Crow smirked at his sister when Penelope compared her to Olivia. He hadn’t thought about it too much, but the lieutenant was right. Naida and Olivia both had a propensity to stir up trouble no matter where they were or who they were with. He wondered who had been the bad influence on whom between the two of them. It seemed more likely that the princess had picked up the childish habits from the knight, since she struck him as impressionable, and Olivia’s antics were usually even more disastrous. However, he couldn’t put it past Naida to have been the one behind it either.

He was just about to put in his two cents when Penelope decided to get Preston involved. “Alright,” he narrowed his eyes at his attendant as the boy assured the lieutenant that he would keep him in line. “I don’t need any babysitters.”

“You wouldn’t wake up or dress yourself on your own today,” Preston pointed out.

Behind him, Naida snorted, and Crow reddened. “You don’t have to make it sound like I threw a fit,” he hissed, leaning sideways in his saddle to give the boy’s arm a shove. “It’s not that unusual for a man to want to sleep in, and I dressed myself without your help.” After he had fought with the boy about the feathered hat, but he kept that part to himself.

“If you say so,” the servant shrugged, looking away to observe their surroundings. “I pity Penelope though. Being your attendant is tiresome enough. I can’t imagine what it would be like to be your wife.”

“It’s a good thing you’ll never have to find out,” Crow muttered, trying to will away the ruddy color in his cheeks.

“Gods, Collin. Where did you find him?” Naida cackled, thoroughly entertained by the exchange. “All my handmaids ever say is ‘yes, my lady’ and ‘no, my lady.’ They’re so dull.”

“You would miss the dull servants after putting up with an attitude like his for a full day,” Crow rolled his eyes at Preston.

“That is what the stocks are for,” Percival mused with a frown. “There are measures in place to prevent servants from stepping out of line.”

Crow peered back at him, slightly surprised by the knight’s solution. It seemed like Percy had missed the humor in their conversation and thought he was genuinely angry with the attendant. “I wouldn’t punish anyone for speaking their mind,” he said seriously. “Even if he can be a pest, I’d rather put up with his terrible jokes than cause him to be frightened of ‘stepping out of line.’”

“A healthy dose of fear is good for a servant,” Otto spoke up this time, having been listening quietly to their discussion the whole time. “It keeps them on their toes and reminds them of their place. If you are not yet comfortable handling your attendant, I would be happy to teach you how to manage him.”

“I’d prefer it if you didn’t,” Crow said quickly, disliking where that offer could go if he didn’t shut it down right away. Deciding to change the subject to stop the knights from giving him any more suggestions, he turned to Penelope to ask her if there were any places she wanted to visit during their trip back to the border and then paused. She looked tense to him, sitting stiffly in her saddle as if she was bracing herself for something. He eyed her concernedly, unsure what could have caused the shift in her mood.

“Are you okay, love?” he asked in a low voice, reaching out to rest a hand on her arm. “You look like you just saw a ghost.”