“Oh, goodie,” Crow rolled his eyes with dry sarcasm. “I guess I’ve got it all.” The standards nobles had for picking a spouse were shallow to him. He supposed he could understand the bit about prime marrying age, since it was common for men and women around twenty years to settle down even in the outer villages. In fact, he was older than most peasant men who were still unattached. Most of the couples he’d met tied the knot when they were closer to sixteen or seventeen. At twenty-three, he would have started getting funny looks for being a bachelor if he hadn’t been a wanted criminal.

As for the rest, he didn’t want a noblewoman to approach him just because he had the highest title of anyone outside the royal family. The reason why he’d fallen so hard for Penelope was because she had loved him at his worst. When they’d met, he had been a callous, belligerent thief with little regard for anyone beside himself. In spite of the ways he had been a source of frustration for her, she had shown a gentle understanding unlike anyone he’d interacted with before—aside from his mother, of course. It was her willingness to look past his hostile front and see the broken man underneath that had drawn him to her so fervently. None of the other women in the castle could even come close to the compassion she had shown to the peasant who was, by every right, beneath her.

“You have everything to offer,” he combatted earnestly. “It’s just lucky for me that the other men here are too stupid to see what a catch [i]you[/i] are.” He was sincerely glad he didn’t have to watch the noblemen in the castle try to woo her. It was already frustrating enough to see Cedric try every once in a while. If he had to stand back while other eligible nobles tried their luck with her, it would have been much more difficult to keep himself from telling them he was already with her.

As Penelope went on to say that more nobles might approach her at the party, Crow tensed. Apparently his good luck wouldn’t last much longer. “I hope so too,” he mirrored her expression. “I really don’t want to start seeing other men try to court you.” But everything depended on John’s answer. The thought that the knight could prefer to have his daughter marry a more reputable bachelor than himself made his heart flutter with anticipation.

When she announced that she needed to go, the viceroy’s eyes flitted to her unfinished plate of food before lifting to her face. “Alright,” he said with a hint of reluctance in his voice. He would have liked to see her try to eat a little more before she left, but, knowing she was feeling nervous about the party, he didn’t push her to stay. “I’ll see you tonight then. Good luck.”