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Part of him did not want her to answer, but he had to know Hannah understood the enormity of her decision.

Hannah moved his finger, intertwining their hands.

“I’ve thought of little else.”

She pulled away from him then and laid her head down on the pillow. He’d be content to simply watch her as her lips shifted to the side in concentration.

“When we find them . . . if they decide to leave . . .” She sighed, and Tristan wanted to take away her pain. For he could see how difficult such a thing would be for her. Hannah’s sisters were her entire world, especially since her parents’ accident. “If they decide to leave, I will be heartbroken. But less so than I would be if I left half of my heart here and went back—if such a thing is even possible. There will be challenges, of course, and there’s much that I’ll miss.”

“Such as?”

“Modern medicine. It scares me a bit to know I can’t take an antibiotic, or that a midwife will deliver our babies . . .” Hannah’s eyes widened. “You do want children? I should have asked that before. I mean, we just—”

“I do,” he said. “With you, I do.”

He placed his hand on her flat stomach. “We will find the most skilled midwife in all of England, or Scotland.”

“Or Allie,” she said. “My sister is a nurse.”

Tristan couldn’t remember Hannah telling him much about her sisters’ lives back in Maine. Every time she spoke of them, it was with sadness and regret. That she was talking more of them now, willingly, signaled a more hopeful outlook.

“I’ll explain what that is another time.”

“You have much to tell me still,” he said. “Events that are yet to happen—”

“Technology that you will likely never quite understand.”

Hannah gave him a look he recognized. He was in trouble. Sure enough, she let go of his hand and laid it instead on his chest. But it didn’t stay there for long.

“You asked if I’d thought this through. If I understood what I was giving up to stay.”

As her hand moved downward, Tristan knew their discussion had come to an end.

“But the more important question is, do I know what I am gaining by choosing you? Choosing this century?”

She’d found her mark.

“The answer is yes. Unequivocally, without a doubt. Yes.”

Tristan smiled, knowing he had gained as much, if not more, as his love.