by Candace Camp
“Indeed not!” Sam looked affronted. “As if I would leave with Rose in danger.”
“I do not really think so either,” Royce answered. “However, for the time being, I’m not putting my entire trust in young Mr. Treadwell.”
They must have been spotted trudging toward the house, for by the time they reached the back door, Oliver was standing in the hallway waiting for them. Fitz lounged behind him in the doorway of Oliver’s office.
“I see you’ve caught someone. Good,” the earl greeted them.
“But it’s not Sam,” Mary assured him. “I mean, this is Sam, but Sam isn’t the one who tried to shoot my sisters yesterday.”
“Indeed?” The earl looked the young man up and down in the cool way that had both infuriated and intimidated others.
Treadwell blushed and straightened even more, his jaw jutting out, as he faced Stewkesbury. “I am Samuel Treadwell, sir, and I’m here to see—”
“Sam! Oh, Sam!” Rose had come down the stairs, followed by her sisters, and now stood at the other end of the hall, staring at Treadwell. Her face was suddenly glowing, her blue eyes sparkling, as a wide grin spread across her face. “You’ve come!”
She hurried down the hall, almost running, and stopped just short of Sam. Still smiling madly, she dug her fingers into her skirts and gazed at him.
“Rose!” Sam grinned back at her rapturously. He took a half step toward her and stopped, his hands coming up, then falling to his sides. “I thought I had lost you forever! When you left and I didn’t know where you were, I nearly went crazy.”
“We had to leave quickly,” Rose responded. Her smile faltered. “And you—I was not aware you cared.”
“I know! I know! I was a fool! I should have asked for your hand. I kept silent, hoping I could change my parents’ minds. I thought if only they got to know you better, they would drop their objections to your family. I—”
“Excuse me?” The earl’s voice was dangerously silky. “Your family objected to my cousin’s antecedents?”
Sam and Rose jumped and glanced around, embarrassed, as if suddenly aware that there were other people there. Sam blushed and began to stammer a response.
But it was Mary who jumped in to say, “I believe they objected to the fact that our parents owned a tavern and weren’t wealthy. Much the same reasons your family looked down on us, as I remember.”
Stewkesbury sent her a long look, then bent his head in acknowledgment, the faintest of smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth. “A direct hit, Cousin.”
“It is gracious of you to be so understanding,” Sam told Mary gravely. “But it was wrong of my parents to judge Rose. And wrong of me to wait. I should have told them I was going to marry Rose, with or without their approval.”
Rose’s eyes widened and she clapped her hand to her mouth.
The earl cleared his throat. “I am not sure of the custom in America, but in this country, it is usual to ask the head of the family for permission to marry.”
“An antiquated notion,” Camellia protested.
Sam, however, nodded, saying, “I intend to, sir, if you will allow me to speak to you in private.”
Stewkesbury nodded and swept his hand toward his office. Sam straightened, gave a tug to his coat, and followed Stewkesbury to the door of the earl’s office.
“Just a minute, Sam Treadwell!” Rose’s voice cracked like a whip down the length of the corridor, and everyone turned to stare at her. Her cheeks were high with color and her eyes blazing. “Now your first concern is whether my cousin will approve of our marriage? I might remind you—I am the one you want to marry. So I am the one you should be asking.”
“But I—I—” The young man gaped at her.
“You assumed I would say yes.” Rose crossed her arms. “You figured you had me all wrapped up; nothing to worry about. Well, if I were you, I’d worry less about what the Earl of Stewkesbury thinks and more about what Rose Bascombe intends to do!”
Rose whirled and walked rapidly down the hall and back up the stairs. Sam Treadwell gaped after her. He took a step down the hall, then stopped and turned back toward the earl in confusion.
“I think a drink all around might be in order,” Stewkesbury told the young man, and steered him into the office.
Fitz followed them. Royce levered away from the wall where he had been leaning and started toward the office. He paused beside Mary, his eyes twinkling, and leaned in a little closer.
