Good point. Hold on. I had something on that...
Cold to the world for how he was treated, unable to see his own sour attitude as a cause, Marcus had few friends throughout his life. This changed when he was ordered by the royal house to act as an informant, assigned to the household of Tatiana and Demetri Dumont. Their daughter Cereza came to Dudley's defense when the other guards were pushing him around. The two had an awkward relationship for the next three years, Cereza honestly trying to get Marcus to open up more, Marcus trying to be friendly but afraid he was being played. Little did he know Cereza had developed a small crush on him.
Also note that Cereza lived, though barely, swept away in the river. Though she was left with a nice, big, distinguishing scar on her back.