“So are you and Marcus finally getting along?" he asked. "She threatened to castrate me," Marcus said. I nodded. "Sure did."Will blinked and stiffened uncomfortably. "Oh.""That's not nice, Ell," Kate scolded. "Boys need those.”

“Tell me everything about this woman you once knew. Tell me everything she ever told you about Jesus of Nazareth." Marcus saw the fever in his eyes. "Why?" he said, frowning. "Why does it matter?""Just tell me, Marcus Lucianus Valerian. Tell me everything. From the beginning. Let me decide for myself what matters."And so Marcus did as he was asked. He gave in to his deep need to speak of Hadassah. And all the while he talked of her, he failed to see the irony in what he was doing. For as he told the story of a simple Judean slave girl, Marcus Lucianus Valerian, a Roman who didn't believe in anything, proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

“I needed to get out and my roomies had both left me for the night so I followed the pretty one here.” Did Marcus just call me pretty?”

“Why would he bother? He has no more wish to wed than I.”“How do you know?” Anthony asked. “Did you ask him?”Her face heated, and Anthony covered his eyes. “Pray do not say another word. I don’t wish to know.”“Bridgeton had a choice, Sara,” Marcus said. “And he chose marriage.”“Get married or die. I vow, how did he make up his mind so quickly?”“I wanted to shoot him,” Anthony offered. “But Marcus would not allow it.”“You are both insufferable!”

“If you do not apologize to Lady Honoria,” Marcus said, his voice so mild as to be terrifying, “I will kill you.”There was a collective gasp, and Daisy faked a swoon, sliding elegantly into Iris, who promptly stepped aside and let her hit the floor.“Oh, come now,” Mr. Grimston said. “Surely it won’t come to pistols at dawn.”“I’m not talking about a duel,” Marcus said. “I mean I will kill you right here.”

“Sean grinned. “And like the pro you are, you didn’t miss a beat.”“It takes more than a naked chest to rattle me,” she shot back. “Don’t forget, I was able to do love sceneswith Marcus and not puke.”“You should get a reward for that."“I did,” she said softly. “I get to work with you.”