"And this is Lord Marchbank." Lady Harcourt pulled me away from Gillingham so roughly that I stumbled and bumped into her. Her smile never even wavered as she presented me to the new man.

Another lord. I'd thought the scarred man was an old soldier, but it seemed he was just another tosspot like Gillingham. My opinion was confirmed when he didn't offer me a smile. He merely looked down his crooked nose and said in the blandest voice, "Miss Holloway."

"My lord," I said in the same bland voice.

He met my gaze with a somewhat cool one of his own, but there was no obvious animosity in his eyes as there was in Lord Gillingham's. He seemed…indifferent. Indifference was fine with me. I felt the same toward him and the other committee members.

"Let's get on with it." Lord Gillingham's walking stick click clacked on the tiles as he headed toward the parlor. When he realized nobody followed, his fingers tightened around the knob. "Well?"

"Charlie needs to eat," Fitzroy said.

"So?"

"We're not starting without her."

"She doesn't need to be present! Indeed, she shouldn't be present."

"We are not starting without her." Fitzroy nodded at Gus, who left us.

Gillingham marched back, proving he didn't need his stick to walk. "You fly too close to the edge, Fitzroy." Only his lips and jowls moved. His jaw remained clenched. "Push us too far and you will see how things lie. You are not indispensable."

Fitzroy turned his back to him, as if he couldn't be bothered wasting his breath on an argument, and indicated I should walk on ahead. Gillingham spluttered his protest at the insult.

"It's only lunch, Gilly," the general said quietly. "We'll wait in the parlor."

"She shouldn't be privy to ministry business." Gillingham raised his voice, insuring I could hear.

We headed to the kitchen, where Cook stood over the range, stirring something in a pot. "Charlie," he said with a nod at me. "Hungry?"

"No, but I've been ordered to eat something."

Gus handed me a plate with lettuce, a slice of bread and a sliver of beef on it. "Sit. Eat."

"You are all so demanding." I sat and accepted the plate.

"They be staying, sir?" Cook asked Fitzroy.

"Not for lunch." Fitzroy stood by me as I ate, which would have been enough to put me off my appetite if I'd had one. "Have tea brought in."

Cook set the wooden spoon aside and handed Gus a pot. "Fill it."

Gus left with the pot just as Seth arrived. "Lord Gilly's in a fine mood today," he said. "What set him off?"

Fitzroy's gaze met mine. "Me," I said, cutting up my beef. "He seems to have something against lying, thieving necromancers. Can't think why."

"Ignore him." Seth placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I was so surprised at the intimate gesture that I pulled away. A blush infused his cheeks. "My apologies," he mumbled. "I forgot that you're a…"