Crow gawped at Penelope in surprise when she announced that she would share food from his plate. He hadn’t expected her to actually go along with his teasing act, even going so far as to take away some of his dinner. She was cleverer than he’d thought. Despite himself, there was a small part of him that was impressed with her wit, although he would never admit it out loud. If he ever openly admired anything about a noble, his pride would wither up and die. So instead, he clung to the fact that she had veritably cut his meal in half, using the irritating thought to fan the flames of his frustration.

“I bet you think you’re very funny,” he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, glaring at the knight. “Well, my empty stomach and I are not amused.”

“I should have known I’d find you two here.”

Crow paused at the sound of a new voice and craned his neck to see William standing behind him, looking vexed. The knight scowled down at him, “I told you to wait for me.”

“You didn’t specify [i]where[/i] you wanted us to wait,” Crow pointed out blandly. He didn’t care if he’d upset his guard. He might have been their captive, but he was still a man with needs. One of those needs was to fill his empty stomach. “And besides, I’m hungry,” he vocalized simply. “You made us skip lunch because of those awful bandits. Let me at least have a bite for dinner.”

William hesitated for a moment before he growled: “Fine.” Taking a seat at the table, he tetchily avoided eye contact with the thief. “We’ll be staying here for the night, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

“Wonderful,” Crow grinned. He looked up just as the bar wench returned with his plate of food. The dish was piled high with a delicious looking assortment of fruits, cooked vegetables, and, best of all, veal. His mouth watered as the savory aroma reached him. Apart from chicken, he had only eaten meat twice in his life—he had stolen it from nobles both times—so to him, it was a luxury. “Gods bless you,” he said to the wench as he dug into the food on his plate. She just nodded wordlessly and turned to take the other knights’ orders.

After swallowing a few mouthfuls, Crow noticed another serving girl walking by with a platter of pints of ale. It had been a long time since he’d last touched a drink other than questionably clean water. Eager to taste the golden liquid once again, he leaned sideways and swiped a mug as the girl passed, lifting to his lips and taking a swig. The alcohol was just as smooth as he remembered. He sighed contentedly.

“Don’t drink yourself senseless, thief,” William, who had seen everything, made a face at him in disgust. “You forget that you’re on an assignment from the king.”

“Oh, relax,” Crow rolled his eyes and took another sip. “I have a personal rule that I will never let myself get drunk. Drunken men do stupid, thoughtless things. I much prefer to be sober.” It was true that before his arrest, he had spent quite a few nights in taverns all over the kingdom. However, he didn’t do it to get drunk. He just liked the company of the other men and women and the opportunity to brag about his latest escapades.

He lifted the mug to his lips once more and then set it down on the table, glancing at Penelope with a teasing glint in his eye. The temptation to toy with her again was too great to resist. “Would m’lady like some ale as well, or are you too good for a commoners’ drink?”