Roman Sunset - Merry Farmer Page 0,30

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.”

“She’s right,” Lord Beverly said with a nod. “Unlike the confrontation in the garden or the spectacle in the plaza, my guess is that The Jackal will try to make this exchange appear as casual as possible.”

“Otherwise he wouldn’t be demanding it take place in one of the most crowded sections of Rome,” Thomas said, putting the pieces together.

“So it’s settled, then,” Hattie said, clapping her hands together. “We’ll all go to the Forum tomorrow, and when this Jackal person pushes things, we’ll pounce.” She grinned just like a cat about to pounce on a mouse.

There were still more plans to make. Lord Beverly had a role for each of them to play and specific locations where they would stand. He taught them ways to signal each other once the mission was complete and Asher was rescued, as well as how to let the others know if they were suddenly in danger. Much to Thomas’s surprise, he ended their strategy session by teaching Hattie and Charlotte how to use some of the most modern and sleek firearms Thomas had ever seen.

“The idea of a