Sea Flower (eBook)

Joyce Phillips (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2024 | 1. Auflage
472 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-3379-6 (ISBN)

Infos

(Set in the mid 1700's) Adrianne, the daughter of a wealthy European businessman, was on her way to her uncle's home in Madaris when attacked and captured by the pirate Doro. Rescued by the Devin (captain of the Emerald Maid), who takes her to the new colonies where she experienced life as a pioneer. While living in the settlement she meets Indians, trappers, and other pioneers. She experiences jealousy for the first time and begins to realize what true freedom and love really mean. After leaving the colonies and arriving in Madaris, Adrianne faces new adventures: Pierre, a suiter she had no interest in; islanders who she enjoyed; and an unexpected reunion with her father and mother. After experiencing her freedom in the colonies, she defies her father's wishes with painful repercussions and was later kidnapped by Doro a second time resulting in tragic consequences. Follow Adrianne's journey from innocence to womanhood. You'll be glad you did.

My wife, Joyce Phillips was born 06-18-1952. She loved animals, elderly and her country. She was always interested in archeology and travel. She enjoyed reading books as well as writing them. This story was written as a sensual romance fiction many years before we met, but never published. It had been a lifelong dream to publish her work. Although this didn't happen in her lifetime, Joyce died in an auto accident 05-08-2021, the day before Mother's Day and less than 30 days before our 20th wedding anniversary and her next birthday. Publishing this book will be one of the last gifts I can give her. I pray that you will enjoy her creativity and adventure as much as I do.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

Christmas Day, 1749

“Captain! A ship starboard aft!”

“What flag does it fly?” the burly Irishman yelled back. The man adjusted his scope. With the fog rolling around like smoke from a fire, he was lucky he had been able to see the ship at all. Everyone on deck seemed to hold their breath. “My God, ’tis a Jolly Roger!”

The captain ran towards Adrianne, shouting orders as he came. Men ran everywhere, gathering weapons and readying themselves for the attack. Adrianne watched with rising excitement rising as several of the men began to load the cannons. Squinting, she barely saw a dark shape approaching.

“Mistress, go below. Stay in your cabin and keep the door locked until I come fer ye,” Captain Jim said roughly.

“Surely this cannot be as bad as your voice indicates, sir.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders. Blue eyes meeting blue. “Mistress, it can be worse than yer most hellish nightmare. Now, do as I say.”

“Oh please, Captain Jim, let me stay up here. I can help!”

His kindly face was drawn tight with anxiety. “I said go below, mistress, and I meant it. I have not the time to explain about these savages. Now get, and hurry!” He gave her a push to start her in the right direction.

His sharp words pierced her heart. He saw the hurt in her eyes, even though her chin was held proudly. “Adrianne, my dear, now is not the time to be naive. Go pray, lass, and bolt that door.”

Reluctantly Adrianne made her way down to the cabin and did as the captain bade her.

“What is wrong, mistress?” asked Effie, her maid.

Adrianne sighed heavily. “We are going to be attacked by pirates.” Effie’s brown eyes widened. “Oh Effie! Don’t go to pieces on me. They do not know we are on board. The most they will do is loot the cargo, then let us be on our way.” She had heard stories of how pirates killed men, burned and looted ships, and even kidnapped and did “unspeakable” things to women. She never knew what the “unspeakable” things were but she felt certain the stories must be exaggerated.

The attack was swift. Cannons boomed; the ship rocked when the balls hit. Then she heard the death shrieks from above and fear chilled her soul.

All the stories Captain Jim told me when I was a child were true, she thought.

They had seemed like fairy tales, but in fairy tales good people didn’t die. How are we to know who is winning? Or who is dying?

The thought of any of the courageous sailors she had met over the past few weeks as dying made her ill. A heaviness made her heart feel like lead and a terrible shaking overcame her body.

Effie got their cloaks out and wrapped her charge in one. The other she draped over her own shoulders. Effie, being five and ten years older than Adrianne’s eight and ten, knew what the men of the other ship would do to them if they were found out. She caught sight of her reflection in a mirror on the wall. She wasn’t bad looking, just plain. Her thick brown hair was braided in a halo around her head, her large brown eyes were striking against her pale Gaelic skin. She was taller than Adrianne and not so fully endowed.

She looked down at her charge. She had cared for Adrianne since the child was born. Her parents didn’t have much to do with her. Lord in heaven, the child was an angel and she had grown up to be the most beautiful woman Effie had ever seen. She is so petite and fragile looking. Her small face, framed by long curling silvery-black hair falling to her waist. Her lips, delicately shaped but tempting, her nose, like a button and her complexion, a creamy rose. But the most striking feature are her eyes. Thin brows arched over the most extraordinary blue eyes. Deep, crystal blue eyes with specks of light blue in them, fringed with long, thick lashes. As far as her figure went, she was what every woman wanted to be without stays. Her breast was fully endowed, and her waist naturally small with rounded hips.

