“That is not the story. How did we come to be here in my old home place?”
“Lloyd Graylyn brought me the title. After your stepfather moved you and your mother to the sugar plantation in Jamaica, he ran into financial problems and let the taxes lapse on this place, and it reverted to the Crown. King George saw fit to award me this original land grant of seven hundred acres and the house.”
“Oh, Lucas, nothing could make me happier than to have this place back.” Tears gathered in her eyes.
He drew her into his arms. “We’ll have nothing of tears on our wedding morn, my dear wife. Actually, there’s more to tell if you can stand it.”
“What else could there be? This has made me so happy. You have made me blissful.”
He kissed her long and deeply. “No, you’ve made me so happy. I’ve loved you since I was a boy, and you didn’t know I was alive.”
“I certainly knew you were alive, and I hated the way the Pooles treated you and your family.”
Lucas released her and stood up. He pushed the braids of his hair behind his shoulders, stretched, and turned to look at her. His voice lowered, and a shadow crossed his face.
“Travay, that part of the story is not over until I know about my mother. I will be outfitting a new ship and going to search for her very soon.”
Then his voice lightened, and he took her hand and drew her up into his arms again. “But I have more good news. If Sir Roger is convicted of piracy, and I believe he will be, the Jamaica sugar plantation will revert to the Crown. And I plan to buy it back for you, my darling. After all, it once belonged to your family.”
“Oh, Lucas, is that possible?”
“Of course it is. Lord Graylyn has assured me he’ll be right on it on our behalf, my dearest wife.” Once again, he kissed her forehead, her earlobe, and trailed down her neck.
Something very much like a chuckle escaped from Travay as she met Lucas’ lips with her own. He didn’t know it yet, but if he sailed the seas again, he would have an extra crew member sailing with him.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
Dear Reader,
As an author, I took a little liberty with dates for this novel. For example, the story is set in 1720 and an historical character, the notoriously wicked pirate Edward “Ned” Low, battles my hero, Captain Bloodstone, in a sword fight. According to my research, Ned Lowe did operate as a pirate in the Caribbean in the early 1700’s, but he may not have been so notorious quite as early as 1720.
On another note, you might wonder about the difference between privateers and pirates. What set a privateer apart from a pirate was a piece of paper known as a Letter of Marque, according to Cindy Vallar in her History of Maritime Piracy. “Governments bestowed these commissions on privately owned ships during times of war as an inexpensive way to weaken the enemy. Privateers—a term that refers to a ship, a captain, or a crew—preyed on the merchant ships of a specific country’s enemy. In exchange for providing the privateer with a safe haven and license to attack, the issuer shared in the profits. Sometimes, privateers turned to piracy during times of peace. While Henry III of England was the first to employ privateers, they fought in European and North American wars into the 19th century. Since the United States Navy owned few ships, privateers played a key role in the War of 1812.”
Many British naval seamen eventually became privateers to get away from the harsh treatment of seamen on British ships. When Britain was not at war, these men had few opportunities to find work on the sea unless they signed onto a merchant ship, a privateer, or pirate ship. History does record that privateers often turned to piracy. Blackbeard is an example. Supposedly born in Bristol, England, he served first on a privateer ship. When peace finally came to Europe, he embraced piracy and became the charismatic legend history records.
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Here’s the Amazon link to a sequel to In a Pirate’s Debt entitled Summer of Deception, a contemporary inspirational romantic suspense novel set on the Charleston Tea Plantation that Lucas and Travay first built in the 1700’s. If you enjoyed Lucas and Travay’s story, I believe you’ll love the story of Lucas’s much later relative, Luke Barrett and Rachel York. Can love survive a summer of deception?
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