Page 23 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

“What were you thinking, leaving the safety of the orphanage to traipse through the rookeries?”

She frowned. “I was not traipsing through the rookeries.”

“No?” Baldwin asked. “Pray tell, what were you doing?”

“I had my reasons.”

Baldwin ran a hand through his brown hair. “Yes, Madalene informed me that you were following Oliver.”

“I was.”

“Did Oliver see you?”

She shook her head. “He did not.”

“Why didn’t you make your presence known to him?”

“I wanted to follow him, not have him escort me back to the orphanage,” she replied, giving him an exasperated look.

Baldwin muttered something incoherent under his breath. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you if Corbyn hadn’t found you when he did?”

Jane lowered her gaze as she procrastinated her response. She was well aware of what could have transpired at the hands of those men had Lord Evan not defended her.

“I am aware,” she murmured.

Baldwin sighed as he came to sit across from her in an upholstered armchair. “You must think before you act, Sister.”

“I saw Oliver on the street in front of the orphanage, and I wanted to see where he was going.”

“Why?”

Bringing her gaze up, Jane said, “Because I am tired of all his secrets and lies.”

“Everyone has secrets,” Baldwin countered.

“Not like his.”

Baldwin looked at her curiously. “Why do you say that?”

“Why is Oliver going to a pub near the docks?” Jane asked. “He has a membership to White’s, and there are plenty of pubs that he could frequent in the respectable part of Town.”

“Regardless, it is his business—”

“That is ridiculous!” Jane exclaimed, cutting him off.

“In what way?”

Jane leaned forward in her chair and raised her voice slightly to emphasize her point. “Our brother could be involved in something illicit.”

“Oliver is not involved in illegal activities,” Baldwin said, shaking his head.

“No?”

“I am sure of it.”

“What if you are wrong?”

“I’m not.”

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