Crow wavered again as Penelope didn’t take his suggestion to move on from the incident. He had been hoping she would accept the fact that they couldn’t change the past and that it was unlikely their supplies would ever be found and returned. After all, he hadn’t been lying to the two knights. It was entirely possible that the group who had stolen the nobles’ supplies were on their way to make a profit as they spoke. Even if they started looking now, they probably wouldn’t catch up in time to get everything back.

As Gavin tried to push the blame onto him yet again, Crow narrowed his eyes annoyedly. Either this man was completely dense, or he was hellbent on making Penelope believe the thief had betrayed her. Either way, Crow didn’t like how aggressive he was being. He tightened his grip on his daggers, ready to move if the knight chose to make things physical.

Fortunately, it didn’t come to that. He glanced at Penelope again as she snapped at her former suitor, putting him firmly in his place. It was amusing to see him roll over to her, since she was practically half Gavin’s size, but he was glad that her attempt to make the man stop accusing him seemed to work. He shot the knight a smug look, feeling pleased that Penelope had sided with him.

As she turned back to explain to him why she couldn’t give up on hunting down the thieves, Crow shifted uneasily. He really didn’t want her to get involved with these people. If he told her more about them and something happened to her because of it, he would never forgive himself. He couldn’t let her do it.

“How about this,” he said tentatively. “You go back to your camp and help the other knights clean up after what happened, and I’ll look for your missing supplies.” He groaned inwardly, already regretting the offer he was about to make. “I know how to track down thieves better than any of you nobles, as is evident by the fact that none of your patrols have managed to find us again.” His green eyes flicked towards Gavin again briefly before returning to Penelope’s face.

“You have to admit that it’s unlikely any of your comrades will find whoever took your things, but I at least have a chance,” he murmured, averting his gaze. “Just forget about hunting them down and leave that part to me.”