Argh, Matey: The Intriguing Tale of Pirate’s Proposal
Diana’s note: This is a repost. Since GoDaddy discontinued my old blog, I am reposting a few blog posts I want readers to be able to access. Thank you.
One pirate often looked like the other, sunburned and scruffy, but she was certain they’d never met. She would have remembered that pretty smile, hidden though it was behind those overgrown whiskers.
No matter. She had business at hand.
Flattening her palms on the table, she bent low and said through tight lips, “That was my haul you stole, and I want it back.”
His smile didn’t waver. Was he going to try to charm his way out of his…his skullduggery? If so, she’d have to inform Captain Charles the Charmer that his rumored talents would not work on her.
He leaned forward on his elbows and brought his face close to hers. She resisted the inclination to back away.
“I can never resist an easy catch,” he said in an accent that bore traces of Britain.
Her skin quivered, her nostrils flared. Yet as she met his bold stare, she sucked in a breath. She thought she saw something there she recognized. Did she know him after all? She searched her memory. To her knowledge, she’d never met him.
She recovered from the moment and continued, “Easy for you to say. The Gypsy Doll had already stopped that merchant ship.”
“Aye, your gun-laden frigate does have its uses. Being fast is not one.”
“The advantage will be mine when I blow your dinky little sloop out of the water.”
“Captain! Are you insulting the size…of my ship?”
The obvious sexual overtone felt like a physical caress. It somehow felt familiar. Provocative. She gave herself a mental shake. “It’s not the size of your…ship that’s in question. You stole what was mine.”
***
Ah, pirate romances. What historical romance reader doesn’t love them? At one time (and I might be dating myself) pirate romances were all the rage, but like vampires, pirate romances were cyclical, too, and eventually fell out of favor. I’d forgotten about them, even, until I first saw Pirates of The Caribbean. That movie awoke the long-dormant pirate love, and I knew I would have to write a pirate book.
Captain Jack, what a sexy rogue! But my heart went to Will Turner, faithful, steadfast, capable, protector of those he loves. My hero in Pirate’s Proposal, Captain Charles the Charmer, is a combination of the two. He can be a sexy rogue, as his name implies, and yet he is a true champion to those he loves.
In reality, pirates are dangerous criminals, but in the world of romance, the biggest danger is usually to the heroine’s heart. Even if the heroine is a tough and capable pirate captain herself such as my heroine, Captain Gina Santini—the heart is always vulnerable.
PIRATE’S PROPOSAL is a novella in the “Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll” series with The Wild Rose Press. Each story has the same cursed gypsy scrimshaw doll appear. Scrimshaw–if you don’t know, and I didn’t know at first–is something that has been carved or engraved out of whalebone or walrus tusks. The stories chronologically begin in 1719 with Pirate’s Proposal and continue through modern day. You can learn the full tale of the “Tales of the Scrimshaw Doll Series” on The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood site.
THE HISTORY OF THE DOLL:
How did a cursed gypsy doll come into being? Captain Gina’s grandfather, the gypsy Enzo Conti, carved the scrimshaw doll to comfort his daughter when her mother was tragically murdered. On the eve of his daughter’s wedding, something went awry…here is Enzo’s letter explaining what happened to Gina’s father, who at the time was the captain of the Gypsy Doll.
Dear Captain Santini,
My heart is heavy at the news you sent that illness robbed my dear daughter of her life. That you are alive yourself means you were a good husband, and for this I am grateful.
Si, I refer to the doll you mentioned. The doll was not designed to keep my daughter Antonia healthy or physically safe, as you thought. I did not make the doll for any magical purpose; I only made her to offer comfort to my young Antonia when she tragically lost her mother.
The magic happened on the eve of Antonia’s wedding to you. I asked our gypsy witch to place a spell on my daughter that any person who betrayed her would suffer. I asked this because I had learned that my dear departed Rosa, my beloved wife, had been unfaithful to me, and I wished most of all for my daughter to never suffer the pain of betrayal.
The gypsy witch made a mistake, though. Antonia was sleeping with her doll that night, something the witch did not notice until after she cast the spell. Worried that the doll absorbed the spell, she recast it and added a caveat that true love would break the spell. Regardless, care should be taken that the doll is not harmed because, from the things you’ve mentioned, it does seem the doll did absorb the spell.
Since your darling Gina has the doll now, you might want to renew the spell for her protection, although who knows if this is necessary. But as it seems to have served you in good stead, it can do no harm, given the dangerous business you’re in, where one never knows who is friend or foe.
My fondest wish is to see my granddaughter before I die.
Kind regards,
Enzo Conti
And so the legend of the scrimshaw doll begins . . .
***
