The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1 Read Online Free PDF Page A

egg?”
    â€œNeither, thank you,” said the gargoyle. “Do you have any spiders?”
    Upon learning that Miss Greyson did not, in fact, have spiders, the gargoyle burrowed deeper into his bag, and Hilary wished she could join him there. A true pirate would never eat tiny sandwiches; would Miss Greyson never leave? “Egg, please,” she said at last. Miss Greyson passed her one of the packets and tried to fasten her carpetbag, but the clasps wouldn’t come together.
    â€œOh dear,” said Miss Greyson. “I always overpack on train journeys. I do so like to be comfortable—and if our train gets delayed, I’ve brought enough supplies to keep us warm and snug in this little compartment for at least a week!” She laughed, and Hilary did her best to join in, but the situation was hardly funny: it appeared that Miss Greyson had no intention of leaving the compartment anytime soon, or perhaps ever again. Outside, along the edge of the tracks, fir trees and wildflowers slipped away into the distance as the train raced toward Miss Pimm’s.
    Hilary looked down at the egg sandwich. Then she looked at the gargoyle, who had snuggled down next to her battered copy of Treasure Island . “I’m sorry, Miss Greyson,” she said, tucking the sandwich into her bag, “but I’ve got to leave.”
    â€œLeave?” Miss Greyson’s carpetbag snapped shut. “Whatever do you mean?”
    â€œJust to use the washroom,” said Hilary quickly.
    Miss Greyson started to rise from her seat. “Of course. I’ll accompany you.”
    â€œOh, I’m sure that’s not necessary. I’ll only be gone a few moments.” Hilary stood up and slung the canvas bag over her shoulder. “Besides, I’ll have the gargoyle with me.”
    The gargoyle gave Miss Greyson his most charming grin, and she sighed. “He’s hardly a proper chaperone, but very well. You must hurry directly back, though. You are a young lady, not a royal explorer.”
    â€œPlease don’t worry, Miss Greyson.” Hilary opened the compartment door, and for a moment she thought she’d caught the faint scent of the sea, though it was quickly overpowered by the scent of egg sandwiches. “If I meet any unscrupulous people, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
    I F IT HADN’T been speeding quite so determinedly toward Miss Pimm’s, Hilary thought she would have enjoyed being on the train. She didn’t often get to travel on trains—because they were not boats, her father disapproved of them—and this one was particularly elegant, with velvet carpeting on the floors and gold-painted flourishes on the wall panels. Hilary wouldn’t have been surprised to spot the queen herself in one of the compartments, although all she saw as she walked down the corridor were small knots of gentlemen in dark suits, along with the occasional sticky-faced child pursued at high speeds by a nanny.
    â€œAre we really going to the washroom?” the gargoyle asked from inside the canvas bag. “Are you going to scrub behind my ears?”
    Hilary clutched the bag to her chest and smiled at the two gentlemen who were approaching her from the other end of the carriage. “Of course not,” she whispered into the bag once the gentlemen had passed. “We’re escaping! We’ll leave the train at the next stop, wherever that is.” Hilary hadn’t managed to sneak a look at the train timetable stowed away in Miss Greyson’s carpetbag, but she knew the tracks from Queensport to Pemberton followed the curve of the coastline. Wherever they ended up, the sea wouldn’t be too far away, and wherever there was sea, could pirates be far behind?
    â€œOh,” said the gargoyle. “Well, that’s all right, then. Let me know when we get to the sea.”
    Hilary hurried through the train until she felt sure that she was a safe distance from