I have seen her father flaunt her in front of men all over London, yet never give any the privilege of courting her, Effie thought. I canna figure it out. They were wealthy men, men of titles, young and old, but he never gave his permission. It was like a child who had a special toy. He keeps it from all others, yet was vain enough on occasion to dangle it in front of their faces, making them want it. That is a dangerous game, Lord Winchester. An’ innocent Adrianne doesn’t see any of your strange games. She has been kept so pure, for what? Savages to tear her to bits. The girl knows nothing of physical love or emotional love, not from man or her parents.

“Effie, father will be furious.”

“Aye that he’ll be. But there ain’t a thing he can do.”

“Do you think he will blame me?” Effie saw fear in the girl’s eyes. She was right to be frightened. Her father’s temper was unreasonable when it came to her or things he owned.

“Nay, lass,” she lied. “Now, hush an’ say your prayers for you’ve never needed them as much as ye do now.”

The women prayed, huddled together on Adrianne’s bed. The boisterous sounds from above were endless. The screaming went on and on. Muted yelling and laughing, the clanking of metal on metal and heavy thumps from bodies falling. Adrianne’s thoughts drifted from her prayers to times gone by, times when she escaped Effie’s watchful eyes and would sneak down to the docks, where Captain Jim would sit her on his lap and tell her sea stories, or stories of faraway places and strange people and their customs. Her young spirit yearned for such adventure. But her father strictly forbade her from doing things most other children of her class took for granted, much less those things she yearned to do in her heart. Her times on the docks, playing hide and seek with the sailors around barrels of molasses, or pretending she was a sailor going to faraway places were absolutely taboo. She was caught one time. After a painful spanking, she was sent to bed with no dinner. Normally, she obeyed her father with no outward show of anger, but she would go to her room and take her frustrated feelings out on her helpless pillow. The spanking and no dinner did not deter her from this one pleasure, she just made certain of her father’s whereabouts the next time.

The quieting of the din brought her back from her memories. She looked into Effie’s frightened eyes and clutched her hands. The plodding of boots coming down the companionway sent shivers up their backs. The sounds of doors being kicked open slipped icy fingers around their hearts. Their door was kicked once; they jumped when it cracked. Another kick came and the door crashed in. Terrified, the women clung tighter to each other.

In the doorway stood a big man. His tattered shirt, jerkin, and breeches looked as if they had not been washed since he first put them on, many years ago. His stomach hung over his belt. A pungent smell encompassed him making Adrianne wrinkle her nose. Pockmarks covered his face, and a white jagged scar extending from below his eye to his jaw made the big features more gruesome. His black hair was awry and his small brown eyes gleamed when he saw Adrianne, sending a shiver through her. A grin broke across his face revealing yellowed and blackened teeth.

“Aye, mates, look wot I found to play with.”

Several other men, just as filthy, appeared behind him. With a movement more swift than it seemed his body should have been able to make, he picked Adrianne up and tossed her over his shoulder. She let out an ear-piercing scream and began to kick and beat the pirate as savagely as she could. Effie cried after her before she was also flung across the other one of the beast’s shoulders and began her own wild fight.

The scene on deck was gruesome. Not a soul of the Wortshire’s crew moved. They were strewn about like dolls in distorted positions, lying in pools of blood. Adrianne stared in disbelieving shock until she saw Captain Jim. Reality hit her; he was dead. He would never tell her any more stories; there wouldn’t be a Christmas dinner later that day, and the men that now held her and Effie were going to hurt them, perhaps kill them. Captain Jim was right: this was worse than her most hellish nightmare. And she had a feeling it was just the beginning. Fear and anger made her cry. She began a more serious attack on the pirate that held her, for revenge of her dear friend. She clawed his back and bit him.

“Ow! Damn! I’s got me a little hellcat. She’s gonna be fun even if she is tiny!”

“You killed my friends, you...you...beast!”

The pirate laughed. “Such language from a lady.” Feeling impotent against his strength and wanting to avenge Jim O’Rourke, she grabbed his hair at the roots with both fists and pulled. The pirate screamed and dropped her on the deck of the pirate ship. As she was lifting herself up to a sitting position, she looked up in time to see a large hand coming at her face. The pain was brief before all went black.

As she came to, Effie was cradling her head and...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 15.3.2024
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-13: 979-8-3509-3379-6 / 9798350933796