Paid to the Pirate by Una Rohr EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Una Rohr
- Language: English
- Genre: Action & Adventure Romance
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Charlotte
“Pirates!” Daniel shouted, rushing through the inn’s door. “A ship’s
anchored just inside the bay and the men are coming into town as we
speak.”
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My stomach dropped and my gasp was echoed in every man, woman,
and child stuffing the inn’s many tables. There wasn’t much else to do in
our tiny settlement and most evenings villagers gathered for company and
gossip, like moths to our torchlights. Mrs. Clayton, the governor’s wife,
clutched her pearls. Then, wisely, she unfastened the necklace and slid it
into the safety of her ample bosom.
“Is there time to mount a defense?” someone asked.
I held back a near-hysterical snort. What defense could we manage
against pirates?
“They’ll be here any minute,” Daniel protested, sounding even more
frightened than I felt. “The night was too black and misty to spy the
incoming ship until it was too late.”
“Calm down, everyone please, calm down,” Mr. Clayton said, raising his
voice above the chatter. Our little settlement was barely a proper enough
town to have elected a governor, but Mr. George Clayton served as our de
facto leader since long before I’d arrived.
“They’re not here to attack or they would have done so already. They’re
simply here to-”
“Extract payment,” Mrs. Penningham harrumphed.
George grimaced both at her interruption and its certainty. “We’ll have to
decide what kind of town we aim to be, one who pays tribute to these
pirates or-”
“A town who ceases to exist,” Mrs. Penningham interrupted again. This
time, Mr. Penningham jabbed her in the ribs. She pursed her lips but didn’t
wipe the hard look from her face.
“Which black heart is it? Did you get a look at the colors?” Someone’s
panicked shout rose above the rest and everyone turned to Daniel, holding
their breath.
He slid one hand along his sandy hair, smoothing it back into the ribbon
tied low at the nape of his neck. “Couldn’t tell in the dark. There’s no moon
and the skies are cloudy.”
Grumbles and groans came from the crowded inn, but Mr. Clayton held
up his hands. “Leave the boy alone, he did his watch as best he could.”
An older lady in the corner piped up, “Just give ’em whatever they want
and be done with it!”
That’s the problem, I thought. Once we gave it to them, we’d never be
done. If the pirates came demanding tribute, they’d extract regular payment
henceforth, in exchange for “protection.” Our settlement would bear a
mark, a symbol of such safeguarding and a warning for other pirates to
leave us alone. In theory.
I didn’t see how we had a choice. Mr. Clayton hesitated because the
crown despised such arrangements.
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