Crow watched expectantly as Penelope prepared herself to address the crowd. Even though she was nervous, he was curious to see what kind of speech she would give. In the time he’d known her, he had never seen the knight take command of anything—at least, not on this scale. She had seemed comfortable enough giving him directions and instructions when they had been in Younis long ago, and he had heard that she’d been a catalyst for change in her battalion. The ability to lead was there. He had just never witnessed it for himself.

[i]You can do it, Penelope,[/i] he thought hopefully, standing up a little straighter when she stumbled over her introduction to the crowd. It was hard for him to imagine what she was feeling as she spoke to a group of people as large as this. He had only been in a similar position twice in his life, the first being his public trail before the last king, when he had been sentenced to life in prison, and the second being his titling ceremony a few weeks ago. In both cases, he hadn’t needed to prepare a monologue to appease the people though. What she was doing now was far more demanding.

“She sounds nervous,” Fye whispered, leaning closer to the viceroy to keep the other nobles around them from overhearing her speak.

“Wouldn’t you be?” Crow casted her a sideways glance. “This room is packed.”

“But I’m not a lieutenant,” she pointed out, turning back to the stage. “Let’s just hope the audience is too drunk to notice her lack of confidence.”

The former thief rolled his eyes. Fye was generally pleasant company, but she was still a noblewoman. He supposed he should have expected her to be critical of the knight’s performance. Looking up at the pedestal as well, he caught Penelope’s gaze. She must have been seeking him out for reassurance. He offered her a smile and a subtle nod to encourage her to go on. Despite her evident nerves and Fye’s opinion about it all, he thought she was doing a good job.

Perhaps his gesture had helped or perhaps the gods had suddenly struck her with the gift of charisma, but for the rest of the speech, Crow stared at Penelope in amazement as she commanded the stage with newfound authority. He’d already known that she had the qualities of a leader, but it was something else entirely to see her take charge of a room with such honesty and passion that he couldn’t help but soak up every word. Discreetly, he glanced around at the other nobles to find that her description of the war and what needed to be done seemed to be affecting them as well. Almost every face was enraptured, and a few had even begun whispering amongst themselves. He caught the mentions of death and lost funds among the topics they discussed in lowered voices.

By the end of the speech, a proud grin spread over the viceroy’s features, and he applauded her with just as much enthusiasm as the rest of the crowd. If her heartfelt request didn’t convince the nobles to join her cause, he didn’t know what would.

“That was… better than I was expecting,” Fye, whom Crow had forgotten existed for a moment, said in a bewildered voice. “She certainly got her act together.”

“She’s good at that,” Crow agreed fondly. Turning to the noblewoman, he nudged her arm. “So, are you going to sign the petition?”

“I think I will,” she smiled back at him. Taking a step away from the wall, she smoothed down her lavish dress. “Good luck with her, Collin. She’s a catch.”

“I know,” he sighed. Parting ways with Fye, he made his way around the edge of the room in the hopes of catching her before she was swarmed again with more admirers. Already, nobles were making their way over to the table that had been set up with the petition papers. He smiled to himself, thrilled to see that the knight’s plan was working. He just hoped the signatures would be enough.