The Buccaneers' Code (23 page)

The officers practically fell over one another in their eagerness to agree. “Of course, Terror,” they said. “We'd be happy to. Thrilled! Delighted!”

“Oh, for heaven's sake,” said Hilary, “you needn't look so petrified. I promise you I'm nothing like my father.”

As the
Augusta Belle
sailed into Queensport Harbor, the smoke from the battle grew thicker. The shore was a scramble of spectators, who peered through opera glasses, wrung their hands, and hurried away from the docks whenever a cannon blast shook the air. At the near edge of the harbor, the
Dancing Sheep
, the
Blunderbuss
, and most of Hilary's other crewmates floated in a confused knot. “Ahoy!” she called to them. “Can any of you take a few more pirates on board?”

“Hilary?” Cannonball Jack squinted at her over the side of the
Blunderbuss.
“Be it really ye? I knew ye couldn't have been firin' at the queen! Mateys, come quick; the Terror be here at last!”

Worthington's head appeared next to Cannonball Jack's. “But why are you all on board a navy ship?” she asked. “And who's sailing the
Pigeon
?”

“I'd love to explain,” said Hilary, “but I'm not sure this is the best time. For now, we'd be grateful if you'd throw over a rope.”

By the time Hilary and her mates had scrambled onto the
Blunderbuss
, her supporting ships had gathered around the houseboat. “Captain Wolfson and Mr. Stanley have taken their crews across the harbor to assist the queen,” Rosie Hatter reported from the
Dancing Sheep
, “and Miss Pimm's gone with them to lend a hand with the magic.
The rest of us are ready to follow you into battle, though.” She hesitated. “That is, if you're still planning to fight Captain Blacktooth.”

“Of course she's planning to fight Captain Blacktooth!” The gargoyle flapped his wings so eagerly that he nearly rose off the deck. “Aren't you, Hilary?”

Truthfully, Hilary suspected she'd already had enough adventure to last her at least the rest of the week. Most of her mates seemed to feel the same: Jasper had sat down on the deck of the
Blunderbuss
without even bothering to look for a chair, and Miss Greyson kept looking over her shoulder at the sea as though she hoped a few bedraggled books might float up to the surface. Still, Hilary couldn't take her eyes off the tall black galleon that skulked near the edge of the cannon smoke. “Captain Blacktooth and his Mutineers have sunk my ship,” she said. “They've blackened my name, turned the pirate league against me, threatened my gargoyle, and attacked the queen. If I don't try to stop them, I might as well toss my pirate hat into the sea.” She turned to Cannonball Jack, who was polishing his hook rather nervously with a handkerchief. “Lead our fleet to the
Renegade
, please—and sail as quickly as you can. If we're going to save the kingdom, we can't lose another second.”

From

The Personal Transcriptions of Horatio Gull

Private Secretary to the President

COURTESY OF THE VNHLP ARCHIVES

A curious fleet approaches the
Renegade.
I study it through my spyglass and take up my pen and parchment once more, for I anticipate that my employer's response to this sight is likely to be noteworthy.

H
ILARY HADN'T EXPECTED
that she and her mates would receive a polite reception at the
Renegade
, but the Mutineers who looked down at her from the galleon looked even less pleased to see her than she'd imagined. Mrs. Tilbury wore a strand of pearls and a permanent frown, Philomena clutched the ship's rail, and Captain Blacktooth sighed heavily as the
Blunderbuss
passed into the
Renegade
's shadow. Next to him, Mr. Gull was fanning himself with a piece of parchment. “This day has been a disaster!” he said. “The queen is under attack, the Terror is in two places at once, and no one has paid an ounce of attention to the rules! Am I the only pirate here who has
even bothered to read
Leading the League
?”

Captain Blacktooth ignored this. “I'm surprised to see you, Terror,” he called down to Hilary. “Why aren't you on your way to the Dungeons?”

“Because Father is on his way there instead.” Hilary grinned up at the Mutineers, whose faces had fallen like cold soufflés. “You should be pleased about that, though. He wanted to arrange an unfortunate fishing accident for you.”

Philomena leaned farther over the rail of the
Renegade.
“Nicholas!” she called. “Is that you? Oh, I just
knew
those horrid pirates had captured you! I told Mama—”

“Er, actually,” said Nicholas, “I've decided to be a pirate myself.”

“A pirate?” Philomena blinked. “Have you lost your wits? I can't marry a pirate!”

“And I can't marry a Mutineer.” Nicholas edged closer to Alice, who nodded up at him. “Sorry about that.”

Philomena began to shake, but her mother laid a hand on her shoulder. “Focus, my dear!” she said. “This is hardly the time for emotions. If you must cry, you may do it when the queen's ship finally sinks.”

Hilary's own mother gasped into her glass of lemonade. Even Captain Blacktooth flinched. “There's no need to sound so eager about it, Georgiana,” he said.

