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Category:
Historical Fiction
Publisher: Headline Books, Inc.
Type: Fiction
Pages: 320
Copyright: 2006
ISBN-13: 9780929915395
Toward the end of the Golden Age of Piracy in the New World, Captain Blackjack Bellamie, a buccaneer of Romany descent, is grievously wounded by the King’s men in Jamaica. He stumbles into the hinterlands to the estate of Chloe Smyth Caruthers, widow of the late lieutenant governor of the island.
The reclusive Chloe and her small staff save the pirate’s life and intend to hide him until he recovers, but learn that a manhunt for the fugitive will soon be at their door. He cannot remain at the estate, yet he is not strong enough to travel alone. Chloe, who has fallen in love with him, elects to travel with him on foot through the wilderness to Montego Bay; there, he can depart for his ship and she can sail back home.
Their trek of nearly one hundred miles is fraught with perils from nature and man, including animal attacks, starvation, and capture by Maroons. Furthermore, neither traveler is conditioned, mentally or physically, for such an arduous journey. They squabble, yet their bond deepens as they come to know and respect one another. Unbeknownst to either, Chloe conceives.
In Montego Bay, they marry, knowing that they can never be together; after one week of marital bliss, they go their separate ways. Jack is plunged into a series of life-threatening disasters and, despite his joy at being reunited (almost miraculously) with his long-lost sister, he grows increasingly melancholy over his personal dilemma.
Chloe, meantime, is sinking into a profound depression that is destroying her health. She isn’t even aware of her pregnancy until her staff forces her to face it for the sake of the baby. A bold move by the butler secures a Letter of Marque for Jack, which is delivered to the pirate by the governor’s own son-in-law. Jack safely returns to Chloe, shortly before the birth.
But, it’s too late. She can’t regain the strength she lost in the early months of her pregnancy. She gives birth to twins and then apparently breathes her last as Jack begs her to take “one more breath.”
The alley meandered to a dead end surmounted by buildings and walls. No barrels or crates were available for climbing; no low branches or convenient ropes dangled hope of escape. But ultimately, he simply could not surrender without an attempt, however hopeless, to save his own life. Leaping onto the lowest wall, he clawed frantically at the crumbling masonry, dislodging a brick and tearing the flesh on his hands. He fell back and in desperation attacked again, this time sheer momentum carrying him to a tenuous, one-handed grip on the capstones. Losing his black tricorne, he scrabbled to get a boot into the hole left by the loosed brick as Rothwell and his men rounded the last turn in the alleyway, spied his frantic clambering, and surged forward.
His boot found purchase and he propelled himself to the top of the wall, hurling himself up and over, but not before Rothwell’s pistol roared.
Excerpt
“When I was ten years old, we had made camp along a stream about fifty miles from London. It was normal for us to never spend more than one night in the same place, but heavy rains came and cut us off from the direction we were heading. Instead of simply turning back, we chose to wait one
more day to move on.
“Fatal mistake. A band of soldiers and some ragtag locals set upon us after midnight. They burned the wagons and arrested most of the adults. Those who resisted too vigorously, including my parents, were slaughtered on the spot.”
“Oh, Jack. How awful! And what became of the children?”
“We were taken away to be ‘civilized’, meaning to be pressed into labor on local farms or in shops. The younger ones were sent to orphanages until grown to decent working size. I was small for my age and was sent to an orphanage in Portsmouth.
“I endured more than a year in that snake pit, growing sicker in mind and body than I would have thought possible. I could see the masts of the ships in the harbor and knew that they meant escape, meant freedom.”
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