Crow stared at Penelope in unbridled surprise when she changed the subject so abruptly. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting her to say, but it certainly wasn’t ‘there’s the market.’ He frowned. She must have changed her mind after all if she was avoiding his question. [i]I should have known not to expect anything more,[/i] he thought as he followed her into the market. [i]Of course she wouldn’t choose to stay with me. All I could do is bring her trouble. It’s better that she goes back to her family and forgets about me.[/i]

Though he tried to convince himself that it was all for the best, he couldn’t stop the sinking feeling in his heart. It was just his luck that the one woman he fell in love with happened to be a knight of the king’s army. He wished things had been different, that she had been a peasant or—as much as he loathed the idea—that he had been a noble. He sighed. If only her mother hadn’t died or his father had taken him in, then maybe they would have at least had a chance to make their relationship work. But, alas, he was still a thief, and she was still a knight. It had been foolish to ever think they could overcome such a wide gap in status.

Wanting to distract himself from his depressing thoughts, Crow began to look over the wares of the merchants they passed in search of the supplies they needed. He spotted a man selling saddlebags and indicted him to Penelope, “Look, that’s one thing off the list.” He glanced down at her and then looked away again, biting his tongue. He hated how businesslike his tone was, but it was hard for him to be carefree when he knew she was planning to end things between them. He wished she would just get it over with so he could let go of any part of himself that still hoped she would stay with him.

“Let’s get what we need and go,” he said mirthlessly, guiding her through the crowd towards the merchant. “I’m tired, so I want to get to the next resting point before sundown.”