Page 53 of A Dangerous Lord (Regency Spies & Secrets 3)

Baldwin’s eyes held compassion. “That doesn’t mean it gets any easier when we lose someone that we care about.”

“I don’t have time to dwell on my emotions at the moment.”

“No?” Baldwin asked. “When will you have the time?”

He paused. “Never.”

“Just as I assumed,” Baldwin stated.

Corbyn ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t have the time or energy to mourn their losses,” he said. “I need to catch their killer.”

“And you will.”

“How can you be so sure?”

Baldwin smiled at him. “Because it’s you.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I fear it’s misguided.”

“Why do you say that?”

Corbyn clenched his fists in his lap. “Because an agent and an informant were killed on my watch,” he barked. “It was my job to keep them safe!”

“You are being much too hard on yourself.”

“Am I?”

“You are,” Baldwin replied.

Corbyn grew silent for a long moment before admitting, “I suppose Kerley’s death tainted me in a way.”

“How so?”

Corbyn glanced over at the open window. “We left him to die,” he said. “We left our comrade behind.”

“No,” Baldwin argued with a shake of his head. “Kerley was already dead when we left. His face was slashed, and he’d been shot in the chest.”

“We should have taken his body with us.”

“If we had, then it would have slowed us down and we would have been killed, as well.”

Corbyn frowned. “We should have done more than we did.”

“We were ambushed by the French,” Baldwin said. “The mission was a disaster, and we had no choice but to retreat.”

“I just can’t help but think we failed Kerley.”

Baldwin’s voice grew determined. “We did all that we could, and we were lucky to get out of there alive.”

“I don’t feel lucky.”

“No?”

Corbyn shook his head. “Every time I close my eyes, I relive that mission and wonder what we could have done differently.”

“You need a wife.”

Corbyn reared back slightly. “I beg your pardon?” he asked. “What part of this conversation leads you to believe that I need a wife?

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