trying to tig each other.”

“Tig?”