The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1 (37 page)

Mrs. Westfield looked up from her sandwich. She was still very pale from her time in the wardrobe, and Hilary had not seen her smile since Admiral Westfield had been taken to the Dungeons. Now, however, the corners of her mouth turned up ever so slightly. “Thanks to your father's villainy,” she said at last, “this family's honor has been badly damaged, and your scandalous behavior hasn't helped matters one bit. To lose my reputation as the kingdom's finest hostess, however, would be the final blow.
Someone
has got to keep the Westfield name afloat.” She shook her head. “All right, I'll allow it—but if there is even a hint of a duel on my lawn, I shall return to the wardrobe at once.”

On the day of the wedding, Hilary stood in her old bedroom and adjusted her pirate coat in front of the mirror. She had chosen a red one to match Miss Greyson's bouquet of Gunpowder Island roses, with a lovely hem that billowed out behind her when she turned. “What do you think?” she asked the gargoyle, who had returned temporarily to his perch above her bedroom door.

“Not bad,” said the gargoyle. “But it will be better when you put on your hat.”

“Oh! I almost forgot—Miss Greyson sent you a present.” Hilary dug in her trunk until she found a small box wrapped with ribbon. “She says you've got to look dapper if you're going to be Best Gargoyle.”

The gargoyle squirmed as Hilary tugged on the ribbon. “Do you think? Oh, could it be? It is!” he cried as Hilary pulled out a gargoyle-sized pirate hat, perfectly black and pointy, with an elegant white feather on top. “It really is! Get me down from here so I can try it on.”

Hilary and the gargoyle were admiring their hats in the mirror when Charlie knocked on the door. Captain Blacktooth must have paid him a visit as well, for he was decked out in new pirate finery of his own. “You look quite fearsome,” said Hilary. “It's exactly what the Scourge of the Northlands would wear.”

Charlie grinned. “You think so?” He tugged at his breeches, which were rolled up above his knees. “Jasper says I'm supposed to grow into them. In the meantime, though, we're wanted on the lawn.”

Hilary followed Charlie and the gargoyle down the hall, past the stained-glass heroes of history. She tipped her hat to Simon Westfield, who looked thoroughly impressed to see her in such a state. And she laughed out loud when she passed the Enchantress of the Northlands' window. Miss Pimm herself had stood in front of the window a few hours before and pronounced it terribly unflattering, although she admitted that at least the smile was accurate.

Just beyond the Enchantress's window was a small door leading out to the lawn, and just in front of the door stood Miss Greyson, looking a bit seasick. “I'd rather face a boatful of bloodthirsty naval officers,” she whispered to Hilary. “I don't believe I've ever seen so many pirates in my life!” But the pirates were jolly, and they cheered as the wedding party paraded across the grass. The gargoyle, at the head of the procession, kept the pace to a slow hop, so Hilary had plenty of time to study the faces in the crowd: A pirate she recognized from Gunpowder Island chatted with one of Miss Greyson's friends from finishing school, and Miss Pimm appeared to be getting along remarkably well with Cannonball Jack. And there in the very front row was Claire, beaming and waving as Hilary passed by. Hilary beamed and waved back. Then she took her place next to Jasper, who seemed to be nearly as seasick as Miss Greyson. Fitzwilliam sat on his shoulder, resplendent in a parrot-sized bow tie.

The musicians broke into a rollicking sea chantey as Miss Greyson walked across the lawn to Jasper. By the time they were standing next to each other, both of them had turned a good deal less green. “You've kept me waiting for nearly ten minutes, my dear,” Jasper murmured. “I was beginning to worry a sea monster had gotten you. Is this the first time in your life that you've been anything but prompt?”

Miss Greyson smiled. “Mr. Fletcher,” she replied, “in the pirate community, it's quite the thing to be fashionably late.”

Jasper burst out laughing and took Miss Greyson's hand. Then they pledged to love each other through mutinies and treasure raids, and to always be practical. Claire bawled when they were pronounced pirate and bookshop keeper, and even the gargoyle dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief attached to his tail.

Then the grog was uncorked and there was a great deal of celebrating. Hilary danced with Claire and Charlie and Cannonball Jack and the gargoyle, but between all the guests congratulating her on her piracy and all the guests congratulating the newlyweds, she couldn't push through the crowd to Jasper and Miss Greyson. Before she knew it, the sun was setting and the wedding guests were making their way through the streets to Queensport Harbor, where the
Pigeon
waited.

Jasper and Miss Greyson climbed onto the deck of the
Pigeon
and waved to their friends on shore. Hilary was usually very good at waving from the docks—she had gotten a good deal of practice waving to her father's ships, after all—but this time she nearly tripped on the cobblestones, and she had to borrow the gargoyle's handkerchief. Perhaps the salt spray from the water had stung her eyes, for she knew perfectly well that a pirate never cries. Now Jasper was checking the sails, and now the pirates on the docks were casting off the ship's ropes—

“Wait a moment, me hearties!” cried Jasper. “Where's my crew?”

