“Mare! Thank God you’re here!” Camellia called. “Somebody come get Teddy down.”
The other groom sprang down from his horse. His face was stark white, the freckles standing out across his nose and cheeks. When he saw Lord Stewkesbury, he looked as if he might faint. He jerked off his hat and began to jabber. His accent was so thick and his speech so rapid that Mary had trouble understanding him, but the gist of it seemed to be profuse apologies and lamentations.
“Geoff !” The earl’s voice cut through his babbling. “Enough. Help us get Teddy down, and then we’ll hear what happened.”
The groom fell silent and followed the three men over to Camellia’s horse. They lifted the injured man down and laid him on the ground. His eyes were closed, his face even paler than Geoff’s, and he did not stir except for a grimace and a groan when they pulled him from the horse.
“Now, what the devil happened?” Oliver demanded.
“I’m sorry, my lord, I’m sorry. I never saw him—all of a sudden, there he were, and he were shootin’ at us.” Geoff’s speech had slowed down enough that Mary could catch most of what he said, though he still shifted nervously on his feet, twisting his cap between his hands.
“You were shot at?”
“There was nothin’ we could do, I swear. I’m sorry, my lord.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Camellia pushed past the trembling man. “Someone fired at us. Then he rode straight toward us.”
“Teddy was shot?”
“No—at least, I don’t think so. I didn’t see any blood.”
“She’s right. There’s no blood.” Mary had knelt beside the injured groom as soon as they laid him down, and she was carefully examining him for signs of injury.
“When the man fired at us, Teddy’s horse reared,” Lily explained. “And Teddy fell off. That’s how he got hurt.”
Rose picked up the story. “So Camellia jumped off her horse and picked up Teddy’s pistols and started shooting at the man. And he rode away.”
“I wish I’d had a rifle.” Camellia looked regretful. “Pistols haven’t enough range. I don’t think I hit him at all. And I only had the two shots. I started to take Geoff’s pistols and go after him.”
“But we decided we should get Teddy back instead,” Rose put in.
“Anyway, we needed the shots we had left in case he came after us again,” Camellia went on. “We didn’t have any powder and balls to reload, so Geoff’s guns were all we had.”
“My pistol’s just for show,” Lily offered. “It’s empty. Rose and Geoff are carrying Geoff’s guns.”
“Next time we ride out, I think we should all carry pistols,” Camellia declared.
“Next time!” The earl had been gazing at the girls, thunderstruck, and now his brows rushed together in a scowl. “There’ll be no next time.”
The girls immediately set up a protest.
“What!”
“No!”
“That’s not fair!”
“Quiet!” Stewkesbury snapped, and though he raised his voice only a little, everyone fell silent. “You could have been killed today. Next time his aim might be truer.”
“I don’t think he was shooting at us,” Rose said. “I didn’t see him fire the first shot, but the second time, he fired his pistol into the air. I think he was trying to scare us, perhaps hoping to dislodge us from our seats.”
“Rose is right,” Camellia agreed. “He was much too far away to hope to hit anyone, using pistols—especially since we were moving targets. I think he was trying to capture Rose again. Just like last time.”
“And you think I intend to allow him to try that again?” Oliver asked quizzically.
“But if we always ride out together and we’re armed …”
The earl rubbed his hand over his brow. “We will talk of this later. Geoff, take the horses to the stables and send one of the other grooms for the doctor.”
“There’s no need for that,” Mary spoke up from where she knelt on the grass beside the fallen groom. “He’s come around, and I cannot find any lumps or cuts on his head. I think he fainted rather than hitting his head. Probably from the pain. His shoulder is dislocated.”
Everyone except Mary’s sisters simply stared at her. Finally, the earl said, “And why, then, should we not send for the doctor?”
“There’s no need to make him wait that long in pain. I can fix it.”
“Of course you can,” Royce murmured.