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“He said that?” Oliver asked in disbelief.
“That he did.”
“He is lying.”
Corbyn frowned. “Clearly, but the magistrate will take the Bow Street Runner’s word over a radical schoolboy any day.”
“How does the case look for my friends then?”
“I hope that they know a good barrister.”
Oliver rubbed his stiff neck, then said, “Guy Stewart laid in wait to set a trap for unsuspecting members of Society, and he is going to get away with it.”
“Runners do this all the time,” Corbyn replied. “It is how they earn their blood money.”
“It is wrong of them.”
Corbyn huffed. “That it is, especially since it makes our job of finding legitimate radical groups that much harder.”
“Stewart is a bloody nuisance.”
“I agree, but you must forget about him,” Corbyn said. “The truth of it all is that Runners are the bane of our existence.”
Oliver turned his attention towards the window and relished in the fresh air. “What would you have me do now?”
“Are you terribly unhappy in your assignment?” Corbyn asked.
“It does get rather irksome going to gambling hells and social events to spy on everyone,” Oliver admitted.
With an expectant look on his face, Corbyn inquired, “Would you care to be reassigned?”
Oliver grew silent as he pondered the question, and the image of Emmeline came to his mind. “That might be for the best, now that I am married.”
“That is what I assumed.”
“Are you terribly disappointed?”
“I am not,” Corbyn replied. “I have a never-ending pile of assignments and not enough agents to fill them.”
“That is most unfortunate.”
“The war with Napoleon has taken its toll on the people, and it has caused uprisings to spout up all over England,” Corbyn said. “A credible source has also informed me that trade unions are beginning to form for the collieries.”
“That is no surprise since the coal miners are treated so insufferably.”
“It is still illegal to form a trade union,” Corbyn remarked. “Furthermore, I have just received word about a potential assignment in the peninsula. Wellington has sent a request through the Alien Office for an agent to report to him.”
“That sounds promising.”
“It is, but I do not know the length of the assignment. It could be months, or even years.”
“That wouldn’t be an issue for me.”
“I shall have to think on it since you are in the perfect position to spy on the members of Society,” Corbyn said. “I do not fault you for wanting to be reassigned but sometimes we must put our duty to our Country ahead of our own wants.”
“I understand.”
Corbyn gave him a brief smile. “But you do have a lovely wife that you now need to entertain.”
