The Noble Pirates Read Online Free PDF

packaging); Sky’s romance, most of it water-logged and illegible (thank God); another of Sky’s books, Rovers of the Sea , still fairly legible since it was wrapped in a Barnes & Noble bag; a couple bikinis and cover-ups; and finally, our wallets. I tore mine open, pulling out a picture of Sophie and clutching it tightly, the tears starting to well up.
    England cleared his throat, and I looked up at him. “Did you go through everything here?” He nodded. I held the picture out to him. “Then you’ve seen this? It’s my daughter, Sophie. I miss her so much!”
    England took the picture, holding it gently between his rough, callused fingers. He studied it for a while then said softly, “It’s an amazing likeness. How…?”
    Oh, yeah. They didn’t have photographs in 1718. If this guy was putting me on, he was doing a good job of looking bewildered. I hesitated. “It’s a photograph. It’s an image that was, well, painted by… light.”
    He smiled, still looking at the picture. “She has yer mouth.” As if suddenly aware of what he’d just said, he thrust the photo back at me, not meeting my eyes. From his bald spot down to his chest, he went scarlet.
    Taking the picture, I realized, somewhat abruptly, that I had my feminine wiles at my disposal. It had been so long since I’d used them, I’d forgotten they existed. When was the last time I’d made a man blush like that? Had I ever made a man blush like that? “Captain England,” I said in my best damsel-in-distress voice, peering up at him from under my eyelashes. “Help me. Please. I have to get back to where I was – wherever that is – so that I can see her again.”
    He looked up, baffled. “Help ye how, lass? Drop ye back in the middle of the sea where I found ye? I could try to get ye passage on a trading ship headed for the Colonies, perchance…” He put out his pipe and tucked it behind his ear, and then started wringing his hands thoughtfully. “The thing of it is… ye have bloody poor timing! Vane’ll not suffer a single ship leave the harbor.”
    “Who?”
    England huffed with frustration. “I haven’t the time to explain it to ye. Charles Vane is a pirate – and not one the likes of ye should ever meet.” His eyes blazed as he spoke. “The Jacobites are not sending help, and King George’s royal governor is arriving any day now to take the island from the pirates. We’ve no intention of accepting the royal pardon, and it’s gotten nasty here in Nassau.”
    King George, Jacobites… It all sounded vaguely familiar. Too bad I hadn’t paid much attention in my world history class. I shrugged. “Even if you could send me to the U.S. – I mean, the Colonies – where would I go? I’d still be in 1718, right?” I waited for him to reply, hoping he’d say no, actually, he was part of a group of pirate re-enactors who just took the re-enacting to another level and, lo and behold, he’d get me back to 2011 ASAP. But he merely nodded, deep in thought.
    “I’ll have Kat bring ye some proper clothes so ye don’t stand out any more than ye already do,” he said finally, standing up. “Stay here. So long as ye’re in this house, ye’re under my protection. Jameson won’t tell a soul, I’d wager on it.”
    Alarmed, I stood up, unsteady on my feet, my head spinning. “Where are you going? Don’t leave me.”
    Captain England froze, looking at me with an expression I couldn’t place. It was gone as quickly as it had come, and he replied gently, “I’ll not leave ye, cailin . But there’s business I must attend to. I’ll be back shortly after sundown.” And with that, he was gone.
    Chapter Five
      The woman, Kat, sauntered in carrying a pile of clothes which she promptly dropped on the table. Before she could head out the door, I ventured, “Excuse me?”
      She turned to look at me haughtily, setting her hands on her hips. A strand of dishwater blonde hair fluttered into her eye. I cleared my throat. “Um, would it