Crow nodded thoughtfully when Penelope said she was going to speak to his father as soon as possible. He wasn’t yet close enough to Albin to know what his schedule consisted of, but he hoped the king would make time to meet with her and see just how many people in his kingdom wanted to see the war end peacefully. From the brief glimpse he’d gotten of the petition at the party, it had looked like a compelling list. In his opinion, the monarch would have been making a rather unpopular decision if he stubbornly decided to go forward with his original plan to form an alliance with Gorm after this.

Thinking about his father, the viceroy was reminded of the brief conversation they’d had a while back in which Albin had advised him against courting anyone. The memory made him frown slightly. He had been fortunate enough to earn John’s blessing, but there was no telling what the king would say when he found out about his intention to marry Penelope. From what he knew about noble culture, the woman’s family had far more say in the matter than the man’s, but his father was the ruler of the entire kingdom. His word carried more weight than the average duke or baron. If Albin wanted him to wait until he was further along in his training, he wasn’t sure if they would be able to refute him.

Crow was drawn from his thoughts when Penelope asked him about his attendant. “Preston?” he echoed bemusedly. “They do know each other, so I’m sure he can.” He wasn’t sure how much contact his servant had with his father’s attendant, since Preston often kept to himself. Though they had shared stories about their experiences in Myrefall, he knew next to nothing about the boy’s current life in the castle. The peasant was something of an enigma, quiet and difficult to read. Regardless, he had seen him with Hunter two separate times, so that gave him enough reason to believe the former knew how to find the latter.

“He should be at the Great Hall this morning,” he mused. Since he’d spent the night in Penelope’s bedchamber, the dining area was the most likely place for his attendant to find him if he had been clever enough to put two and two together. The boy already knew about his secret relationship with the knight, so he was sure he would have realized what had happened when he had been missing from his room. [i]But just in case…[/i] “If we don’t run into him there, I can look for him after my lesson with the king and pass the message on for you.”