Tarnished Persuasion (Justified Treason, Book 2): Endless Horizon Pirate Stories
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Tarnished Persuasion
Justified Treason
Book 2
CRISTI TAIJERON
Copyright © 2015 Cristi Taijeron
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1514751862
ISBN-10: 1514751860
Edited by Stacey Coverstone, Beth Weilenman, Janine Lieber, and Sarah Heath
Cover Artwork by Megan Dinsdale and Cristi Taijeron
Reign-Creative.com
Interior design by Cristi Taijeron
Endlesshorizondesigns.c
To Chad & Anza
My Pirate & My Mermaid
Your spirits keep my imagination wild and your humor keeps me young.
Thank you for sailing my pirate journey with me.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This story came along with the help of many creative and knowledgeable minds. I want to thank you all for being the wonderful people you are and for helping my biggest daydream come true.
My Parents, Joe & Kim Thank you for always being there for me and raising me to think for myself.
Sarah Thank you for living my pirate adventure with me. Your emotional insights have truly helped bring the characters to life, and your thorough feedback challenges me to travel to new planes in my imagination. I could never buy you enough burritos to show my gratitude, especially after you offered to the final editing under the tight deadline and trying circumstances.
Janine There are not enough words to express my gratitude for the relentless support you offered during this absurdly trying project. Your faith in my vision has assured me that it is one worth pursuing and your respect for the heart and soul I pour into this world has helped me hang on to the confidence it takes to stand up for my dreams. The courage and grace in which you walk that tightrope between critique and inspiration has been a great inspiration for me, not only in storybook land, but in life itself. Thank you for being a supportive fellow writer, but most of all, for being such a good friend.
Olivia You have been sailing, fighting, and plotting right along with me from the moment I first set sail with this dream. Your adventurous ideas and hilarious one-liners have livened up the action and humor of the tale. Thank you.
Chelda Story time with you is one of my favorite times in life. Your dedicated love for Sterling Bentley, your poetic lines for Derouex, and your overall character building insights have made this journey all the more vibrant.
Megan Dinsdale, Designer At Reign Creative Thank you for being so patient with me and my artistic particulars for the cover art. Your artwork is always beautiful and you are always a joy to work with.
George Roland BrownAs always, your beautiful poetry and hilarious curse words are ever so appreciated. The back cover summary was much more enjoyable with your help.
Captain Nikko Lorenczi, Commodore Of The Left Coast Privateers Thank you for helping my pirates get their ships through rough seas, fearsome battles, and beached safely on the shore. Your seafaring knowledge has helped me to express a pirate’s life in a way I never could have without your help.
Will Smithy King, Master Blacksmith At Kings Forge & Muzzle Loading The swords and daggers in this book are based off of pieces you have so beautifully handcrafted, and I truly appreciate you sharing your art and your knowledge with me as you have.
Jean l'Marquis De Eglise Of The Valhalla’s Pirates Thank you for providing the French translations for Derouex. As Charlotte says, you could tell me I smelled bad in your language and I would blush.
Sam Ryan Bellamy, Composer Of Return The similarities in our stories have drawn us together, and the inspirations I find in our daydreams have made much more than a fantasy out of this tale. Thanks for being a great imaginary friend.
Gitana & Josephine You ladies did a spectacular job making Charlotte jealous, and your colorful personalities helped bring the bawdy lifestyle of Tortuga to life. Thank you.
James Grant Goldin & Dave Ebright, My Pirate Author FriendsYou both understand the history of piracy as much as the importance of expressing it accurately to the world.I enjoy our chats about the era with all my heart. Imagine the pirate stories we could tell at the bow over a dram o’ rum.
A Few Particular Pirates
Mac Mcgrath, thanks for your appearance as Macbeard the Royal Guard.
Fred Grier, Dirty Jim Flint makes one hell of a dirty rotten pirate.
Karl Hamilton, thanks for helping me with the details of the story along the way.
Sammy Campbell, thanks for bringing the pirates their music as Sammy Six-String.
Richard Lanni, thank you for the information on the jewels and treasures of the times.
Ravenous Ruby, Thank you for the colorful feedback and encouraging words.
All My Friends In The Pirate Community Though the term piracy technically means an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea, those of us who have ventured to delve deeper into the era understand there is much more to the soul of a pirate. The audacious lifestyle represents an air of freedom and expresses the courage it takes for one to claim life as their own. Coming to find this community of likeminded rebels has been a great plunder for my inspiring soul. It seems we have all found our way in the world on our own terms, and through our various artistic expressions we have managed to keep this vibrant part of history alive. Thank you for sailing my pirate journey with me.