Hilary looked up from her handkerchief.

Jasper waved his arms in her direction. “Hilary! Get up here at once! Bring Charlie and the gargoyle, too.”

Hilary blinked. “You want me to come with you?”

“I have several tons of magic to pass out to the good people of Augusta,” said Jasper, “and with Eloise selling books all day, I'll need the finest pirates in the kingdom to help me. I may be the former Terror of the Southlands, but I can't do it alone.” He held out a hand to Hilary and pulled her up onto the
Pigeon
. “You'd like to join us, wouldn't you?”

Hilary grinned and hugged him, not caring for an instant that pirates hardly ever embraced their captains. Jasper seemed to be unaware of this rule, for he hugged her back. “I assume this means you'll be joining us,” he said.

“Of course it does,” said Hilary. “But if you'll excuse me for a moment, I have to assist the gargoyle.”

She settled the gargoyle into his Nest at the bow of the ship and made sure his hat was attached securely over his ears. “Anchors aweigh!” the gargoyle cried. “We're off to have an adventure!” He sighed happily. “I love adventure.”

“So do I,” said Hilary. “It's because we're pirates, you know.”

She waved good-bye to the crowd on shore and to Claire, who jumped up and down and promised to write. Then a fine breeze caught in the
Pigeon
's mainsail, Hilary hoisted the Jolly Roger, and waves parted to let the pirates pass as they sailed toward the High Seas.

TURN THE PAGE FOR A PEEK AT

HILARY'S NEXT VERY NEARLY

HONORABLE ADVENTURE

(GARGOYLE INCLUDED).

From

The Augusta Scuttlebutt

WHERE HIGH SOCIETY TURNS FOR SCANDAL

Magic users, take note! The Scuttlebutt has discovered that the Enchantress of the Northlands, Miss Eugenia Pimm, has gone missing from her home in Pemberton, where she oversees Miss Pimm's Finishing School for Delicate Ladies. The queen's inspectors claim it is possible that the Enchantress has merely taken a well-deserved vacation, but we at the Scuttlebutt fervently hope that the case proves to be far more scandalous. Could the Enchantress have been kidnapped, captured, pursued, or purloined? Will nefarious scoundrels use her absence as an opportunity to wreak magical havoc across Augusta? Without an Enchantress to watch over us, will the kingdom erupt in an explosion of battles, thefts, and ill-conceived enchantments? Or will everyone remember to mind their manners? (We suspect that the first possibility is far more likely than the second.)

The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates insists that no scallywags were involved in Miss Pimm's disappearance, and it is rumored that the pirate Hilary Westfield has gathered a crew and set out to rescue Miss Pimm herself. We cannot imagine that Pirate Westfield will succeed in this endeavor, but we wish her well and look forward to celebrating her victory—or mourning her failure, as the case may be.

M
ARTINE
L
EAVITT WAS
Hilary's first fan and her greatest champion. Thank you, Martine, for everything.

At HarperCollins, my wonderful editor, Toni Markiet, asked the perfect questions and turned this book into the story it was always meant to be. Rachel Abrams was wise enough to poke holes in the plot and kind enough to help me stitch them up again. Thanks also to Phoebe Yeh and the rest of the brilliant team at HarperCollins Children's. At Simon & Schuster UK, special thanks are due to Venetia Gosling and Jane Griffiths, and to Julia Churchill for putting this story in their hands.

Thanks to my agent, Sarah Davies, who works magic in her own right.

Thanks to the faculty, staff, students, and alumni of Vermont College of Fine Arts, particularly Julie Larios, Franny Billingsley, Sharon Darrow, the League of Extraordinary Cheese Sandwiches, and all the writers who saw the earliest pages of this book and wanted to know what happened next.

Melanie Crowder, Anna Drury, Hannah Moderow, and Meg Wiviott read early drafts and gave invaluable feedback and support. Amy Rose Capetta, Jonathan Carlson, Alison Cherry, Debbie Cohen, Kelsey Hersh, Eric Pinder, Emma Schroeder, and Kathleen Wilson bravely read various incarnations of Hilary's adventures. Thanks to the Lucky 13s for their friendship and advice, and thanks to Sarah Prineas for showing me how it's done.

My parents, Jane and Chris Carlson, taught me to love books and supported me in every way when I decided I wanted to write them.

And thanks to my husband, Zach Pezzementi, who stands by me through mutinies and treasure raids and who always believed.

Photo by Amy Rose Capetta

CAROLINE CARLSON
holds an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She grew up in Massachusetts and now lives with her husband in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, amid many stacks of books. You can visit her online at www.carolinecarlsonbooks.com.

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Cover art © 2013 by Yarrow Cheney

Hand lettering by David Coulson

Cover design by Amy Ryan

T
HE VERY NEARLY HONORABLE LEAGUE OF PIRATES
#1:
MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT
. Text copyright © 2013 by Caroline Carlson. Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Dave Phillips. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.