Crow flinched when Penelope turned on him with a frustrated look. While his attention had been focused on Gavin, he had forgotten that she didn’t want him to be starting fights with her former suitor. He lowered his gaze as he reflected on what had just happened, suddenly aware of how much he had provoked the knight this time. No matter which way he looked at it, their fight this time had been his fault. All Gavin had done was ask Penelope to accompany him during the interrogation of the villagers. They hadn’t even left the room together, yet he had acted like the knight was trying to steal her away from him.

[i]Maybe I did overreact a little,[/i] he thought with a wince as he trailed after the others. As much as he hated to admit it, Gavin might have had a point when he’d said that he was being immature. He shoved his hands in his pockets self-consciously. Penelope was the first woman he’d ever loved. He found it difficult not to be protective of her, especially around a man whom, by anyone’s assessment, was a better match for her than a lowly thief. He knew she loved him, and he knew she still planned to be with him after the war, but there was a small part of him that was still worried she would decide he wasn’t the best man for her when she compared him with someone like Gavin: powerful, upright, worthy of her affection… Perhaps he did feel a bit threatened after all.

Crow sighed softly, ashamed of his actions in the tavern. He wanted to prove to Penelope that he was someone she could look up to and trust to make good decisions, but instead, he had just driven her farther away. He grimaced as her annoyed expression flashed through his mind. He never wanted her to look at him like that—like he had disappointed her. The thought that he had let her down sent a knife through his heart.

For a while, he walked along behind the others in silence, keeping to himself since he didn’t want to face any of them while he was feeling like such a failure. However, his time alone didn’t last long before he noticed Penelope fall back to his side. Right away, he noticed that she was still upset with him, so he avoided her gaze in an attempt to hide his own remorseful expression from her.

He cringed as she chided him for his actions back in the tavern. She had every right to be mad at him, but it didn’t lessen the sting of her harsh words. “I know,” he muttered, staring down at the ground as they walked. “I messed up, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t let him bother me so much, I just…” He trailed off, too embarrassed to bring himself to admit that he felt threatened by her ex suitor. “Never mind,” he shook his head. “It’s not important. My point is that I’m sorry, and I’ll try not to fight with him in the future.”