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“Bloody hell!” Daniel, the ninth Duke of Sussex, cursed aloud as a rifle ball whizzed over his right shoulder, past his ear, and plopped into the choppy waters of the English Channel off the starboard bow of the Mademoiselle

“The coast watch has spotted us, sir!” Billy Beekins, the grizzled old boatswain, shouted as the watch crew fired another rifle volley toward the skiff “The bloody frogs are firing at us!”

Daniel glanced over his shoulder It didn’t see It was after ht, but the moon hadn’t risen and the stars were hidden behind a veil of clouds The only light on the water calow of the phosphorescent sea life below the surface The crossing had been a little choppy, but the one without a hitch until now His little band of slers had slipped silently into a sheltered cove south of the French port of Calais and deposited their colleague on the beach, retrieved the secret cargo and the an the return crossing

He and Jarrod had meticulously planned the mission, and Daniel and the crew had executed it flawlessly until moments before, when they’d come under fire from the French side of the Channel

Another rifle ball zinged past hi at us,” Daniel shouted, pointing ahead toward the dark hulk that sailed into view “They’re shooting at them!”

“Mary, Mother of God!” Billy Beekins crossed hined to patrol the stretch of coast between Dover and Brighton—glided out of a patch of fog, its bow slicing the waves as it cut through the rough water

The little skiff was caught in the exchange of rifle fire between a British Navy frigate and the French coast watch, and now the frigate was bearing down on the smaller vessel

He thought, at first, that the frigate had seen them when the clouds had suddenly lifted, but Daniel quickly realized that that wasn’t the case Still, their choices were bleak If the Madeate would ram her, but if she moved off course in either direction, it would be into the rain of rifle and er ship and from the coast watchers on the French coast “Hard, starboard!” He shouted the warning to the other members of the crew, then ducked as another ball whizzed past his shoulder

“It’s going to be close!” Beekins leaned on the rudder

“Everyone down!” Daniel instructed “Brace yourselves!”

The Made with the bow of the frigate The wake froate sluiced over the sides as the smaller vessel tipped, tilted, cahted itself The repeating flashes from the muzzles of the rifles on the French shore and froht sky seconds before the sound of the balls whistling through the air all around theer

“Jesus, Joseph, and Mary,” the boatswain swore as the ate tripled “We’re on their side!”

They were But the Royal Navy had no idea the skiff or its crew existed And Daniel knew they’d be arrested and charged with slish Duke of Sussex was captaining this particular boat and this particular band of slers at the behest of the B

ritish governate The frigate’s mission was to stop all suspicious vessels and put an end to s a crew of four across the channel in the dead of night qualified them as officially suspicious

They were s all the same And they would suffer the salers apprehended by the British Navy For the handful of gentleovernment officials who knew of their existence would deny all knowledge of it should the Mademoiselle and her crew be captured

Straining as he pulled the oars, Daniel listened as the heavy balls plopped into the water, sizzling as the seawater cooled the hot metal He sucked in a breath as one heavy lead ball h his thick wool jacket, his waistcoat, his linen shirt, and the tender flesh of his side, tearing skin and roove along his ribs The wound hurt like hell and burned twice as hot Daniel bit his botto in pain as the lead ball exited his body and thudded against the floor of the boat He felt the hot rush of blood fill the wound and soak his clothes as a sheen of perspiration coated his skin

He sluth as the skiff rode out the stor lead, praying they would reate directed its firepower toward the French coast

“We’re clear, sir,” Beekins announced as he put distance between the sloop and the frigate and left the skirmish far behind

“Anyone hurt?” Daniel asked, pushing hi as he did so He slipped his left hand inside his jacket and pressed it against the right front of his waistcoat, frowning at the size of the holeit

“Shavers caught one through the flesh of the arot a new part in his hair, but the rest of us are fine”

“Good,” Daniel pronounced, in a strange-sounding and ely weak tone of voice

“What about you, sir?” Beekins inquired, a note of alarm in his voice in response to the Duke of Sussex’s thin reply Of the four-le upon request, only Billy Beekins knew that the man known to the crew as Danny Arthur was, in fact, Daniel, ninth Duke of Sussex

“I took a ball inin another breath at the pain, then releasing it in a low hiss