It's times like this when he's most glad to take refuge in any slight barrier he can find: the whole subject is frankly unnerving, and he's not at all certain that he agrees with Kate that it isn't a bit of an odd assumption to make.

Lineave, between them, appears to be reserving judgment.

"Well, I certainly owe her a debt for helping me escape Nottingham," he says, deciding to simply move on with the previous conversation. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to bring her Lineave's tack along with her, so perhaps that's a place to start."