He'd seen her about the village, usually keeping to the edges - so when she'd begun following him through the trees, he'd decided not to remark on it. When she was ready to speak to him, he'd figured she would do so.

The fact that she did so here, beside the river with a sentiment so near his own, was surprising but heartening. He wasn't alone. "I cannot swim," he said simply. "And this stretch looks deep. I will need to find a place narrow enough to jump or shallow enough to wade." It would be cold, but he'd deal with cold sooner than drowning.