CREDITS
In researching the history and information for this project, I want to give credit to the following books, authors, and websites:
Books
How History’s Greatest Pirates Pillaged, Plundered, And Got Away With It
By Benerson Little
Under The Black Flag By David Cordingly
A General History Of The Pirates Daniel DeFoe,
Caribbean By James A. Michener
The Pirate Ships 1660-1730 By Angus Konstam
Pirates Of The Spanish Main. American Heritage Junior Library
Pirate (DK Eyewitness Books Series) By Richard Platt
The History Of Pirates: From Privateers To Outlaws By Allison Lassieur
Pirate Gear: Cannons, Swords, And The Jolly Roger By Liam O'Donnell.
THE HOLY BIBLE
Websites
http://whydah.com/
http://kingsforgeandmuzzleloading.com/
http://www.loyalistarms.freeservers.com/pirategoods.htm
https://www.facebook.com/iamafreeprince
https://www.facebook.com/Leftcoastprivateers
http://gitanacosmetic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/MischiefMistress
https://www.facebook.com/ValhallaPirates
https://www.facebook.com/richard.lanni
http://www.cindyvallar.com/pirates.html
http://thepiratesrealm.com
http://privateerdragons.com
http://caribbean-pirates.com
http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com
http://thepirateking.com
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid.
AUTHOR’S nOTE
Endless Horizon Pirate Stories are a series of fictional tales based on the true history of piracy in the 17th century Caribbean.
Being a rebel soul all of my life, I have always been e
namored by the power and freedom expressed through sea-ridden piracy. My interest in this particular era deepened after visiting the Caribbean as a teenager, but the true obsession took hold once I began researching information for these stories. Delving into history books, boarding tall ships, interviewing sailors, blacksmiths, and warriors, I have found the facts to be far more fascinating than I could have ever imagined.
Beyond my interest in the era, this story was largely inspired by the timeless power of love. Throughout the centuries, the law of man has divided people between social status, skin color, and religion, yet the power of love has struggled, suffered, and prevailed against these manmade divides in the most beautiful and unexpected ways. Combining these relentlessly inspiring elements of fact and fiction into the adventure of this forbidden love story, I strive to honor the brutal reality of the true history, while still entertaining the romanticized allure of piracy on the high seas.
Walls collapse and worlds collide within love’s will to conquer, and with no way to tame the rebellion it sometimes inspires, it seems that perhaps love is the greatest pirate of all.
-Cristi Taijeron-
Feather in the Wind
I
OPEN OCEAN
1
Unchained
2
Black Flag
3
Shipwrecked
4
Fighting Chance
II
HOPELESS
5
Delusion
6
Persuasion
7
Pirate Queen
III
RELENTLESS
8
Wildfire
9
Ghosts
10
Stealth
IV
COLLAPSE
11
Shattered
12
To The Locker
V
THE LOVERS’ TREASURE
13
Sterling, My Shield
14
Charlie, My Hurricane
15
Rainy Night In Port Royal
Greater Love Hath No Man Than This, That A Man Lay Down His Life For His Friends
John 15:13
Bayonne, France
Spring of 1662
Prologue
White Rose
As Told By Derouex Baudin
The sun had not yet risen, but I knew that bastard would be in to wake me as soon as the light hit his window. He would look down upon the lawn, wonder where I was, and would most certainly notice that I left my evening chores unfinished.
Arising from the haystack I slept on, I covered myself in the pathetic rags I had to wear, tied my long blonde hair back, and did a set of pushups to prepare for the feat ahead. My muscles had strengthened from the hard work on this property, and I knew I was finally strong enough to make my stand.
Today would be the first day of the rest of my life.
As the sun started to make its way across the sky, I watched the morning light coloring the château across the lawn. The tall windows were lined with stones and the steeples jutting up from the rooftops were slick from last night’s rain. Dew drops glistened on the sprawling green lawns and the perfectly trimmed trees swayed lightly in the pleasant morning breeze. The scene before me looked like a fairytale.
That pompous Count LeVieux never thanked me. In fact, he only abused me. He worked me until my muscles ached and my hands bled, and then he whipped me for aching and bleeding.
I hated him. In fact, I was certain no one ever hated anyone the way I hated him.
He’d ordered me to trim the rose bush in the center of the lawn at sunset, but I didn’t. The drooping white roses marred the beauty of his perfect abode, and I reveled in the rebellion. The frilly lines of perfection framing the wilting thorn bush signified the luxurious life surrounding me. The life that mocked the spirit of the poor young man who tended the beauty of the world he was not allowed to touch.
Today, I would touch it. Yes, today I would taste it. The lash marks that scarred my back were the last ones I would acquire. Just as the breakfast he would soon be eating within the walls of that beautiful dining hall would be the last meal he would enjoy.
