The Buccaneers' Code by Caroline Carlson

Navy into following his orders. I’d write a note to the queen if I believed it would do any good, but I’m not sure anyone in the kingdom is capable of stopping the Mutineers from plucking up whatever they want. They are just like the rabbits that live in Jasper’s vegetable garden, only with smaller ears and more cannons.
    Oh dear. I don’t mean to be discouraging. I still have every intention of defeating Captain Blacktooth and seeing you become Enchantress. A good pirate always comes up with a plan, and so will I—even if it doesn’t occur to me until I’m lying on my lumpy cot at the Pestilent Home for Foul-Tempered Pirates.
    I miss you very much, and the gargoyle tells me he misses you too. I suspect that Charlie sends his regards, though I’m quite sure he’d never admit it.
    Arr! and love from
    Hilary
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    From
    The Augusta Scuttlebutt
    WHERE HIGH SOCIETY TURNS FOR SCANDAL
    What happens when a beloved High Society figure transforms overnight from hostess to hostage? To find out, we visited the Northlands home of Mrs. Georgiana Tilbury. Although Mrs. Tilbury has been kept prisoner in her home since midsummer, she maintains a full social calendar that many law-abiding citizens would envy. “Am I bored? Never!” laughed Mrs. Tilbury from the comfort of her solarium. “Lately, I have been spending time preparing for my daughter’s upcoming wedding to Sir Nicholas Feathering. I recently hired several hundred birds from across the kingdom to chirp Mozart’s horn concertos during the ceremony. And of course I try to keep up with my charitable works. Why, just yesterday, I hosted a gathering of the Coalition of Overprotective Mothers, of which I am chairwoman. We are concerned by rumors that a common young woman without elegance or taste is next in line for the position of Enchantress, and several of our members are planning to visit the Royal Palace to remind the queen that government posts are most suitably filled by members of High Society.”
    Under Augustan law, Mrs. Tilbury is not permitted to leave her mansion, and a royal guard is stationed on the grounds at all times. However, we observed a flurry of activity at Tilbury Park on the afternoon we visited. Several friends and family members were in attendance, as was a former admiral of the Royal Navy. Though we tried to learn the nature of their business with Mrs. Tilbury, we learned instead that the doors of Tilbury Park are thick and quite unsuitable for eavesdropping.
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    WE ASKED, YOU ANSWERED:
    What’s your opinion of Georgiana Tilbury?
    â€œI greatly admire Georgiana’s dedication to the difficult work of preserving our kingdom’s values. My friends and I look to her for guidance on every topic from current affairs to hat pins.”
—L. D EVEREAUX , N ORDHOLM
    â€œI don’t understand why that woman isn’t locked up properly like all the other thieves and conspirators in the kingdom. She claims to be frail and delicate, but I hope you will trust me when I say she is nothing of the sort.”
—E. P IMM , P EMBERTON
    â€œWe may have gotten our magic back, but those in High Society are still treated far better than the rest of us. Someone ought to stand up to that Mrs. Tilbury. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that even the queen herself is afraid of her.”
—L. R EDFERN , P EMBERTON
    â€œIf it’s all the same to you, I’d prefer not to answer that question.”
—N. F EATHERING , Q UEENSPORT
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C HAPTER S IX

    T HE FIRE ROARED in the feasting hall, and the nighttime sky was streaked with colored light. “You can’t see such a sight in the Southlands,” Miss Greyson told Hilary as they looked out the window at a green shimmer on the horizon. “Some northerners say the lights have magical properties. It sounds rather unlikely to me, but if magic can burrow under the hills, who’s to say it can’t stretch