Pirates of Britannia Box Set

by Devlin, Barbara

  “I know you do. Now be gone. I have things to attend to.” She shooed them away and they sent her a quick bow and curtsy before heading out of her chamber.

  “One more thing, Sir Thomas Esmonde, first Baron Esmonde.” He turned and looked at his queen one last time.

  “Aye, Your Majesty?”

  “Your letter of marque and privateering commission stand. I hear you are quite the… pirate,” she winked. “If you should choose to use your resources and love of the sea against my enemies, I would consider it part of your duty to me,” she lowered her gaze and drove her point home.

  This time, he could not help the smile that spread across his face. Permission to plunder his enemies? He needed no more encouragement.

  “As you say, Your Majesty.” He guided Katherine out of the queen’s privy chamber before any more fortune, ill or otherwise, could come his way.

  Epilogue

  Five months later

  “Put yer feet up, love. I will make ye some tea.”

  Katherine snorted and rolled her eyes at the Pirate Queen. “I am with child, Grace. Not dying.” Ever since Katherine found out she was carrying Thomas’s child after arriving back to Ireland five months before, Grace O’Malley, the infamous Banshee of the Sea, would not stop doting on her. In truth, it unnerved her endlessly. The woman had verily hated her, but now she seemed to be quite taken with her grandson’s wife.

  “I said, put yer bloody feet up!” Grace growled at her and stalked away. She truly did not like being disregarded. She supposed that was an expected quality in a Pirate Queen. Katherine rolled her eyes once more while Grace was turned away but did as she was commanded. She was not even close to uncomfortable with her pregnancy. She and Thomas rode all over Connaught, feeding the people and checking on their well-being. The gold from her father’s chest, combined with her small treasure beneath her floorboards, had served the people and allowed Thomas to trade for goods the people truly needed. Nay, it would take more than a child in her belly to slow her sense of adventure. Unfortunately, her husband would not allow her to board any ship, especially when an enemy vessel was spotted from the lookout at Rockfleet Castle.

  With a sigh, she sat and looked around the room which was filled with Thomas’s family and a fire raging in the hearth. It was autumn now, and the chill had begun to seep into the stone walls of Grace’s castle. Still, Thomas and Katherine spent much time in Clew Bay, enjoying the bustle of the pirate town and keeping up with gossip from all around the world. It helped them to understand the political climate, even when secluded on their wee island.

  The Treasure of Danu was proving most beneficial to the rebels up north. Once Katherine had learned that the mysterious engravings on the lid of the chest would glow when both she and Thomas were together, she understood the magic behind it. They had both been destined to find that treasure, and without the two of them together, it was locked for all time. The moment they had returned to Ireland and heard the cursed chest would not open despite all attempts, she and Thomas had sought it out. The symbols for water, fire, and earth began to blink in an eerie faded blue pattern that nobody else around them had been able to see.

  When Katherine had touched the symbols in the pattern, the lid clicked and opened with ease, exposing a pile of old Roman gold coins, several ancient pieces of gold jewelry—torcs, armbands and earrings, a golden circlet inlaid with rubies—and most impressively, the three ancient relics of the gods. Reports from the north indicated that the Cauldron of Dagda had been true to its word, feeding every man, woman, and child who lined up to eat of its contents, never running out. It was a wondrous object and had restored faith in many of the Irish people, to be fed from a vessel thousands of years old, crafted by the very gods the rest of Europe seemed to want them to forsake. It made the will to fight, to keep their old ways and beliefs, all the more powerful. With the Sword of Light and the Spear of Lugh in their possession, their rebel army had made advances in their war, driving back many of the English, simply out of fear of the glowing sword and their intense apprehension for anything magical. News of multiple battles being won by the Irish up north had filled them with a sense of pride, that their dreams and hard work were helping the cause, even from a distance.

  Katherine chuckled and rubbed her belly when she remembered her husband’s words about the treasure aiding the north. She had reminded him that the Queen insisted none of the gold be used to help the rebels. He chuckled and shrugged. “Aye, I did make that promise. Grace O’Malley did not. My pirate grandmother stole the treasure and delivered it up north under my nose. I have no knowledge of it.” He had smiled and shrugged once more, making her melt with his roguish ways. He truly was the man she always hoped to marry: dastardly pirate, honorable knight, fiercely loyal and protective of his family, and willing to push all his limits to aid his people. He was her Robin Hood and she loved him all the more for it.

  “What are ye thinking about, Kat?” She heard Thomas’s deep voice behind her as his hand came down on her shoulder.

  Looking up at him, she sent him a mischievous smile. “I am thinking about ye.”

  “That is good. Because it was obvious ye thought of something pleasing to ye and I would not want to have to gut another man,” he scowled.

  “No man for me, but ye, my love.”

