Excerpt from The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee, plus links to reviews, author biography & more

"I'm all right." He burrows down into the blankets, the bed frame letting out an ominous creak. The weight of the day settles through me: exposed to the freezing winds as I rode the imperial of the coach down from Scotland, reeking of the horses relieving themselves and the man next to me asking again and again for my name, where I live, why won't I smile? I'm weary, and cold, and Percy is a soft place to land.

"Could I ... ?"

He opens his eyes. I suddenly feel very small and meek, a child begging to crawl into bed with her mother when she's woken at night by frightful dreams. But I don't even have to ask. He tosses back the quilt and slides over to make room for me.

I kick my boots across the floor and strip off my coat, but leave my jumper on, then lie down beside him, pulling the quilt over us both. I roll over onto my back and let the silence settle over us like a fine layer of dust before I say, my face to the ceiling and not entirely certain Percy's still awake, "I've missed you. Both of you."

I can hear the soft smile in his voice when he replies, "I won't tell Monty."

Excerpted from The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee. Copyright © 2018 by Mackenzi Lee. Excerpted by permission of Katherine Tegan Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.