When Penelope answered his question by doubling over, Crow startled and fumbled to hold her long hair back as her stomach purged itself of the alcohol that had made her ill. At least she seemed to be feeling slightly better when it was over. He pressed a swift kiss to her cheek once she stood up straight again and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, laughing softly at how proud she was about punching the knight who’d gotten in his face. “I’m impressed you sent him to the floor like this,” he admitted with an incredulous shake of his head. “You’re frightening even when you’re drunk.”

At the sound of Kane’s voice behind them, the viceroy tensed reflexively. He peered back over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes, staying close to Penelope. The nobleman may have been apologetic now, but that didn’t change the fact that he’d assumed he was trying to take advantage of her when there had been no evidence. He was still simmering over how quickly the other men had jumped to such terrible conclusions about him, just because he had been a thief before he had been brought in by the king.

While Penelope corrected Kane about the situation, herself, Crow glanced back at the tavern with a slight shiver. In his rush to confront the spiteful knight and then hurry the lieutenant out of the building, he’d left his cloak at the table. He wondered idly if the tavern keeper would let him come back inside long enough to collect it before they left. He was only somewhat chilly now, but the longer he stayed out in the cold, the harder it would be to bear the icy winds. They had a long walk back to the castle that night, and the snowstorm didn’t look like it would be letting up anytime soon. He would have rather bundled up in thick fabric than arrive at the palace turning blue.

He turned back to the others as the three knights approached, watching them hostilely. To his relief, Kane was finally backing down about protecting Penelope from her big bad “predator,” and for a moment it seemed like they would be parting ways, as Crow had been wanting to do from the start. But, of course, it was too good to be true.

The viceroy felt a flash of anger as the same knight who had taunted him turned his dagger tongue on the lieutenant. She didn’t deserve to be treated that way by a fool who knew nothing about her. He wouldn’t stand to listen to the man ridicule her either.

“Bastard!” he snapped, pulling away from her side to call after the knight. “She’s done more for this kingdom than any of you ever will!” With a scoff that left his lips in a vapor as cold as his voice, he turned away from the group of nobles to press close to Penelope again, using her touch both to calm him and to keep warm as a frigid breeze blew through the street. By now, he couldn’t stop trembling in the cold and gooseflesh had risen on his skin.

“What the hell was that all about?” Naida crossed her arms, watching Kane and his posse walk off with a frown.

Crow ignored her question. “I left my cloak inside,” he murmured to Penelope, taking a small step away from her. “I’ll be right back.” Wasting no more time in the snow, he turned and jogged back to the tavern to retrieve it, leaving the two noblewomen alone while he braved the wrath of the tavern keeper.