“Stop trying to get rid of us,” Duncan said, his tone friendly. “We’ve told you—we’re going to see this through with you. Isn’t that right, Henry?”
“That’s right,” Henry agreed. “It’s decided, Thomas.”
Thomas nodded. “Very well,” he said. “We’ll all stay at Woodsford Manor, then, and await word from Crowle. I don’t believe we will have long to wait.”
So it was that when the carriage pulled up outside Woodsford Manor, all three gentlemen got out and went inside. Thomas showed his friends to the rooms they had always stayed in when visiting him in the past, then went down to the kitchen to inform his staff that there would be three of them at dinner.
The meal was a quiet affair. A few times, Henry and Duncan tried to draw Thomas into conversation, but he was too preoccupied by what lay ahead. What would happen when Crowle did arrive?
At last, Duncan said, “We need to talk about it, Thomas. We need to make sure that the three of us have a plan in place for when he arrives, so that we’re not caught off-guard.”
Thomas nodded. That made sense. “What should we do?”
“We shouldn’t let him know we’re in the house,” Duncan said. It was clear that he had been thinking about this. “He should think that he’s talking to you alone, that the situation hasn’t changed at all. We want him to feel as though he has power over you, not to worry that you might have people on your side.”
Thomas nodded. “That makes sense,” he said. He was sure Crowle wouldn’t speak as openly in front of an audience as he would if he believed his words were for Thomas alone.
“So you should take him into your sitting room, when he arrives,” Duncan said. “Henry and I will conceal ourselves in the curtains.”
Henry sputtered out a laugh. “We will?”
“Do you have a better plan?” Duncan asked.
“No,” Henry admitted. “It’s a good plan. It’s just funny to think about. I used to hide in the curtains of my mother’s home as a child, when I wanted to conceal myself from my friends.”
“Yes, well, that’s where I got the idea,” Duncan said rather darkly. “Valeria and I used to employ the same method to hide from Richard when we were children.”
The mood sobered.
“So,” Duncan went on, “we’ll be hiding in the curtains. Thomas, it will be your job to get him to admit to something.”
Thomas nodded. He could envision already what needed to be done. He would have to ask carefully crafted leading questions, to provoke Crowle into talking about what might happen if Thomas refused to comply.
It wouldn’t be easy.
“He has a hired man,” Thomas said. “Muscle. I don’t know his name, but it’s not difficult to imagine what he does. If we ambush Crowle, it could turn dangerous for us very quickly.”
“You’re afraid this man will attack you?” Henry asked.
“I’m afraid he’ll attackyou,” Thomas amended. “Or Duncan. You’re doing enough to help me. I can’t have either of you getting hurt on my account.”
Duncan nodded. “The best way to deal with that will be for Henry and I to be armed,” he said. “I think it will be best foryounot to have a weapon, Thomas—that will make him suspect. But when Henry and I emerge from our curtains, we should be able to do so with pistols in hand.”
“Unless the hired man has a pistol as well,” Thomas said.
“We’ll have to take our chances with that,” Duncan said. “We’ll have the element of surprise on our side, after all, and if it comes to who can get a shot off first, I do like our odds.”
Thomas felt anxious. “This could all go very wrong,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to stand it if either one of you got hurt because of me.”
“Nothing bad is going to happen,” Duncan said. “Just focus on getting Crowle to admit to the underhanded things he does. As soon as we’ve heard the words from his own mouth, Henry and I will come out and apprehend him. Then we’ll hand him over to the constables. And once we’ve done that, you’ll be free to go back to Earlington Manor and tell Valeria that the whole thing is over.”
“Why are you going to such extremes to help me, Duncan?” Thomas asked. “You’re a good friend and you always have been, but this—it’s more than I have any right to ask of you.”
“It isn’t just for you,” Duncan said. “It’s for Valeria, too. She was happier with you than I’ve ever seen her in her life. I want her to have that. After all she’s been through, she deserves a little happiness, and you’re the person who can give her that. Of course I want to help.”
“And you?” Thomas asked, turning to Henry. “What makes you so willing to do this for me?”
“You know me,” Henry said. “I would never allow myself to miss out on an adventure, and have to hear the details of it from the two of you later! Much better to be here, to be a part of it. That way, when the story is told, I can be included in the telling.”
