Lord of Pirates by Scott Scarlett

Author:Scott, Scarlett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Historical
Publisher: Happily Ever After Books, LLC
Published: 2019-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

Edmond stomped into the storm expecting the worst and finding it. Above deck, the situation was a grave one. Men scrambled on the deck together, trying to secure the jibs and maintain the proper direction. The storm possessed an inherent, virulent fury that shook even a seasoned sailor like Edmond. He’d lived through his share of storms, but this one seemed unholy bad.

He and Jean went into action, taking up the quarterdeck and shouting commands above the din of the roaring sea. Tremendous waves rose and fell twenty feet or more in height, crashing down on the deck. It was treacherous work to remain standing and not be lost forever to the ocean. The winds had grown with astounding strength, putting the ship’s sails in peril.

There was no help for it, Edmond realized. They couldn’t fight the storm. All they could do was give in, which meant following the winds. They’d have to give up on Maine and head south, back into the dangerous territory of the Chesapeake. The Governor of Virginia wanted him dead. It would be foolhardy to head there so soon, but they had no other option.

Another wave slapped the Freedom, sending a cascade of seawater over her deck. He called out to Jean. Under ordinary conditions, he knew the Freedom’s hull was leaky, let alone under the pressure of high seas. It wouldn’t do to take on too much water.

He called out to Jean, “Get to the pumps. We’re taking on water, and tell all hands we need them to man the sails. We’ll have to go south with the wind or it’ll tear them all to hell.”

“South, sir?” Jean looked at him in askance. “That cannot be wise, no?”

“Wiser than sending us all to the bottom of the ocean,” he replied with grim determination. “We’ll have to take our chances with the devil we know.”

Jean nodded and left the quarterdeck to Edmond, carrying out his orders. It was then, as the winds and waves kicked up a battle to beat the Armada all around him, that a crippling comprehension struck him. One thought more than the possibility of drowning, the chance his ship would break apart and sink to a watery perdition, or the thought of losing his friends overboard, slammed home. One thought more than any other shook him to his core.

He had to survive this night, if only to save the woman he loved.

Damn my blood, he silently cursed. He’d spent the last ten years scouring the ocean in search of himself, but he’d never been able to escape the one inevitable lure that brought every man to his knees.

A woman.

His woman.

The only woman he’d ever loved.

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