The Bride of Blackbeard (2 page)

Into the Woods
is a great book for the whole family, marking the launch of
this writer's YA facet with a grand style.

~
Deborah MacGillivray, Author

~ * ~

Into the Woods
—
R.R. Smythe delivers a superb web of fantasy
and mystery in this horror-filled coming-of-age tale set in the
nineteenth century that is sure to capture the imagination of
today's young adults.

~
Ann Lethbridge
/
Michele Ann Young, Regency
Author

~ * ~

Into the Woods
—
Callum McClure is a young man in his teens
living with his mother and grandfather, Pa John in a small town in
Scotland during 1860. Callum's mother is under a spell where the
roots are making a coffin over her body as she lays in a deep
sleep. Slowly there are a lot of people going into a deep sleep,
and with the help of his friends, Erlidih, Finley and Skye, Callum
is bound and determined to find a way to bring his mom back.

Callum is given a book about The Power of the trees.
When the trees are unhappy with humankind because of their ways,
the trees slowly devour humans. But why Callum's mom? She was a
God-fearing lady who has done nothing but good. With four words as
a clue, they only have a small amount of time to find the answer to
this or Callum's mom and the rest of the human race could be at an
end.

What a beautifully inspiring story. This tale takes
you back into time and to a place where curses and folklore were
well known. From curses to centaurs, this story is full of
excitement and adventures. This author touches on what humans are
doing to themselves and shows our children what could happen if
they do not abide by rules. A truly remarkable story.

~
Wateena, Coffee Time Romance

~ * ~

Incredible story by a debut author!

One look at the beautiful but eerie trees with eyes
on the book cover tell you that you're in for quite a ride, and the
author certainly doesn't disappoint! Callum McClure's mother is in
a deep sleep, imprisoned on her bed by vines. She's dying and he
doesn't know what to do to help, but he suspects some magic is in
the air.

Into the Woods
is a fairytale,
really, because it has a strong message wrapped in a riveting,
wonderful story. If you like mystery, thrills, adventure, magic,
and romance, you'll find it in this wonderful Young Adult novel. I
highly recommend this book to readers of any age. You won't be
sorry you bought it!

~
Jacquie Rogers, Author

~ * ~

R.R.Smythe's young adult
story,
Into The Woods
, reads like a fairy tale; familiar in so far as evil and good
are portrayed, lessons are learned, yet new because the author has
spun a wonderful new cautionary tale. The setting is Scotland,
1860. A known country, yet far enough back in time that one can
easily imagine the events of the story taking place.

Although events takes place in 1860, the challenges
teens faced then, as in school bullies, adults that don't
understand them, will resonate with readers today. There are
valuable lessons to be learned, or relearned as the case may be. I
thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend it highly to adults as
well as any young adults of your acquaintance.

~
Gerri
Bowen, Author

Published by Highland Press
Publishing at Smashwords

Bride of Blackbeard

Bride of Blackbeard © 2008
Brynn Chapman

Cover Design 2008 Deborah
MacGillivray

Highland Press
Publishing

http://highlandpress.org

Bride of
Blackbeard

Brynn
Chapman

“I received a letter.”

“Yes, go on. Speak plainly.”

“It was from Edward Teache. He asked for my
hand in marriage.”

Lucian stood so quickly it knocked her off
balance. She was taken aback as he paced to and fro across the
school room floor, muttering. “This will not do. No this will not
do at all.”

“Lucian—”

“How long have you known this?” His eyes
went wild and pupils became a pinprick. His dark hair fell across
his forehead and he swiped it out of his face in irritation.

“A-about two weeks... I was going to tell
you, but I did not want to intrude on our happiness.”

“Stanzy, obviously you do not realize the
gravity of this situation. Teache is very dangerous; I did not want
you to know
how
dangerous as I did not want to alarm
you—”

“Alarm
me
? Someone who has been
caring for herself and two siblings—one a mere baby—since she was
sixteen years old? Who traveled across the Atlantic without male
escort? I do not need your protection, I need your honesty!”

“And I yours!” He stormed out of the school,
throwing the door open so hard it hit the wooden frame with an
earsplitting clatter.

The Bride of
Blackbeard

____________

Highland Press Publishing

Florida

The Bride of Blackbeard

Copyright ©2008 Brynn Chapman

Cover copyright ©2008 Deborah MacGillivray

All characters in this book have no existence
outside the imagination of the author and have no relation
whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names, save actual
historical figures. They are not even distantly inspired by any
individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are
pure invention.

Print ISBN: 978-0-9800356-3-6

Highland Press Publishing

Americana

Dedication

To Ron, Sandy and Ryan Chapman, for all you
have done.

And in loving memory of Delvin Ellwood and
Dorothy Chapman, your struggles and triumphs will never be
forgotten.

Acknowledgement

Sincere thanks to my agent, Lois
Bennett, for supporting my
work
,
and to the excellent
literary judgment of my editor, Patty Howell, for always helping
turn words to polished fiction.

~ Chapter One ~

July 1718

I cannot let him strike me again. I am going
mad from it.

Her father’s massive fist darted out and
connected with her cheek. Pain exploded in her face and her knees
buckled. She landed on the floor in a heap. Stunned, she lifted her
hand, staring in horror at her father, and felt a welt rising on
her cheek.

His fingers were round as sausages—the hands
of a butcher, not a surgeon.

