Page 110 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

“I suppose I have never thought about it.”

“I do,” Stewart said. “Sometimes I wonder what I truly signed up for.”

Corbyn eyed him curiously. “Are you terribly unhappy as a Bow Street Runner?”

“I just wish I was making more of a difference,” Stewart replied. “I was destined to do so much more than what I have been doing.”

“Then what is stopping you?”

Stewart let out a sigh. “I have a sick mother and a sister that I am responsible for, and my paltry income is the only thing keeping us out of the poorhouse.”

“I am sorry to hear that your mother is sick.”

“Thank you,” Stewart said, growing silent.

Corbyn turned his attention towards the window and retreated into his own thoughts. He had a sneaking suspicion that the agent who had been abducted was Sanders. Corbyn hadn’t heard from him in days, and Barrett had found nothing at his place. He hoped they would be able to reach him in time.

The hackney came to a stop outside of a decaying brick building. The windows were boarded up and the main door was off its hinges.

“This is it?” Corbyn asked skeptically.

“According to my informants, it is,” Stewart said as he opened the hackney door.

They stepped onto the ground and walked up the stairs to the door. Corbyn retrieved his pistol as Stewart moved the door out of the way, revealing a long, dark hall. As they cautiously walked down the dank hall, Corbyn scanned the rooms they passed by, but they were all empty.

The hall opened up, and in the back of the dimly lit room was Sanders, gagged and tied to a chair. When Sanders saw them, his eyes grew wide, and his muffled voice tried to make its way through the gag.

Corbyn rushed over to him and pulled the gag out of his mouth.

“There’s a bomb under the chair!” Sanders declared as he wiggled vehemently in the chair. “The slow fuse was lit when you first entered the building.”

Corbyn glanced underneath the chair and saw a barrel with a long fuse. He retrieved his dagger and cut the fuse. “That should do the trick.”

“We have to get out of here!” Sanders exclaimed. “They planted bombs all over the building!”

Corbyn quickly cut the rope to set Sanders free. The rope had hardly hit the floor when Sanders jumped up from the chair and ran towards the main door.

Stewart and Corbyn followed Sanders down the hall. They could see the outline of the doorway when they heard multiple explosions behind them.

“Don’t stop running!” Corbyn ordered.

The thunder of the building collapsing followed them as they ran through the doorway and out onto the road. Once they crossed the street, they watched the building crumble in on itself.

Corbyn turned towards Sanders, noticing that he had swollen eyes and a bruised face. “Are you all right?”

“I am,” Sanders replied.

Corbyn glanced up and down the street as a growing number of people came out to see what had happened. “We need to take you to a doctor.”

“That won’t be necessary, but I would like to eat,” Sanders responded. “I’m rather hungry.”

“I know just the place,” Corbyn said. “It’s just a few blocks over.”

Chapter Fifteen

After Sanders finishedhis mutton soup, he pushed the bowl away from him and let out a satisfied sigh. “That was delicious,” he said.

Corbyn leaned forward in his seat. “Now that you’ve eaten, are you ready to answer some questions?”

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