Standing on the main deck at the helm, steering the magnificent vessel, Burke looked out across the deep blue ocean. Dismissing Karoly to his duties, the thoughtful captain picked up his binoculars to look across the beautiful water in hopes of seeing land. Although the experienced man knew he was getting close to his destination nothing was seen yet. After being on board The Heart of Calais for one long month, Burke’s crew was ready to be off the ship. Even more ready to be on land again was Odelia.
Instead of traveling to the Caribbean just to locate The Beloved Loss and bring the pirate prisoners back to France, the career-oriented French captain decided to make it a business trip as well. “We have never traded with the Caribbean Islands before,” Acel said to his older cousin when Burke stocked the ship. “Are you sure the King will not mind you working for yourself before you work for him?”
Smiling ruefully, Burke replied, “Dear Cousin, King Lou knows how much I hate Odelia! He knows how much worse I hate the idea of marrying her. He surely expects me to prolong this trip as much as possible. Believe me, if I could extend this trip permanently I would! Nothing shall stop Lord Orson from demanding a wedding the second I return to France so let me enjoy my last couple months of freedom!”
Now, four weeks later, Burke had every trade worthy item he could find loaded aboard his ship and ready to unload once they reached an island. Like pirates, Burke was in the shipping and trading industry. But unlike pirates, everything Burke did was completely legal and ethically upstanding. He did not steal, kill, or attack. He bought items from one land and sold it to another, charging a carrying fee in order to make a proper income for himself and his crew. Also unlike buccaneers, Burke worked for no country or King. He owned his own ship, he paid his own crew, and he made his own rules. That was the way Burke Landis Belcourt liked to live, free and in charge!
It was an easy trip thus far. One buccaneer vessel passed and two smaller pirate ships as well. All stared at The Heart of Calais as if contemplating an attack, but Burke’s strong reputation proceeded him and the enemy ships wisely decided to let him pass. Burke traded with many foreign lands and often ran into illegal traders but most wanted to live another day so they quickly disregarded the idea of attacking The Heart of Calais or any of Captain Belcourt’s other ships.
Every now and then a pirate crew was brave and stupid enough to attack, but Burke had never been defeated. He took the pirates hostage and brought them straight to France for judgment. That is one of the main reasons, besides Odelia, that King Louis XIV chose Burke for this mission.
The subject of Odelia made Burke’s temper soar. It seemed absolutely ridiculous to him that he was being forced into marriage with a lying, manipulative pest like the Vadeboncour brat! No one liked Odelia besides her father. She had no friends because she used and abused everyone in her life. Burke had an affluent family, much more powerful than Orson Vadeboncour, but when the Belcourts tried to argue the King’s decision the facts were laid out on the table.
Odelia was a lady of class, someone truly had taken her innocence, Burke did allow her to spend the night at his home- without chaperone, and her story never waivered. What could the Belcourts do? What could Burke do? Nothing. The only thing that could save Burke was if someone stepped forward and admitted that they had taken Odelia’s virtue, not Burke.
That was unlikely to happen because no one else wanted stuck in a marriage with her either. The only other possibility was if Odelia felt bad enough to do the right thing and correct the rumors about Burke. That was definitely not going to happen.
Odelia had spread her lies about Burke’s inappropriate behavior all over France. And, unfortunately for Burke, he possessed a reputation as a notorious lady’s man long before Odelia came into the picture. That made her rumors even more believable. There was no way to prove that Burke had not slept with Odelia, especially since Odelia was no innocent young lady as her Papa believed.
Burke never forced a woman into doing anything and he most certainly had not stripped anyone of their virtue. Roaming a few brothels and bars had never seemed inappropriate until Odelia used it against him. Now he wished he had never met a woman in his entire life. The idea of marriage was not the worst in the world. No, he did not plan on marrying anyone, especially anytime soon, but it was not because he did not like women.
Beautiful women caught his eye often, as he did theirs, but none could hold his attention for long. It was just because he loved his career as a sailor so much that he did not think any woman was worth giving it up for. On the other hand, even if Burke was searching desperately for a wife he would not ever choose Odelia!
