Crow nodded thoughtfully as Penelope said she wasn’t sure if her baroness would allow her to leave camp for so long. He was doubtful as well, considering she held the rank of a lieutenant. Her leaders probably had work for her to do in and around their camp while they were recovering from Jaxon’s attack. It would likely be costlier to them to spare her compared with other, lower-ranked knights when the barons didn’t have the same information about the thieves as he and the three knights did.

He was glad that she seemed to have at least some idea of how to approach them, but he wasn’t overly fond of the fact that she would have to leave her camp with Olivia and Gavin again. While he knew it was unlikely, he still hung on to the hope that they would be able to do this mission alone, like they had in Younis after being separated from her comrades back then. Disliking the company of most other nobles, he preferred to travel and work alone with her.

Aside from that, he was also a bit warier of Gavin after the knight’s comment during their fight: [i]Well, I’m not going to let you get away with it.[/i] He gave an involuntary shudder. While he wasn’t necessarily afraid of what Gavin could do, he didn’t like the thought of the man getting any more involved with his relationship with Penelope than he already had. If they ended up traveling together all the way to Aramoor, he was sure it was going to be difficult for them to remain civil with each other, and he didn’t want to break his word to Penelope about trying not to start any fights. The trip was definitely going to try his patience.

“I’m sure you will,” Crow smiled and gave her side a gentle squeeze as she said that she would figure out a way to go with him to Aramoor. “Those thieves had better watch out now that you’ve set your sights on them, because you’re a fierce enemy to make, love.” He kissed her cheek fondly.

Up ahead, he noticed that they were nearing the southern edge of the village, and he frowned. “We should probably part ways here,” he sighed, slowing his step slightly as he was suddenly reluctant to leave her. “I don’t want to go too far from Whitebridge, since this is where I’m going to make my camp for the night.” Glancing down to meet her gaze, he offered her a soft smile. “At least I’ll get to see you again tomorrow. We should meet where the road meets the village here around midday. That should give you enough time to speak with your baroness, right?”