Being the first one back to the meeting spot, Crow leaned back against the wall and folded his arms over his chest as he searched for the three knights among the crowd. He spotted Olivia off to the left side of the room surrounded by peasant men who were quite clearly vying for her attention. He left out a soft snort as he noticed a nearly empty mug of ale in her hand. Knowing the knight, he guessed it probably wasn’t her first drink of the night, and he hoped she was still sober enough to gather information about the thieves they were after.

His eyes wandered across the tavern until he spotted Penelope and Gavin sitting with a small group of villagers on the far-right side of the room. The sight of them together made his skin crawl, and he forced himself to avert his gaze, so he wouldn’t focus on it. Letting out his breath in a soft sigh, he distracted himself by observing the groups of villagers at the other tables. He doubted there was anything left to learn here, but he didn’t want to let himself think about what Gavin might be saying to Penelope while he wasn’t around. He knew he would probably just end up convincing himself that the situation was much worse than it really was, and that would just put him in a foul mood.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Gavin and Penelope finished up with the villagers they had been speaking with and come to join him by the entrance of the tavern. As Penelope asked if he had any success, he shrugged in response. “The only thing I’ve learned is that they either weren’t here, or these villagers were too oblivious to remember them,” he answered. “I highly doubt every person in this tavern was so drunk they wouldn’t notice a group that big, so it’s more likely that the former is true.”

His eyes flicked to Gavin’s face, and he smirked as he noticed the knight glare at him. “By the way,” he said, drawing the coin purse from his pocket and tossing it back to him. “I think this belongs to you.”

Gavin blinked in surprise as he fumbled to catch the pouch, only to shoot him another cold look as he realized it had been emptied. “Where’s the rest of it?” he growled.

“I may have played a few rounds of passe-dix,” Crow grinned at him mischievously. “The dice weren’t on my side today, but at least I got the villagers to talk. It’s really too bad they didn’t have anything helpful to say.”

“You had no right,” Gavin clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Crow pressed a hand to his heart in mock sincerity. “I didn’t realize I wasn’t allowed to steal from you. My mistake.”

“Don’t patronize me,” the knight narrowed his eyes. “I know you did it because you’re too immature to let Penelope spend time alone with other men.”

“I don’t care if she spends time with other men,” Crow tilted his chin up in a sneer. “I just don’t like it when that other man is you.”

“Ooh,” Olivia trotted up to Penelope’s side, her dark eyes flicking between the two men. The smell of alcohol was thick on her breath. “What’s happening here?” she asked, propping her elbow on her friend’s shoulder to lean against her. “Did I miss anything interesting?”

“The only thing you missed was this thief proving that he can’t be trusted,” Gavin spat without taking his eyes off Crow.

“Back on this again, are we?” Crow said dryly. “Forgive me if I don’t follow your reasoning. You agreed to travel with a thief, got pickpocketed by said thief, and now claim the thief is untrustworthy because he acted within his own nature.” He held Gavin’s gaze haughtily. “The only thing I see here is an incompetent knight who didn’t consider the possibility that working with a criminal might mean keeping a closer watch of his coins.”