To Nathan, the snuffing of the candle seemed to confirm that his joke had an element of truth to it.  There was no draft and the candle hadn't melted down to it's base yet.  It wasn't Nathan's plan to engage Victor in conversation, however.  So Victor's question caught him off guard.<br/><br/>Nathan debated as to whether to tell the whole story of why Erin came into the tavern tied up.  From his point of view, she was still a horse thief, though his anger over her actions had dissipated.  But to pronounce her a horse thief in front of others might lead to a bad response from anyone else in the tavern who owned a horse.  Stealing horses was a serious offense to anyone who owned a horse.<br/><br/>"The girl's not my slave.  We just had a difference of opinion over property earlier.  And we're still ironing out our differences."  That was a rather vague answer that Victor could interpret however he wanted to.  Though it was an accurate statement, without revealing much.