"Yes, though I am only a distant relation." The more provincial she sounded, the better.

Thinking back, she realized Thorne had mentioned her name earlier. It was sloppy of her to have missed it, even if she hadn't heard of the name before. Perhaps her years in the temple had dulled her skills more than she realized.

"What an usual name," she said. "Is there a particular reason behind it?"

She ignored Thorne's question, hoping her own would distract from it until she could determine what precisely 'all this' referred to.