As Penelope said she would try to figure something out, Crow hoped she would be able to come up with something convincing. During his two conversations with Mia, he’d gotten the impression that the baroness was already suspicious of the nature of his relationship with her lieutenant. The last thing he wanted was for Penelope’s leader to figure out how close they really were when she asked to go with him to see the king. Not only would Mia probably prevent them from going together if she learned the truth, but he would also likely have to abandon the trip completely in order to stay in the outer villages and help her out of the situation if it came to that. As curious as he was to find out why his father had contacted him, he cared much more about making sure the knight stayed out of trouble. That meant staying close by if she needed him.

After a short period of silence passed, Crow felt Penelope shift against him. He glanced down at her curiously and knitted his brow when he caught sight of the uneasy expression on her face. He wondered what she was thinking about that would make her so uncomfortable, but before he could ask, she spoke up first. The thief listened with interest as she said that she may have thought of a way to escape from her camp for a while. Her words sent a thrill of excitement through him. However, that excitement disappeared almost as quickly as it had come when she went on to explain her idea.

At the mention of her arranged marriage to Gavin, he stiffened involuntarily, already disliking where this was going. He didn’t want her to bring up the wedding any more than it had already been discussed. If anything, he had been hoping the subject would be dropped and forgotten altogether. However, he couldn’t deny that it was a reasonable excuse for her to leave the battlefront for a while. If she pretended that she had business in the inner kingdom that needed to be taken care of, and if Mia already had a replacement for her, then the lie could very well work. He was sure her father would be pleased with her as well, so gaining his approval wouldn’t be a problem either.

“I’d be lying if I said I liked this plan of yours,” Crow sighed, running his hand back down the length of her back. “But I trust you, and I can’t think of anything better.” He leaned down to press a long kiss to her lips and then pulled back to meet her gaze with a fond smile. “If you think you can pull this off, then you should do it, but you’ll have to talk to them soon. I think your father is planning for us to leave in the morning two days from now.”