A Regency era courtesan gives up her empire for love and discovers how truly binding her connections are to the noblemen she used to serve.
*****
In the sequel to Courte...
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Not many things scared me, and that included pirates. In my second year as courtesan, I entertained a gentleman whom Clementine swore was a pirate, warning me to keep him in my sights at all times. Although he labeled himself a privateer, and our agreement lasted only a season, Mister MacGregor treated me like a princess. And nothing ever went missing from the estate.
As I watched the survivors being hauled onto the deck of the Surety, I remembered Mister MacGregor's pleasant manner and told myself not to be fooled by that first experience with a pirate. I knew even nobility had their outliers, and each one needed to be judged independently of their counterparts.
"This one's got a weak pulse and a day old contusion," said Cat, the lead of the aardvark regiment. "He needs attention now!"
The man in question had been pulled from a lifeboat that contained only himself and a medium-sized chest. From the looks of his tailored jacket and leather tricorn hat, I expected him to be the captain of whatever vessel had failed him. At the moment however, he was unconscious, and his hat lay abandoned on the deck while the nurses attended him. I retrieved the hat, fearing someone would step on it as boots and bodies moved about.
The other lifeboat held three survivors, two men and one woman. All conscious but looking like drowned rats. While the unconscious man was loaded onto a stretcher cot, the colonel spoke to his comrades.
"I am Colonel Smith of the HMHS Surety. Who is your superior?"
They all pointed at the man who was now being carried across the deck by two members of the aardvark regiment.
"What's his rank?"
"Captain, but it ain't a military title." The answer had come from a squat man with a jaundiced face and a filthy kerchief wrapped around his head.
"I presumed as much. I also presume this is his property?" The colonel kicked the chest with the tip of his boot.
"Aye, but it contains all our wages. Twas the only thing worth saving when our ship went sideways. Besides the rum, 'o course."
The colonel glanced over the side at their pitiful lifeboats, which were now being carried away on the swell of waves. "Where's this rum now?"
"We drank it. Gotta stay hydrated somehow."
Based on the man's yellow complexion and the poor condition of his mates, none of them had taken in water for several days.
"Very well. These women will take you below deck and see that you're properly tended. Someone from my company will be round to speak with you once you're in a better state."
The bedraggled crew followed Collette and the rest of the nurses, while the colonel barked orders at his lieutenant. "Colbert! I want at least four men stationed in and around the infirmary while our unexpected guests recuperate. As soon as they're fit to be interrogated, come find me."