Trying to better his mood and forget the unfortunate situation he found himself in, Burke examined his surroundings. The ocean was dark blue and deeper than he could imagine. He smelled the salty water as it splashed through the air around his enormous and ornately designed ship. The sky above him was bright blue and full of fluffy, white clouds forecasting the beautiful spring weather. The May afternoon was just what he needed to relax his mind and enjoy the water.
As he stared into the sky above him, the first bird he had seen in months flew overhead. Throwing himself into action he grabbed his binoculars to search for any sign of land. Way into the distance he could see the very top of trees through the magnifying lens. “I see land, boys! We shall be there by nightfall,” the captain called in excitement.
Cheers were heard all over the boat, echoing the captain’s announcement. In the sleeping quarters below deck, Odelia raised herself from the small cot to hear what the fuss was about. To curious to not be a part of the action, the puny woman tried to steady her stomach enough to climb the wooden stairs. The bright sun made Odelia cover her face with her hands. After not seeing anything but her dark bunk for the last month it was hard for her to focus in the intense light. “What on Earth is going on around here?” She demanded with a pouty lip.
“The captain has spotted land! We should be relaxing on the beach by nightfall,” Acel teased.
“Ha! I shall most certainly not be on the beach with you this night. You can count on that. Speaking of handsome, wealthy Counts, where is mine?” She huffed indignantly looking around for Burke.
Purposely riling the intolerable witch, Acel jabbed further. “Odie, Odie, Odie, you must understand that Burke only considers himself a Count when he is on land in France. When he is on a boat or in the middle of the ocean, like he is now, he is no Count at all. Only a lowly captain…”
Rolling her light blue eyes and poking out her bottom lip, Odelia threw her hands over her ears as if to block out the First Mate’s ceaseless prattling. “Shut your mouth, Acel Belcourt! You are only jealous because you are a simple commoner while your cousin is an extremely prosperous noble!”
“Is that all you care about, Odie? Money, money, money and a few good looks?” He questioned, knowing she would deny the truth.
She just shrugged her shoulders indifferently, “Of course not! I care about Burke’s personality, health, happiness, and all of that worthless matter too.”
Acel threw his head back in laughter, “And I suppose you even expect me to believe you love him for all the right reasons, sickness or in health, until death do you part?”
“Why not?” she asked, still searching the ship for her fiancé.
“Name one thing you love about him, besides his money and handsome face.”
“His, um,” Odelia paused for a moment, honestly trying to think of something she cared about besides the Count’s title, wealth, power, or appearance. “Oh! I know! I love his sense of style.”
“Ahem!” Burke cleared his throat from behind the arguing youths.
“Oh, Burke, my darling, there you are! Acel says you have spotted land?” Odelia tried as she threw her arms around the captain.
“My sense of style is the only thing you love about me besides my money, Odelia?” Burke asked sarcastically with one hand over his heart, pretending to be crushed.
“Oh shut up, you fo
ol! Who cares what you think? You are marrying me anyway, my love.”
“Unless you grow a heart and admit that I am not the man who took your virtue…” Burke replied with a shrug.
Odelia’s face turned red and her mouth dropped open. “Oh! How dare you? I shall never admit that!” she screeched. Catching her mistake, she corrected, “I mean, of course you are the man who stole my virtue! I am a lady of class! I never spent the night away from home without my father except for the one night I stayed with you, remember?”
Acel could not help himself, “And since we know Burke truly did not sleep with you that night, Odie darling, it must mean that you made yourself available enough to sneak away from your father with some unknown man during the day…”
Her eyes narrowed maliciously, “Burke! How dare you let him speak to your fiancé in such a manner?”
Burke could not answer her through his laughter. He chuckled so loud that the rest of the crew wondered what on Earth was so humorous. “Sorry, Odelia. Acel, how dare you speak to my straight-laced, prudish, proper, angelic fiancé that way?
