As soon as the door opened and Penelope peeked out at him, Crow’s mind went blank. He met her gaze, half of him wanting to spill out all the things he had to say to her right then and there, and half of him too tongue-tied to speak at all. When she didn’t move, he tensed, momentarily worried that she might have taken after her father in his propensity to slam doors in others’ faces. However, his fear was laid to rest when she stepped aside to let him come in.

The viceroy lingered in the hallway for a second longer before he walked into the room, letting his gaze wander over the small space. Like John’s bedchamber, there wasn’t anything special about it. The castle guards probably all had the same kind of rooms, since they weren’t as high up in rank as himself or his sister. His lip twitched at the thought. Having been one of the lowest members of Brerratic society just weeks before, it still felt strange for him to consider himself an upper-class citizen.

Crow didn’t dwell on the thought for long though as he turned back to face Penelope, who seemed to be waiting for him to break the silence between them. He shifted his weight slightly, unsure where to begin. While he was upset that she hadn’t trusted him enough to believe he would remain faithful in her absence, he didn’t want to start the conversation by pointing fingers. The most important thing was to make sure she knew he hadn’t strayed and slept with another woman.

Deciding that was what he wanted to address first, the viceroy took a steeling breath, leaning back against the edge of her desk and resting his hands in his pockets to keep from defensively crossing his arms over his chest. “First, I just want to ask that you hear me out,” he said, keeping his voice down as he held her gaze. It was harder to do in the midst of the conflict, but he wanted her to know he was being honest with her, so he forced himself not to look away.

He went on, “I know what the rumors about me have been saying, and I will admit that they are true in part. The night guards did see Liz leave my room two nights ago, and she was wearing a bedsheet. However,” he held up his hands, just in case the knight might try to interrupt him. “Everything else they’ve been saying is a lie.”

He shifted his weight, uncomfortable as the memory of his encounter with the noblewoman came back to him. “Two nights ago after supper, I went back to my bedchamber to get some sleep and found that Liz had gone there ahead of me. She—” He faltered, reddening slightly in spite of himself. “She was undressed and waiting on my bed with the expectation that we would sleep together. When I saw her, I had no idea what to do, since I hadn’t planned to deal with a situation like [i]that[/i] after a long day, so I sort of… Well, let’s just say I didn’t handle it gracefully.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “She had me flustered, so I-I threw a bedsheet at her and told her to get out.”

The blush on his cheeks refused to fade as he admitted to the mistake, “In hindsight I know it wasn’t the best way I could have handled her, but in the moment, I didn’t think it through. I just wanted her to leave because having her there was too overwhelming for me. She reminded me of Rikki, and I was afraid of losing you.” He frowned, studying her face with a hint of worry. “Penelope, I would never break your trust by sleeping with someone else. Please believe me. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone, and I’m not going to give you up for a meaningless fling.”