Eliza raised the pencil, resting the nib on the paper, before sighing resignedly and shaking her head in frustration. 

She dropped the pencil and pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.

"Eliza!." The quiet voice coming from behind her sent her flying out of her seat in alarm; she half turned, half crouched in a defensive position before she realized that it was Romano’s voice. 

 Of course that didn't make her feel any safer than an unknown intruder would have done. Romano had both ...