The Pirate's Duchess: A Regent's Revenge Novella by Katherine Bone Page B

good-natured smile, I will never forgive you.”
    “Followin’ orders, love.” Denny moved into the room, his throat bobbing nervously. “Will you not ease Lucy’s mind and speak in me defense, Cap’n?”
    “Captain?” Prudence’s heart clenched. What did Mr. and Mrs. Denny know that she didn’t? “What on earth is going on?” she asked Tobias. “How do you know Mr. Denny? And why is he calling you ‘captain’?”
    Mrs. Denny tightened the bandages on Tobias’s leg. He grimaced, then closed his eyes. “Aye,” she said, clucking her tongue. “The truth hurts, doesn’t it?” She cinched the bandages tighter, bound them off with a knot, and snatched up the now-bloodied rags she’d used to clean his wound. She stood, then lifted the water pitcher to her chest before moving toward the kitchen.
    “What’s going on, Tobias?” Prudence asked again. “What else haven’t you told me?”
    Tobias ran his fingers through his wet hair. “Don’t be angry with the Dennys. Before they arrived here, I made them swear to keep my secret.”
    “Before they arrived here?” She touched both of her temples and began to pace. “Good God! How many secrets do you have?”
    “It’s . . . complicated.”
    “Complicated in what way?” She feared the answer, but if she was going to maintain her sanity, she had to know everything there was to know about her husband.
    “Let me explain, Cap’n. You hired me to be your steward, and I owe it to your missus,” Denny said, wringing his meaty hands.
    “ He hired you?” Prudence asked, confounded.
    Denny’s imploring eyes urged her not to judge anyone before she heard them out. “Two years ago, I served aboard a revenue cutter. The work involved sailing after smugglers, keeping ’em out of the coves along the coast.” He waved his hands. “You’re aware of their work?”
    Prudence nodded. She was quite familiar with the occupation since Chloe’s brother was a revenue officer.
    “I won’t bore you with the particulars, but one night we rowed ashore and found ourselves surrounded by angry villagers. I was attacked and left for dead. Cap’n found me, pieced me back together, and took me back to his ship.”
    “His ship ?” Good God, she was at sixes and sevens. Her husband was a duke. He didn’t have a fleet. Even she was coherent enough to know that.
    “The Fury ,” Mrs. Denny answered with a knowing smile.
    Mrs. Denny’s attempt to dispel any confusion didn’t register. The Fury was that awful pirate’s ship. Tobias wasn’t—
    Her eyes widened, jaw going slack as she recalled the painting of a ship on the mantel. She glanced at it once more. The sails were black. “But that cannot be true.”
    “I’m afraid it is, madam.” Mrs. Denny nodded. “To repay the captain for saving my husband’s life, we agreed to watch over you and keep you safe while the cap’n was . . . away. We’re beholden to him, you see. Sworn to maintain his secrets on pain o’ death.”
    Tobias groaned. “I never indicated you’d be harmed.”
    “Ah.” Mr. Denny backed up. “That was my doin’. Told her we’d be tarred and feathered, I did.”
    “You did not. You said, ‘he’d keelhaul us.’”
    Prudence couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Then that means . . . you,” she said, pointing to Tobias. “That I am—” She slapped her hand over her mouth to silence her scream.
    “A pirate’s duchess.” Tobias rose from the chair with surprising energy and bowed his head. “The Black Regent, at your service.”
    His grin drained the life right out of Prudence. Her weak knees wobbled. “The Black Regent? That isn’t possible.”
    A wicked gleam twinkled from his deceptive eyes. “So you have heard of me?”
    Oh, she wanted to scratch the smug look off his face. Of course, she’d heard of the blackguard. The Regent’s name was synonymous with thievery, dishonesty, and illegal activity. In her naïveté, she’d tried to strip away Chloe’s romantic ideals