A Pirate Princess (2 page)

Cori did not care what anyone thought of her. She hated pirates. Every single one of them! For the most part, she even hated herself for having no choice but to be a part of it.
All pirates are bad, even Novia, Guillermo and me! They are nothing but murderers, thieves, kidnappers, and lawbreakers. I have been a pirate since the day I was born and it looks like I shall be forced into this life until the day I die, as well.

Being forced to help the pirate crew was something Corisanda had trouble
doing. Cori had many jobs on
The Beloved Loss
. She helped Novia with all the cleaning, and at times she was forced to help Yvet run the heavy cannons during battles with enemy ships. However, Cori’s most important, and least favorite, job was to lure in boats for Marin to attack. Sharlene thought up the horrible job as a punishment once and it worked so well that it stuck.

From the ti
me Cori was thirteen they forced her to dress in one of Sharlene’s scantily-visible night gowns and compelled her to stand on the deck, waving the other ships to come closer with a flag of surrender. Peaceable vessels and enemy pirate ships alike would rush to the rescue, hoping to help the young girl or attack an enemy. Then, when they became close enough, Yvet would start firing and Marin would hold the enemy crew hostage and raid their boat. Once everything of value had been taken from the enemy ship, someone would decide how to dispose of the hostages. If Falco was in charge, torment and death would be the chosen method.

Cori fought and begged for years not to be
forced into such a horrible duty but to no avail. She was beautiful, and they used it against her. She had refused in the past but was always eventually beaten into submission. If a beating did not work they would lock her in her quarters without food for days. Finally, Cori gave up trying to ignore her “responsibilities”. That was one of the many reasons she dreamed of escaping.

She paced around her room, looking at the small amount of toiletries she was allowed to have. Cori wanted to escape more than anything. She did not care where she would go or who she might meet, as long as it was
far from the ocean and she did not come across any pirates.

Cori
learned much about France from hearing her father tell the other pirates stories about growing up in the beautiful country. Cuba, Novia and Guillermo’s home, would be just fine too. She thought that the only problem with Cuba is that they had to deal with pirates!
Anywhere would be fine,
Cori thought with determination.
Anywhere but here!

The Count of Calais, Burke Landis Belcourt, stood on a wooden dock staring into the bright, blue ocean under him. His best ship,
The Heart of Calais,
was being examined for any damage done on a recent trip to Africa and back. The most sought after man in France was not a normal, wealthy, privileged Count. While the other French nobles were sipping tea and planning balls, Captain Burke Belcourt was sailing his ship from country to country, trading goods and serving his close friend, King Louis XIV.

Burke stared into the deep water, thinking about his life and the way it was soon to change. His plan to remain a life-long bachelor, sailing the ocean, working hard, and enjoying total freedom had recently been destroyed.

The Count stared at his reflection on the water’s surface. The blue eyed man had thick, shaggy-cut, dark brown hair, lying a little longer than fashion allowed. It was styled in Burke’s usual, quick and easy way, arranged flawlessly as if he spent hours working on it. He was tall with broad shoulders, tan skin, and an almost faultless face. The only flaw was one, small, crooked scar on his left cheek from a fist fight years before. The scarcely visible scratch just added to his carelessly gorgeous appeal.

Women swooned over Burke even in foreign lands where no one knew he was a wealthy, titled, French Lord. His money, title, and power with the King only made him that much more sought after in
France where everyone knew him. Burke once considered his handsome face and flawless body a blessing but Odelia Vadeboncoeur turned it into a curse.

Odelia was a notorious flirt, conniving, deceitful, and extremely manipulative. She had her wealthy father
, the Earl of Le Havre, wrapped around her pinky finger and whatever Odelia wanted Lord Orson Vadeboncour gave her. Unfortunately for Burke, he was one of the top items on Odelia’s very large wish-list.

The
father and daughter lived together in a spacious home in Le Havre. Odelia’s alcoholic mother left them both for a happier life as a poor maid in England. Lord Orson Vadeboncour was average in height but awkwardly scrawny in form. He had light brown hair, not much darker than Odelia’s golden-blonde curls. The Earl wore thick glasses, making his awkward appearance seem even more noticeable.

Burke had known Odelia since she was born, nineteen years before. At the age of eleven, Burke had cared very little for the bald baby who would still be demanding his attention almost two decades later. Odelia had her eyes set on Burke by the time she could walk, still chas
ing him when she turned sixteen. Even though she insisted profusely, Burke refused to court her once she was old enough to date. Nothing changed when she turned seventeen or eighteen.

