“Bravo! Bravissimo!” several people called out, as though the explosion and ultimatum were all a part of the show.
Violetta could only gape in astonishment at the crowd’s reaction. Aside from a few of the older McGovern family members, the audience couldn’t have been happier. What amounted to a death threat was little more than a staged amusement to them.
“Here,” Violetta said, only partly able to get back into character. “Take this letter to your master.”
She handed the prop letter to Thomas, then rushed off the stage.
“But I….” Thomas fumbled with the letter, seeming to trip over his tongue as he figured out what to do. The audience thought that was all part of the show too and laughed. Thomas might have floundered further if the man playing the lover hadn’t entered the stage to continue the scene.
Violetta had no time to watch and see how Thomas would do. She pushed through the crowd at the foot of the stage, looking for Lord Beverly. Fortunately, Lord Beverly grasped the importance of what had just happened as much as she did. He caught her by the arm and led her around the stage to a quiet spot.
“Now do you see why I needed you to go on with the show?” he asked, his eyes alight with energy. “We know where they’ll take Lord Addlebury next.”
“But the Temple of Saturn?” Violetta shook her head. “The Forum? It makes no sense.”
“It makes sense to The Jackal somehow,” Lord Beverly said. “All we have to do is figure out what kind of sense and beat him at his own game.”
Thomas jogged up to join them at that moment, evidently finished with his scene. “We have to get to the Forum before The Jackal and that woman do,” he said breathlessly. “They’ll pay for everything they’ve done.”
“They will,” Lord Beverly agreed with a nod. “But first, we need a plan.”
Chapter 8
Within hours, Lord Beverly had set things in motion, alerting his contacts to the situation and gathering everyone who would play a part in what Thomas was certain would be the final confrontation in the Roman Forum.
“The Jackal will know we’re making plans,” Lord Beverly said as he stood beside a long table in the dining room of what Thomas assumed was one of many safe houses owned by Her Majesty’s Secret Service. A map of the center of Rome and its ancient structures was spread across the table, the site of the Forum and the Temple of Saturn outlined with markers, as though they were planning a military strategy. “He’ll be as ready for us as we are for him.”
“Then how can we possibly proceed?” Hattie asked.
Thomas glanced sideways at her. It made sense for Miss Sewett to be there, though Thomas still couldn’t believe the woman had been a spy all along. He doubted the wisdom of including his cousin Hattie and Lord Whitemarsh in the mission, though. He was certain it was a terrible idea to include Trent and Lord Beverly’s daughter, Charlotte, as well. But Lord Beverly had insisted that they all had a part to play in rescuing Asher, and that the more of them there were to carry out the plan, the better chance they had of succeeding. He’d also made the case that The Jackal wouldn’t expect women to be involved in such a delicate operation.
Thomas wasn’t so sure.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t help but think it’s vital that the ladies stay behind,” he said. “We were lucky more people weren’t hurt or killed in the gunfire at that garden yesterday. How will they possibly be able to protect themselves if tomorrow’s mission degenerates into a firefight as well?”
“I am able to hold my own as much as you are,” Hattie insisted, planting her hands on her hips.
Lord Whitemarsh looked askance at her. “I know you’re perfectly competent, my darling, but perhaps you could play more of a peripheral role instead of charging into the thick of things.”
Miss Sewett snorted and shook her head.
“You’ve never complained about me charging into the thick of things before.” Hattie ignored her and glanced to Lord Whitemarsh with a saucy grin, one eyebrow arched.
Lord Whitemarsh grinned right back at her. The heated exchange did nothing to boost Thomas’s confidence in their participation in the mission.
“Shouldn’t we keep things as simple as possible?” he asked, glancing from Lord Beverly to Violetta. It came as no surprise at all to him that he trusted Violetta to carry out their mission as much as he trusted Lord Beverly.
“We’ll keep the core of the mission simple,” Lord Beverly said with a nod. “The Jackal already knows the three of us are involved, so we will go to the temple itself. The others will remain on guard at various points around the Forum, ready to cause whatever distractions are needed to keep the general public safe and to involve the Roman authorities, once that becomes necessary.”
No one was satisfied with that answer. Hattie huffed as though she were being left out of things. Trent and Charlotte exchanged dubious looks, as though they wanted to play a more active part in the operation as well. Thomas thought the whole thing was needlessly complicated and that his cousins should stay at the hotel, where they would be safe.
“Lord Beverly’s plan is a solid one,” Violetta said in a firm voice.
Thomas frowned, unconvinced. He knew full well that Violetta was ten times the spy he would ever be, though. “How so?” he asked, focusing on her alone.
She turned to speak to him as though he were the only one there. “The Jackal knows exactly who is coming for this exchange. He probably knows that we have no intention of giving him the coin and the codex.”
“Do we even have the coin and the codex here?” Hattie asked, crossing her arms.
“I have the coin.” Charlotte drew a large, silver coin from her pocket and showed it to them.
“And I found the codex in Asher’s things after Thomas left for Rome,” Trent added, pointing to a book that rested innocently on the side of the table.
“That’s the codex?” Thomas thought it was an inconsequential book holding down one corner of the map.
“That’s it,” Lord Beverly confirmed with a nod.
“And that’s what The Jackal wants?” Thomas shook his head.
“Make no mistake,” Miss Sewett said. “Taken together, these two items hold more secrets than you could possibly fathom. In the right hands, and given enough time, they could be used to reveal the location of countless undiscovered Egyptian tombs.”
Thomas’s brow shot up, and he ran a hand through his hair, impressed. “Then we can’t let The Jackal have them.”
“Don’t worry. We won’t,” Violetta said. “Which is why it’s a better idea than you may realize to let your cousins help with this mission.”
“I still don’t see how,” Thomas said.
“The more distractions we can create at the right moments, the more likely we are to confound The Jackal’s henchmen,” she explained. “He knows we’re coming, and we know that he will try every dirty trick he can to thwart us and stop us from rescuing your brother. It’s unlikely that The Jackal will march an army into such a public place. Any more than a few men together would raise suspicion with the authorities.”