Friends and Foes by Sarah Eden

   Napoleon has been on the back burner for some time now since his exile. But, he continues to play a role in the life of Lord Philip Jonquil or spy Philip Jonquil, in a relatable sense. He's been tracking a spy, Le Fontaine, related to Napoleon for years. Now he has one more chance. But, he needs to play his personal role along with his official role very close together. Like a two-act show played with cut screen. Now at a month long Christmas party with his close friends, and 7 brothers heaving a huge weight on him, his prospects seem less likely. Thinks take a turn around as he meets Sorrel, momentarily. But, even she takes a tole on him, heavier then the rest. Sorrel is a fast talking cripple, in her own words, she was trampled by a horse two years before they met, and did not receive medical treatment due to familiar matters. Now walking, moving, laying, and sleeping are a painful burden for her. She can't lean to her left, or even bend the knee. It was smashed from the hip down, and she has to rely heavily on a cane. Starting the world wind of how Philip and Sorrel met before the party. The case of the mistaken cane. Philip's philandering care-free cover at the party causes him to misspeak before he realizes the purpose of Sorrel's cane. To say that he put his foot in his mouth would be a drastic understatement, but Sorrel doesn't take his simple apology as easy as he would have liked. Instead she declares a literary war on him, for the remainder of the party. But, now Sorrel's attendance seems necessary when she overhears a conversation between Le Fontaine and his contact, when Philip and his partner where absent. Now they must work together, and put each others lives both in danger when the try to overtake Le Fontaine, his men, and his contact off shore. Not only are the guns one of the scary items to be faced in this book, but also horses. Sorrel must face horses again after the two-years of avoidance because of her incident. Napoleon really does have a huge effect on every one directly or indirectly.