Frankie has been in the fleet a few years when he meets Cash, who is, himself, fresh out of officer training, slipping straight into midshipman status--status that Cash can get just by virtue of being a gentleman's son, trained and groomed and bought a commission. Frankie is almost tempted to resent him for it, the way he resents some of the other ( Read more... )

Frankie's not like his brothers. He doesn't miss or long for the parents he doesn't remember. He doesn't have any residual mixed feelings or uncertainty about Mike who, before too long, has been a part of his life for much longer than he hasn't been. He never feels at all out of place in the slums, which raised him almost as certainly as his ( Read more... )

For all that she loves the business of serious espionage, simple gossip has always been something she appreciated, and Alex and Cash know how to do it right. And they're smart about it, too. They know how to cause a scene that sets a ball rolling that makes people go how they want One of the reasons Cash's such a good officer is he can see things ( Read more... )

Cash had been taught that (despite his name), money was something to be hoarded and guarded and only let out under strict supervision.

Then Alex asked him to come along as he ran a few errands for Lady Saporta.

"A few errands," it seemed, translated into "get everything I need for an epic ball."

And whilst shopping for flower arrangements and catering ( Read more... )

She doesn't pick this Alex out, choose him to be her protege, set out to select an heir, but sometimes, she'll give him a little, secret smile, and he'll smile back. Sometimes she'll ask him what he's thinking about and let him go on about Greta's lessons in engineering or the stories Frankie brought home from his last trip. Sometimes, ( Read more... )

He'd heard from the gossip that Mike had sunk to the slums, and then re-emerged in the courts, but he nearly doesn't recognize Mike at first.  He sees Cash and doesn't see a connection, but he's still got to ask - "Mike? Michael Carden?"

Mike looks up, blankly, blinks, and says, "Billy Beckett, Jesus Christ."

"What are you doing with a young rascal ( Read more... )