  “Will I ever find a love such as yours, I wonder?” Thomas’s sister Katherine mused.

  “Nay. If ye do, I will kill him,” Thomas growled.

  “Now ye sound just like Grandmother,” his sister scoffed. “But I cannot remain unwed forever.”

  “Aye, ye can.”

  “Tomás, leave off your sister,” his mother chided as she stepped away from the warmth of the hearth with a wide smile on her face, looking at her family. “I have spent so many years regretting having sent ye away, Tomás. I missed ye terribly. And when yer sister was born, I felt as if a piece of my heart was still missing. Now, here ye are.”

  Maeve walked up to him slowly and placed a hand on his cheek with enough affection to make Katherine’s heart melt. The love of a mother was strong and she already felt it for her unborn child. Her emotions had been most unbalanced as of late, and she failed miserably to choke back a tear. She wiped it away with the long orange sleeve of her dress. Thomas had taken to protecting his younger sister quite fiercely, especially since she was ever-surrounded by pirates, and his frigid relationship with his mother had quickly thawed.

  “I have my children and a grandchild on the way.” She placed her hand down on Katherine’s belly and laughed when the baby kicked back in response. Katherine grunted at the feel of it. It did not hurt, but it certainly felt odd, in the most miraculous way.

  Thomas was silent, but she knew her husband well enough to know he was bursting at the seams with love and pride for this family, and thankful to be not only back in Ireland, but charged with the care of its people. He was truly where he should have been in this world, and she was glad to stand by his side, no longer an outsider looking in, seeking companionship from a distance. Those days of loneliness were over and when news of her father’s death came to them, she did not feel overly strong about it, one way or another. Though he deserved his fate, Katherine could never find it in her to wish his death, though Thomas was glad to be rid of him. His frigid wife and daughter in England, who had rejected Katherine before ever meeting her, were now left with nothing, and Katherine had graciously offered them aid and the chance to reside in the York manor the queen had bestowed on Thomas. Though she heard they took the offer, she had yet to receive a letter of thanks, not that she expected or wanted one.

  She knew her sister Emily had wished to marry Thomas, intending to trap him with seduction. He had not fallen for her games, and she was likely jealous that her distant sister had won his heart the old fashion way: through mischief, debauchery, and misadventure. That thought made her laugh out loud, earning a strange look from her husband. She would share her thoughts with him later, as she knew he always enjoyed her d
evious mind.

  As for his past lover, Frances, Katherine had had the pleasure of meeting her briefly while in England and was pleased to see that she was a lovely woman with a kind smile. She held no contempt for Thomas and Katherine and wished them well in life. Thomas had received a missive from Frances only a sennight before, explaining that her husband had been killed in a skirmish and she had immediately married a man who she quite loved, and who was being sent over to Ireland to aid in the English cause. Katherine was not certain if she would see Frances often or how far apart they would live, since the north was not quite a stone’s throw away, but she did hope to have Frances and her new husband over for tea at New Castle Manor someday.

  Grace entered the room carrying a piping hot mug of tea and gingerly handed it to Katherine. The steam rose as the enticing scents of herbs and honey wafted to her nose. Who would have thought that Katherine would be served tea by the Pirate Queen one day? That thought also made her laugh as she said her thanks to the woman who tried so hard to pretend to hate Katherine, yet couldn’t stop showing affection. It was likely all she would get from the woman who had struck terror on the high seas for decades, and she was more than happy to accept it.

  “Thomas!” The castle’s large wooden door flew open as Lawrence Esmonde strode through, looking very much the gentleman, his striking dark hair streaked with gray. He winked at her and tipped his hat to his former wife and mother-by-marriage before addressing his son once more.

  “A French galleon is on the horizon! Our men are already raising anchor! Care to give them a wee surprise?” His father was now captain of an English ship, though his interests and loyalties wavered depending on the weather. As long as his father gave his fair share of bounty to both Ireland and England, Thomas was content to look the other away, and in most cases, join in on the chase. Nothing enticed her husband more than a chance for adventure on the sea and the potential for gold… well, almost nothing. She smiled, remembering their intense love-making of the night before. She vowed she would not walk straight for a sennight.

  Juan stepped around Lawrence and scoffed. “It should not surprise them so when they foolishly sail close to Clew Bay, no?” Thomas had tried to set Juan free from the stubborn need to stay by his side. Though Thomas and Katherine liked Juan very much, they felt he should return to his homeland of Spain. It seemed, however, he was perfectly happy to stay with them where he could sail the seas and earn more gold than he had under Phillip II’s command.

  “Let us go, then,” Thomas smiled roguishly, his white teeth flashing through his dark beard. “We would not want them to get away without paying a toll, aye?” he waggled his brow.

  “I suppose I am to stay here,” Katherine sighed, and sipped her tea.

