As soon as she laid eyes on Penelope, Hazel was reminded of everything she disliked about nobles. She fought the urge to wrinkle her nose in disgust. What was it Crow saw in this woman anyway? Sure, she had a pretty face, but beyond that, what was the draw? There were plenty of respectable peasant women who were just as beautiful as this knight, if not more so, in her opinion. She simply couldn’t bring herself to understand what he saw in someone like her.

As Penelope’s face fell at the sight of her, Hazel quirked a brow in mild surprise. She had never seen a knight express such an emotion over someone of lesser status. Even though Crow had told her time and again that this woman wasn’t like other nobles, this was the first glimpse she’d had of it, herself. She crossed her arms loosely over her chest. It was unexpected to see, yes, but it certainly wasn’t enough to change the herbalist’s opinion of her just yet.

“Slight mishap during the battle in Grimsby,” she answered Penelope’s question vaguely and with disinterest. Pursing her lips, she eyed the knight for a moment before letting out a quiet exhale. She really didn’t want to stick around any longer than she had to, but she couldn’t help feeling like this woman was owed a bit more of an explanation. The sappy look on her face was unbearable.

“Look here,” she went on gruffly. “I don’t know the whole story, so don’t expect me to have every detail for you. From what I saw, it looked like Crow was camped out in a stable during the fight. There was a broken rafter—I think he used it to reach a window near the roof, but it collapsed. He’d brought a bow, so it makes sense that he would have tried something like that.” She shrugged carelessly.

“Anyway, a couple of knights found him somehow when he was down and attacked. He probably would have died if Raven hadn’t found him and saved his sorry ass,” she snorted. “After that, she came to get me, because he was bleeding out from a nasty wound in his leg—I still don’t know how that happened, because he never told me. I patched him up, good as new.” She met Penelope’s gaze apathetically. “So that’s the whole story as I know it. You’re welcome.”