Free Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands Page A

face and turned to glare narrowly at her men.
    â€œSee that! Got us an invite already!” Henry crowed, ignoring her obvious displeasure.
    Snorting in disgust, Valoree moved away from the door and led the way back into the salon, where Meg was staring out the window into the street. “You got lucky,” she snapped irritably, dropping into a chair and casually hooking one leg over the arm of it. “Lady Beecham is probably the only person in this whole town who would make an impulsive gesture like that, and you happened to rent the house from her son.”
    â€œNay.” Skully shook his head.
    â€œNay what?” Valoree asked with a sigh.
    â€œI’d bet all my shares of the booty from that last Spanish galleon we took that his mother ain’t never e’en heard o’ ye,” the tall man said, bringing a frown to her face.
    â€œShe—”
    â€œNot she. He.” When Valoree merely stared at him blankly, he shook his head and explained. “The boy. Are ye blind, Val? He was sniffing about ye like ye were a bitch in heat.”
    Meg snapped with outrage from the window. “You will leave that kind of talk out in the street, if you please. Lady Valoree already has a tendency to slip up without your bandying such foulness about.”
    Skully flushed bright red at the set-down, but Valoree went from pink, to red, to white. She didn’t know whether to defend Skully, snipe at the woman, or agree with her. True, the “bitch in heat” remark had been a touch vulgar, even for Skully. She supposed that was why he wasn’t snapping back at her himself. That or he was just as shocked by the starch in her words as Valoree was. The words seemed exactly what a “lady” would say, and— good God —the woman had actually sounded the part.
    â€œWere you ever onstage, Meg?” she asked at last.
    Ignoring the question, the woman turned to regard her. “Skully is right, though, for all that his sentiment could use rephrasing. Lady Beecham surely did notextend the offer. She does not have the heart to think of it.”
    â€œHow would you know?”
    Shrugging, Meg turned back to the window. “Everyone in London has heard of Lady Beecham and her mean-spirited, snobbish ways.”
    Valoree stared at her for a moment longer, then glanced toward the doorway of the salon as the front door of the town house opened and closed. Bull and One-Eye wandered into the room a moment later.
    â€œMighty fine digs,” One-Eye commented, glancing about the room. “We stayin’?”
    â€œAye,” Henry announced, drawing himself up and facing Valoree as if expecting an argument. “We’re stayin’.”
    When Valoree merely shrugged, he continued. “We’ll be needing some more things from the ship, though. Some more men to act as servants. And Petey.”
    â€œPetey?” One-Eye raised his eyebrow. “Who’s gonna cook for the men if we bring Petey out here?”
    â€œThey can fend for themselves for a bit.”
    â€œWe shall need the gowns,” Meg interjected. “In fact, if you expect her to attract a husband, she will need several more gowns.”
    â€œMore gowns?” One-Eye gaped at the woman. “Why? She’s already got three of them.”
    â€œOne evening gown and two day gowns will not do,” Meg informed them primly. “She shall need at least a dozen of each.”
    â€œA dozen!” Valoree looked no more pleased by that announcement than the men. “Why the hell would I need a dozen dresses? There’s only the one of me.”
    â€œA dozen to start with,” Meg repeated firmly.
    â€œNow just a minute—” Henry began, but Meg cut him off.
    â€œShe is seeking marriage. She must make as goodan impression as she can. She cannot be seen twice in the same gown, else she will be thought to be too poor to be able to afford the proper accoutrements and