They tell writers to "murder your darlings", meaning that you must be willing to sacrifice even the most gorgeous scene for the good of the story. So I have learned to be ruthless, but still, I can't always bear to throw all those bits on the fire. This is one of the Spared Darlings from The Mermaid Stair (Crooked Cat, 2014) that just didn't quite work in the end. Ben and Raven are guests in a house outside of Roman Londinium. They have a mission. Secrecy is essential.