“Me too,” Crow muttered under his breath when Penelope fell in step beside him, nodding his head appreciatively when she wished him luck. “Thanks. You too. I have a feeling we’re both going to need it.”

It wasn’t long before the two groups split off to cover different parts of the village. Gavin continued to command the lead of his patrol, walking briskly ahead of them to set the pace. Meanwhile, Crow and Olivia lagged behind him, since both of them were still feeling tired—Crow from his late night, and Olivia because of the extra valerian he had slipped into her water. Regardless, they kept up just well enough with the determined male knight to keep him from complaining about the distance between them.

As the main road came into sight up ahead, Olivia turned to Crow with a dull expression. “Looks like Gavin managed to worm his way between everyone, huh?” she mused. “He really just doesn’t know how to have fun on a mission, or let anyone else try, for that matter.”

“What did you expect?” Crow shrugged, speaking quietly so the other knight wouldn’t be able to overhear him. “He hates me, and he thinks you’re too distracted to get anything done.”

Olivia scoffed, “There are six of us in this little village. He doesn’t need [i]everyone[/i] to pay attention to find anything out. I’m sure he just did it because he’s jealous that he doesn’t have someone to sleep with at night.”

Crow smirked at her in amusement, “It’s too late to change anything now.”

“Maybe…” Olivia glanced at him with a mischievous grin. “Then again, we could just get drunk at the tavern to get him back for this. If he wants to waste our time, we’ll just waste his.”

“I don’t hate that idea,” Crow laughed. “But we should at least try to question the villagers. The circumstances might not be very enjoyable, but your barons did send you on this mission for a reason.”

“Gavin can do the questioning for us,” Olivia nudged him insistently. “Besides, Penelope’s got a group of her own that’s just as capable as ours is. I’m sure that if there’s anything here, she’ll be the one to find it.”

“You’re really set on this idea of yours, aren’t you?” Crow shook his head.

“Of course,” Olivia laughed. “I’m not going to let Gavin get everything he wants.” She nudged him again with an impish gleam in her dark eyes. “And I’m curious to see what you’re like when you’re drunk.”

Crow rolled his eyes, “That’s too bad, because I don’t get drunk. If you choose to do it, you’re on your own.”

“Come on,” Olivia pouted. “It’s just one time. Relax a little.”

“Not a chance.”

“Fine then,” Olivia sighed. “You do what you want, but I’m not going to let ol’ stick-in-the-mud walk all over me like that. I, for one, am going to enjoy myself.”

Crow wavered slightly at that. He glanced discreetly at Gavin, toying a little more with the thought of disregarding the knight’s authority with Olivia. Maybe it would be fun to make him flounder with the interrogation on his own… [i]I shouldn’t,[/i] suddenly, the more logical part of his mind intervened. [i]I can’t risk letting my tongue slip and telling anyone about what’s really going on.[/i] “You do that,” he said at last. “But I’m going to stay sober, and there’s nothing you can do to change my mind.”

“Gods, you’re just as boring as he is,” Olivia groaned.

Crow ignored her comment, his attention shifting to Gavin as the knight began to approach some passing villagers. He swallowed nervously. It was time to find out if his work had paid off.