Page 50 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

“I did,” she replied, seeing no reason to deny it.

“That was a rather foolhardy thing to do.”

“I don’t regret my actions.”

Oliver huffed as he picked up the decanter. “No, I don’t believe you do. You always were rather lackadaisical when it came to your own safety.”

“That isn’t true.”

“Isn’t it?” he asked. “Your actions prove otherwise.”

Not liking the direction of this conversation, she decided to ask a question of her own. “Why were you at The Gutted Fish?”

With a flick of his wrist, he responded, “To gamble, of course.”

“You left behind a sick wife to gamble?” she asked. “Why?”

After Oliver poured himself a drink, he put the stopper back into the decanter. “I have my reasons.”

“You always do,” she muttered.

Oliver picked up his glass and walked over to the settee opposite her. As he sat down, he remarked, “You must trust that I am doing right by Emmeline.”

Her brow shot up. “You wish for me to trust you?”

“I know how it seems, but I truly love my wife.”

“Then why do you leave her for days on end?” she pressed.

“I can’t answer that.”

Leaning forward in her seat, Jane asked, “Are you doing something illegal?”

He smirked. “I can assure you that I am doing nothing illegal.”

“Immoral, then?”

The smile was wiped off his face by her remark. “Not that, either.”

“You wish for me to believe that you are just gambling?”

He took a sip of his drink, then said, “I do.”

“Then why can’t you go to one of the many gambling hells on Oxgate Street?” she asked.

“I find the disreputable ones to be much more lucrative.”

“You haven’t changed at all, and it saddens me,” she said with a disapproving shake of her head. “I thought you had changed after you first returned from Lockhart Manor, but I was wrong. If anything, you have gotten worse.”

Oliver frowned. “I know this may be difficult to understand, but I have very good reasons for my actions.”

“Such as?”

“I’m afraid I can’t say.”

“You can’t, or you won’t?” she asked.

With a sigh, Oliver rose from his seat. “No matter what you think of me, I will always be there for you.”

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