Page 1 of Paid to the Pirate

Prologue

Idon’t remembermy life before the accident, but surely, I was a lady.

Everyone insists.

With sharp cheekbones, an hourglass figure, and wild curls cascading down my back, I possessed all the marks of a highborn girl.

If my hair had been miserably knotted and my skin sunburnt to a crisp when they found me on the beach two years ago,well,that was only to be expected after tumbling ashore like…rubbish,I thought, cheeks pinking at the memory.

I might not understand the state of my overly-callused hands when I’d awoken, and myoccasionalmanner of selecting a rather indelicateword in times of frustration, but a reasonable explanation must exist. I was in possession of a lady’s education, after all, and my grace and intelligence were inarguably an asset in helping the Penninghams run the inn. I knew exactly how to pour tea and charm any well-bred patron passing through our door -- though sadly, none of whom ever recognized me.

That wasn’t surprising; we were but a tiny settlement, after all.

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“She’s part o’ the merfolk,” I heard Connor whisper to William before I exited the kitchens, carrying Mrs. Penningham’s latest concoction -- mini cakes, iced in bright greens and blues to welcome spring with a May Day festival, a tradition the governor brought from his Swedish homeland.

“A selkie,” William agreed, voice full of wonder.

I bit back a smile and pressed myself against the wall, listening. Since no one in our small town knew from whence I came, the mystery gave rise to ever more magical origins. Sometimes they’d even say I was a handmaiden of Aphrodite herself.

“Aye, those freckles across her nose came from long days in the sun with the other sea-folk, luring men to their deaths with their sweet voices,” William said, as wistfully as if he wished such a fatal demise upon himself.

Self-consciously, I turned my head to my shoulder. I would have covered my nose if my hands weren’t full of the sweet tray. Each morning, I steadfastly powdered my face, but after a long day helping Mr. and Mrs. Penningham serve guests, those vulgar specks stubbornly shone through.

“I’ve heard her sing many a night. She might have lost her tail, but she didn’t lose her voice,” Connor agreed.

I straightened my spine. Iwasa talented singer. Most nights the men begged and cajoled me to entertain them as they drank. Sometimes it was a bawdy tavern ballad that colored my cheeks just to think upon; other times I sang a melancholic sea shanty which -- if I really gave it my heart -- brought tears to the eyes of even the hardest man.

Perhaps Daniel could be persuaded by this tale of my lethal siren voice,I thought, wryly.Perhaps then he’d stop pestering me to marry him.

Unlikely, as he’d been enamored ever since he found me on the beach.

Bare as a babe,I thought, cringing at my incident state.Thank God he was a gentleman. Not to mention, ostentatiously coming up in the world.

I could do worse for a husband.

When I heard the front door to the inn swing shut, indicating William and Connor had left, I shimmied out into the main dining area and deposited the tray of sweets onto one of the wooden tables by the window. Thinking over the boys’ musings of my past, I absent-mindedly caressed the necklace dangling nearly to my breasts.

Only one piece of evidence remained from my life before the sea spit me out onto the beach -- a golden locket engraved with the nameCharlotteon the back.

But, save a strange smear of dirt along the locket’s edge, the inside was as bereft as my memory.

Part I

Captured

Chapter 1

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.”

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?

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