Penelope’s startled reaction was amusing to Crow. A pleased smile tugged at his lip when she turned around suddenly to face him. Even though the skills he’d developed as a thief weren’t a necessity anymore, he enjoyed being able to practice them when he could. There was no telling if being able to sneak up on someone would come in handy again one day. It was better to stay sharp than grow complacent and regret getting soft later on. Plus, he just liked poking fun at the knight sometimes.

“I’d never forget about you,” he smiled at her fondly as she took his arm. “You’re just so popular tonight that it’s been hard to steal you away from all your new admirers.” Walking over to the center of the room, he felt eyes on his back. His gaze flitted over the crowd to see that they were being watched by a small number of men and women. Among the latter, he saw Tilla and Fye and a few others who had been vying for his attention within the last week. By that, he guessed the male observes were those who were after the knight’s affections. He felt a smug sense of satisfaction that they all had to wait for him to have his turn with her instead of the other way around for once. For the length of the next song, they couldn’t be interrupted.

As the music began to play, the viceroy fell into the rhythm more naturally than he had with the other three women he’d danced with that night. Since Penelope was the one he had practiced on, it was easier for him to synchronize his steps with hers. Her movements were familiar to him, and he could predict the way she would respond to the signals he sent with his hands since they were both used to each other already. Additionally, he was more relaxed with her because he didn’t have to worry about what she thought of his abilities. The combination of factors made him a much smoother lead than before.

“Have you been having fun so far?” he asked, walking her through a slow spin. Talking made it more difficult to focus on the dance, but he cared more about spending a few minutes of quality time with her than he did about keeping up an impressive appearance for their audience. “I know there’s a serious reason for this party, but I’d hope you’re at least enjoying the prelude to the speech.”