Crow dug into his food as Olivia tried to harass Penelope, deciding to stay out of the conversation, since he knew she would only be encouraged to keep prodding at them if he got involved too. He focused on the flavor of the stew instead, finding that he was impressed with Gavin’s ability to cook in spite of himself. The broth was expertly seasoned. Even though he and the other thieves occasionally dipped into the knights’ supply of spices to put on their own food, none of them had the skills to apply the seasonings this well. The rich taste filled his mouth, and he ate ravenously, filling his empty stomach with the large helping of stew.

For a while, he managed to ignore Olivia’s taunting, but she eventually caught his attention with a particular sultry question: [color=fdc68a][b]“So, Penelope, why don’t you tell me a bit about how Gavin was in bed?”[/b][/color]

The thief looked up from his bowl, catching both Penelope and Gavin’s uncomfortable expressions as he did, and turned towards Olivia with a warning look. It was the first time that the knight’s troublemaking had caught all three of them at once, and unfortunately, she seemed to have realized it as well. She refused to let the subject drop, even after Gavin and Penelope both tried to make her do so.

Crow averted his gaze again, finding the current topic of discussion just as distasteful as they did. He wasn’t concerned about comparing himself with Penelope’s ex suitor, but he certainly didn’t want to hear any details about their time together. However, as Gavin explained curtly that they’d had a formal courtship, he glanced over at the knight curiously. Even though he’d heard that noblemen and women often had businesslike relationships, he was a little surprised to hear that it sounded like they hadn’t slept together at all. Perhaps that was why the knight had been so uncomfortable when they had come back to the camp from their walk.

He was just about to tune out their conversation again, but Gavin added one last comment that made him bristle: [color=fdc68a][b]“I certainly wasn’t treating our courtship like a frivolous fling.”[/b][/color]

“I beg your pardon?” Crow growled, narrowing his eyes at the knight.

“I’m just saying, I treated her with the respect she deserves,” Gavin shrugged, meeting his gaze evenly.

“No, you’re saying you don’t think [i]I’m[/i] treating her with respect,” the thief curled his lip.

“You certainly aren’t acting like it.”

Crow clenched his jaw, trying not to give in to the knight’s accusations. Normally, he didn’t care what noblemen thought of him, but he didn’t like being told that he was disrespecting the woman he loved. He didn’t see Penelope as just another ‘frivolous fling’—far from it, in fact. He cared more deeply about her than anyone else in his life. Even though he couldn’t court her the same way a noble could, he had every intention to ask her to marry him after the war ended. But, of course, he couldn’t say any of that to Gavin.

“You know what? Think whatever you want,” he muttered, turning away from the knight. He reached to take Penelope’s hand in his, seeking comfort in her touch. He still wanted to keep his promise to her about not fighting with Gavin, but it was hard to do when the man kept falsely accusing him all the time.