Taking matters into her own hands
, the brazen coquette showed up unexpectedly at Burke’s grand chateau in Calais. She arrived in the middle of the night, demanding to speak with her
beau
, Burke. He yelled at her for risking her life by sneaking out of her home in Le Havre, only chaperoned by a smitten stable-boy servant.

The Count
continued yelling at her when he brought up what irked him the most,
wasting his valuable time!
Burke gave her a room for the night on the one condition that she would be sent home at dawn. He wondered why she put up no fight, but he knew now. Burke fell right into Odelia’s ploy. She had no doubt that he would deny her scandalous offers and send her home. Fortunately for Odelia, lying came easy.

As soon as she returned home to her father
in Le Havre, tears pouring down her face, she laid out her devious ruse. “Oh Papa,” she bawled, “I just wanted to spend time with him because he was my
friend.
But he
forced
me into his bedroom. He
stripped
me of my virtue and my reputation shall be ruined! Burke says he shall not marry me, Papa! Do something!”

Odelia had not owned her virtue for several years, but it was certainly not Burke who took it. Regardless, her father was powerful enough to demand King Louis XIV to pay attention to the
crime
done against his
innocent
daughter. King Louis and Burke were close friends with much in common. Both were thirty years old, both expected a lot out of the people around them, and both were energetic about their careers.

The King knew about Burke’s plan to stay
single and free for the rest of his life, and he certainly knew that Odelia was no innocent maiden. However, that was not something he could tell Odelia’s Papa, so forcing Burke to marry Odelia Vadeboncour was the only option.

The c
aptain took a long, drawn out breath, staring at his beautiful vessel sitting across the dock. He was born into his title, a Count by birth. The only thing Burke had never possessed was
patience
. His servants joked that Lord Burke could sit in a chair, never lifting a finger, and own riches greater than most of the country.

He just could not force himself into
sitting still. Burke loved to work and stay busy. From the time he was a small child he dreamed of owning a shipping industry, being the captain of a glamorous boat, traveling to foreign countries. Trading goods made all of that possible and also made him an even
wealthier
young man.

Once he married Odelia there would be no more ship
ping. No more trading. No more
Captain
Burke Belcourt, only
Count
Burke Belcourt. He would be forced to sit at home, tending to his boring duties as a Count, piddling with his money, and listening to Odelia nag. Thankfully, it was not time yet! He had postponed their wedding over and over again until Odelia’s father could stand no more.

They were supposed to be married i
n less than a month when Burke traveled to Versailles, right outside of Paris, to ask King Louis, again, if there was anything that could be done to get him out of it. “Actually,” the King had said, “I need you to do something for me. It shall not get you out of the marriage, but it can postpone it for a few months! You are the only one I trust to handle this business for me but it is dangerous.”

“That’s fine, I’
ll take anything!” Burke had agreed.

That i
s when the King told his friend about the increase of pirating around the Caribbean Sea, half a world away. “I want it stopped,” he told Burke.

“I do no
t understand.” Burke said in bewilderment, “What does that have to do with France? As long as the pirates are not robbing us, why do we care who they steal from? Those islands mean nothing to us.”

Ready to explain, knowing his friend would ask that question, he began with a nod. “You are correct! I care nothing about the islands
. I never worried about it before because I thought the same way you do.
Spain owns the islands, so let them deal with it!
And England makes no excuses that they allow pirates to work for their country, robbing from Spain and bringing the goods back home. They are calling their legal pirates
buccaneers
! I would never do such a thing so I just stayed away from the subject. However, apparently there is one thing
worse
than a
legal pirate
. That, of course, would be
illegal pirates
! And by what I hear, the main illegal pirates who are robbing the Spaniards are
Frenchmen
.”

The King shook his head in confusion, hoping he was making sense! “
I have neighboring countries scorning me for allowing my people to do such horrible things to others. They are comparing me to England! There is one ship, in particular, owned by the reportedly worst pirate on the ocean. The boat is called
The Beloved Loss
. The gossipers say that the captain of the ship is French. I want it stopped,” The King repeated.

“Consider it done,” Burke said with a smile, all but skipping out of the King’s Versailles
Palace.

Burke was so excited he
immediately rushed the short distance from Versailles to Le Havre to inform Lord Orson of the
terrible
news postponing the wedding. The Earl was livid, insisting that Burke was only trying to escape from his daughter. Odelia was even angrier. The scorned woman was not one to be reckoned with and she shot Burke’s happiness straight down the drain. “I shall just go too!”

