“Oh, Major Wolverton, is it?”

Marcus pulled Ellen closer, his hands sliding down to her hips. He cocked his head to the side slightly, searching her face for clues. Was this an invitation? For weeks now, he has been playing the gentleman, something that he felt he was not, and things in his past could probably testify to that. But Ellen was different; she was a real lady. He had never fancied a real lady before, and this had made him circumspect. However, Marcus was never one to overlook an opportunity and it certainly seemed as if Ellen was presenting him with an especially enticing one now.

He leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips again. She kissed him back, her mouth opening slightly. She tasted sweet and he parted his own lips, deepening the kiss. Electricity passed between them. She wrapped her arms about his neck; her body curved to fit neatly into his. Her scent was intoxicating. Their tongues played tentatively together as if tasting forbidden fruit. After a long moment, Ellen gently ended the kiss and took a deep breath. They pulled away slightly and stared at one another, neither of them sure what to say. He gently caressed her cheek with the back of his gloved hand. There was a fire deep inside this woman. He felt a strong desire to get burned.

An uncertain smile slowly formed on Ellen's lips and Marcus grinned broadly. She was obviously pleased if not a little uncertain as to what had just happened. Was she embarrassed by such a wanton moment? Part of her wanted Marcus to kiss her like that again. The other part, a very small part, was shocked that she had allowed herself to engage in such impropriety – and in public, on the streets of London no less! Of course, no one was around.

Regaining some mental composure, Ellen released her hold of Marcus. In doing so, her muff slipped from her arm and fell to the ground. "My muff!" She started to retrieve it, but Marcus quickly held out a hand staying her progress.

"Please, allow me!" he said, feigning the pose of a medieval knight.

Marcus, half bent to retrieve the muff, caught site of a dark figure lunging out of the shadows straight towards Ellen. Without thinking, he whirled around abruptly and threw his weight into the attacker; both crashing to the sidewalk. Marcus moved to grab the man’s shoulders and pin him to the ground, when something sliced into the side of his hand. A hot, burning sensation shot up his arm, and he let out a cry half from surprise and half from pain. The attacker took the advantage to throw Marcus onto his back. The man attempted to get up and over Marcus to gain access to Ellen, but Marcus caught him by his belt and pulled him down on top of him.

Ellen screamed. The source of Marcus' wound became evident when the man charged again, this time leading with the dagger in plain sight. Marcus lunged with both hands to grab the man’s wrist. He stayed the knife’s progress just inches from his chest, but fell back to the ground. With all his strength, he pushed the man’s arm up and away from him. The man staggered to his feet; Marcus did too, while maintaining a hold on the dagger hilt. With his free hand, Marcus struck the fiend a solid stunning blow to the left side of his head, and with his other hand was able to fling the dagger out of the man’s grasp. The weapon soared into the fog and disappeared with a muffled clang. For a moment, the attacker’s gaze followed the disappearing dagger, only to swiftly turn back to Marcus, who had readied himself to continue the fight. Instead, the man turned and darted off into the fog, the sound of his running footsteps fading into the night.