“We could make it a double ceremony… .”
Mary’s lips tightened. “I’m not certain there’s going to be a single ceremony. In any case, I hardly think you and I belong with Rose and Sam.”
“If you were to hare off to America, I would follow you.”
“Because you are stubborn,” Mary retorted. “’Tis hardly the same thing.”
Royce grinned and moved on, and Mary joined Lily and Camellia as they followed Rose up the stairs.
* * *
“Do you mean to marry Sam Treadwell?” Lily asked breathlessly as soon as they crossed the threshold into Rose’s room. “It’s terribly romantic.”
“At the moment, I have no plans regarding Sam Treadwell.” Rose scowled as she paced across her room. “But I fail to see what is so romantic about talking to everyone else about marrying a girl and not saying a word to the girl herself !”
“You have a point.” Mary closed the door behind her and watched her sister for a moment. “Still … it does show a certain commitment to jump on a ship and follow you across the ocean.”
“I know!” Rose cried. “And I was so happy to see him. I wanted to throw my arms around him. You know how I feel about him, Mary, how much I’ve missed him. He said such wonderful things about how he should have stood up to his parents and asked me to marry him. But then he turns around and speaks to the earl first!”
“Mmm. It is rather annoying. But Sam is a traditional young man, you know. I don’t think he meant any disrespect to you.”
“Maybe not.” Rose turned, her chin set mulishly. “But I am tired of being pushed and pulled about. First Cosmo, always pushing me to marry Egerton Suttersby.” Rose gave an expressive shudder, which was echoed by Lily. “Then this person who keeps trying to abduct me, though I haven’t the slightest idea why. The earl fancies himself in charge of us all and foists that chaperone on us, who tells me what to say, what to eat, how to act, until I think I shall scream. Now Sam shows up and wants to ask the earl if I can marry him, as if Stewkesbury were the one in charge of my heart!”
“You’re right,” Camellia agreed. “You ought to tell them all to go jump.”
“I have a feeling that Sam will correct his behavior. I think he really loves you,” Mary told Rose. “As for the rest of it, I think I have a way of catching this man who keeps bothering us.”
“Really? What?” All the sisters turned their attention to Mary.
“All we have to do is convince the men,” Mary said, and began to explain.
Chapter 25
They set their plan into motion by first going to ask a favor of Charlotte. She looked somewhat apprehensive when she heard what they intended, but she agreed to carry out her part, which was to inform Miss Dalrymple that tonight was to be a family dinner and Miss Dalrymple’s attendance would not be required. Since Charlotte had little more liking for the woman than Lady Vivian did, it was not a difficult task.
When the sisters went down to supper that evening, they were surprised to find that the earl had graciously invited Sam Treadwell to stay for dinner. Before they proceeded to the dining room, Sam went straight to Rose and engaged her in a hushed, earnest conversation. From her sister’s heightened color and frequent smiles, Mary assumed that the young man was presenting his case well.
The meal itself passed in the usual way until the time came for the women to retire. Normally Charlotte would have risen to signal their departure, but tonight she remained in her seat, as the Bascombes had asked her to, and it was Mary who spoke.
For a long moment, the three Englishmen simply gazed at her uncomprehendingly. Sam Treadwell, down the table, smothered a grin and began to examine his utensils with the same care Cousin Charlotte was using.
“I beg your pardon,” the earl said in a level tone.
“I said—” Mary began, a trifle louder.
“Yes, yes, I realize what you said.” The earl started to say more, then turned toward the servants, who were still clearing the table, their movements having slowed down considerably in the past few minutes. “That’s all, Bostwick. You can do this later.”
“Would you care for your port, sir?”
Stewkesbury shook his head. “I have the feeling I’m going to need a clear head.” When the servants had left, he turned back to the Bascombes. “Now, what are you up to?”
