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Julian was known for having the sday and night to copy the cut of his coats, the jet-black color of his hair But no matter how faithfully they reproduced his look, they reinal It wasn’t Julian’s clothes they coveted; it was his devilish appeal, his incisive wit His shoulders filled out a topcoat quite nicely, but his presence filled rooain soon--the adht be his saving grace

Lily hurried across the square, then the street, and up the steps of Harcliffe House She stopped in the entry to address the butler "I’d like the carriage readied, Swift Quickly, please I intend to pay a call"

Swift masked his surprise quite well Normally, she never paid calls, not on her own But this was life after Leo--a series of tiny, halting steps toward independence

While she waited for the carriage, she went back to Leo’s study Just thinking of her conversation with Julian, not to ent pleas she must make to Amelia … her mind hirl She sat down at the desk and flipped open the ledger she’d abandoned, hoping to gather some composure from the orderly coluures, and he couldn’t be bothered to keep watch over the various estate accounts Rather than trust it all to the stewards, Lily had gladly assuers Loved the precise, elegant pen strokes they required, the neat rows of colu a month’s expenses and income to the last penny

Just as she and Leo had balanced each other From childhood, it had always been this way Where one of the His personality was affable and outgoing, while hers was reserved, reflective After her fever and resulting deafness, they’d settled even further into those roles Leo handled the social obligations of the marquessate, while she kept the accounts and papers in line Lily had always been proud of hoell they worked as a teareater than its parts

But now Leo had died And she was left with only half a life She hadn’t cultivated her social side forapportioned that duty to her brother His acquaintances were hers; his social circle defined her own Lily’s own friendships--such as the one she’d shared with Alect

As for Leo … who could iht have unfolded very differently, had they not depended on each other so lea brass The handle of the topmost desk drawer taunted her

With impulsive speed, she rose fro her seat, she fished a small, flat key froed it open, stared into it for a e, she reh she’d just shut the door not a lance at it now to assure herself of her privacy It had been a close call, earlier, when Julian had interrupted her Fortunately, she’d been able to cache the letters and her e his comment or concern

Shefingers and a ha pulse, she opened the time-faded paper and read

Salutations are forbiddenI refuse to conteinning, without end A fitting reflection of my love

My love, my love

Come soon I am in torment

Julian did indeed have an appointht have supposed, and he took a circuitous route to ent Streets, with their many ht have stopped in to order a neaistcoat with contrasting embroidery, or a coat with an extra button on the cuff These small modifications to accepted style were the way he’d harnessed the allegiance of England’s young aristocrats He now pulled the on a worsted thread, to the point that the bucks of the ton would wear undyed ho

It took him twenty minutes to walk to his relatively modest home, just over the boundary into Bloo in a showier part of Town, but this house suited his needs Its common rooms were unremarkable, cramped, and unsuitable for parties, which absolved hi invitations The third floor, however, was one vast, lavish bedrooly Most usefully, at the rear it backed against a busy , he followed his habit of proceeding directly to his library A young man dozed in an armchair by the ide-brinized hiate Leo’s ry--and reputed to be the best Leo deserved no less than the best

The best, however, needed to look alive Julian slammed the library door

Harris ith a start As his boots hit the floor, he blurted out, "GoodI’ll deter he didn’t already know He’d also attended the boxing ht The bout had featured one of the saht of Leo’s death The investigator and hisfor anyone who matched the description of Leo’s killers

"I’m sorry, sir," Harris said "After that ot away froered well after the melee, traced all the nearby streets We didn’t see any suspicious activity, other than the usual And no pair ofthe description"

Julian nodded his understanding What description they had was pitiful indeed The prostitute who’d witnessed the attack could only describe Leo’s killers as two large ; one bald, the other with a Scots accent

He sank into the rich, tufted leather of his desk chair, deflating with fatigue and frustration Almost five months since Leo’s death, and despite the discovery of new information and witnesses, he was no closer to the killers now than he had been the day his friend was buried And so long as the attackers themselves went free, the name of their e just which of his many enemies had discovered his true identity and ordered his death He’d been going at it fro to ferret out the brutes, rather than the man or men who’d hired them

"Very well," he told Harris "That will be all"