  “Ye willnae get near a ship, ye understand, Katherine?” he barked protectively. It seemed he was never sure if his wife would heed his commands. She would, for she would never risk her child, but she liked to keep her husband wondering what her next move would be.

  “As ye say, husband,” she winked. “Do be careful.”

  Bending over, he took her face in both his large hands and kissed her deeply, passionately, feeding her soul with his own. “I will, Kat. I love ye.”

  She smacked his arse as he strode off. “I love ye as well, Baron Esmonde.”

  The three men exited the castle and Katherine laughed wildly before taking another sip of tea.

  “What is so funny?” Thomas’s sister asked suspiciously.

  “Oh, only that I wonder if the French are ready to be plundered by a knight… much like I was,” she added with a wink.

  THE END

  Author’s Note

  Writing Plunder by Knight was just too much fun! I want to give you some inside information about how I created this story and some of the historical aspects involved. All of my books to date revolve around Ireland and Scotland! I love everything about those countries, being Irish and Scottish myself. When I set out to write a pirate book, I knew I had to write about Grace O’Malley, the infamous Pirate Queen of Ireland during the Elizabethan era.

  Grace was a force to be reckoned with and no man stood a chance against her strong will, fiery temper, or, as it is said, enchanting beauty. The O’Malleys were a fishing clan for centuries, living off the coast of Clew Bay, which later became her very own pirate stronghold. Though born a woman, she was determined to sail like a man. When she was told she could not because “her hair was too long and would get caught in the ropes”, Grace simply cut it off and boarded her father’s ship. He was quite amused and allowed her to stay. From that moment on, her love of the sea and adventure led her on many journeys and gave her great fame.

  She was married twice in her life. Her first marriage did indeed leave her with children named Owen (who was really killed by Richard Bingham), Murrough (who did truly turn on his family after Owen’s death, and Margaret, also known as Maeve, who did actually marry Lawrence Esmonde and birth Thomas Esmonde. So, indeed, our hero did in fact exist!

  Why did I choose to write about Thomas Esmonde? After lots of in-depth research, I was able to find very little about his life, which I found fascinating given who his family was and that his grandmother is so heavily documented. We do know that his mother ran off with him when he was a baby because her husband Lawrence had converted to Protestantism. Mauve O’Malley would not have a Protestant son! After that, little is known of Thomas. Lawrence Esmonde did accept Thomas as his son but refused to acknowledge that his marriage with Mauve was ever valid, which made Thomas Esmonde unable to inherit his father’s eventual barony.

  Well, Thomas made the perfect hero for my story! The part about him going off to England to become a knight is entirely fictional and a figment of my own imagination. But with his mother and father on differing sides of a very complicated time in history, I wondered what it would have been like to be Thomas and how his life would have panned out.

  The wars between Ireland and England did happen and truly did devastate Ireland, especially the north (Ulster) and Richard Bingham truly was the governor of Connaught at the time. He was the bane of Grace O’Malley’s existence and responsible for many atrocities. In reality, he was sent home in disgrace by the queen, but actually at a much later date than in my story. He also did not die of an infected wound, but I thought he deserved the fate I gave him, don’t you?

  Katherine Bingham is entirely fictional, but I knew Thomas needed a spicy lassie to keep him on his toes, and who better than his enemy’s daughter?

  The story about the Treasure of Danu very much ties into my previous ancient Irish books that take place centuries before Plunder by Knight. If you wish to read more about Thomas’s ancient ancestors, you can find them in my Sisters of Danu series and my Warriors of Eriu Series. Book four of Warriors of Ériu is called The Warrior’s Reunion and will feature the very treasure Thomas hunted to find, sort of the prequel to Thomas’s search. That story is expected to release summer of 2018, so keep an eye out and learn all about the treasure and Thomas’s wild, Celtic ancestors!

  I truly hope you enjoyed Plunder by Knight and the careful historical details I combined with my fictional musings and dramatics. It was a delight to write and I hope it was a delight to read!

  Cheers,

  Mia Pride

  About the Author

  Mia is a full-time wife and mother of two rowdy boys, residing in the SF Bay Area. As a child, she often wrote stories about fantastic places or magical things, always preferring to live in a world where the line between reality and fantasy didn’t exist.

  In High school she entered writing contests and had some stories published in small newspapers or school magazines. As life continued, so did her love of writing. So one day, she decided to end her cake decorating business, pull out her laptop and fulfill her dream of writing and publishing novels. And she did.

  When Mia isn’t writing books or chasing her sweaty children around a park, she loves to drink coffee by the gallon, get lost in a good book, hik
e with her family and drink really big margaritas with her friends! Her happy place is the Renaissance Faire, where you can find her at the joust, rooting for the shirtless highlander in a kilt.

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  Email: miapride.author@gmail.com