The Pirate's Debt (The Regent's Revenge Book 2) Read Online Free

week of nervous waiting, I am even now sailing to Penzance with the hopes of reuniting with
     
    The ship listed.
    “Oh no!” Lady Chloe Walsingham stared in exasperation as an ink blotch swiftly penetrated the perfectly crafted words on her priceless foolscap.
    Holy charity! She couldn’t possibly place this missive in the post now.
    She glanced upward at the beams of the deck overhead and bit her bottom lip. Whatever was the matter? Captain Teague had not warned them of any sudden weather systems their ship, the Mohegan , would have to exercise.
    “Is your letter to the duchess damaged?” Jane asked. Chloe’s maidservant and friend was not much younger than herself and braced a hand against the bulkhead.
    Chloe flashed Jane a petulant frown. “Dreadfully, I’m afraid.” She blotted the ink stain with a rag. “It is completely ruined, and I fear I’ve only two more sheets left.”
    In a show of frustration, Chloe tossed the damaged rag into the corner. Overcome with annoyance, she pouted. “There simply has to be more to do aboard this ship than writing letters and fiddling with embroidery. Oh, Jane. A gentle violence fills my soul. I am in need of an adventure, not this ceaseless rocking.” She sighed heavily.
    “We ’ave your book. I’ve never known ye to draw your nose up at it.”
    Chloe crumpled her partially written letter and sprang from her chair, wrapping her arms around herself. She paced to the other side of the cabin, all of a mere ten steps. “It is because of that book I am here in the first place. Oh, the agony of my despair . . .”
    She released another heavy sigh. Would there ever be a time in Chloe’s life when she experienced true love’s embrace? Would she hear Markwick’s deep, soothing voice proclaim his undying affection for her? In the past few months, she’d almost begun to give up hope that her dreams would ever be fully realized.
    “Come, Jane.” With sudden determination, Chloe picked up the deep-blue pelisse that matched Jane’s cobalt eyes and gestured to her. “I am done sulking. Nothing can come of it. Things are what they are, are they not?” Jane nodded, accepting the coat with a frown. “I own there is one way we can revive our spirits. Put on your coat. We are going topside to put an end to our discontent.”
    “ Our discontent? I assure ye, I am quite ’appy to remain below.”
    Chloe contemplated the tip of her ink-stained finger, silently cursing the blasted quill that had ruined her letter. “But I cannot go alone. It wouldn’t be appropriate. You know that.”
    A sob tore from Jane’s throat, redirecting Chloe’s thoughts to the fact that Jane feared the sea. Chloe reacted immediately, closing the distance between them. If not for Markwick, she’d have never put Jane in such a harrowing position.
    “I know you are afraid of drowning, sweet Jane, but I am an excellent swimmer.” She bit her lip to cover her half-truth. While it was true she could swim—and well—it was doubtful she could save either of them in the cold, tempestuous swells of the English Channel.
    Chloe guided the conversation to something that would win Jane’s approval. “Surely a few moments of fresh air would be far more preferable than this dank, musty cabin.”
    Jane’s nose crinkled, and her eyes widened. “I would like a breath of fresh air, miss.”
    Chloe’s heart hitched. What kind of wretched soul baited a person for whom she cared deeply with her worst fears? Wasn’t it bad enough that poor Jane had been ill-fated to a life of servitude? Disastrous for Jane, as luck would have it, because Chloe often led the two of them into trouble.
    She hastened to grab Jane’s hand, desiring to reassure her friend that she had Jane’s best interests at heart, even though a small voice inside Chloe screamed that her intentions were selfishly motivated. After all, it was she who loved Markwick, not Jane.
    “Have no fear. You know I treasure you deeply. Though life would have