Crossword Genius

Pirates' town drops a letter as expression of regret (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

penance

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'regret' is the definition.
(I know that penance is a type of remorse)

'pirates' town drops a letter as expression' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'a' could be 'an' and 'an' is found within the answer.
'letter' could be 'pe' (pe is a kind of letter) and 'pe' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

'of' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for penance that I've seen before include "Punishment imposed for sin" , "sacrament" , "Punishment for wrongdoing, by religion perhaps" , "Mortification" , "Expression of sorrow for sin" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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