“
I hate you and your cursed sister, and
yes, even the boy,” he growled. “I regret the day I ever lay with
your mother. She has gone and left me with what? A heart that will
not mend, and three mouths to feed; I ask you—how can that be
fair?”

Constanza slowly raised her head, hoping
she wouldn’t have the vertigo. She didn’t. Not this time. She gazed
out at the rising sun.
If I tell him what I really think,
this will escalate into an all out brawl. Soon, Kitty and William
will rise, and then they will see it. Stay down, do not speak. Hold
your tongue...but I so want to tell him what a miserable drunken
lark of a father he is... No, do not rise.

With much effort, she forced a look of calm
on her face. “You have patients in less than two hours and you have
just returned home. I suggest you go have a lie, or we will be
turning away our day’s wages.”

~ * ~

Constanza woke from the dream and looked
around.
I have traded one nightmare for another
.

She regarded the bowels of the ship, which
contained the chattel. As the ship cut through the swells, every
board creaked in protest. A small girl of six lay curled up against
her mother for warmth—the child’s father had passed on yesterday.
Constanza watched as the little girl’s hand covered her mouth,
desperately trying not to wretch at the fetid stench that filled
the air.

The sound of gunfire exploded nearby; close
enough to render Constanza deaf for a moment. She bolted upright
and purposely began to open and close her mouth, all the while
sticking her fingers in her ears in some stupid, sleep-filled
attempt to restore her hearing.

She looked to her left, searching for her
sister, and saw Katrina moving behind her, as she had since the day
she was born.

“Where is William?” Constanza shouted.

“I do not know,” Katrina replied.

Constanza stood and fought the ever-present
light-headedness that always occurred the morning after a full
night to and fro on the Brigantine ship.

Once the dizziness subsided, her nostrils
were assailed with the next onslaught. The stench—an overwhelming
miasma of human misery. The future colonists were wedged in between
crates of unknown contents. The smell from the combination of their
inability to cleanse themselves properly, and vomit from those who
were still unable to get their sea legs, presented a cauldron of
pestilence.

She wound her way through the sea of bodies,
trying not to stare at the half dead, newly dead, or pitifully
sick.

What was I thinking? America, humph. We
would have been better off on the streets of Bristol than to die on
this floating cesspool before even stepping foot on North Carolina
soil.

“William!” she bellowed. “Where are
you?”

She began to climb the ladder to the deck,
where seamen only permitted ‘the cargo’ out from the hold two times
a day, but she didn’t care.

If they shoot me now, at least the suffering
will be over. A quick death would be preferable to enduring the
rest of this voyage.

Careful to mind the rigging, she walked
around the deck. Her eyes darted so frantically she feared she’d
vomit on the spot and draw attention to herself. The few crew
members who’d spied her leered almost uncontrollably. After ninety
days at sea, it amazed her only two rapes had occurred.
Purposefully, she cast her eyes downward, so as not to encourage
them. She didn’t plan on becoming another victim of morally
destitute men.

Then she saw him. William stood at the bow
of the ship with the captain. As she approached, she could see many
rope knots lying about the deck. A figure eight knot laid at Will’s
feet and a partially constructed slip knot in his hand.

“No offense, Captain. But I am of the mind
William would be better off learning how to use a spade and a plow
as we are destined for North Carolina.”

The man looked up from William. Even in the
dawn’s light, the captain was a menacing creature. His full head of
black hair and shaggy mane of a beard made him appear more animal
than man. However, he had looked after her family since they’d
boarded his vessel. Captain Teache took a particular interest in
Will. But she wasn’t a fool. This was merely a ruse for his real
interest—herself or her sister.

And let us be realistic; between me and
Katrina, there is no contest. Katrina has always been the
fairest.

Arranged by her ailing uncle for a much
decreased fare, the captain had agreed to take the three of them to
the
New World
. After a lifetime toiling at sea, the captain
was to become a gentleman of leisure. On more than one occasion,
Teache had expressed that this was his first and
last
voyage
with passengers. An agreement had been reached through Charles
Eden, Governor of North Carolina. All misfits had been allowed
passage to the outer banks—the barrier islands that protected a
major portion of the coastline of the North Carolinian colony.

“Come, Will. You have troubled the captain
long enough.”

As she slipped her arm around her
eleven-year-old brother’s shoulders, she felt the eyes of every
crew member on her, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand
on end.

“It will be a miracle if we make it to North
Carolina,” she whispered into William’s ear.

~ * ~

In the ship’s hold, Constanza’s foot jerked
in response to her dream, connecting with William’s backside. She
slept as much as possible since she could never escape the
seasickness. He pushed her leg out of his back and rolled away.

~ * ~

Constanza! Get in here right now!” her
father bellowed.

She sat on the side of her bed and
trembled.

“
Stanzy!” It came again through the
floorboards.

Her door cracked open and her mother poked
her head in, squinting through the gloom.

“
Constanza, honey? Are you
awake?”

“
Yes, Mama. I don’t want to go down. He
has been drinking again, hasn’t he?”

Her mother bit her lip, her dark-circled,
hollow eyes staring at Constanza. She moved to the end of the bed,
picked up Constanza’s chemise and folded it. “Yes, dear, he has,
but he is trying to overcome it. Three months have passed since he
has been this way.”

Stanzy sat for a moment trembling, from rage
instead of fear.

“
For mercy’s sake, Mother, he is a
surgeon and a drunk! A worse combination than any I can think of.
Yet you expect me to go down and assist him again?”