“They’re here,” Nicholas called from the doorway as he came to check on Brianna. She had decided to wear her mother’s silver-and-blue gown, and her hair had been pulled up into a mass of curls and waves. Julia’s lady’s maid had threaded pearls onto strands of Brianna’s hair, making it look as though Venus had left the sea to sprinkle the sea’s treasures on Brianna’s coiffure. Brianna drew in a deep breath and faced Nicholas. She prayed she looked fit to meet a duke and duchess.
“How do I look?” she asked nervously.
With a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, her husband pretended to scrutinize her appearance.
“Well, you’ll have to do, but I much prefer my pirate queen in breeches and wielding a brace of pistols.”
She scoffed at him as though offended and tried to march past him, chin raise
