"Marcus," he tells her, putting the cigarettes back in his pocket and then offering his hand in introduction. "Trust me, duck, you needn't apologize. I'm hardly the right man for a schmoozy social gathering. Between you and me, I do believe my employer sent me here as a test to make sure I'm not likely to insult anyone important."

He's smiling as he says it, private and teasing, though there's some truth in his words. Marcus has never been a great poster boy for anything. The Church had kept him more or less a secret for the entirety of his career because of his sheer inability to suffer fools and their bullshit.

They had only kept him around at all because he had been the only exorcist worth a damn in their arsenal. Except perhaps Bennett, but Marcus was never going to admit that aloud.