Hart's Passion (Pirates & Petticoats Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

smaller, worn trunk containing her dagger, sword, and waif’s clothes she wore in the early hours each morning when she trained with Daniel, another activity to which her uncle disapproved. She always suspected her father—Papa—had secretly been proud of her skills with both sword and blade.
    She sighed. It was hard to avoid thinking of Papa as her father and instead as a man who played the role. He was never around very often or for very long, but still, she was fond of him and he’d acted fond of her.
    It would have been easy to simply ignore the promise to Papa and go on with her life, but Daniel had taught her a promise kept proved one’s integrity. And damned if her curiosity wasn’t driving her crazy. Sending Daniel and Slaney was a satisfying compromise for all of them.
    The day Hart had bartered a kiss from her in exchange for untangling her hair from a briar bush had changed her.  
    Her heart tripped as she recalled the handsome captain, his wet, fiery kisses, and his glacial blue eyes that looked at her as if they knew every secret she’d ever possessed. She let her lids drift shut and savored the memory of his arms around her waist, his palm capturing her breast…He had left a mark on her heart she’d never be able to erase.
    She found her old trunk and pulled out the bag of coins she kept inside. After providing for their passage to Boston and enough for emergency supplies, little remained. How she managed beyond that would depend on the information contained in the letter her father had placed in a chest in their country home, Wind Briar.
    There was also the ring and the man in the locket to consider.
    She wandered to an open window,   greeted by the sickly sweet scent of aging Magnolia blossoms in the dense early summer air. It had settled over Charleston, turning the dirt to a fine dust and coating everything, muting nature’s colors to various shades of red tinted gray.  
    Even if she found her father, there was no guarantee he would want her. According to the tale she had been told, he had a wife and other children of his own. Thinking back to the conversation a few weeks ago between her uncle and Landon, she still wasn’t sure she would be able to make it back to England. With an inevitable war approaching, the crossing became even more treacherous because both countries had unleashed privateers, who were little more than pirates with permission to plunder. Landon’s merchant fleet would be a prime prize for any privateer.  
    As badly as she wanted to finish her quest and find her father, she wouldn’t ask Landon to take such a risk.
    A light knock sounded upon her door. At her summons, it opened, and Dr. Everett Garrison poked his head in.  
    The doctor glanced curiously about the chamber, noting the trunks in the middle of the floor.
    “Are you going somewhere?”  
    Slaney exchanged a wary look with Keelan.
    “Dr. Garrison, would you join me on the porch?” she asked. “We can discuss my plans in private. The heat is overwhelming in here and I could use some air. I’ll be along in a moment.”  
    He nodded and retreated.  
    Everything was packed and ready to go. “Slaney, please have Simon bring our trunks down to the street. Daniel should have the carriage ready soon.”
    The maid nodded and Keelan went downstairs and out to the veranda, pondering the best way to tell Dr. Garrison she still would not marry him. Nothing came to mind to make the task easier.
    Jared Grey’s house was typical of most Charleston homes. Since they were taxed by frontage, houses were built close together. Residents also built them narrow and deep. It was as if they took their home and rotated it ninety degrees, so the side faced the street. Long covered porches, which normally embraced front doors, instead ran the side length of the house. The close proximity of their neighbor added shade to the porch during most of the day. A hedge along the street-side area didn’t do as much to muffle the