The next morning, Crow woke up in a panic as usual, but found that he was able to calm himself down with less effort than it took him before. As soon as he sat upright, he remembered that the visions were all just a product of his imagination, and he forced himself to breathe through them until they faded from his mind. The exercise with tiring, but he felt proud of himself for the accomplishment and laid back down, intending to get more rest, since it was still quite early. However, he had barely closed his eyes when he realized something was off.

Sitting up again, the viceroy knitted his brow and looked over the room. Preston was nowhere to be seen. [i]Strange,[/i] he mused concernedly. Come to think of it, the attendant had been gone since breakfast the previous day. He hadn’t thought too much of his absence at supper, since there had been other, more pressing things on his mind, but now that the boy had been missing for a full day, he was starting to worry that something was wrong. Unfortunately, he didn’t have much time to dwell on it.

As his thoughts wandered back to the previous night, Penelope’s hurt face flashed through his mind, and he winced. He still couldn’t believe just how much damage Elizabeth had managed to do in the span of a day. Rumors were probably already flying around the castle about the two of them, and the woman he actually loved believed the word of her peers over him. He felt a stab of pain. After everything they had been through together, he’d thought he had earned more of her trust than this, but apparently she still saw him as nothing more than a lying criminal who would betray her at the first opportunity.

Crow’s gaze shifted to the door as he considered going to breakfast early to avoid Penelope. After all, he wasn’t sure what he would do if he faced her while he was still feeling so slighted. He didn’t want to say or do anything he would regret. However, the thought of running didn’t sit well with him either. If he stayed away from her, he couldn’t tell her what had actually happened, and he didn’t want her to keep thinking he had chosen Liz over her while she’d been gone. He’d been too upset to deal with the situation last night, but now that he was a little more level-headed, he wanted to resolve the conflict.

Coming to a decision, he slid his legs over the edge of the bed and climbed down from the mattress to get ready for the day. Once he was dressed and slightly more put-together than he was before, the viceroy headed out of his room, walking toward the Great Hall at a quickened pace in his eagerness to talk to Penelope. But, when he made it about halfway down the corridor, he slowed down as another thought crossed his mind: Even if he found and spoke with the knight in the crowded room, they wouldn’t have the privacy they needed to get anywhere with the discussion. He didn’t want to have such a private conversation in front of an audience, where they couldn’t speak honestly with each other or say what was on their minds. It would have to be done somewhere else.

Swallowing nervously, he picked up his pace again as he decided to go somewhere else first.

--

Crow stood skittishly in front of John Vermillion’s door, shuffling his feet with anxious energy as he waited for the older knight to answer his knocking. He could hear the sound of movement on the other side, telling him that Penelope’s father was inside. It was only a matter of time before he appeared.

The viceroy didn’t have to wait long.

After a pause, the door creaked open as John pulled it from the other side. As soon as his jade eyes landed on the former thief, they narrowed, telling him that the knight had already heard the rumors, just as he’d feared.

“What do you want, Lockton?” John growled, glaring at the viceroy with the hostility of a protective father.

Crow grimaced and lowered his gaze, feeling guilty even though he knew he’d done nothing wrong. “I was hoping you could tell me where Penelope’s room is,” he requested tentatively. “I have something I wish to speak with her about in private.”

“And just why would I do that?” the knight spat, crossing his arms over his chest. “I know what you did. You have nothing to say to my daughter, cur.”

Crow had to fight the urge to shrink beneath the older man’s cold gaze. He forced himself to look up, trying to hold his ground and show the sincerity in his eyes, “I know what you heard, and it isn’t true. Err… I mean a piece of it is, but the rest was just gossip spread by the night guards. I swear, I never broke Penelope’s trust.”

“Please,” John scoffed. “You’ve spent your whole life lying to protect yourself. I know better than to believe the word of a thief.”

“I’m telling you the truth,” Crow raised his voice slightly in frustration and then took a breath to reign in his temper. “I didn’t even [i]touch[/i] that woman when she came to my bedchamber. I know you think I’m no better than my father, and I know you don’t think I’m a decent man because I have the standards of a peasant, but I would [i]never[/i] stray from your daughter. I love her too much to even think of it. So, please, tell me where she is so I can clear this up.”

John fell quiet for a moment, nearly giving the viceroy hope that he’d gotten through to him, but in the next moment, his gaze hardened again. “Go back to bed, Lockton,” he muttered, moving to close the door between them.

Crow stared after him with wide eyes. If Penelope’s father didn’t tell him where she was, there was no way he would be able to find her before breakfast, and there was no telling if or when they would have a chance to speak alone.

Before he had a chance to think it through, he shoved his foot in the door, barring the knight from closing him out. “Please,” he tried again. “Wait. I’m not lying to you.”

“Step back,” John growled at him.

“No,” Crow said firmly. “I’m not going to stand aside and let some woman I barely even know ruin my name with these rumors.” He held the knight’s gaze with new determination. “I gave up [i]everything[/i] I knew in the outer villages to be with Penelope. Do you really think I would throw her aside as easily as the gossips in this castle would have you believe? I swear, I’ve always been faithful to her. That other woman tried to sleep with me, that much is true, but I turned her away. I don’t want to be with anyone beside your daughter.” He took a breath, going on in a tired voice. “Please. You have to believe me. I don’t want to lose her over this.”

John seemed to waver at that. He remained silent for a long moment before he let out a sigh. “Fine,” he said resignedly. “I still don’t know if I believe you, but I trust Penelope to make that decision for herself. Her room is down this hallway on the left side, two doors down in the adjacent wing.”

“Thank you,” Crow’s shoulder’s fell with relief. He dipped his head to the knight gratefully and hurried off to find Penelope.

Her room was easy enough to locate, but when he reached it, the viceroy hesitated. Knowing that she believed he’d been unfaithful to her, he wasn’t sure what to expect when she opened the door. No matter what, she was going to be upset with him. He shifted his weight from his left foot to his right. He’d come this far already, so there was no point in turning back. She needed to know the truth.

He lifted his hand and knocked on the door.