Page 34 of A Dangerous Pursuit (Regency Spies & Secrets 1)

Chapter Five

Baldwin stared out the window, the drink in his hand long forgotten. He wasn’t able to quite decipher the irritating Miss Dowding. She appeared to be an innocent in so many ways, but he couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that she was more than she appeared.

And how did she have the uncanny ability to unnerve him?

“Devil take it,” he muttered to himself.

A familiar voice came from the doorway. “Is this not a good time?”

Baldwin turned and saw Corbyn watching him with an amused look on his face. “Come in,” he encouraged, waving him in.

“I couldn’t help but notice that you were distracted,” Corbyn remarked as he walked further in the room.

Baldwin frowned. “I don’t like to be scrutinized.”

“I wasn’t scrutinizing you,” Corbyn contended. “It was merely an observation.”

Leaning back, Baldwin sat on the windowsill. “I was just thinking about this woman—”

“Enough said,” Corbyn interrupted. “Women have the ability to drive men to distraction.”

“It’s not like that. This particular woman is infuriating—”

“Aren’t all women?” Corbyn joked.

Baldwin shot his friend an annoyed look. “Will you stop interrupting me?” he asked. “I find it rather annoying.”

“Go ahead, then.”

“This woman, a Miss Dowding, showed up at Floyd’s Coffeehouse and went upstairs to speak to one of the tenants,” Baldwin shared.

“What did they speak about?”

Baldwin crossed his arms over his wide chest. “The gist of it was that the tenant’s daughter had gone missing and Miss Dowding had come to inquire about her whereabouts.”

“Was she successful?”

“No, but Miss Dowding did mention a constable and a Bow Street Runner were on the case.”

“Bah,” Corbyn huffed. “Both of them are useless. You might as well have a half-witted child look for the girl then.”

“Not all Runners are terrible.”

“Yes, they are,” Corbyn protested. “There is a reason we don’t consult with them when we work on our cases domestically.”

Baldwin shook his head. “Regardless, Miss Dowding was foolish enough to come unaccompanied to the coffeehouse to inform the mother.”

“I would agree with you there.” Corbyn hesitated for a moment before asking, “When did this girl go missing?”

“I don’t rightly know, but I would assume it was rather recent.”

Corbyn had a thoughtful expression on his face. “I can’t help but wonder if this girl has been abducted along with the rest of the missing girls.”

Baldwin uncrossed his arms and asked, “What missing girls?”

“About a week ago, a slew of girls went missing from the disreputable part of Town,” Corbyn explained. “It made the news because one of the girls was the sister of the man who wrote the article in the morning newspaper.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time that women were snatched in those parts of Town.”

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