When Penelope reaffirmed that she was also anticipating the day when they could stop keeping their relationship a secret, Crow’s visage softened in spite of himself. He spent a large portion of his free time imagining what it would be like to move towards marrying the knight, so the eagerness in her voice made his heart swell with affection. He already knew it was what they both wanted, but the dream was finally within their grasp. It had taken more than two years and a number of unexpected twists, but he was still just as committed to the thought of being with her forever as he had been when he’d waited for her in the Black Dagger years ago. He couldn’t wait for the ceremony to finally happen.

As she mentioned her father, the viceroy shuffled his feet beneath the table with nervous energy. Though he had made his peace with the party, he still didn’t know what John would say when he asked for permission to court his daughter. The knight had been cordial with him lately, but he was so stoic all the time that it was hard to read his thoughts. His stomach twisted at the thought of being turned down. Although it hadn’t been his intention, spending so much time with the older man had made him realize he had more respect for him than he’d thought. In the span of a few weeks, John had become one of the few people whose advice he actually considered and whose opinion actually mattered to him. If the knight denied his request to marry Penelope, it would have been more crushing than he would ever admit.

“Right,” he forced a smile at her mention of finding out where her father stood on the subject. “Hopefully he’ll be receptive once this mess is all sorted out.” He certainly hoped the strict man wasn’t just biding his time to let him down later on.

“I’m glad,” his smile turned more genuine when she said she was feeling better. Personal issues aside, he was happy to see that she wasn’t as worried as she had been when she’d first sat down. She had done everything she could to prepare for the party. If anything, he thought she should be proud of how well it was all coming together. He was certainly impressed with the work she and the other nobles had put into it until now.

Glancing over her shoulder, Crow watched as Preston and a young, female servant walked up to bring their food to the table. He offered his attendant a word of thanks and wasted no time tearing into the dark bread on his plate. “What do you have left to do today?” he asked after swallowing a mouthful. “I don’t have a lesson scheduled, so I was thinking I might go for a walk to get out of the castle for a bit.”