A Pirate's Ransom Read Free

voice shouted.
    “Blast it off its hinges. You heard the Captain’s orders.” The deafening sound of a pistol shot and splintering wood as a ball struck the lock nearly sent me to my knees.
    The smell of gunpowder burned my nostrils and brought tears to my eyes. I struggled to contain my increasing fears but remained frozen in the center of my cabin, shaking and suddenly feeling in desperate need of a chamber pot as the door, now with the lock blown apart, slowly swung inward.
    “Well, well, wot ‘ave we ‘ere?” the rugged and scruffy man asked as he scanned me up and down. His hungry stare made me feel as if I stood naked before him, and heat burned my cheeks.
    Stepping into my cabin, he was followed closely by another pirate, who dragged Mary along with him, despite the fact that she was kicking and punching.
    “You best not be layin’ a ‘and on her!” Mary screamed.
    “It’s quite all right, Mary.” Despite my knocking knees, I managed to hold myself tall and prayed they did not hear my heart thundering.
    “And who might ye be?” the scruffy one asked.
    “That there be Lady Catherine Nettleton, Countess of Dorset, she be, on her way to London to be wed to his Grace, the Duke of Devonshire,” Mary said, a hint of pride in her voice.
    My heart sank. Her outburst had ruined any hope we may have had of duping the pirates.
    “Well, well, yer Ladyship. Our Captain requests the honor of yer presence aboard our fine vessel,” Scruffy said, taking a step closer.
    I suddenly recalled the pistol in my hand, and with shaking limbs, I raised it and pointed it directly at his chest. Upon seeing the firearm, he raised his hands, not above his head, but before him as if to catch a ball tossed to him by a child.
    “Shoot him, Miss,” Mary squawked, thrashing wildly despite her captor’s attempts to keep her still.
    “Now yer Ladyship, there be no need to be shootin’ no one.” Scruffy gave a gap-toothed grin.
    A shiver of revulsion ran down my spine and my already queasy stomach curdled when I got a whiff of him.
    “If you take one step further, I swear I shall shoot you.”
    “Aye, I be certain that be yer intent,” he responded. Yet, my lack of knowledge of the use of a firearm must have been blatantly apparent to him as he continued, “But that pistol ye be wavin’ be useless without a flint.” Reaching up, he took the pistol from my shaking hands with ease.
    “There now, yer Ladyship, as I be sayin’ ... the Captain he be a’waitin’.” Grabbing my upper arm, he yanked me toward the door. “An’ the Captain, he ‘ates to be kept waitin’,” he said and pulled me along the passageway, then dragged me up to the main deck.
    The bright sun blinded me and, raising my hand to shade my eyes, I saw the entire crew had been assembled, my father among them, lined up and being held at gunpoint by a band of shaggy and ragged men. The beautiful sails of our tiny ship had been shredded and the main mast lay broken and hanging over the side, its tip plunging into the water. Scruffy shoved me into the line with the crew, and I felt a small measure of comfort to find Mary standing beside me.
    “Miss,” she whimpered, “I fear for our lives.”
    I took her trembling hand in mine. “Don’t worry, Mary. There is nothing aboard this ship of any value to these men. I feel certain they will leave us in peace.” Was I trying to convince her, or myself?
    “Nay, yer Ladyship, that’s where ye be mistaken,’” Scruffy said as a sinister smile spread slowly across his thin lips.
    I gasped for breath. My lungs burned as if I were drowning. His gaze raked over me from head to toe, making me feel violated and dirty without even a touch. When I could no longer bear it, I averted my face away from his. He stood so close to me now, I felt his warm breath on my neck.
    “Ye smell like a rose in full bloom, ye do,” he muttered in my ear.
    The rank smell of him caused my stomach to roll, but I dared not rebuke him for