“YOU WI
LL WHAT?” Burke had screamed in unison with the Earl.

“I
shall just go with you,” she repeated. Burke tried to talk her out of it.

“It will be dangerous. It sha
ll not be proper for an unwed woman to travel with her fiancé, without chaperones! I may be gone for months! What if the trip makes you sea sick?” He tried it all, but nothing would persuade the determined girl.

She was already aboard
The Heart of Calais
, getting her luxurious trunks of clothes organized in her spacious below deck cabin. Burke was dreading the trip in pitiable agony.
Why did I not leave when the King told me I could go? Why did I even have to inform Odelia’s father? I should have just asked someone to tell them once I was safely out to sea!
He chastised himself.

“Ever
ything’s ready, Captain!” the ship’s First Mate, Acel Belcourt, yelled.

Burke faced his cousin with a frown. “
Wonderful
, I will be right there,” he muttered under his breath.

Captain Belcourt
took a ragged breath, walking toward his beloved ship. He glanced at the sky as he quietly whispered, “God, if you have any mercy left for me, make that rotten girl stay out of my way on this trip. If I thought you would ever forgive me for it, I would push her off this boat at the first sign of sharks…”

The captain of
The Heart of Calais
was blessed with a
halfway
answered prayer. Odelia stayed out of his way during the journey. She was by no means pleasant, due to being afflicted with the worst case of seasickness anyone could possibly have, but at least she was out of Burke’s way! From the moment the ship left the dock, Odelia’s head spun and her stomach whirled.

She quickly found that as long as she was lying in bed, being waited on hand and foot by ship servants, she was fine. As soon as she tried to rise from her idle-state she would become nauseous and dizzy. It might have been her maid’s worst nightmare, but it was a dream come true for Burke. He sometimes heard her screeching for him to visit, but knowing that she could not rise from her bed or see him
from her below-deck quarters he just pretended not to hear her wails.

“How are you enjoying your last voyage, sir?” the ship’s Boatswain asked.

“Now that my hateful fiancé is quiet, it has been fantastic, Karoly!” Burke laughed.

Karoly was a handsome man, strong and masculine. Nothing a
bout him was graceful or classy but no one would have insulted the large man by telling him that for any amount of money in the world. He had a deep voice and a long, black beard that was beginning to turn gray. Everyone knew he was in love with the ship’s maid, Leala, but no one mentioned that to him either. They had dated during their teenage years and had fought uncontrollably. Leala glared at him every second she could and cussed his name if he was mentioned around her. Karoly, not able to let go of his deep affection for the untamed maid, played pranks on her often.

No one understood how they ever dated but their attentive leader caught them staring at each other when no one else seemed to be looking. Burke teased Leala, accusing her of being secretly in love with Karoly as he so obviously was with her. She would ball up her fist and deck him then st
orm away in anger, leaving the captain laughing wildly.

Leala had a sixteen year old daughter, Miette, who had the same course, black hair that Karoly did. Leala never denied that Miette was Karoly’s daughter and Karoly had eagerly taken on his role as a father. He begged Leala for years to marry him, making them a united family. She denied him
over and over, claiming to hate him
for prancing around with an uncountable number of other women when he was supposed to be marrying her!
Miette helped her mother clean the ship and assisted her father as needed.

Lucky for Burke, Karoly handled all the ship’s carpentry work when free of his Boatswain duties. It was a strange hobby of Karoly’s but it worked out well for
The Heart of Calais
to use one person for two jobs. Karoly spent much time with Miette, teaching her the trade. Acel Belcourt, Burke’s cousin and best friend, was always full of helpful ideas, making him the perfect First Mate.

The Heart of Calais
had an expert Gunner, named Garner, who had been thrown out of the French Navy years before due to his overzealous killing efforts. Quain, the vessel’s Surgeon was smart and continuously happy, despite any circumstance. The last member of Burke’s crew was the cook. Davet could not boil a pot of water without messing it up; much less fix a suitable meal for the crew to eat. However, his love of sailing and admiration for Burke kept him around to practice.

Leala, Miette, and Davet took turns tending to Odelia’s constant requirements and demands. Karoly and Acel could not stand the curly haired witch, Quain seemed afraid of her, and Garner avoided her as much as possible. Leala tried to protect Miette from the difficult-to-please girl but sometimes even the head-strong maid could not stand her ground.

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 c
aptain 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.

Purpos
ely 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 fool! 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
…”