“Damn,” Crow clicked his tongue when Penelope teased him. “I was hoping you’d forgotten about that by now.” Despite the mock disappointment in his voice, he couldn’t help the smile that appeared on his lips. Bantering with her always put him in a good mood. He couldn’t wait for the day when they would be able to be this close in the castle. Spending time with her without pretending to be distant sounded like a dream come true at this point. It was what he had been waiting for since the day he’d made his decision to accept the title his father had offered him. If the party went well, that time could be right around the corner.

As the knight went on to say that she hadn’t gotten into that much trouble, he smirked. “Right,” he drawled in disbelief. Really, he knew she probably hadn’t broken [i]that[/i] many rules when she was younger. She’d always struck him as level-headed, and rational people were the least likely to get themselves into deep water—quite the opposite of himself. Hot-tempered even as a child, he had been known for causing mischief in Myrefall and rarely followed the rules. He was pretty sure that no one from his home village had been surprised when he’d grown up to be a criminal, since he couldn’t handle the structure of a real job back then.

He liked to think he had matured at least a little by now though. Even though he still found all the rules and traditions of nobility to be suffocating, he was doing his best not to disregard too many of them.

When Penelope finally fessed up a story for him, Crow listened with interest. From the tales she’d told him so far, it sounded like knights brawled against each other quite often. Offhandedly, he wondered if any of the guards at the castle would try to challenge him when John furthered his training or if they would be deterred by his rank. Either way, he had a feeling he’d made a few enemies at the palace who would love to give him some bruises.

“He was lucky he faced you so early on,” the viceroy shook his head when she finished telling her story. “I’ve seen you in battle recently, and I have to say, it’s frightening.” He gave an exaggerated shudder. “I’m just glad my plan to seduce you before you turned into such a dangerous warrior paid off. Now I’ve got the most talented knight in the kingdom on my side. It was definitely the best investment I’ve ever made.” He shot her a wry wink.