The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1 (25 page)

“I really can't recall,” Miss Greyson said quietly.

Hilary stared at her. “But you got it from Miss Pimm! You said so yourself, just last week.”

Miss Greyson looked around from one end of the ship to the other, as though she expected Miss Pimm to walk across the deck at any moment. “I did, didn't I? Oh dear, now I've really put a finger in the porridge.” She lowered her voice. “You mustn't tell a soul, any of you. Miss Pimm would have my head on a pike if she knew how careless I'd been. The hooks are only to be used in emergencies, and I felt that our current situation qualified.”

Charlie helped himself to a biscuit. “It's typical High Society nonsense,” he said. “Why would anyone want to hand out magic to a bunch of finishing-school girls? Aren't those girls terrifying enough as it is?”

“I'm not aware of Miss Pimm's reasons,” Miss Greyson said tightly, “but I'm sure they are practical ones. There is quite a bit of magic floating around High Society—or there was until your father got his hands on it, Hilary—and perhaps Miss Pimm feels that her girls should be familiar with it. Don't look so horrified, Mr. Fletcher; Miss Pimm herself gives deportment classes to instruct her charges in the use of magic.”

“Do you mean to tell me,” said Jasper, “that a posse of magical young ladies is currently dashing about Pemberton?”

“Certainly not!” said Miss Greyson. “They are hardly a posse. And Miss Pimm's girls never dash.” She plucked her crochet hook out of Jasper's hand. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I believe I need to lie down. I feel quite exhausted, and being interrogated is hardly improving matters.”

“Hold on a moment.” Jasper caught Miss Greyson by the elbow. “You do look pale. Just how much magic have you been using?”

“I felt it was very important”—Miss Greyson took a long breath—“to help the
Pigeon
move along as rapidly as possible.” She breathed again. “I suppose I may have overexerted myself.”

Hilary caught Miss Greyson's other elbow to prevent her from tipping over. “Will she be all right?” she asked Jasper.

He nodded. “Magic can be quite draining, but it's nothing a bit of sleep and a good chunk of hardtack won't cure. You must rest, Eloise. We'll take over from here.”

“Take over?” Miss Greyson went rigid. “Whatever are you proposing?”

“Simply that Hilary and I take turns using the crochet hook while you rest. We'll drive the
Pigeon
forward without exhausting ourselves too terribly. What do you say?”

Jasper put out his hand to accept the crochet hook, but Miss Greyson merely scowled at him. “Absolutely not.”

“Miss Greyson, please!” Hilary had never discovered quite how to win an argument with a governess, but she would put in her best effort nonetheless. “Let us help you. I've read a bit about using magic, and I'm sure I'll be able to work it out. Besides, Jasper will oversee everything.”

To Hilary's surprise, Charlie agreed with her. “I can't say I like the plan, but I don't see that we've got much of a choice. That crochet hook is the only piece of magic we've got—apart from the gargoyle, of course, but we can't use him to speed up the ship.”

“I should think not!” The gargoyle shuddered.

“And if we don't reach that treasure before Westfield does,” Charlie continued, “he'll sink us all sooner or later. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd rather put up a fight while we still can.”

“Oh, very well.” Miss Greyson placed the crochet hook in Hilary's palm. “I suppose I do need some help. But I'll fetch a chair and supervise the whole ordeal to make sure those two don't transform themselves into tea cakes. And I dearly hope,” she said as she walked toward her cabin, “that Miss Pimm never finds out about this.”

H
ILARY HAD ALWAYS
imagined that magic would be exciting, but watching Jasper hold a crochet hook and say things like, “Hurry up, ship!” was an awfully dull way to spend the morning. To Hilary's disappointment, Jasper did not change anyone into a tea cake, although he did conjure up a gust of wind that sent Fitzwilliam soaring all the way up to the crow's nest. Up in the rigging, Charlie stretched bedsheets and blankets into makeshift sails to catch the breeze, and the
Pigeon
soon looked more like a laundry line than a pirate ship. But it sailed onward faster than ever, and Miss Greyson relaxed enough to fall asleep in her chair.