“We are not trying to break a sacred tradition,” Mary assured him. “We wish to talk in private, and this seemed the best time. You are all three here, and the servants leave you to your port and cigars.” She continued in a cajoling manner, “You can still have your port and cigars; we don’t mind. We just want to tell you about our plan.”
The earl sighed. “All right. Tell me about your ‘plan.’”
“We all agree that we’re tired of being watched all the time and never being able to go anywhere. So the best thing to do is to capture this man who’s after Rose.”
“I have made some attempt to do just that,” the earl offered mildly.
“I know, and we appreciate it. But the best way to capture him is to set a trap.”
“Are you saying what I think you are?” Stewkesbury’s brows sailed upward.
“We’re saying that we want to lure him out of hiding. We intend to spring a trap on him. And we will be the bait.”
“Impossible.” The earl shoved back from the table and stood up.
Royce glanced at his stepbrother. “You should have let Bostwick bring the port.”
“Do you honestly think I would use my cousins to trap a villain?” Stewkesbury went on, ignoring Royce.
“If you will but think about it, you will see that it is the sensible thing to do,” Mary argued. “It isn’t as if he’s going to shoot us. He wants to kidnap Rose.”
“A minor inconvenience,” Royce suggested.
“And we aren’t suggesting that we face him ourselves,” Mary plowed ahead. “Your men can be waiting, ready to pounce on him when he shows his hand.”
“It’s entirely too dangerous.” Oliver shook his head.
“The only alternative is to hang about here for the rest of our lives, waiting for this man to show his face again!” Camellia protested. “What if he’s already gone, and we’re just sitting here looking like fools?”
“What we’re doing now makes no sense,” Mary went on. “Your protection is keeping him away, which means he won’t be captured. But you can’t protect us always. He’s bound to pounce at some point—but you won’t know when and where, and you won’t be able to set everything up so you can capture him.”
“We’ve talked about a trap, of course,” Royce told them. “But it was clear it wouldn’t work.”
“Why is that?”
He looked at her without answering, and Mary could not keep from grinning. “I’ll tell you why, since I have a pretty good idea. It wouldn’t work because you were talking about the three of you pretending to be us or something else that wouldn’t fool a three-year-old. The only thing that will deceive him is if we are the ones who set the trap.”
“Cousins …” Fitz took up the argument, smiling in his most charming way. “You are terribly brave; no one is questioning that. But think how Stewkesbury would feel—how all of us would feel—if something went wrong and you were injured.”
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.
“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 hav
e 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.”
“But we need you here, Cousin Oliver,” Mary protested. “I thought we’d stage a scene, something to capture the kidnapper’s attention—or that the servants will hear, in case one of them is spying for him.”
Oliver stiffened. “You think one of my people is a traitor?”
“No. I mean, I have nothing to show that anyone is. But it seems possible.”
“You have to admit, Stewkesbury, that he has seemed quite well informed of the girls’ whereabouts,” Royce put in. “Perhaps it’s just from spying, but …”
“Yes, all right. What is it you want to do?”
“We could have an argument on the terrace. Someplace very visible to someone watching the house.”
A pained expression crossed Oliver’s face. “Loud and histrionic. Lovely.” He sighed. “Very well. We will stage an argument on the terrace for all to see.”
“Then Rose and I will set out. And …” Mary shrugged. “We’ll capture him.”
Fitz grinned. “Of course we will. You know, Willowmere has been much more entertaining since you girls arrived.”
“I could do with a little less entertainment,” the earl said dryly.
Oliver brought in a map of the estate from his office, and they used it to finalize their plans, going over exactly where each person would be and what he or she would do. At last the earl rose, shoving back his chair.
“It is set, then. Treadwell, I expect it’s easiest if you spend the night here. I’ll have a room made up for you. Royce and Fitz, I presume you will leave later tonight and spend the night in the mill. You lookouts will go early tomorrow morning while it’s still dark.” He glanced around and was met with nods. He turned to Mary and Rose. “And you, cousins, I will see tomorrow morning.”