“Do you regret attacking the
Benevolence
, then?” Jasper called up. “I wish you'd felt half as regretful about sinking the
Pigeon
.”

“That wasn't my idea,” said Blacktooth. “I don't know why you pirates are looking at me so reproachfully. I did everything I could to keep you out of this battle! If you'd gone quietly into exile, Terror, there would have been no need for us to sink your ship, and we could have taken over the kingdom in a far more civilized fashion.” He shrugged. “Even this morning, I hoped you'd stay away, but James warned me you weren't likely to give up so easily.”

Hilary stared at Blacktooth. If what he said was true, her father had nearly paid her a compliment. She would have been less astonished if a sea monster had emerged from the harbor and invited her over for a bowl of porridge. “Well, he was right,” she said, “at least about that. Was attacking the queen his idea, too?”

Blacktooth nodded, and Mrs. Tilbury aimed her frown in his direction.

“I thought so,” said Hilary. “Now that he's off to the Dungeons, though, I'm sure he'll try to blame you for the whole affair. Why don't you tell Oliver Sanderson to stop blasting cannonballs at the queen and surrender yourself to the royal guards?”

“Surrender?” Blacktooth formed the word carefully, as though he'd never spoken it before.

“Yes,” said Hilary firmly. “I don't think you're entirely heartless.”

Captain Blacktooth stepped back from the rail.

“Don't be a fool, Rupert,” Mrs. Tilbury snapped. “Now
that James is in the Dungeons, we won't have to worry about sharing our magic with him—and no one will believe his tales in any case. Haven't you always wanted to do what is best for the pirate league, and for your family?” She gestured to the sinking
Benevolence.
“Didn't we agree that this is what's best?”

“It seems an awful lot like
worst
to me,” said Charlie.

But Captain Blacktooth was nodding his head. “I'd rather sink my own ship than surrender, Terror,” he said. “I'm a pirate, after all, and pirates don't simply give up.”

Hilary sighed; she'd expected as much. “In that case,” she said, “we'll stop you.”

“That's right!” cried the gargoyle. “We'll roast you nicely, carve you up, and serve you on a bed of lettuce!”

“Oh my,” Miss Greyson murmured.

Mr. Gull stopped fanning himself with his parchment. “Are you ready to begin your battle, then?” he asked. “I thought this moment would never come!” He hurried away and reappeared a moment later with his thick copy of
Leading the League.
“Since the queen is busy with other matters at the moment,” he said, “I shall judge the competition. The usual rules apply, of course: the winner of this battle shall be president of the VNHLP, and the loser shall go into exile, et cetera. The winner shall also be granted ownership of that curious creature.” He pointed to the gargoyle, who hopped closer to Hilary's feet. “And if I understand what you all have been chattering about,
if Captain Blacktooth wins, he is likely to seize control of the kingdom, though I'm absolutely certain League rules don't permit anything of the sort.”

“When my daughter is Enchantress,” Mrs. Tilbury said to him, “perhaps she'll turn you into a lamppost.”

Philomena crossed her arms. “I don't see why any of this is necessary,” she said. “If anyone should be surrendering, it's Miss Westfield and her friends. Do you really think you can defeat my uncle, Hilary? Do you truly think you'll be able to lead an entire league of pirates?”

Hilary didn't answer right away. She looked over at Charlie, with his wrists sprouting from the sleeves of a pirate coat he'd been swimming in only last year. She looked at Claire, who was meeting Philomena's gaze without blinking, and at Alice, standing in front of Nicholas to shield him from the Mutineers. Jasper had drawn his cutlass, Miss Greyson had drawn her crochet hook, and Cannonball Jack had brought out a plate of homemade shortbread for the crew to munch on during the battle. The finishing-school girls let their hair ribbons blow defiantly in the wind on the deck of the
Dancing Sheep
, the water-ballet performers pointed their toes, the High Society ladies raised their forks, the gargoyle ground his teeth, and Mr. Twigget's men sharpened their swords. All of them waited for Hilary to speak.

“There are plenty of things I can't do,” she said to Philomena. “I can't sew a neat embroidery sampler, I can't
remember which spoon to use when I eat soup, I can't bring my ship back from the bottom of the sea, and I can't stop you from being cruel. But I do believe I can lead an entire league of pirates.”

“I, for one, am relieved to hear it,” said Mr. Gull. “Please take your places, pirates, and let the battle begin!”

H
ILARY HAD SPENT
most of the previous night lying awake in her cot on the
Pigeon
and imagining each of the things that might go wrong during the battle. After all, no pirate clash in Augustan history had ever gone entirely smoothly. Cannons misfired; ships sprang leaks. Magic pieces slipped out of hands. Peg legs washed up on the shore, missing their owners.

In all those wide-awake hours, however, Hilary had never imagined that everything might go wrong at once.

