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“I mean, do you still love me, I think… I think maybe you’re mad at me or something.”

He blinked. “I daena understand yer words.”

I wasn’t sure I understood my words, but now I was in it.

“Well, you were really angry yesterday, in the King’s chamber, negotiating. I just think you didn’t like me much and you aren’t calling me anything but ‘Princess’ now. And…”

He slowed his horse and brought it around.

“We had that argument too, and… I just wonder if I’m more trouble than I’m worth and maybe you’re second guessing this whole thing.”

“Ye are explainin’ yerself and yet ye arna makin’ yerself clear.”

“I don’t see why this doesn’t make sense. I’m asking if you still love me.”

He said, “Ye are askin’ yer husband if he still loves ye?”

“Yeah, maybe you got mad and changed your mind.”

He was incredulous. “This still daena make any sense, what has happened tae yer mind, Princess, ye are insensible.”

I rolled my eyes.

He said, “I haena ever changed my mind on anything in my whole life and⁠—”

“You haven’t ever changed your mind, Torin? That can’t be true.”

“Of course it can be true! If ye believe something is right or wrong ye make up yer mind on it — tis true. Why would ye ever change yer mind?”

“Because you get different information!”

“What kind of different information would I get on m’wife, what hae ye done?”

“I didn’t do anything, I mean, like, maybe you loved me because I was a wonderful person and now I’m just a pain in your ass so you don’t love me anymore.”

“Ye are wondering if I would be so changeable that the princess I loved more than anything, maybe even myself, that I got down on my knees and swore m’life tae hers, that I would somehow, back at that sacked castle, discover something about her tae change my mind?”

“I mean, yeah, that I’m a lot of trouble.”

“Ye haena been a bit more trouble taeday than ye were the first day I met ye. This daena make sense, and I remind ye, it has been a week. Ye think so little of me?”

“I don’t think so little of you⁠—”

“Then what dost ye mean, ye either think verra little of me and my discernment and my love for ye, or ye hae done something terrible — what did ye do?”

“I complain a lot for one.”

He scoffed. “I can take a lot of complaining, but this is a whole other thing. Ye are accusin’ me of not being true tae ye, what hae I done tae make ye think so little of me?”

Now my chin was trembling.

“Nothing, you just called me Princess and I thought maybe you were tiring of me.”

“Och, ye are not… Alexandria, ye are being unreasonable⁠—”

“See! I’m a lot of trouble. You’ve barely spoken to me and you were so mad.”

He was breathing heavy. “The past days, my only thought was getting ye from that priory and then the castle, safe from the clutches of an embattled, suspicious king.”