The argument continued to go back and forth, with no one making any headway. Royce fell into a silence, watching them, his brows drawn together in thought.
Finally, clearing his throat, Royce said, “Stewkesbury, I have a suggestion.”
“Thank God.” Oliver turned to him. “I hope it will work.”
“I think it will. Why don’t you do what the Misses Bascombe want? Set a trap.”
Mary turned to Royce in amazement, and he smiled.
“You needn’t look so stunned, my dear. I told you I’m a reasonable man.”
“You are a madman,” Oliver countered. “What the devil are you thinking? Why would I agree to such a scheme?”
“There are several reasons, actually. The first is that the scheme makes sense, and you know it, just as I do. Everything Mary has said is true—you can draw him into a situation where you have the upper hand. The second reason is that these ladies won’t stop arguing until you agree. Third—and most important—if you don’t agree, they will attempt the plan by themselves.”
The earl gaped at his stepbrother.
“Sir Royce is right,” Camellia offered. “If you don’t want to participate, we will do it on our own.”
“It will work much better, of course, if you join us,” Mary assured him.
“This is extortion!” Stewkesbury’s gray eyes were bright silver with anger, his body rigid, and for a moment Mary feared that he was about to explode in a rage.
He walked away from them, then back to the table. He stood for a moment, his eyes boring into Mary’s, his hands gripping the back of his chair. “All right.” His voice was tight. “We will spring a trap, but only if we all agree on the plan first—and if you and your sisters promise you will not attempt anything on your own.”
Mary studied him warily. “All right. As long as you promise not to withhold your agreement unreasonably, we promise not to try it alone.”
“Agreed.” Stewkesbury gave her a short nod and sat down. “How do you propose to set the trap?”
“First, we must have a place to go. Somewhere we can walk to, preferably. It has to be enclosed, so that our rescuers can hide there.”
The earl glanced at Fitz and Royce, then said, “The old mill.”
The other two men nodded.
“It’s picturesque enough that it’s reasonable you might want to go there. The walk is long, but not so far that it would seem suspicious,” Royce exclaimed. “Best of all, it’ll be easy for you to find. You simply follow the river.”
“You seem to have thought of everything,” Mary commented.
He shrugged, smiling a little sheepishly. “It’s where we thought of laying the trap if we could have figured out how one of us could look like Rose.”
“There’s no need for all of you to go,” Oliver said.
“You’re right,” Mary agreed. “Four of us might frighten him off, after what happened last time. Just Rose and I will go.”
Camellia shook her head. “You need me along, too.”
“We talked about this, Cam. We’ll seem more vulnerable with only two of us. And since you are the one who pulled out a pistol and fired on him, he will be more wary of you. Besides, since you’re the best shot, we need you to hide along the way and watch over us.”
“What? No.” The earl shook his head. “I’ll have my gamekeeper and some of his men for that. There is no need for Camellia to risk her safety.”
Camellia burst into adamant protest, and Mary shot a dark look at Stewkesbury.#p#分页标题#e#
“Would you care to put Cam up against your men in a shooting contest?” Mary asked. “Long gun or pistol, I’ll warrant she would beat them all.”
“Splendid.” Fitz grinned. “I’ll participate. We’ll set up targets—what you do you say, Cousin—ten paces? Twenty?”
“We are not holding a shooting tournament,” the earl told him flatly.
“I know what the villain looks like, too,” Camellia pointed out.
“I know you don’t know me,” Sam spoke up. “But I can tell you that Camellia is as good a shot as any man in Three Corners. I’ll volunteer to be a lookout as well.”
“And me,” Lily added. “I have to do something too. I’m not as good a shot as Camellia, but I can shoot, and I’m very good at spotting things.”
The earl let out a long-suffering sigh. “Very well, the three of you will hide along the route and keep a lookout for the kidnapper, just in case he tries to seize Rose and Mary before they reach the mill. Royce, Fitz, and I will go to the mill the night before and set ourselves up to capture him if and when he attacks you.”