Crow wrinkled his nose when Penelope brought up his supper with the Cardonells. He wasn’t surprised that Naida had been bothered by that fact that he’d been eating with them. After all, Mercia hadn’t disguised the purpose of their meeting very well with that eye-catching dress she’d worn. It wouldn’t have taken much for his sister to realize that the two nobles had been trying to rope him into a courtship. Of course, she’d had nothing to worry about though. His relationship with Penelope aside, he wouldn’t have been interested in someone like Wayne’s sister. Mercia may have been attractive on the outside, but her personality hadn’t been appealing to him in the slightest. Marrying her wouldn’t have been very different than marrying a carved statue.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around the knight a little tighter as she kissed him, feeling a burst of affection for the woman he did love. When she pulled back from him and walked over to the table, he trailed after her. “I don’t feel bad,” he said carelessly. “She’s been pestering us about it so much that it’s kind of nice to get back at her this way. Speaking of which,” he shook his head exasperatedly. “Preston’s been on my case about us too lately. He isn’t trying to push us to court like my sister is, but he’s convinced that there’s more going on than we’re telling people. He may be quiet, but he’s a lot sharper than I thought.”

When Penelope asked him if he was ready to start his letter to his companions, Crow nodded. “Udolf just started me on writing today,” he said, stepping over to his bed to retrieve the journal and quill that he’d left on the mattress. “I think I’ve got the hang of it for the most part, but spelling is still difficult, since there are so many combinations of letters that make similar sounds. I don’t yet have the practice to remember how to use them all.”

He sat down at the table and looked up at her with a grin, “I was hoping you would be able to help with that part.”