Twice Fallen by Emma Wildes

sat back, aware enough that Charles did everything in his own time. “I’m sure she’ll be flattered.”
    “We have a small problem that I hoped you might clear up for me.”
    Well, at least it wasn’t going to take forever. Damien made an encouraging sound and took a bite of toast.
    “It’s delicate.” Charles decided on the marmalade and scooped some out of the jar, spreading it liberally on his toast. “It occurred to me that since you’ve made a rare art form of finding information and keeping the good while discarding the bad, all the while being quiet about it, you might be just the man for the task.”
    It was a bit cloudy outside, just overcast enough to give the sky a tinge of gray, with a whiff of rain in the air. Damien contemplated the leaden horizon through the window. “Most information is neither good nor bad. It just depends on the perspective of the one receiving it.”
    “So true.” Charles took a generous bite of his toast and then meticulously wiped his mouth with his napkin.
    Damien had to laugh. “It tends to make me nervous when you agree with me.… What is it you want, Charles?”
    “I thought I just made it clear that I want you to seek and find who is causing this… sticky problem. There could be more than one quarry. I’m inclined to think so. It should be a small task. From the accolades you gained in the war, we both know the assignment will not be much of a feat for you.”
    “Last I knew, I was no longer in the service of the Crown,” Damien said dryly, picking up one last forkful of eggs.
    There was a little bacon left and Charles took it, making an appreciative sound in his throat. “A mere detail.”
    “Perhaps it isn’t to me.”
    “Humph.” Charles shot him a glance. “Is that so? Tell me no, and I will leave. After all, this requires discretion of the highest kind, and I have little desire to waste my time.”
    Damn the man
.
    Maybe it was the realization that both his brothers were happily married men with families; that most of his adult life had been spent on a cause that was over and done with, and that while he might enjoy the freedom of not looking constantly over his shoulder, he still had the hunger of the hunt.
    And Charles, the sly fox, knew it even as he wiped his fingers on a pristine white napkin and refilled his own cup with a flourish.
    Damien said abruptly, “What does the address mean?”
    “Ah, I thought you would not be able to resist.”
    “It seems intrigue follows me, but at least you are not a young lady urgently needing a secret passage.”
    For once Charles was the one who looked perplexed. “I beg your pardon?”
    “Never mind. Who would I be looking for, and why is this important to the British government?”
    “Did I mention the British government?”
    Damien set down his cup with a decided clink. “Damn all, Charles, if you are asking for my help, don’t dance around it.”
    “As I said, it’s all very delicate.” Charles sighed. “Andyou are right,
I
am asking for your help. It’s quite personal, but I suppose you will have to know the particulars. Perhaps you could ask if Mrs. Wheaton could bring us some more coffee. Aside from a bit of sordid blackmail, someone is missing, and I fear he might turn up as another suicide. Ask her for more of that delectable jam, as well, will you?”
    “How awkward this is.” The words fell starkly into the stilted silence.
    Damn
, Lily thought, hoping her consternation didn’t show.
    The chance meeting was unfortunate, but it was also bound to happen. Actually, Lily was surprised she hadn’t crossed paths with Lady Sebring before now. Certainly they’d taken care to avoid each other at public functions now that Lily had rejoined society, but until this moment, they had never come face-to-face in relative privacy.
    The foyer of the fashionable establishment was a reflection of the expensive price of patronizing it, the polished floors inlaid with Italian marble, and there were twin