Page 41 of A Prince Among Pirates
“I beg your—”
“Yousaid it!” he says.
I huff and look at Tristan, who is watching us both with a thoughtful frown. “Well,” he says, “they might have believed us if Cap’n had got the chance to show a letter of marque. When ye came burstin’ out on deck, he had to change course.”
“Ah.” Well,thatcertainly hadn’t been my intention. “Never mind all that,” I say, because I still hate being blamed for anything, even if itismy fault. “How do we get him back?”
Tristan’s eyes widen. “Get him back?”
Trevor, however, is grinning. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Not an hour later Tristan, Trevor, Mr. Tydes, and I are huddled around the low table in front of the settee. Tristan is still in his blue dress, and I cannot help but stare at him and wonder at the wrongness of seeing him in it. Trevor elbows me in the side—something he wouldn’t have dared to do mere hours earlier. Still, I jerk my attention away from his twin’s bodice to look at him instead.
He raises his eyebrows in a kind of protective warning, and I am reminded once more of how much I truly like the twins. Even if he is glaring at me for leering at his twin brother, there is a camaraderie between us that did not exist before this moment. “I’m just—”
“Peerin’ down his dress,” Trevor interrupts helpfully.
I blush, dear Christ. I actuallyblush. An uncomfortable heat rushes to my cheeks as I sit up straight. “I wasnot,” I say, then turn to Tristan. “The cut of that bodice doesn’t flatter you at all.”
“I can’t change until the Frenchmen are dealt with,” Tristan grumbles through a mouthful of bread. Dress or no, he’s the same Tristan who sits beside me most mornings, learning to read my filthy novel and occasionally stealing bits of food from my plate.
“Right.” I nod and sit back on the settee. “So what are we to do?”
Mr. Tydes frowns. “I can’t stay in here much longer,” he reminds us. “They’ll start to wonder why I’m serving you tea.”
“I assure you they won’t,” I reply. I’ve been on my fair share of pleasure barges. “It’s customary for the captain to invite thehighest-ranking passengers to sup with him. It’s only fitting you should sup with us in his stead.” Technically, it should be Billy here and not Mr. Tydes… but Billy has disguised himself as a servant on deck.
Mr. Tydes narrows his eyes, but he doesn’t argue. He’s had the same irritated creases in his brow since he joined us with a platter of meat, cheese, and bread after I sent Trevor out to retrieve him. Though, to be fair, he always seems to have those creases around me. “Then, we need to make a plan. We’ll reach Le Cap by morning at this speed.”
I nod and rub the tip of my finger across my lips. “It’s nearly full dark out. We need to dispatch the Frenchmen before we can do anything about getting Captain Sharpe back.”
“Yer becomin’ a true pirate, Mr. Kit,” Trevor points out, smiling like something is funny.
I narrow my eyes, not sure whether he’s poking fun at me or just pleased with this turn of events. Either way, I choose not to dignify his comment with a direct response. “Tristan can distract them. I’ve never known a Frenchman to turn down the chance to stare down a lady’s dress.”
“I’m not a lady!” Tristan snaps.
I shoot him a silencing glare. “Iknow that, buttheydon’t,” I whisper. “And keep your voice down.”
Tristan clamps his mouth shut and squints at me.
“Sorry,” I mumble.
He relaxes once more. “Fine. How am I to distract ’em?”
I consider for a moment how to explain what I expect himto do, then smile mischievously. “Page two hundred and ten,” I suggest.
Instantly Tristan reddens, and I am pleased beyond measure that he remembers exactly which scene of my filthy novel I am referring to.
“I can’t do that.”
“You don’t have to dothat,” I explain. “You just have to make them think you will.”
“Got it.” He smirks. “Then what?”
“Wait,” Trevor says. “What are we talkin’ about?”
I wave him off, still looking at Tristan. “Then Mr. Tydes and Trevor will wallop them over the head from behind and knock them out.”
