“Liar! There was too someone.” Abigail clasped her hands together. “This is wonderful progress.”
Samantha shook her head and found Uncle Henry in the crowd. She hadn’t missed the inflection of the word “meeting” earlier. He often used society events as a cover for exchanging information with other gentleman pirates. When a footman approached him, she almost missed the covert handoff of a note.
“If you don’t stop being a wallflower, using all your time to pester me about potential suitors, no one is going to dance with you.” She gave Abigail a little push. “Go make yourself seen so one of your gentlemen can ask you. I’m going to catch a breath of fresh air.”
Her uncle had already left the room without so much as a backward glance and Samantha pressed through the throngs of people to catch up. She made it to a long hallway leading into the east wing of the manor just as a door at the far end clicked shut. Kicking her shoes off, she retrieved them and padded softly across the tiled floor. Holding her breath, she edged to the door and pressed an ear to it.
“We have a problem.”
Uncle Henry’s voice.
“I have confirmation Captain Thorne has returned from the Caribbean.”
Hushed murmurs reached her ear and her pulse jumped. Her uncle may be the most notorious pirate in America, but Thorne? His notoriety stretched the globe. While her uncle was known for his cunning skill in capturing ships and keeping his identity hidden, Thorne was feared for his sheer brutality. Sailors dared not even speak the name of the feared pirate’s ship, theReckoning, lest they tempt fate and summon its captain. A fitting name indeed, for if Thorne captured your vessel, the last thing they said you’d hear was his cruel laugh ashe sent you to a watery grave. A shudder ran through her.
Another man’s voice reached her. “Why would he come north? He’s made it clear the Caribbean is his domain.”
Silence fell and she had to cup her hand around her ear to make out her uncle’s soft words.
“He’s come for me.”
She blanched, pushing down the fear coiled in her belly.
“Or rather, he’s come for something I own.”
Another round of murmurs, more frenzied this time.
“Fifteen years ago, my brother and his wife died while searching for a fabled treasure. Unfortunately, they weren’t the only pirates interested in those particular riches. They were killed for that map. A map my brother entrusted to me in the days before he left on that fated trip.”
Samantha jerked her head from the door and staggered a step away, her hand clutched over her mouth to hold back a cry. The shadows in the hallway spun around her.Don’t faint.
She’d grown up believing her parents died in a shipwreck. Believed her father to have been an honest merchant sailor.
That map. Her heart gave a little stutter. The one her uncle gave to her last week. She was sure of it.
Heartbeat slamming, she pressed her ear to the door again.
Her uncle continued in a gruff voice. “The map is safe for now—”
The clip of footsteps echoing in the corridor interrupted her spying. Samantha spun around. No place to hide. And then her heart stopped beating.
Lieutenant Thompson strode around the corner, headed straight her way.
In the space of a breath, she backed against the door and rapped her stockinged heel against it.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
“You there, what are you doing?”
Samantha swiveled to face the approaching lieutenant with wide eyes. Her throat went dry and she took a steadying breath.Don’t let him recognize you.A pirate must always be a master of disguise. Even when dressed in an extravagant ballgown and facing the man who had sworn to make her pay.
Especially then.
She let a hand rise to her throat. “You startled me, Lieutenant.”
