It didn’t take long for the rest of the tension in the room to die off. Crow glanced away from Penelope when Letitia offered him a small compliment, glad that the servant was at least somewhat supportive of them. He couldn’t tell if she was still suspicious of him, but she was polite enough that he felt at ease with her around. The smile on her face was a welcomed change from the disapproving looks they usually got too. Absently, he found it interesting that, aside from his sister, the only people who seemed to be happy for them were peasant servants. He wasn’t at all surprised though. Nobles were so judgmental; it was hard to imagine them supporting anything outside of their definition of what they deemed acceptable.

As Penelope explained to Letitia what they were really doing in Bellmare, Crow let his gaze wander to the nearest window, through which he could see the stables where the Vermillions kept their horses. Distracted, his mind wandered to the remaining lessons he needed to complete before his father could send him to Gorm. Riding was on that list. He watched the animals curiously as the stable boys tended to them. The only experience he had with the beasts was when he had tried to control the stallion he and the knight had stolen in Younis. The attempt had gone rather miserably, and he hadn’t taken up any reins since. It was strange to him that he was going to be taught how to do it now.

Suddenly, the viceroy blinked as he realized Letitia was including him in the conversation once more. Turning back to her, he smirked, amused by her excitement to show him around the house. In a way, the servant reminded him of a proud mother, and he wondered just how close she had gotten to Penelope when the knight had been young. Perhaps that was why Penelope had more of a heart for peasants than most other nobles too? It made sense to him. If she had been raised by someone of Letitia’s status, then of course she would have been able to see the value in commoners like them.

He glanced at the knight as she grew flustered by the old woman’s suggestion. Seeing an opportunity to tease her, he nudged her with his shoulder, “Why not? It sounds like fun to me. I’d like to hear [i]all about[/i] what you were like as a little girl.”