“I am thinking about it,” he answered, pulling her close and reaching under the covers, “but I think I may need one more dose of your excellent persuading.”
“Then you shall have it, Mr. Cabinet Minister.”
Read the next book in the Misadventures in Matrimony series. Enjoy an excerpt from Good Groom Hunting below.
Josephine Hale stuck her head out her bedroom window and waved to her cousin Ashley Brittany. Ashley waved back, giving her a carefree smile.
Josie retreated and tried to quiet her beating heart. Really, she had to settle down. Her mother was always telling her that.
Her mother told her a lot of things.
But now Ashley was here, and this was it. How could Josie possibly settle down?
She stuck her head out the window again, annoyed to see Ashley had stopped to exchange a word with the gardener. Why couldn’t her cousin hurry? Of course, Ashley didn’t know what she was hurrying for. She didn’t know that Josie had finally found the map.
Oh, Ashley would be green when she saw it! Josie was finally going to be a pirate—or at least live off pirate treasure.
That was if Ashley ever made it into the house.
Josie peered out the window once more, searching for Ashley, but then the door opened behind her and Ashley strolled in. She wore a morning dress of light green cambric, the long, loose sleeves tied with ivory ribbons. She was dressed in the height of fashion, as always. And as always, one could tell she couldn’t care less. There was a splattering of mud on her hem, her skirt was wrinkled, and two of her sleeves’ ribbons had come undone.
But Ashley could have been dressed in a sack, and she would still be the most beautiful girl in any room. With her golden hair, her porcelain skin, and her eyes of pale, sea green, she put Josie to shame without even trying.
Not that Josie had tried very hard today, as she was wearing trousers and a man’s work shirt and coat. And anyway, Josie didn’t care about being beautiful. She wanted to be independent.
Ashley took in Josie’s appearance in one encompassing glance and sighed. “What have I stepped into now?”
“Welcome aboard, matey,” Josie said in her best pirate brogue.
Ashley raised her eyebrows, and Josie spoke quickly, before Ashley could jump to her own conclusions. “I found my grandfather’s pirate treasure map,” she blurted out.
“Really?” Ashley began to pull her gloves off, but Josie grabbed her hand and dragged her downstairs. Josie’s mother was somewhere in the house, and if she saw Josie dressed like this, she’d have her daughter’s head.
“I haven’t seen it for years,” Josie said, pulling Ashley in her wake. “I thought my father threw it out when my grandfather died.” She pulled Ashley to the side of the stairs so they wouldn’t collide with a maid dusting the banister. “But he just hid it,” she whispered, so the maid wouldn’t hear.
“That’s very exciting, Josie, but where are we—”
Josie skidded to a stop in front of the library door. “So do you want to see it?”
Ashley raised a golden brow. “Will we get in trouble?”
“Probably.”
“Oh, good. Then absolutely.”
With a smile, Josie slid the oak-paneled library door open and poked her head inside. “All clear.” She slipped through the doorway, closing it after Ashley followed. “It’s over here.” Josie gestured to the wall of bookcases. Standing guard before the imposing bastion of knowledge was an oak desk. It was a showpiece as were most of the books. No one ever came into the library except Josie.
The girls crept across the room, Ashley’s slippers shushing on the thick carpets. A grandfather clock ticked away the hour in the corner. There was a small stepladder at one side of the bookcase, below the volumes of Shakespeare, and Josie slid it along the wall until it stood under the collection of biblical sermons and writings. She stepped onto the stool and reached as high as she could, her fingers grazing a worn copy of Fordyce’s Sermons to Young Women. She handed the volume down to Ashley.
“Tell me this isn’t what we came for.” She scowled at the book and set it on the desk.
Josie winked at her and reached through the gap, pulling a large, ragged volume out. It was heavy, and she was glad when Ashley reached up and took it from her.
Unfortunately, her cousin wasn’t expecting the book’s weight. The volume slammed on the desk with a loud thump. Both girls froze, staring at the paneled door.
The clock ticked on, oblivious, and after sixty tocks, Josie stepped down. They were not caught yet. She indicated the desk chair, and Ashley took it, while Josie perched on the top of the desk. Josie flipped the book open, turning the pages slowly until she reached the center. There, folded and yellowed with age, was the parchment. With two fingers, she lifted it out.
“Is this it?” Ashley whispered.
