Crow shot Elizabeth a glare as she tried to convince Penelope that they had slept together again. Even though they had already talked through it in private, it was still recent enough to be a sore subject. He didn’t want to keep listening to the noblewoman poke at the knight’s insecurities too. Whether she was doing it on purpose or not, he felt a surge of protectiveness now that he knew how Penelope felt, and it frustrated him to watch someone as vengeful as Liz use that to her advantage.

He was just about to tell the noblewoman to eat her breakfast somewhere else, but Penelope spoke first. The viceroy glanced at her, confused at first when she seemed to side with Liz. However, in the next moment, he bit back a laugh as she revealed that she knew what had actually happened in his bedchamber on the night Elizabeth had been referring to. Her newfound knowledge seemed to throw the other woman off too. He guessed that Liz either hadn’t expected him to tell her what had occurred—other noblemen might have chosen to save face rather than admit to forcing a woman to leave in nothing but a sheet—or thought the knight wouldn’t have believed the truth, even if he tried to convince her.

Amused by the situation, Crow propped his elbow on the table and rested his head in his hand, covering his smirk by pressing his mouth against his palm. His eyes flicked to Elizabeth, who was now looking quite shocked by the sudden turn of events. She sat silently for a moment before letting out a scoff. “I’m sorry. I don’t understand,” she chuckled, though the viceroy could hear a hint of nervousness in her laughter. “Collin, dear, why would you tell her that you were trying to get rid of me? I thought our night together was quite special.”

“Oh, it was,” Crow agreed with an airy shrug, casting her a smile that was laced with warning. “Trust me, I won’t forget about what you did for a long time… I might even tell everyone I know.”

Liz pursed her lips together again, seeming to realize there was no way for her to win against both of them. After a pause, she shook her head, continuing to feign innocence as she stood up from the table, “I don’t know why you’re being so horrible to me today, but I don’t like it. I’ll be back when you get over this mood of yours. Good day.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Crow muttered as she walked away. Once Elizabeth was out of earshot, he turned to Penelope with an exaggerated sigh, “Thank the gods [i]that’s[/i] over.”