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"Never underestimate the power of love." Charity Rakham is a young English girl who learns about womanhood the hard way when her father and fiance' are murdered by the infamous Blackbeard the pirate. Sold into slavery, she becomes a chambermaid to a woman of means who is murdered, and she is framed for it. Now a fugitive and alone in the world, Charity rescues a hostage of the king of thieves from certain death; a hostage who offers her the dragon's blood. In time she becomes the captain of the most fearsome pirate ship on the Caribbean Sea. 128 pages. Customer Ratings:
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Excerpt:
Later that evening Charity had just snuffed out her bedside lantern and climbed into bed when she heard a noise at the window. At first she thought it was just the creak of the plank outside, where a small warp had formed in the wood after a storm and was prone to sound against the waves. Then something tapped rapidly on the glass.
Charity rose and crept on bare feet toward the window, opened the curtain and saw Jonathan's face and form on the other side. He was looking furtively from side to side as if he did not want to be seen. She opened the narrow casement quickly and said, “Master Cantwell, what brings you to my window at this time of night?”
He reached out and clamped his hand over her mouth. “Shhh, someone might hear.” When she nodded her understanding he took the hand away, doffed his cap with respect and whispered, “Miss Rakham, I felt I should warn you straight away. I heard those two scalawags talking in the gun deck just now, and a frightful plan it is. They mean to incite a mutiny against Captain Rakham.”
“Lacey and Durham?” she asked. Cantwell nodded. “Why have you not told the captain? Why come to me?”
“Because they swore to slit the throat of any man who would snitch on them, and I can't be seen goin' to the captain with the news or they would become suspicious. I thought if I told you first they would not know who heard them, and they would never know it was you who did the tellin'.”
“That makes frightful sense,” she replied. “But if I rouse my father now they might become suspicious as well. Let me wait some little time, and I will tell him when the crew is finally down to sleep.”
“With luck and a bit of stealth we can foil their plan,” he said.
“Thank you for having confidence in me,” she replied.
He appeared to fidget with hesitation, then leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her small mouth. “This is a small deposit against the day when I can court you in the open. Have you broached the subject with your father? What said he?”
“I have indeed, but he is slow to give me yea or nay,” Charity replied. “He has not responded with anger so I presume that he is... deliberating. But I fear it will be some time before he will answer.”
“On that day I will hang all my hopes.” Then a noise off to his left caught his attention, and he startled. “I can't stay. Good night, Miss Rakham.” He left the shelter of the mast's shadow and disappeared into the darkness.
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