Lady Pirate by Lynsay Sands Page A

distressing.”
    They both fell silent again; then Daniel, judging that she wouldn’t run off on him, stepped back to give her some room. “I see you managed to remove it.”
    â€œHmmm.” She grimaced slightly. “I doubt Lady Beecham will appreciate my befouling her fountain.”
    â€œBetter that than her wine.” Daniel laughed, then realized what he had said. Quickly he tried to backpedal. “I mean—”
    â€œOh, don’t worry about it,” the girl muttered, pushing past him and moving a few steps farther into the garden. Her gaze shifted out over the shadows as if in search of somebody; then she glanced back at him with a frown. “Was there something you wanted?”
    â€œWanted?” His eyes widened. “Nay, I just…” He paused, having no good explanation for his presence in the gardens. He shrugged, then searched for something to say. “I trust your appointment with Whister—”
    â€œWent about as well as yours,” she finished dryly, then glanced around. “Else I surely wouldn’t be here .”
    â€œI take it you are not enjoying yourself?”
    She turned her face toward him in the darkness. “Is that a joke, my lord?”
    A bark of laughter slipped from Daniel’s lips at her dry question. The girl certainly didn’t pull any punches. He liked that. Clearing his throat, he tried a different topic. “Ainsley is in northern England, is it not?”
    â€œAye,” she agreed, turning to peer out over the bushes again.
    â€œI understand your parents died when you were quite young?”
    â€œAye.”
    â€œAnd your brother, Jeremy?”
    Her head turned sharply, and Daniel could almost feel her eyes boring into him in the darkness. He continued.
    â€œWhister mentioned that he died some…five years ago, was it?” He waited for her reaction. In truth, Whister hadn’t said anything about this girl’s brother; Daniel had known the fellow personally. In fact, Daniel had been looking for the man for some time now.
    Though the man had been reputedly killed, someone was riding the ocean waves and continuing to loot the Spanish in his place. And whoever that man—Back-from-the-Dead Red, he was called—might be, he owed the king of England his percentage of five years’ worth of piracy. If Jeremy Ainsley had thought to escape his contract with the Crown by faking his death, he was mistaken. If it was someone else in his stead, the king wanted him brought in.
    Because he was the only one other than the king who had ever met Captain Red, Daniel had been commissioned by the king to bring Jeremy Ainsley to task for his crimes.
    Of course, that had all ended a year ago when Daniel’s father had died, leaving him Thurborne and all of its problems. It had been rather humiliating to him to have to admit failure after four years of endeavoring, but Daniel had had little choice but to give up his hunt for Jeremy Ainsley or his impostor. He’d had to return to take up his responsibilities. But perhaps here was a chance to rectify that. A little charm, a few compliments, and no doubt Lady Ainsley could be encouraged to give up the information Daniel needed to at least discover if her brother still lived.
    â€œDamn!”
    His thoughts interrupted by the curse, Daniel glanced down at the light oval of Lady Ainsley’s face, then followed her gaze toward the balcony. Lord Beecham was coming out of the ballroom.
    He glanced back to Valoree Ainsley, hoping to continue their discussion, but when he did, she was gone. He peeked around. The girl had ducked behind a nearby tree. It was a poor hiding place, and her skirts were sticking out on either side of the trunk.
    Amusement filling him, Daniel took pity on the girl. She obviously did not want to speak to Beecham. With a sigh, he started back toward the steps to waylay the man.
    Â 
    â€œPsst…Pssst! Hey!” A voice came