“She be well—retired with my stepfather in Pirate’s Cove.”
“Ah.”
“How well did ye know my sire?” she inquired.
“Not well—I met him only once, but I know he’d be proud of you.”
There was something about this man. The nagging question that had plagued her since her conversation with Captain Cockrum many, many years ago reared its ugly head. Suddenly she felt she had discovered some piece to the puzzle.
“I fear I have some doubts about him,” she began. “Another old acquaintance did put me in the mind he wasn’t truly my dear old da.”
“How terrible!” Lady Osgood-Simple gasped.
“He was my father in spirit, but I be told he wasn’t the man who sired me.”
“Well.” The man coughed. “I’m sure it makes little difference, for he raised you well for the time he had allotted to him.”
“You be nervous, my good Duke. Be there something you wish to impart to me?”
“I cannot fathom your reasoning.”
“Darling,” his wife interrupted. “It is time for you to reveal your secret. I have spent many a night listening to you worry and fret over how it pained you.”
“Speak clearly,” Tom grumbled. “I be not caring for all this mysterious talk.”
“Perhaps we can speak about this somewhere more private,” Duke Osgood-Simple suggested.
“Nay, I would know the truth, here and now,” Violet demanded softly. “I have no stomach for intrigue.”
The royal stammered several times, trying to find his voice.
“Pray be at ease, Admiral,” Lady Osgood-Simple said. “My husband’s past is quite as colorful as your own.”
“That’s putting it politely, my dear.” He coughed.
“You see,” she continued, “he was once in the employ of your late father. The details, I fear, are not quite common knowledge and would cause dreadful embarrassment to my husband.”
“Your yarn rouses my curiosity, Lady Osgood-Simple,” Violet remarked. “Perhaps in my cabin onboard the Deliverance we could speak more plainly. What say ye?”
“I’d prefer it,” the woman’s husband said.
This was how Violet met her real father, Duke Ludwig Osgood-Simple. In the security of her quarters on the dreadnought, she learned how his promise to Duke Cornwell prevented him from speaking of her true parentage. Thus he was unable to assure the magistrate that Violet was indeed of royal blood, secretly adopted as the heir to the former duke’s estates and title. All present shed happy tears, and the ex-buccaneer embraced her real father with an open heart and arm.
Violet and Tom eventually retired to Purdy-on-the-Sea with their son and two daughters. Ada and Imogene were the apples of their parents’ eyes, since both took to the sea, with only Ada coming back to eventually take her mother’s place as duchess after her wedding to Stanley Knoll. Imogene married well and moved into an estate with her husband, Bartholomew Poole, a famous sea captain in his own right. Of course this gave her the name of Imogene Poole, comical in its own right, but since her sister was Ada Knoll it didn’t matter much. However, it was the middle child who proved to be more than she bargained for. You see, Harper Herring became a preacher.
About the Author:
Christopher Newman has been telling stories all of his life but would rather enthrall readers with his imagination than talk about himself. His book The Curse of Albrecht Manor was a Top Ten Finisher in the Preditors & Editors Readers Poll for 2008.
Despite living his entire life in the same county of Ohio, he never has to step beyond it to describe people, places and things in other far-off lands. No subject matter is safe, for he will write about practically anything—and often does.
Rumors persist that he taps into the memories of those who wandered the world spinning wild yarns and fanciful tales for a living. Often accused of being a timeless minstrel, he scoffs at the notion with a demeanor that suggests he’s really just deflecting the truth of those charges.
Visit him at his website: www.christophercnewman.wordpress.com
E-mail him at [email protected] if you really are that curious to see if the Old Storyteller spinning this yarn is just Christopher in disguise.
Also by Christopher Newman:
The Scandelous Tale Of Agnes Biggenbotten
eBook ISBN: 9781770650329
Print ISBN: 9781770650404
Romance Humor
Novel of 31, 000 words
A Journey of Innocence, Love, Tragedy and Justice—and an ample derriere.
The Redemption of a Scoundrel
eBook ISBN: 9781615721474
Print ISBN: 9781615721481
Erotica Humor
Novella of 30,468 words
Can even a rapscallion’s heart withstand the sting of Cupid’s arrow?
Also from Eternal Press:
The Sharp Points of A Triangle
by Rachel Brimble
eBook ISBN: 9781770650138
Print ISBN: 9781770650213
Romance Humor
Novel of 68,040 words
A humorous look at love and second chances.
Hannah Boyd has been crowned the youngest Independent Financial Adviser in the UK. She has kicked out her boyfriend whose idea of romance is leaving skid-marked boxers on the bedroom floor, or sharing a chillie-kebab in front of the football game on a Saturday night. She is successful, single and about to secure one of the wealthiest men in England as one of her clients. But then the one person she never wanted to see again reappears as her biggest rival.
Also from Eternal Press:
Vegan Moon:
Book One of The California Wolf Code
by Kerri Nelson
eBook ISBN: 9781615722051
Print ISBN: 9781615722068
Paranormal Humor
Novella of 10,344 words
When a vegetarian werewolf falls for a celebrity chef, will his appetite for her cause him to stray from his vegan ways? Santiago Salazar is a reformed werewolf living in sunny Beverly Hills, California. When he catches sight of celebrity chef Gabrielle Connor on television, he’s soon drooling in his tofu burger.After they meet at one of Gabbi’s book signings, Santiago is thrilled to discover that the attraction is mutual. The two hit it off in a major way but when the night takes a dark turn…Gabbi must decide if she can live with the new world that she’s discovered and Santiago must ultimately answer to the werewolf code of conduct.Take one hungry werewolf and mix with one lonely chef, stir in some hot sex and Vegan Moon delivers a tasty treat that will keep you coming back for more.
The Swashbuckling Yarn of Milady Vixen Page 13