Before long, the wooden door of my room flung open crashing against the stone wall behind it. With that cursed whip in his hand, LeVieux hollered, “You’re late!”
He raised his hand to crack the whip at me, just like I knew he would. Rather than cowering to his abuse, I rushed at his legs. I tackled him to the ground and once I had him pinned to the floor I pressed the tree trimmer blade against his throat.
“Stand up!” I demanded through my clenched teeth. He looked at me with a beautiful mix of shock and fear.
“Yes, I said get up, you ugly man,” I clarified.
Holding firm to the trimmers that I had not trimmed the roses with, I ordered him to remove his weapons. Grumbling that I would regret this, he released his hold on the whip. That was the only weapon he held. Did he think that rancid strap of leather would be enough to enslave me forever?
While planning my attack I envisioned myself hollering at him, but instead I found myself speaking slowly and eloquently. I was powerfully calm and he was finally the silent one. I was the one in charge. The transition was quite exhilarating.
“Give me your clothes. Such fine fabrics are far too luxurious to endure the staining I will soon inflict upon that horrid body of yours. You fat and degoutan vache.”
Glowering at me every step of the way, he removed his clothing. As he passed everything to me I warned, “Don’t you dare drop it on this terrible dirt floor. This is the last time anything of mine will ever wallow in this type of filth.”
Once I had the wad of lavish clothing in my hands the reality of the moment set in. I would soon be a free man.
After I tied LeVieux to the chair in the corner of my cold room, I dressed myself in the fine attire. The silk breeches were smooth and slick and the white shirt was thin and clean. The leather waistcoat was long and heavy and the red velvet coat made me feel like royalty. Just as I had dreamed it would. Once I had the feathered cavalier hat in place I snapped the whip in the air. Though the god-awful sound also caused my own nerves to tauten, there was no pain to follow. Empowered by the absence of my usual agony, I stepped closer to him and cracked the whip again. “Do you hear that?”
Though I watched him tremble, he looked at me and snarled, “You wouldn’t dare.”
“That is where you are wrong, Monsieur.” The threat I was unleashing ignited my heart with a fever of powerful hatred. I hated him and he was going to die, but first he would suffer as I had. He would feel the pain of my enslavement.
As I drew near him, he mocked, “What do you suppose you’ll do in my expensive clothing, Baudin? You’re nothing but an ugly peasant boy, no matter what you’re wearing.”
His words ripped through my soul the same way that whip had slashed through my skin. Yet, it was no longer my place to wince in fear.
I raised the whip once more and this time, I whipped him.
The leather cord ripped through his skin. His screams exhilarated me. His humiliation was superb and my vengeance was divine.
While he shuddered in the aftershock of his lashing, I coiled the leather cord back in my hand. “Since I began planning for this day, I have been watching your every move and clocking your schedule. I am certain no one will miss you until noon, and by then I will be well on my way to the harbor. Through the fiery gates of Hell you can watch me walk away, and you will see, I will be a man of grace, a man of power, perhaps even a king.”
He laughed with ridicule. “The harbor? Oh, you foolish man. Perhaps you could make it as a pirate king, but never a man of grace.”
I whipped him again, and this time I did not stop. The screams of his anguish would never be enough to compensate for the pain he’d inflicted upon my soul. Once he could no longer move I stabbed him in the back with the trimm
ers. As he choked on his last breaths of air, I grabbed him by his hair and whispered, “I cannot make you pretty like your hedges, but I can kill you like I would a weed.”
After throwing my filthy old clothing on top of his lifeless body, I made my way towards the beautiful château. Shielding my face with his hat, I hoped the servants would think I was him. I easily made my way to his room to gather all the riches I believed he owed me. I stuffed my pockets and a sack with all the livre and jewelry I could find, and then looked at myself in the mirror. My day had finally come. Smiling at the gentleman of fortune who eyed me through the reflection, I tipped my hat and headed for the door.
I blew a goodbye kiss to the wilting white roses and casually strutted to the harbor. Just as I had always fantasized, Monsieur LeVieux and I had changed places. He was sleeping on a cold dirt floor covered in rags, while I was dressed in fine attire with my pockets brimming with riches.
X
Caribbean Sea
Winter of 1668
PART I
Open Ocean
Chapter 1
Unchained
As Told By Sterling Bentley
Though definitely better than being locked in a brig cell, being chained up on deck turned out to be terribly boring. With my hands cuffed together and a three foot chain linking my ankles to the mast pole, I felt like a damn dog tied up in a yard. Without weapons to clean, maps to draw, or rum to drink, I thought I might lose my mind afore long. But no matter how miserable my entrapment was, I had to keep in mind why I assented to such a shitten arrangement. I did it for my woman, Charlie.