The Breach Of Promise Affair - Ch. 2

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Illya sat at the corner table of the saloon, his eyes on the doors and his hands around a pint. Despite post-war renovations, the Portly Porter retained its Victorian atmosphere, the sign labeling the adjacent room as the Cocktail Lounge one of the few indications that the pub and the Eastern Grande Hotel surrounding it had been acquired by Americans.

Donald Marsden was late. As Illya slowly drained his pint, the pattern of his thoughts was reflected in an occasional flex of his lips and a sardonic tilt of his brows. These mental abstractions did not prevent his noting each new patron, whether arriving by the street entrance or the door to the Lounge intended for hotel guests and those willing to pay higher prices for wait service. Expenses had been steep that month, so he was not willing.

The image takes you to Ch. 2 on AO3.