Crow could tell that Penelope was trying to reassure him when she said the only obstacle left after the party would be her father, but her words only made him wince. He still had no clue where he stood with John, especially after the misunderstanding with Elizabeth. The older knight was always so stoic; it was hard to tell if he had believed him when he’d tried to explain that the rumors about them weren’t true. If John was convinced that he’d been unfaithful to Penelope, it was going to be difficult to persuade him otherwise.

He sighed. It was starting to seem like he would never be able to earn a blessing. All the hard work he’d put in to get John to like him may have just been undone overnight.

When Penelope squeezed his hand, Crow turned back to her and nodded. She was right. Even though it was hard, they were almost to the finish line. They had kept their relationship a secret for months in the outer villages and had even managed to prevent anyone from figuring them out in the castle for two weeks—well, aside from Preston, but the boy was too nosy for his own good. What was a few more days? Once the party was over and John gave his blessing—gods willing—they could finally be together without any more tiptoeing around. The thought helped strengthen his resolve.

“I like the way you think,” he grinned at her when she said they would have to figure out a way to rub it in the others’ faces. After being forced to play by everyone else’s rules for so long, he couldn’t wait to do something to push back. He wanted William and Elizabeth and Layth and all the rest of the people who had wronged him to find out about them in the most satisfying way possible. Maybe that was what he could work on to keep his mind occupied before the upcoming party.

As Penelope wrapped her arm around his waist, Crow smiled fondly and slipped his arm around her shoulders. Everything else aside, he was glad that he was going to have her when it was all over. The waiting would be worth it as long as she would be his wife when they reached the end. His heart fluttered excitedly at the thought, and he held her a bit tighter.

“Right,” he rolled his eyes when she brought up the dance lessons Naida was putting them through. “I almost forgot about that.” He casted her a half smile. “Are you sure I can’t just stand off to the side while everyone else dances? A week isn’t very long for me to learn everything I need to know.”