"Invite them for Yule dinner," he snorted, rubbing his face. "We'll think of something. We have some time still before the trap is sprung. And we may miraculously even be lucky. He may do his job and be done with it all."

Fletcher's teasing didn't have the intended effect however. The nobleman's shoulders dropped further and a sad expression flitted across his features before he was able to catch and quell it.

"There are other pleasure houses. And people who don't belong to a house. And people who aren't even in the business of pleasure. I'm sure if it came to it you'd still have plenty of options to suit your moods."

His reply was logical and calm but Theo could not meet his lover's eyes. It made him feel low knowing that he was unable to provide everything that Fletcher needed of him. But what concerned him further was the fact that as a wholly inexperienced lover himself, he may end up putting the man off intimacy with Theo entirely once they ever reached the point of laying fully with each other. They would cross that bridge when they got to it and with everything else going on, Theo didn't feel able to express such concerns. There were far more pressing matters to deal with than his current lack of sex life. 

"No, no, it's nothing. I'm fine. No need to fuss. Just a cough." Right on cue, the smoke triggered it again, and he scowled at his own bad timing, but carried on nevertheless. "Yeah. It'll need coin. Might be pretty steep, actually. They don't betray their own and they don't make a habit of selling their clients out. Dunno about records. I'm usually a bit preoccupied when I'm there. 

"I'll need to think on an angle for us. Some way to either get them to give it up willingly, or give me enough for some other lead. Might end up getting myself banned, which — " He stopped mid-sentence to wince at the thought of being cut off from a vice so completely. Then he raised an eyebrow at Theo and grinned. "Bully for you if that ever happens, ey? Your bastard man losing his whoring? Like Yule came early, I'm sure."

"Aye I imagine it all gets quite stagnant with the house being shut up for the winter. I'm sorry you're struggling with it. The healer in town might have a tonic that can help. I know he prescribes me one when the spring flowers first arrive and wreak havoc on my senses."

Theo did not answer until he was sat upon their bench with his back resting against the tree. The air was frigid but it helped to wake him up some and he turned his mind back to the topic at hand. Thoughts of Fletcher without apparel and stolen kisses could wait for their return indoors.

"I think talking at the Siren would be a good start. If it requires coin I will cover it. Find out if he has friends and connections as well. Do they keep client lists? Could you procure them if they did? Our blackmail may not be so much him as his wealthy clients who have been promised discretion."

Fletch leaned into Theo's touch for the first time since they'd come back from the piano room. "For a kiss? Or a smoke?" he joked with a sly tilt of the head. He drew away and let Theo's hand slide from his fingers. "You're right. We should be going. Can't get too caught up in this during the day or I'd never leave these rooms."

He led the way back out, careful to avoid being sighted by anyone but the staff. They passed down through the kitchen together, ducking out the servant's entrance and into the frigid afternoon. Fletch pulled his coat tighter around himself and shivered, and as the cold air hit his lungs, he could feel the cough returning. He let it out into his sleeve again. "Bloody hell," he muttered, clearing his throat and trying to get a handle on it. "Swear it's the dust in that place." He shook it off and continued on across the grounds until at last they reached that same old corner with the bench and the pail.

Fletch wasted no time in lighting up, or in continuing the subject that they'd touched on earlier. "Right. So you tell me, then: how do you want me to dig up dirt on him? Far as I see it, there's The Siren and fuck all else for ways in. Could always start with the women there, though. Talking. Not sleeping with 'em," he clarified.

He wobbled on his feet some looking drained but relieved. Gently he moved closer and embraced Fletcher again. "Promise to keep yourself. Promise to always return. I will not consider it leaving me otherwise. You're equally stuck with me I'm afraid."

Theo pulled back enough so he could kiss the other man tenderly. "Let's get you that walk and smoke  before that list of kisses is fully explored. I know you're likely practically rabid for one by now."

"Mmm...you know I'm joking, don't you? About the running and hiding part. They kick me, I'm not leaving you here like this. I'll find a way back. Maybe that's a chat for another time, though." Fletcher caught Theo's soft, nimble hand and held it in his own. He drew it towards him and pressed his lips against the man's knuckles like an unspoken apology. "I'm not leaving you," he repeated, more earnestly this time. "I'm not losing you. You're stuck with me. Terrible decision on your part, really," he added with a little smirk and a twinkle in his eye. "As for kissing my arse, well. I can think of a few other places further up on the list before we come around to that. Can't you?"

"I believe you." Theo stepped back into him and pulled him close. "I believe you and I trust you. We will do this and we will do it together. Just...don't be reckless. And in turn I'll be more mindful in my interactions with her. We have each other right? Neither of us are alone to do this without the other anymore. I'm here to help support you and you're here to help me figure out what you can help with."

He gave him another squeeze and rubbed his arms. "And I hope it never comes to it but...I'm glad there's somewhere safe for you."

Theo gave a slight side eye of mischief though. "They may night kiss your behind though. That's my privilege and I'm not sharing it."

Theo was right. He was right about all of it. Fletch had been so confident in the plan that he'd forgotten where he was, and under whose thumb. And in Theo's shoes, he'd be more than hurting — he'd be livid. He'd be screaming. He gazed at Theo now with a sick and mournful guilt like he might break down right there in front of the man. "I'm sorry. I'm just so used to...fighting. I forget you're not him, sometimes. But...you're right. I won't. I won't do it. That's a promise. But you've got to help me find another way. And I'm not leaving, alright? I'm not. It would break me too."

Fletcher glanced at the door and back again as though worried that the Baron would come marching in, summoned by the mere mention of him. "And if the worst ever happens, and your dad tries anything, he's got another thing coming. That's another promise. I'm not scared of whatever he thinks he can do to me. I don't give a flying fuck about my reputation here. These nobles can come to I'káa, lose an eye to Big Guy, and then kiss my arse."

He sighed tiredly and allowed Fletcher to step away from him, his hands dropping to his sides. When he spoke it was with complete calmness filled with traces "And I'm asking you not to do it for me. I'm saying that it makes me feel worse than if you had cheated willingly. I mean, would you be alright if I slept with Edwina and said it was for your sake? That I wanted nothing to do with it but it was the fastest way I could protect you? That my heart belongs to you but I haven't body freely for your sake to another?

"It doesn't feel good to me. Not for that matter does outing you and putting you at that risk. This house is dangerous enough as it is. One wrong word and my father will see you gone and your life made hell. I will not survive it Jack. I will not survive you being driven apart from me. That is how deeply I care for you. Is it truly so awful of me to feel jealous and afraid for you over such a thing?"

"I'm only saying it because it's the truth. If I want something, I take it when it's offered, Theo. Always have. Deserving it's another matter. You can't look at me and then look at you and argue otherwise."

At Theo's mention of Neal, he drew back. The sour look returned. "Well from where I'm standing, you don't have to sit there and watch like I do with you and her," he snapped. "What, you think I want to? The thought makes me sick. It's the quickest way to get him to think I'm a vulnerability. I need his guard down and I need him to think he's winning. That's it. That's all it is. Don't turn this into me sleeping around on you. I'm doing it for you."