“I’m sober, and I thought it was great,” Crow pointed out with a smirk. He liked seeing Penelope look so happy after she had felt stressed about the speech and guilty when Cedric had kissed her. In his opinion, it was a great end to the night. As long as they could get out of the ballroom without any more interruptions, that was. He was well aware of the other people who were watching them, lying in wait for their chance to speak to the knight. However, almost every one of the noblemen had flushed faces. If they were careful, he was sure they could slip out without anyone realizing they were gone.

“They’re not as alert as they look,” the viceroy shrugged when Penelope pointed out the people keeping an eye on them. “We can leave at separate times just in case anyone happens to notice. I doubt anyone will care if I’m gone, but you can make up an excuse if you find it harder to get away.” He paused, his eyes flicking to Cedric, who looked like he was still considering approaching her. Even though he didn’t like the thought of leaving her alone while her former suitor was around, it would be easier if he went first. He just hoped the other man wouldn’t prevent her from following after him.

“All we need is a meeting place,” he mused softly, considering the next step of the plan. “My bedchamber is out of the question. The castle may be pretty empty right now, but there are still guards posted on the upper levels, since my father and the queen are in their quarters right now. They would find it strange if they saw you wandering around up there at this hour.” He turned back to her expectantly. “Do you have any other ideas? I’ll can go ahead and meet you there.”