"What's "quick" and "longer"? Few minutes? Does the river have a bridge, or a crossing? Or is it just assumed everyone's going to have wings?"

Is she trying to dissuade him by coming up with obstacles? If she wants him to go somewhere, to some gate, to open it or something... she'd be taking him to it, right? Does she really not know where the gate is, and needs him to find it? So she'd know that her house doesn't have a gate... but in that case, she's going to be very disappointed when she finds out he's not lying about not knowing how to find one.

This is quite the tangled web of deceit.