“OH!” she shrieked as she stormed away from the cackling cousins.
“There we go, Captain. She shall never leave her quarters again, to be sure!” Acel saw with a wink, patting his idol on the back.
Trying to calm his laughter, Burke replied to the younger man. “Thank you, Ace. Back to work! Let us make sure everything is in tip-top shape and ready to be unloaded. We need to work as quickly as possible so that we can begin our search for The Beloved Loss.”
Acel nodded in agreement and rushed away to carry out Burke’s command. At the age of twenty four, Acel Belcourt admired Burke like an older brother. The two men were much alike in every way. The handsome cousins even looked like brothers. One of the only differences was Acel’s absolute excitement to find a loving woman to marry.
Acel and Burke’s fathers were born into the title of Dukes. Burke’s father was The Duke of Bordeaux, and Acel’s was the Duke of Tulle. The Duke of Bordeaux, Reule Belcourt married a Lady of nobility, the oldest daughter of the Marquis of Auxerre. Unlike Burke’s mother, Lady Damica Belcourt, Acel’s father married a common woman who was not from a titled family.
Ruskin Belcourt loved his wife, Elita, despite the dreadful treatment they received from many of the other noble families. Caring little about unnecessary judgments, Reule and Ruskin Belcourt remained best friends and inseparable brothers. With a simple decree from the King, all needless opinions were blocked. Ruskin was noble, making his wife and children noble as well. The Duke and Duchess of Tulle and their son were just as noble as the older Belcourt brother and his own family. No matter what any of the other nobles in France argued!
That worked well, until an unfortunate event brought the gossipers back into action. Ruskin Belcourt became ill at an early age, dying much younger than anyone expected. The other noble families shunned Elita and her child, Acel, insisting that they were nothing but commoners again.
No matter what Reule and Damica did to prevent such harsh treatment of their sister-in-law and nephew, nothing seemed to help. Acel was still noble, by law. He was the Earl of Lille and no one but the King could take it away from him. However, Acel’s carefree attitude stopped him from ever reminding anyone, like Odelia, that he was indeed noble.
Acel Belcourt had a grand chateau, although it was much smaller than Burke’s, and a whole staff of servants. If he ever married, his wife and children could live privileged lives as a noble family. However, he highly doubted that they would be accepted by society since he, noble as could be, was still being denied. Something like that would have infuriated Burke. The older cousin would have demanded respect for himself, just as he continuously insisted respect for his Uncle Ruskin’s only son.
When Ruskin died, Elita and Acel came to live with Reule, Damica, and Burke. At ages ten and four, Burke and Acel became the best of friends. Nothing could separate the two boys and they had vowed that nothing ever would. Acel hoped for Burke’s sake that Odelia would find some other prey. No one deserved such harsh punishment as being forced into marriage with Odelia Vadeboncour, especially not a fantastic gentleman like his cousin, Burke.
Hours later, they were close enough to land that they could see the sandy beach. “What island is it?” Quain asked.
“If I am not mistaken, I believe it is Hispaniola!” Burke answered with a wide smile.
“Have you been to Hispaniola before?” Karoly questioned in excitement.
Burke shook his head, “No. Never! But if we are right on course, that is where we should be! And I cannot see it clearly enough yet, but there is a large ship sitting right off the beach! Would it not be great if it was The Beloved Loss? Then we could just cruise around for awhile, not worrying about work!”
Karoly looked at Burke with a doubtful expression. “Why would a pirate ship be sitting right in the open like that though, Captain? Would they not be hiding somewhere instead?”
“Well, apparently that is what makes their captain such an intimidating one! He is not scared of a thing, and though he probably hides everywhere else he goes, he would not need to be sneaky at Hispaniola. They say he has many who work for him on that island, no one would try to take him down there. He has claimed control, so to speak, without the authority of owning it.”
“I see. So that is why you wanted to go to Hispaniola first? You wanted to get information on The Beloved Loss!” Quain answered himself as understanding washed over the crew.
