Page 124 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

“Then why didn’t you offer for her when she confessed her attraction towards you?” Madalene asked.

“I couldn’t do that to her.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

Corbyn walked over to an upholstered chair and dropped down. “My life is not conducive to having a wife.”

“Why do you suppose that is?” Madalene inquired.

“The lies, the secrets…” Corbyn’s voice trailed off. “It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

“Why don’t you let Jane decide?”

Corbyn looked at her in surprise. “I don’t dare tell her the full truth of what I have done and who I truly am.”

“Why not?” Madalene asked.

“What if she rejects me?”

Baldwin interjected, “Why do you believe Jane will reject you?”

Corbyn ran a hand through his hair. “I have done too many terrible things in my life to ever believe I deserve a life of domestic bliss.”

“Love is about acceptance for who you were and are,” Madalene said.

Corbyn huffed. “I see you’ve been reading fantastical nonsense and whatnot.”

Madalene’s lips twitched. “No, I just know what it was like when I was confronted with Baldwin’s past.”

“It’s different with you and Baldwin,” Corbyn insisted.

“In what way?” Madalene asked, cocking her head.

Corbyn abruptly rose from his seat and approached the mantel over the fireplace. “I have worked longer than Baldwin.”

“Not by much,” Baldwin said. “We were recruited around the same time.”

Madalene rose and stepped closer to him. “It’s all right to be afraid.”

Corbyn looked at her in surprise. “I’m not afraid of anything.”

“I think you are, and that is a sad way to live,” Madalene said. “If you have nothing to lose, then what are you living for?”

“I have plenty to live for,” Corbyn argued.

“Such as?”

Corbyn placed his hands on the mantel and leaned in. “I am responsible for all the agents of the Crown, and it’s a job that I take very seriously.”

“I have no doubt. But what about love?”

“What about it?”

“Would you turn your back on love?” Madalene asked.

Dropping his hands, Corbyn turned to face Madalene. “Yes, if it meant that I could keep Jane safe.”

“And if she is safer with you?”

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