But what about joining Marcus in Black Rose? Did you read LeBlanc Judgement? Swain defends Marcus:
"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visitation, Jericho Swain?" she asked. Swain's crooked hand curled around the handle of his teacup and he put the steaming hot beverage to his lips.
"Exquisite," he rasped. "Matron LeBlanc, you have always had impeccable taste."
"I have," she agreed with a smile; but there was only sadness in it. She stretched an arm across the table, clasping his scarred hand in hers. "But then, you already knew that. You knew it before you sold yourself."
Swain pressed a thorned onyx ring into her hand. "It is true. I have made sacrifices. But I made them for us. The Black Rose is yours, Matron, but I have become something greater." As if in agreement, the raven on his shoulder cawed. "The time has come. Join me in fellowship, and we can restore what was taken from us by Boram Darkwill."
She gazed at the ring, "You have forsaken your identity to gain Darkwill's trust. The rest will not be so eager."
"Perhaps. But there are other ways," Swain continued.
A porter arrived in the doorway to announce an additional guest. "General Du Couteau is here to see you, Matron."
LeBlanc shot Swain a curious glance. "Send him up," she replied. The porter exited the study. "Du Couteau is that vulgar General's lapdog," she spat. "He will be of no use to us, Jericho."
"Perhaps you're mistaken, Deceiver. He is of noble blood," said Swain.
LeBlanc held up the ring. "But he is not one of us!"