Burke replied casually, staring through his binoculars at the distant ship. “Of course, but who knows if this is actually Hispaniola! You know I get mixed up sometimes…”
The crew talked with their easy going captain until Burke was ready to claim their attention. “Okay, we do not know what we are going to find here. We are accustomed to trading with Africa, Asia and other European countries where they welcome us, but this is different. We have never been here before and they do not expect our visit. They may be hostile or angry that we came.”
The handsome captain took a breath and continued, knowing what to expect from his crewmembers. “I plan to go directly to The Beloved Loss, if that is it we see. If they seem peaceful enough to talk to me, I want you to take the ship and discuss trade with the islanders while I am gone, Acel. And Karoly, I need you to stay aboard The Heart of Calais to help me when I get ready. Be prepared for a hasty departure though, in case we are not warmly greeted.”
“Burke! You know we will not be welcomed if you march across The Beloved Loss and tell them you are arresting them!” Acel exclaimed in bewilderment.
Burke smiled at his worried crew, “No, no! I am not that ignorant! I plan to board The Beloved Loss to discuss trade with them. I will ask their captain to come aboard The Heart of Calais to look over our goods. When I get him on our ship, alone, I shall take him prisoner. I will then call the rest of his men aboard, a few at a time. Karoly and I together can tie and gag each until their ship is empty!”
He paused to make sure everyone was in understanding with him. “In the meantime, Acel, you and the rest of the crew must be discussing a real trade with the locals. We will hide the pirate crew below deck while we empty our ship and reload. By the time we finish it will be nightfall and we can take The Beloved Loss with The Heart of Calais and leave without anyone even knowing what happened. Understand?”
“Ay-ay, Captain!” the men shouted in unison, trusting their leader with no doubts.
Less than an hour later, Burke was rounding up his crew once again. “My good luck might be back, boys!” he bragged with a mischievous grin on his handsome face.
“Is it The Beloved Loss, Sir?” Quain asked hopefully.
“Sure enough! Says so right there along the side, The Beloved Loss! She is a pretty ship, is she not?” The captain nervously posed.
Acel, becoming tense and edgy, started rambling. Burke, knowing his cousin well, expected his descriptive answer. “Yes Sir, but she is an older ship. The Beloved Loss
is not nearly as elegant or expensive as The Heart of Calais. Our ship is built with perfect taste. It is quick, easy to hide and maneuver, and top of the line in beauty and glamour. It’s even spacious enough to have comfortable living quarters below deck. Plus, with the help of Karoly it’s safe and solid.”
Almost within firing range, the captain noticed the pirate ship crew raising a flag to warn Burke to keep their distance, or that they were waging war, it was too soon to tell! “Alright men, get to your stations. Garner, keep a strong command over your naval battalion. If The Beloved Loss starts firing or if I give you any signal of alarm, return their attack, understand? Quain, prepare bandages, medicine, and anything else you think we may need in case of injuries.” As each man received their orders they nodded in acceptance and ran to their positions.
Burke continued after watching Garner and Quain rush to their duties. “Davet, boil water in case Quain needs anything sterilized. Mix up soup or whatever you can find that might soothe the weak, just in case. Leala and Miette, you two need to run back and forth between Quain, Karoly and Davet, assisting as needed. Take care of Lady Odelia. Ignore her if you want to, lock her in her cabin if necessary, but above all else, please, please, please keep her below deck and out of my way! Karoly, you are on carpenter duty! If The Heart of Calais is damaged I need you to fix it immediately. Steal Leala or Miette if you have to. Just make sure we stay afloat!”
All the men were dashing to their designated spot, leaving only one waiting for a command. “And Ace, my boy, you know your job is to keep everyone else in line and help me with whatever catastrophe I get us into. Alright?”
Acel nodded, whooping in excitement as he ran to check each man for the ready signal. With one thumb up and a big smile toward Burke, the First Mate approved that everything was ready for battle, trade, or fun, whichever came first.
A Pirate Princess Page 3