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- Herausgeber: Books on Demand
- Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
- Sprache: Englisch
Lady Harriet Lynn is traveling with her father, the Duke, to England, when their ship is attacked by pirates. Their defense is quickly overwhelmed and the two of them are taken for ransom. Separated from her father, Harriet is locked away with her chambermaid in a dank, musty corner of the pirate vessel. She spends harrowing days in that closed room at the hold of the ship, wondering what will become of her. That is, until she's taken to the deck to witness her first glimmer of sunlight in a fortnight and meets the imposing, mysterious Captain Bloodworth. One evening soon after, he sends for her to share supper in his quarters, and she gets to know him in ways she couldn't have ever imagined over wine and food. The pirate bewilders Harriet. His courteous, gallant behavior seems incompatible with his criminal ways, and his handsome features conspire to breed feelings in her that she isn't prepared to understand and can't seem to ignore, even if she knows they should never have blossomed.
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Seitenzahl: 51
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021
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Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1: Change, yet Not
Chapter 2: The Captain
Chapter 3: What Men and Women Do
Chapter 4: Supper
Chapter 5: There’s No Use in Warning
Chapter 6: The Fire Within
Prologue
She stood alone under the moonlight. A figure wrapped in shadow, slender and still. One elegant hand rested on the banister, covered by a glove made of soft wool. There was a single lock of hair grazing the side of her face, caressing a well-drawn cheekbone dulled by youth.
“You shouldn’t be outside of your rooms at these hours, Milady.” Came the roughened voice of the young woman’s chambermaid, who accompanied her at all times.
The young Lady Harriet Lynn turned towards her worried servant, rosy lips pursed with unhappiness.
“I bore of this trip, my friend. It has been many fortnights now, and we arrive nowhere.” The pampered, sheltered girl responded. The servant shook her head, disbelieving at her lady’s lack of understanding of the dangers presented by a ship full of mariners, all of which have been on the sea for over a moon. “It’s all the same drivel, day after day. Even the sky has given up on us, always grey and bland. I simply desire for something to change, my friend.”
“You shouldn’t wish for change, Milady, you never know what kind you’re getting.” The older woman warned, bringing a trembling hand to her lips as she pleaded her Lord to be merciful to the witless young woman.
Alas, he wasn’t. In the dead of that night, long after the lady and her servant retreated to their quarters and just before the time in which the whole world seemed to go quiet and cold, the darkness was lit up by orange and golden flames. Lady Lynn and her father, the Duke, were rudely awoken by the hollering of the dying men. Dozens lost their lives in a matter of minutes, all for naught, as soon after the Duke and his daughter were captured. Captain Emmett Bloodworth, the ruthless young owner of the Scarlet Blade Pirate Ship, couldn’t have been more satisfied at his successful taking over.
Harriet’s chambermaid kept muttering to the girl, as they were tied up and thrown in a stinky, musty, dark corner of the pirate ship.
“May the Lord have mercy on us all.” The old woman prayed, as it was all she could do.
Chapter 1: Change, yet Not
No one would tell Harriet what was happening.
She was kept in a closed room, in the hold of the ship, where the only outside light that would reach was a sporadic beam of forgotten sunshine escaping from between the planks. Occasionally, a sailor would bring food in wooden bowl, though Harriet refused the eat for the first three days. Never before had she seen supposedly edible matter that could be so well described by the word ‘grub’. Marcy, the chambermaid and friend who was also her only company, would needle at her to eat, promising that the food given wasn’t as revolting as the furrowing of her brow as she ate it would suggest.
“You must retain your strength, Milady.” She would say, taking cautious bites of her own portion. “Please, drink the water. Your father will have my head if I allow you to both starve and go thirsty.”
That, at least, Harriet deigned to do. The water was brought to them in animal pouches, every other day. It felt gritty in her mouth, and wasn’t clear when poured into a cup. Nonetheless, a dry mouth and raw throat were much harder to ignore than the complaining of her stomach. Harriet would sit by the driest corner of the room, the lone candle they were given clutched in her hands, and will the time away with vaporous imaginings of what was going on overhead. Wondering where her father might be and why they had been attacked.
Marcy had her own theories about that, which she didn’t hesitate to share.
“They shall demand compensation for yours and your father’s safe return. The Grand Duke will spare no expense to save his family, Milady.”
The chambermaid would prattle on for hours, speaking of their rescue so fervently that Harriet knew she was trying to convince herself as much as anyone else. The young lady let her speak, occasionally interjecting only when the theme of her musings awakened an inkling of interest in her. The fear and uncertainty of these first days kept Harriet on alert despite the sameness of each hour. There was a foreign feeling by the hollow of her throat, a tightening sensation that would threaten to suffocate her every time hard steps could be heard from the other side of the door, or whenever a dirty scallywag would bring them food and water.
It was excitement. Rarely, if ever, felt before by Harriet. She had been raised in the serene moorlands, out in the country in her family’s secluded stronghold. This cursed trip with her father was the first time she ever left the safe walls of her home, and though there was much uncertainty to keep her mind busy, the sameness of the days on the ocean quickly caught up to her. Back home she could at least walk the expanse of the grounds, converse with the many servants, or read one of the volumes at the library. “I wonder what will become of us.” She voiced the internal musing during one of Marcy’s brief intermissions. “And how soon it will happen.” The afterthought was added.
A hand, trembling from lack of proper nutrition, brought a tiny portion of oatmeal to awaiting lips. Even as hungry was Harriet was, the meal was revolting, and she struggled to keep it down. The newness of her situation was quickly wearing off, the fear being replaced by vague unhappiness, the nervousness about her future soon fading away to leave only safe, familiar boredom behind.
