Crow glanced at the guard Penelope was eyeing and nodded in agreement when she said she wished they could be truly alone. It was frustrating how many people there were in every part of the castle. There was no way for them to find anyplace where they could get away from the unwanted stares of the knights and nobles in the palace. Even when they had tried to find some time to be intimate in his room before, they had gotten walked in on by her father. He let out his breath in a disappointed sigh. It seemed that as long as they remained unmarried, they were never going to get the privacy they wanted.

As Penelope spoke up again, Crow turned back to her and mirrored her frown. Everything she said reminded him painfully of his own inner turmoil about their situation. It sounded like she was just as upset about everything as he was. His eyes drifted down to her hand. He wished that he could at least take it in his, so he could offer her a little comfort, but with the nearby guards glaring at him so much, he doubted that he and the knight could get away with blatantly touching in front of them.

“Me too,” he smiled halfheartedly. “I almost wish something else would happen to draw everyone’s attention away from me. If the castle was attacked or some other thief tried to raid the vaults, I’m sure I would fall to the bottom of their priorities.” He shook his head. “I doubt anything like that will happen though. We’ll just have to wait until they get bored of me on their own.”

Suddenly, another thought crossed his mind, and he met the knight’s gaze with new interest. “Speaking of strange happenings, Braden mentioned something about lieutenants from the southwestern border two days ago. He said they were visiting to discuss battle strategies with the king, so it sounds like things aren’t going well on the warfront down there.” He smiled at her hopefully. “I don’t know if they’re still here, but if they are, maybe you could catch them before they go back to their battalion and find out if their barons are open to the idea of ending the war.”