When Penelope suggested that they meet at the tavern, Crow nodded. It sounded like a good spot to him, since she already knew how to get there. Besides that, he was already planning to go to Silverpool first, so it wouldn’t be difficult for him to take refuge with one of the local families for a week and wait for her to return. As long as he stayed away from the knights in the area and kept his head down for a while, it wouldn’t be too difficult to stay hidden.

“Sounds like a plan to me,” he said with a grin. “Farhill is about three days’ walk from Silverpool, so we could easily reach it within a few nights.” He ran his hand down her leg, glad that they finally had something of a plan in place for when they were to meet up again in the outer villages. He couldn’t wait to take her to Farhill and show her the best of what his home had to offer.

When she spoke again, he pondered her question thoughtfully. “I think you’re right that I should leave in the middle of the night, since that will be the easiest way to avoid a conflict with William,” he agreed, turning in the saddle to meet her gaze as another thought came to him. “Actually… Silverpool is really close to the border, so it might even be best for me to go there tonight.” He shifted slightly as he spoke. “I mean, I’d rather spend an extra day with you if I can, love, but if we travel too far inland tomorrow, it will be more difficult for me to get home without running into any night watchmen in the outer villages.” He absently brought a hand to his chest as he thought about how difficult it would be to get away from a patrol of knights while he was still injured. “If I leave from the border, I have better odds of getting home without any conflict.”