Crow sighed when Penelope didn’t seem convinced that Gavin’s actions hadn’t been as innocent as they seemed. He remembered vaguely that he’d tried to explain it to her before when he was sober, and she hadn’t seemed very willing to believe him back then either. Now that they were both drunk, there was no way he would be able to explain to her why he was suspicious of her former suitor. He just hoped she would be able to see it on her own if the other knight grew more persistent.

“Well, no,” he frowned when she pointed out that Gavin hadn’t made a move on her. “Bu’ that doesn’ mean he wasn’ tryin’ an’thing…” Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to say anything more to her about the matter, because the knight was on his way back with a second bowl of porridge. He averted his gaze, still bitter about the way the other man was acting around his woman, and only looked up when Gavin offered him the food. He muttered a brusque word of thanks as he took the dish and then lowered his gaze to the bowl, pointedly avoiding the knight’s eyes as he ate.

To make the situation worse, Gavin took a seat on Penelope’s other side with his own bowl of porridge. It seemed he had no intention of leaving them alone this time, much to Crow’s displeasure. The thief shifted slightly against the tree, wishing the knight would eat somewhere else so he could be alone with her. However, not wanting to start another fight, he kept his frustrations to himself and listened silently as Gavin tried to strike up a conversation with Penelope.

“How are you feeling?” the knight asked as he studied her with a keen eye. “Do you need me to get you some water too?”