From the moment Mr. Gull waved a Jolly Roger above his head to signal the start of the battle, all the pirates in Queensport Harbor were swept up in a raucous mess that not even the queen's own housemaids could have tidied. Dozens of Captain Blacktooth's men tossed ropes down to the
Dancing Sheep
and began to storm the ship, mocking the schoolgirls as they went. Their parrots flew in a feathery swarm over Hilary's head, clawing at sails and pecking at ropes. One burly pirate swiped a tray of cucumber sandwiches straight out of Mrs. Westfield's hands. Partridge accidentally started a small fire in the
Blunderbuss
's galley,
and Worthington nearly fell overboard when she ran too quickly in the wrong direction. Even the gargoyle kept getting tangled up in his cape.

“Get me out of this thing, Hilary!” he yelped. “I think it's trying to eat me!”

As Hilary wrestled with the gargoyle's cape, Claire ran up to her. “Most of our treasure is still on board the
Augusta Belle
,” she said anxiously. “The magic coatrack, the sacks of coins—nearly everything useful. I did manage to swipe this from the pile, though.” She held out the golden gravy boat. “I'm sure it won't be as impressive as whatever the Mutineers have brought with them, but at least it's something.”

“Something
dangerous
,” the gargoyle said, hopping free of his cape.

Hilary stood up, keeping her distance from the gravy boat. “The gargoyle's right,” she said. “That magic piece is entirely unreliable—but if it's all we've got, we'll have to use it until we can find something better.” She squeezed Claire's hand. “Please promise me you'll be careful.”

Claire laughed. “I'll do nothing of the sort,” she said. “I am a pirate, after all.”

Hilary wished there were time to search the
Blunderbuss
for more suitable magic pieces, but some of Blacktooth's pirates were already climbing over the houseboat's rails, and it would have been thoughtless to keep them waiting. She drew her cutlass and rushed over to join Charlie and
Alice, who were already entangled in sword fights with two of the most fearsome pirates. “Thank you for entertaining our guests,” she called over her shoulder to them. “My mother would be proud of your hospitality.”

The pirate she was dueling scowled at this. “Is your mother the woman with the lemonade?” he asked between parries. “She tossed a pitcher of the stuff at me a few moments ago, and now I'm chilled to the bone.”

“Perhaps Captain Blacktooth will lend you a spare coat,” Hilary suggested, slicing a button from the pirate's lemon-scented sleeve.

“Ha!” The pirate clipped the top of Hilary's hat feather. “The only thing Blacktooth ever willingly lends is his poor opinion.”

Hilary dodged the pirate's sword, hurried around behind him, poked him in the breeches, and watched with satisfaction as he jumped several feet into the air. When he crashed back down on the deck, she stood over him, holding her cutlass to his nose.

“Well played, pirate,” he said in a quavering voice. “Are you going to send me off the plank?”

Hilary glanced over at the
Blunderbuss
's plank, which Cannonball Jack had transformed into an herb garden. Anyone who tried to walk it would have to step gingerly over the potted rosemary and mint. “I don't think that would be wise,” she said.

The pirate looked skeptical. “Captain Blacktooth would send me off the plank.”

“I'm sure he would,” said Hilary, “but I'm not that sort of pirate. I'd rather lock you up inside the houseboat until the end of the battle.”

“So you'll take me prisoner?” The pirate nodded, being careful to avoid the cutlass. “That sounds suitable. Taking prisoners is enthusiastically endorsed by the League.”

Hilary pulled the pirate up by his arms and dragged him into Cannonball Jack's living quarters. “Don't let this scallywag escape,” she told the greengrocer, who was carrying a sack of onions to throw at the Mutineers.

“Aye, aye, Captain!” he boomed, waving an onion rather menacingly in the pirate's direction.

As the battle wore on, Cannonball Jack's cabin took on more and more prisoners. Charlie defeated eight pirates in a row so convincingly that one of them asked him for swordplay lessons if they both survived the battle. Alice's arm wasn't entirely healed, but that didn't prevent her from chasing several more pirates all around the
Blunderbuss
in a swirl of ruffles and lace. Most of the pirates Hilary faced were handy with a sword, so it was fortunate that the gargoyle had offered to bite their ankles whenever she found herself in a tight spot. By the time she'd fought off five or six pirates, she had nearly perfected the swordplay figure she'd used to slice up the drapes in Westfield House.

One pirate had made the grave mistake of insulting
Miss Greyson, who was now employing her crochet hook to dangle him upside down until he had learned his lesson. Fitzwilliam busied himself by pecking the enemy's ears, Nicholas proved to be surprisingly handy with a borrowed sword, and Jasper ran through the crowd waving a net and shouting something about a parrot. Even Mr. Partridge and Miss Worthington were fighting admirably: Partridge confused two of the ship's ropes and accidentally lowered the boom on top of half a dozen of Blacktooth's men, and Worthington sent several others in confused circles by giving them poor directions. The crew of the
Dancing Sheep
was still locked in battle, and cannonballs from the
Renegade
were flying uncomfortably close to Hilary's head, but she was beginning to wonder if it might be possible to beat the Mutineers after all.