Finally, the conversation between Neri and the princess seemed to come to some conclusion. Serafina had a sour expression on her face, and she flung her hand out in a sweeping arc. “Give it to him,” she said in English.
Neri nodded. He turned to Archer and began to unfasten his satin waistcoat.
“Sorry,” Archer said. “Give me what?”
A frown line had appeared between the princess’s winged black brows. “When he arrived in London, Neri went to his residence to retrieve a large fortune in gold coins, in the event a ransom was required to secure my freedom.” She glanced briefly at Tamsin and then back to Archer. “Thanks to you and your companions, such a stratagem was not required.”
“Ah,” Archer said. “Right. What?”
“I intend to give it to you,” the princess said. “And in return, you will hunt down Verdura.”
Archer made a choking sound.
“I would like to hire you,” she clarified, “as my personal pirate.”
Archer’s mouth opened, then closed again. He blinked and seemed to sway slightly on his feet. It occurred to Ruby that they had not slept in some days.
Finally, he managed to summon words.
“No,” he said. “Thank you.”
Lamentation gave a deflated sort of sigh. Princess Serafina opened her mouth to argue.
“Not that I’m not honored by your offer,” Archer said hastily. “In fact, I know someone with a small armada who’ll be your privateer with pleasure.”
The princess gave him a peevish look. “I presume you want only the ransom, then?”
Archer laughed, a warm breath that ruffled Ruby’s hair. He slung an arm across her shoulders; his hand spread warm at the base of her throat. “I’m probably going to regret saying this, but—no. Keep your gold. What I’d like... What I truly wish for...”
He paused. He looked down at Ruby. His eyes were sun-streaked blue. His dimples made tiny joyful arcs beneath the blood and bruises on his face.
And then he looked back up at the princess. “What I’d truly like, Your Highness,” he said, “is a job.”
Epilogue
One year later
Sidney Enys was panting slightly when he burst through the door to the Pomeroy House library.
“Mail!” he gasped. “Here’s your mail. All of it. Just delivered.”
The beetle Alice had been sketching toppled off the end of his stick and landed upside down, legs waving in mild dismay. She righted him, placed him carefully in his nest of leaves, and then looked up to where Tamsin had already risen from the sofa to greet Sidney.
“I’ll take the letters,” Tamsin said.
Sidney didn’t seem to hear her. He crossed to Alice’s desk, blanched at the sight of the large iridescent green beetle, and then deposited the letters as far from Alice’s glass enclosure as possible. “Here you go, Lady Alice.”
“Thank you, Sidney,” she said. “You don’t have to come all the way up to the house, you know. We can retrieve our correspondence in the village.”
“I know,” he said enthusiastically. “I don’t mind, though.”
“Well.” She smiled at him. “Thank you, then.”
He blushed scarlet, then stood motionless for several long moments until Tamsin cleared her throat. He jumped, spun back toward the door, and departed with a final parting wave over his shoulder to Alice.
“Dearest,” Tamsin said as she crossed to retrieve the letters, “that boy is one extended glance away from dropping to his knees and proposing.”
“Tam! He’s only fifteen.”
