The Pirate's Duty (Regent's Revenge #3)(84)

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Acknowledgments




It takes a village to bring a book and an entire series to life. Storyboards and story bibles provide consistent accounts of characters, setting, and vital details. Brainstorming partners kick the muse into gear. Editors flesh out what works and what doesn’t, artfully guiding a story to success. And cover artists provide three-dimensional imagery. There are so many processes an author cannot do without.

In the case of The Pirate’s Duty, Regent’s Revenge Series, Book #3, I owe author M.V. Freeman, my brainstorming partner, an extraordinary amount of thanks. Thank you for sharing my vision and keeping my characters in line!

Special thanks to cover artist, and author, Victoria Vane at Romance Cover Creations for bringing Oriana and Captain Walsingham to life.

This book wouldn’t be possible without the guidance of my editors, Danielle Poiesz, Lorrie McCann, and Kyle Avery. Their insights and support sculpted Duty into a masterful cat-and-mouse pirate romance! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!!

Raising the signal flag to fans who contributed to this series: Kelly Braun for the Black Regent, Kimm Fontenot Cooper—Fury, Lee Garcia—Viper, Denise Fackler Van Plew—Windraker, Karen Simpson—Captain Carnage, Diana Sinek Gould—Roaming-eyed Roger, Gwen Hanson—Marauder’s Roost, Tina Hairston—Fergus, and Janie McGaugh—Lucky Ned. Thank you!

This series would also not have been possible without the ladies who contributed to the Once Upon a True Love’s Kiss box set: USA Today bestselling author Julie Johnstone, Collette Cameron, Jillian Chantal, Samantha Grace, Alanna Lucas, Lauren Smith, and Victoria Vane!

To my Rogues, Rebels & Rakes Street Team, thank you for taking this voyage with me!

To my assistants, Debbie McCreary and Samantha K. Williams at Aurora Publicity, I owe a tremendous debt of thanks for all you do, and have done, for me and my books.

Lastly, I owe everything I am to God and my family, especially my rogue, whose love and support has enabled me to follow my dreams, wherever they lead.

Katherine





Thank you for reading The Pirate’s Duty!



Dear reader,

I hope you enjoyed Oriana Thorpe and Captain Walsingham’s swashbuckling story. Reviews are a great way for readers like yourself to find books, and I’d be ever so grateful if you shared your experience with others.

Interested in knowing when my next book will be available? Sign up for Katherine’s Rogues, Rebels & Rakes E-Newsletter.

Keep reading for a special teaser from When a Laird Loves a Lady, the first book in the Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts series by USA Today bestselling author Julie Johnstone.





When a Laird Loves a Lady




Highlander Vows: Entangled Hearts, Book One

by

USA Today bestselling author

Julie Johnstone





One





England, 1357

Faking her death would be simple. It was escaping her home that would be difficult. Marion de Lacy stared hard into the slowly darkening sky, thinking about the plan she intended to put into action tomorrow—if all went well—but growing uneasiness tightened her belly. From where she stood in the bailey, she counted the guards up in the tower. It was not her imagination: Father had tripled the knights keeping guard at all times, as if he was expecting trouble.

Taking a deep breath of the damp air, she pulled her mother’s cloak tighter around her to ward off the twilight chill. A lump lodged in her throat as the wool scratched her neck. In the many years since her mother had been gone, Marion had both hated and loved this cloak for the death and life it represented. Her mother’s freesia scent had long since faded from the garment, yet simply calling up a memory of her mother wearing it gave Marion comfort.

She rubbed her fingers against the rough material. When she fled, she couldn’t chance taking anything with her but the clothes on her body and this cloak. Her death had to appear accidental, and the cloak that everyone knew she prized would ensure her freedom. Finding it tangled in the branches at the edge of the sea cliff ought to be just the thing to convince her father and William Froste that she’d drowned. After all, neither man thought she could swim. They didn’t truly care about her anyway. Her marriage to the blackhearted knight was only about what her hand could give the two men. Her father, Baron de Lacy, wanted more power, and Froste wanted her family’s prized land. A match made in Heaven, if only the match didn’t involve her…but it did.

Father would set the hounds of Hell themselves to track her down if he had the slightest suspicion that she was still alive. She was an inestimable possession to be given to secure Froste’s unwavering allegiance and, therefore, that of the renowned ferocious knights who served him. Whatever small sliver of hope she had that her father would grant her mercy and not marry her to Froste had been destroyed by the lashing she’d received when she’d pleaded for him to do so.

The moon crested above the watchtower, reminding her why she was out here so close to mealtime: to meet Angus. The Scotsman may have been her father’s stable master, but he was her ally, and when he’d proposed she flee England for Scotland, she’d readily consented.