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She nodded. “In case of another opportunity.”

“Is your name truly Bernadette?” Lord Devin asked.

Bernadette paused. “It isn’t,” she said reluctantly. “My name’s Dora.”

“I must have your last name as well,” his lordship said.

“Cassio.” She raised her chin. “Dora Cassio.”

CHAPTER FORTY

WE ALL NEED A DAISY IN OUR LIVES

“I cannot believe it!” Daisy squealed. “What did Cassio say when Bernadette told everyone she was his wife—not to mention, not French, and not Bernadette?”

Livie had scarcely removed her pelisse after returning from the Special Commission meeting before Daisy dragged her upstairs, demanding a full account.

“Then Cassio told Dora to ‘Shut her giff,’ ” Livie replied, reaching the most exciting point in her story.

Daisy was sitting opposite her on the bed, hugging her knees. “Very unpleasant.”

“Dora tossed her head so hard that her ringlets rose in the air and fell back around her face just like that statue of Medusa we saw in the museum. She wouldn’t have hesitated to turn Cassio to stone right in front of us all.”

“I see her point,” Daisy observed. “She was about to be convicted of treason, whereas he was about to be set free. I presume the plan was his?”

Livie nodded. “Cassio was the ringleader of a mutinous group on the Royal Oak. He needed a few co-conspirators that would obey him without question, so he recruited Frenchmen with talk of regicide. Once the ship was his, he meant to turn pirate. They would never be able to rebel against his command, if you see what I mean.”

“No, I don’t see. Why didn’t he just hire some criminal Englishmen?”

“Lord Devin says Englishmen would be far more likely to stab him in the back and take over the ship themselves,” Livie answered. “Or turn him in.”

Daisy rolled her eyes. “Oh, well, if Lord Devin says so, then it must be the case.”

“Frenchmen who had joined a conspiracy to kill the King of England wouldn’t be able to argue with Cassio because he had evidence of their regicidal plans to hold over them.” Livie flopped down on her back on the bed. “The captain’s face was so sad. He had no idea that his crew loathed him so.”

Daisy laid down on her side, propping her head on her hand. “Not only that, but presumably Cassio would have made my uncle walk the plank.” She grimaced. “That’s a terrible thought.”

“I couldn’t even look at his face,” Livie said, squinting at her cousin through a blur of tears. “He loved Cassio so much, but the man showed utter contempt for him. I couldn’t offer comfort because … because the captain is so contemptuous of me. Even after the meeting, when he was being taken back to the Tower, he wouldn’t speak to me. I shouldn’t care, but I couldn’t stop myself.”

Her voice wobbled—she felt as if her entire world had crumbled. The family had always believed that her father was one of the best captains in the navy, but that was before they’d known that that poor boy, Jeremy Tulip, had been eaten by a shark.

“I am trying very hard not to be rude about my uncle,” Daisy said grimly. She hesitated. “Did my mother share the news about Joshua?”

A sob broke from Livie’s chest. “He’s marrying Regina. Because I sent him to her house.”

“You have to take him back,” Daisy ordered. “He’s yours, Livie. You may have temporarily tossed him out, but he was always supposed to return.”

Livie swallowed hard. “You know what the circumstances of my birth will do for his career.”

“Your birth?” Daisy snorted. “My mother says her brother can’t count to nine months.”

“The captain told me he was on board ship for over a year.” She kept hearing his ringing denunciation in her ears.

“My mother won’t let him tell anyone. More to the point, you’re acting as if there are a hundred men out there just like Joshua.”

“No, I am acting as if I care about him and his future!” Livie snapped.

“That would be the future in which he marries Regina and becomes an earl? He’ll surely inherit the title, because if poor Frederick doesn’t die soon, Regina will probably throw her brother-in-law under the wheels of a carriage to ensure she becomes a countess.”