"Crawled right out of the water!" He slows his horse again, mindful of that slight lameness. And they can see the outskirts of the village by now, no need to trample down his own tenants. (...his father's own tenants. They aren't his yet.)

"No--but this is our old land. I was running about here as a bairn, when I wasny at Stirling with my dad." He's fond of the place, and it's plain to hear in his voice.