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A smile came to his lips. “I can accept that.”
“I am happy to hear it.” Jane’s lips twitched as she glanced over at the darkened window. “Will you be joining us for supper this evening?”
“I believe I shall.”
“That will make Mother very happy,” Jane replied before she departed from the room.
Oliver stared at the empty doorway, pleased at the progress he had made with Jane. That was the first time they’d had a real conversation since his father had passed away.
His brother’s voice broke through his musings. “That was rather touching,” Baldwin declared as he walked into the room, closing the door behind him.
“You overheard that?” he asked.
Baldwin nodded. “I did.”
“Do you have no shame in eavesdropping?”
Smirking, Baldwin said, “About as much as you do.” He walked over to him and handed him a letter. “Corbyn asked me to deliver this to you.”
“Why didn’t he deliver it personally?” Oliver asked as he fingered the corners of the paper.
“Corbyn entered my coach as I traveled home from the House of Lords,” Baldwin revealed, “and he mentioned he had a meeting with one of his informants.”
Oliver chuckled. “Corbyn has a way of appearing at the most inopportune times.”
“That he does.”
Unfolding the paper, Oliver read the note and shared, “Corbyn has a new assignment for me, but it will take me to the peninsula. He says that I am to leave soon.”
Baldwin stared back at him. “Are you sure you want to leave your wife at this time?”
Leaning forward, Oliver tossed the paper into the fireplace as he remarked, “I hardly think she will miss me.”
“Will you not at least inform Emmeline that you intend to leave?”
Oliver huffed. “It wasn’t as if she told me that she was leaving for Whitstable.”
“This is entirely different,” Baldwin argued, “especially since there is a chance you might not return from your assignment.”
“Thank you for the vote of confidence,” Oliver remarked dryly.
“Every time we accept an assignment, we know there are inherent risks associated with it,” Baldwin pressed.
“This is what I have been waiting for,” Oliver said. “A chance to prove that I am capable of so much more than just spying on members of Society.”
“Why do you always downplay the importance of your assignment?” Baldwin asked. “Because of you, Corbyn has compiled a list of gentlemen who have radical views.”
“It is hardly dangerous.”
“Not all spying is,” Baldwin remarked. “Most of the time we lay in wait for our opponents to make a move.”
Abruptly rising, Oliver picked up his glass and walked over to the drink cart. “I suppose I can travel to Whitstable and inform Emmeline that I will be leaving for an undisclosed amount of time.”
“How romantic,” Baldwin muttered.
“What else would you have me say?” Oliver asked as he poured himself a drink. “Would you have me lie to her about when I plan to return?”
“Heavens, no.”
