With freshly cooked food on the table, Crow wasted no time filling his mouth with the expertly seasoned veal he had requested. He sighed contentedly and chased the first bite with a swig of sweet mead. Once they passed beyond the edge of the inner kingdom, they would be reduced to eating whatever they had packed in their bags before they left the castle, so he took full advantage of the hot meal on his plate.

When Otto spoke up to address Penelope, he casted the baron a sideways glance. When Theroulde had first told them that they would be dividing up three beds, he had assumed that he would be able to share one with the lieutenant. Only belatedly did he realize that since intimacy in most forms was frowned upon by nobles, they wouldn’t be able to sleep next to each other while they were still unwed. The thought was disappointing, but he couldn’t argue against it. Now that they were so close to arranging their marriage, he didn’t want to do anything to slip up and risk losing John’s blessing. There was no way of knowing if anyone in the group would tell Penelope’s strict father if they had shared a bed, but it wasn’t worth finding out.

Privately, he hoped Penelope would choose to stay in the same room with them regardless. After their talk about the possibility of mercenaries in Brerra, he didn’t want to leave her alone where she could be attacked. The scar that marked her face reminded him that he’d already almost lost her to the paid killers before, and he could still vividly imagine the discolored streak from the sword that had cut her chest. He knew he was probably just being paranoid—if there were mercenaries nearby, it was quite clear that he was their target—but regardless, he preferred to keep her close to him until she parted ways to return to her battalion.

Not wanting to bring up his reservations in front of the others, he discreetly slipped his hand underneath the table to hold her leg, hoping that the mildly possessive gesture would be enough to convey that he was concerned about splitting up for the night.

As everyone ate their food, the table lapsed into a comfortable silence. Crow was the first to finish his supper, so he leaned tiredly against Penelope’s side, trying to stay awake while the rest of the group polished off their plates. His exhaustion from the long day had caught up with him while he started digesting the heavy food, so he was ready to sleep by the time they were getting up to retire to their room.

“I don’t care who I share a bed with,” he yawned broadly, taking the lieutenant by the hand as they exited the dining hall. “I just want to lay down.”

Otto cleared his throat. “Did you make up your mind, lieutenant?” He asked, peering back over his shoulder at Penelope. “His Majesty budgeted for us to use larger, more expensive rooms during this trip, so there is enough gold leftover to pay for a second if you’d prefer to be alone.”