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“Thank you,” she replied with a smile. “Although, I am slightly envious that Madalene had such a fun adventure.”
“I don’t think Miss Dowding would consider it an adventure.”
“How could she not?” Jane asked as she opened the door.
After Jane departed from the room, Baldwin straightened from the windowsill and went to sit down at his desk. He might as well attempt to review the ledgers before he had to leave for the rookeries.
He had just reached for a ledger when Oliver stepped into the room, closing the door behind him.
“That went well,” Oliver remarked.
Baldwin leaned back in his chair. “I see that you were spying on my conversation with Jane,” he said.
“Well, I am a spy,” Oliver joked.
“That you are.” Baldwin grinned. “What is it that you want?”
“Do you need me to accompany you to the rookeries tonight?”
Baldwin shook his head. “I do not. Morton has come to accept that you are always chasing after women so your presence will not be missed.”
“That is good,” Oliver replied. “That is one less thing for you to have to worry about.”
“How will you spend your evening?”
Oliver sat down in a chair. “I intend to go to the gambling halls. After all, I have a cover that I need to protect.”
“I do not envy you,” Baldwin said. “Besides, I am terrible at cards.”
Oliver chuckled. “Then I would stay far away from the gambling halls if I were you. The men in those clubs would have no hesitation in taking you to the poorhouse.”
Baldwin glanced at the closed door before asking, “What do you make of our sister?”
Oliver grew serious. “She is rather clever, and I think it is only a matter of time before she suspects that you are a spy.”
“But not you?”
Oliver shook his head. “Sadly, Jane looks at me with disapproval in her eyes, just as Mother does.”
“I’m sorry.”
“That is generally what happens when you are labeled a rakehell amongst the ton,” Oliver said despairingly.
“But that is not who you truly are.”
Oliver sighed. “No, but it is for the good of England. My cover helps me root out the radicals amongst the members of Society.”
“We must put our duty ahead of our own wants,” Baldwin stated.
“Father used to say that.”
Baldwin grew nostalgic at that thought. “That he did.”
Rising from his chair, Oliver said, “If you need me for any reason, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you for escorting Miss Dowding home safely last night,” Baldwin said, leaning forward in his seat and opening the ledger.
“It was my privilege,” Oliver remarked. “She was even astute enough to give the Runners a false name.”
