Lord Of The Privateers. Stephanie Laurens

second, he glanced at Wolverstone.

      The duke met his gaze imperturbably and arched one dark brow as if to say: What did you expect?

      Melville looked down, then he humphed. From beneath his pale brows, he shot a look at Royd. “Very well. I’ll have the orders prepared and sent over this evening.” Melville glanced at Declan. “Stanhope Street, isn’t it?”

      Declan nodded. “Number twenty-six.”

      Melville swung his gaze back to Royd. “Anything else you need?” The First Lord’s tone was sarcastic.

      Royd nodded. “I’ll need a similar letter from the Home Office, sufficient to guarantee Governor Holbrook’s compliance with any orders given to him by whoever presents it, and another such missive from the War Office for the Commanding Officer at Fort Thornton. Don’t make the latter specific. We need to ensure whoever’s in charge at the time acts as required.”

      Melville’s jaw had fallen slack. Again, he looked at Wolverstone; again, he received no support from that quarter, leaving him to shut his mouth, humph, and fidget, and ultimately agree with a terse, tight-lipped nod.

      Wolverstone took pity on the First Lord and asked Royd, “When will you sail?”

      “The Corsair will have reached Southampton this morning. She’ll already be provisioning. Once she’s ready, she’ll stand off, and The Trident and The Cormorant will provision as well—we’ll send orders down tomorrow. After that...we’ll need a day or so to get out further orders and complete our preparations.” Royd met Wolverstone’s dark gaze. “I’ll be taking at least two other Frobisher ships down in support—so, all told, five ships’ complements to join with Caleb’s and Lascelle’s. At this point, I anticipate departing on Monday’s tide.”

      “Monday?” Melville grumped. “This is urgent. Can’t you set out sooner?”

      “I could,” Royd calmly replied. “But because The Corsair is faster than the other ships, there’s no point me setting out in advance—after initiating Decker’s action, I would have to skulk close to Freetown, waiting for the others to arrive before going farther down the estuary, and the more prolonged that stage, the greater the risk of one of the instigators learning of our presence and guessing our intentions. I need Robert and Declan to get into Freetown as soon as possible after I arrive and deal with Decker. That timing works best if we leave on the same day.”

      Melville’s face tightened. “Very well. The more important question is when you’ll be back.” His voice strengthened. “When can I expect this all to be over, everything resolved and finished with, heh?” Agitated aggression colored the demand.

      Royd held the First Lord’s gaze for several seconds, then stated, “This will end when we have the backers in our hands and evidence enough to send them to the gallows.”

      The meeting broke up after that. Melville left first. As Wolverstone walked with Royd and Isobel to the front door, he murmured, “As you saw, the prospect of political ramifications has the First Lord rattled. He knew this matter was a grave threat to the government the instant it came to his attention—that was why he called me in. For all his fluster and bluster, his instincts are sound. But he didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

      Isobel leaned forward and, across Royd, fixed Wolverstone with her gaze. “Exactly how bad is it?”

      Wolverstone slowed. The three of them halted a little way from the front door. Wolverstone held her gaze as he considered his answer, then said, “It’s not this incident in isolation but the compounding effect of this coming on top of last year’s disaster with the Black Cobra cult. While the Black Cobra and her associates were finally tracked and brought to justice—public justice—the ramifications continued long after. The government is struggling to maintain order—we have an ostentatiously profligate king, while the coffers are low, and the country as a whole has yet to emerge from the dark days after the war. Against that background, the demands for reparation from the colonies over the atrocities of the Black Cobra cult fueled anti-government fury on several fronts. In response, the government adamantly promised such a situation would never be allowed to occur again—and now they have this.” He paused, and they resumed strolling toward the door. “The only saving grace is that the news and scandal sheets have yet to get wind of it. If we can end the situation in the settlement and deliver the backers to public justice, it will avoid an incendiary public reaction and demonstrate the government’s resolve to no longer turn a blind eye to those of the elite who believe they are above our laws.”