Crow felt slightly bad for throwing off Penelope’s plan, especially since she had seemed so proud of her idea, but it was better for her to know about his inability to ride horses now rather than find out when he would inevitably try and fail later. At least this way, if they moved forward with the plan, she would be prepared for such a situation to arise.

He glanced off to the side as she tried to come up with another way to get ahead of the Younisian knights. He knew she wasn’t intending to make him feel awkward about it, but he didn’t like being the reason why they couldn’t use the horses to get back to Brerra sooner. It wasn’t his fault that he never had the opportunity to learn horseback riding. After all, that was something nobles learned that most peasants didn’t have time for even if they owned farm horses. In fact, he couldn’t think of anyone he had met in the outer villages who knew such a skill.

When Penelope spoke up again, he met her gaze with newfound interest. He didn’t know horses could carry more than one person at a time. [i]It would be nice to be so close again,[/i] he mused, imagining what it would be like to sit next to her during the ride home. “I like the sound of that,” he lowered his voice coquettishly, brushing his hand against hers as they walked. “As long as I can hold onto you instead of the horse, that is.”

After a while of walking, a noble estate became visible through the trees. Crow glanced down at Penelope and grinned, “I’d bet you anything they have a stable.”