Crow shrugged when Penelope commented on his ability to pick up new skills in a short amount of time, though a small smile tugged at his lip. He was still a bit nervous that he wouldn’t learn everything he needed to know fast enough to perform in front of an audience, but her flattery did help his confidence. If she thought he could master dancing in just a week’s time, then he probably could. Or at least, he could try to figure out how to make it look like he knew more than he actually did. It was the same trick he pulled with sword fighting.

Since he’d never learned the proper techniques, he made up for it by mimicking the knights he’d watched and trying to get close enough to their moves that it would be hard for an enemy to realize he had very little insight into the complexities of fighting. Maybe he could do the same thing at the party. From what he’d learned so far, the men were supposed to lead, so as long as he managed to get his partner to follow him, he would be fine… He hoped.

As Penelope went on to remind him that there would be people expecting him to fail at this too, he wrinkled his nose. He was getting sick of being the center of attention all the time. He wished the other nobles would just mind their own business and let him adjust to castle life in peace. Of course, there was no way they would let him get away without meeting their standards at the party though. Until his name faded from the forefront of their minds, he was going to have to keep putting up with their whispering gossip.

He glanced ahead as he felt the knight pull away from his side. They were almost back to the open road. Reluctantly, he shifted to walk a bit further away from her so no one could accuse them of being close. “I know I have to dance with the other women for appearances, but I wish I could save them all for you,” he said with a smile, turning back to her again. More so than that, he wished she was able to save all her dances for him. He understood that in noble culture it was normal for all the eligible men and women to dance with each other, but it was going to be difficult for him to watch the other noblemen vie for her attention. It was going to feel good when they could finally come forward and let everyone know they were together.

“Maybe next time, I can,” he mused, letting his thoughts roam to what would come once the party was over and the knight accomplished her goal.