A Dangerous Pursuit (Regency Spies & Secrets Book 1), Laura Beers [romantic books to read TXT] 📗

was met with a pungent odor that managed to assault all of her senses. How she wished she had a handkerchief with rosewater on it at this precise moment.

“Is there a problem, Miss?” the driver asked impatiently.

“Not at all,” she replied as she stepped inside, attempting to ignore how the bottom of her boots were sticking to the floor.

After she closed the door, she sat down on the bench that was worn so thin that it offered little cushion. She truly hoped that she arrived at the Blue Boar before Marie did. If not, she didn’t even want to think about the possibilities.

Sitting on the straw mattress in his rented room, Baldwin yawned as the back of his head rested against the wall.

“You look terrible,” Oliver muttered.

“I feel terrible,” Baldwin replied. “We spent all night searching for Miss Dowding but found no trace of her.”

Oliver took a bite of his bread. “You need to eat something,” he advised.

“I’m not hungry,” Baldwin said, glancing down at the piece of bread in his hand. The thought of food didn’t appeal to him right now, not when Miss Dowding was still missing.

“We will find her,” Oliver assured him.

Baldwin turned his attention towards his brother. “We both know there is a good chance that we will never see her again. People disappear in the rookeries all the time, and no one gives it any heed.”

“But you are Falcon,” Oliver pointed out. “I daresay there is nothing that you can’t do.”

A knock came at the door, and they both reached for their pistols.

“Enter,” Baldwin ordered.

Corbyn stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. “I assumed you would both be here,” he said. “I came by to inform you that agents are standing by to raid the Blue Boar after you drive the wagon away.”

“Thank you.” Baldwin rose and tucked his pistol into the waistband of his trousers, covering it with his waistcoat.

Corbyn gave him a concerned look. “I take it that you didn’t find Miss Dowding?”

“No,” he replied, “and we searched all night.”

“The other agents have all reported back that no one saw a woman fitting her description anywhere near the rookeries,” Corbyn shared.

Baldwin sighed. “I assumed as much.” He held up the bread towards Corbyn. “Hungry?”

Corbyn accepted the bread. “I can always eat.”

“I suppose it is time that I head over to the Blue Boar and meet with Morton and Marie,” Baldwin said as he removed his jacket and tossed it onto the ground. “I can’t show up looking too presentable.”

Corbyn watched him with a frown on his lips. “I daresay that won’t be an issue. You look terrible.”

Oliver spoke up. “I said the same thing.”

“Don’t worry,” Baldwin responded. “I am a trained agent. I know my role in all of this.”

“About that,” Corbyn said, “I have decided not to accept your resignation yet.”

Baldwin let out a disbelieving huff. “Why does it matter?” he asked. “I am set to retire after this mission anyway.”

“That may be true, but I don’t want to do any more paperwork than I have to,” Corbyn remarked. “Frankly, I don’t want to have to explain to anyone why I had a dismissed agent working on a case, especially if it turns into a disaster.”

“It won’t.”

“Let’s hope not,” Corbyn asserted.

As Baldwin moved to open the door, he asked, “Will you both be with the agents that raid the Blue Boar?”

“Oliver will be, but I have someplace I need to be,” Corbyn said.

“Which is?”

Corbyn’s eyes grew dark. “It is best if you don’t know.”

“Understood.” Baldwin knew better than to ask his friend more questions when his responses were cryptic.

Baldwin opened the door and departed from the room. He needed to focus on the mission, but his thoughts kept returning to Miss Dowding. What would he do if he never saw her again? He couldn’t imagine a future that didn’t involve her.

His steps faltered on the street at that realization. He wanted a future with Miss Dowding. He needed her in his life. But would she even welcome his advances? He knew she wasn’t completely immune to his charms, but that was a far cry from her agreeing to a courtship. Regardless, he needed to find her first, and he wouldn’t stop searching until he did.

The Blue Boar loomed up ahead, and Baldwin knew he needed to put Miss Dowding out of his mind for the time being. He had a mission he needed to accomplish.

Baldwin stepped inside and headed towards the back room. He knocked on the door and it was opened by a man he was unfamiliar with. The room was crowded with men as they sat around the tables and some were even resting their shoulders against the walls.

“Baldwin!” Morton shouted from the front of the room. “The man that we have all been waiting for.”

A few of the men turned towards him and lifted their tankards towards him. “Baldwin!” they repeated.

Baldwin approached Morton. “What are all these people doing here?” he asked.

“They are here to witness history,” Morton replied. “After the machine infernale is detonated, these men are going to flood the streets and rally the people to revolt!”

“To the revolution!” a man shouted at the table, lifting his tankard in the air.

“To the revolution!” everyone said in unison.

Baldwin glanced around the room. “Where is Marie?”

“She will be here shortly,” Morton replied, eyeing him with interest. “Are you nervous?”

With a shake of his head, Baldwin said, “There is nothing to be nervous about. I light the slow match and run as fast as I can out of Fieldstone Square.”

“You are a good man,” Morton remarked. “Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

The door opened, and Marie stepped into the room. She was dressed in a simple blue gown and her hair was pulled tight into a chignon.

“Baldwin!” she shouted. “Are you ready to start a revolution?”

“I am,” he replied as he approached her.

Marie nodded approvingly. “Let me show you the machine infernale, then.”

He followed her out of the pub and saw a wagon parked in