“That’s true,” Crow smiled at Penelope when she said they could eventually start meeting alone. If they spent time with each other when Naida was around too, then perhaps it wouldn’t seem as strange to the other nobles in the castle when they began to linger around each other without his sister. To anyone who might try to keep tabs on them, it could just look like they had begun to get along after he took the title of viceroy, which in turn could make it easier for him to officially start courting her without raising too many brows as well. The more he thought about it, the better the plan began to sound in his head.

The only obstacle left would be her father. His excitement faded slightly as he realized that John technically still hadn’t given him his permission to court Penelope. Normally, the thief wouldn’t have cared, but now that he was entering into the world of noblemen, he was going to have to start playing by some of their rules. If the older knight didn’t want him to court his daughter, it was going to be difficult to get around his denial, since they couldn’t just run away together like they would have done in the outer villages. Now, if he wanted to marry Penelope, he was going to have to roll over to some of her father’s wishes. It wasn’t the most appealing thought, but he supposed it wouldn’t be too bad as long as the man didn’t ask him to do anything outlandish.

When Penelope spoke up again, Crow glanced down at her with a frown. He hadn’t even considered the possibility that she might not be able to come back to the castle with him after their trip to the border. The idea of returning without her was disconcerting, to say the least. She was the whole reason why he was accepting a noble title in the first place, so he didn’t want to stay at the palace by himself. Sure, having Naida around would make the transition easier, but if Penelope remained on the front line, he would have no way to see her again for an indefinite amount of time. After all, he’d already agreed to his father’s terms that he wouldn’t leave the castle grounds again unless given permission to do so. Albin was probably going to have the guards keep a close eye on him to make sure he didn’t sneak out too.

“I’m sure you can get her to come around,” he ventured, although his voice was tinted with uncertainty. Perhaps if Penelope had been just a regular knight in the battalion, he wouldn’t have been worried, but she was a lieutenant. It was hard for him to believe that Mia would let her go so easily when she held such an important role. He lowered his gaze to the ground, absently kicking a pebble down the road as he lapsed into a brief silence. [i]Maybe it would have been better for me to take a different guard to the outer villages…[/i]

After a moment, he looked up at her again. “What if we just don’t go to see your battalion?” he suggested tentatively. “I mean, they don’t know you’re going to be back in the area, so as long as they don’t see us, we can just slip in and out, and you can come back to the castle with me without getting permission.”