Finally, Jasper pressed the crochet hook into Hilary's hand. “I don't think I can manage another round,” he said. “You'd better give it a try.”

The crochet hook was smooth and cool against her fingers, like the gargoyle's ears when she scratched behind them. It was such a small thing, more delicate than she'd thought; it certainly didn't feel powerful.

“Just hold on tight,” said Jasper, “and tell it what you'd like it to do.”

Hilary nodded. “Hello, magic,” she said. A thrill unfurled in her chest and began to travel down her arm, toward the crochet hook. “I'd like you to help our ship sail faster, if you please.”

“You don't have to have a conversation with it,” Jasper said. “This isn't High Society—my goodness!” The crochet hook apparently enjoyed being greeted in such a civilized manner, for it had summoned up a wind that knocked Jasper's hat right off his head.

“It is from Miss Pimm's, after all,” Hilary reminded him. “It probably thrives on good manners.”

The wind continued to blow, and the thrill continued to thrum in Hilary's chest. It was a lovely feeling—she rather thought she could take on the entire Royal Navy at the moment, and Philomena besides. Perhaps she could even get into the Scallywag's Den without allowing the burly pirate to knock her onto the cobblestones. When the breeze died down, she asked the crochet hook politely for another push, and it obliged.

Hilary wondered for an instant if the rush of wind had been tugged out of her lungs. “It's harder the second time,” she said between breaths, “and not nearly as nice.”

She would have liked to hold on to the crochet hook a bit longer, but Jasper took it away and tucked it in his pocket. “That's quite enough for now,” he said. “You'll be able to use the magic longer with practice.”

All the thrill had left Hilary's chest by now. “It was exciting,” she admitted, “when the wind picked up.” She considered for a moment. “But it wasn't nearly as exciting as piracy.”

“Of course it wasn't,” said Jasper. He walked back to the ship's wheel and gave it a good spin as Fitzwilliam settled down on his shoulder. “Then again, what is?”

At the prow of the
Pigeon
, the gargoyle nearly hopped out of his knots. “Trees!” he cried. “Trees!”

Jasper frowned. “I hardly think trees are more thrilling than piracy.”

“No,” said the gargoyle, “I see trees out there! And grass, and sand—lots of it.” He puffed out his chest and cleared his throat. “Land ho, everyone! Land ho!”

J
ASPER
F
LETCHER
, F
REELANCE
P
IRATE
T
ERROR OF THE
S
OUTHLANDS
VNHLP CERTIFIED IN BATTLE,
TREASURE HUNTING, & PARROT MAINTENANCE

Dear Claire,

Please forgive me for taking so long to reply to your letter. It seems that doing battle on the High Seas does not leave one with much free time, and I have only just caught a spare moment in which to steal a page of Jasper's stationery.

I cannot believe that the entire staff and student body of Miss Pimm's has taken to sea! You are right—this is entirely strange. I do not know all that much about High Society, but I am fairly sure that Mother never swabbed any decks when she was in finishing school. (As she positively refuses to come within ten feet of a mop at home, I cannot imagine that she would behave any differently on board a ship.)

I have discovered something else quite surprising about Miss Pimm's, and I must admit that I don't know what to make of it. I've been sworn to secrecy this matter, but I can't bear to keep it a secret from you, so you must simply swear to secrecy as well.

Have you sworn? Good. Now that you are prepared, here is the shocking truth: the golden crochet hooks that Miss Pimm distributes to her students are made of magic, and Miss Pimm herself instructs her students in their use.

I shall give you a few moments to recover.

If you are anything like me, you are probably shaking your head and muttering to yourself, “But that's impossible!” I suggest that you stop shaking your head: You will only succeed in making yourself seasick, and I promise you that I am telling the truth. In fact, I am quite sure that Philomena used her very own golden crochet hook to enchant your fish sticks, though I still can't believe Miss Pimm would have approved of her behavior.

As you can probably guess, I am simply swamped with questions, and here is a sampling of them: Why is Miss Pimm instructing her students in magic? How does she know anything at all about the subject? Where in the world does she find all of those crochet hooks, and why has she given one to someone as horrid as Philomena?