A Pirate Princess Read online

  After being warned not to touch or harm Cori multiple times since boarding The Beloved Loss, Burke was beginning to be quite offended. What kind of creep do these people think I am? I have never pressured any woman into doing anything with me. For a moment he felt almost as if Odelia’s rumors had spread even to The Beloved Loss!

  Pirates are trying to teach me manners and respect for women, what is the world coming to? Burke had enough, he felt like putting the pirate crew in their place and letting them know that he knew more about virtuous and ladylike women than they did!

  The look on Burke’s face warned Laron that an argument was coming, “Laron, I am a French Count. Do you not think that a gentleman, taught proper manners from childhood, would know not to force anything upon a woman? Why do people keep telling me not to touch Cori, not to harm Cori, to respect Cori, and pitying poor, innocent Cori? She is a pirate criminal. You are a pirate criminal. I am not a pirate or a criminal. I am a Count and a ship captain. I am educated and respectable! Not to mention that I am engaged, happily or unhappily makes no difference. Why does everyone think that I might fall in love with Cori and whisk her away, get her pregnant, or some other heinous indecency?”

  Laron calmly smiled at Burke. He understood why the dark haired man would be so angry. “Falco might be afraid that you would whisk her away or get her pregnant, Marin might be afraid of the same thing. Yvet and I might pity Cori. But none of us are afraid you will fall in love with her, because, the truth is that everyone does and you undoubtedly shall fall for her before you leave too. Believe me, you will. That is to be expected. I know you are a man of your word, respectable, and upstanding. If you fell in love with Cori you would marry her, and make her happy for the first time in her life. I cannot be worried about that. What I am worried about is not that you might fall in love with Cori, but that Cori might fall in love with you.”

  Laron paused for a moment to let his words sink in for Burke. When the French captain was obviously perplexed, Laron continued, “She has never been around a respectable man, Mr. Belcourt. Corisanda has been raised on a pirate ship with no one but four or five men to consider for marriage, half of which are twice her age. Do you not think she might be amazed by you, smitten with you, so to speak? I do. Cori has never fit in here. She is a sweet girl with a heart of gold. What if she fell in love with you, Mr. Belcourt? Falco would kill you and she would have that on her conscience for the rest of her life.”

  He paused for a moment and shrugged before continuing, “Or, you would escape without her and she would be forced to continue with her plans of marrying Falco, wondering why you did not save her. I am not concerned about you being a bad person for Cori to be around, I am worried about the opposite. You might be good, kind, and honorable enough that Cori might fall in love with you. Do you see what I mean, Mr. Belcourt?”

  Burke felt horrible for being offended by the other young man’s words. “I apologize, Laron. I understand what you are saying but if I were you I would not worry much. She despises me, of that I am quite sure. One thing I do not understand is everyone’s pity of the girl. She chooses to be here and I am quite sure that she is treated like a Queen aboard her father’s ship. She shall always be taken care of, right? I suppose I am just confused by all I am taking in, please forgive me of my earlier irritation with you.”

  The Count turned away, hoping the other man would leave. He did not want to be rude or hateful and he appreciated Laron’s honesty, he was just to puzzled by everyone’s devotion and sorrow for the girl.

  “Mr. Belcourt, I will be leaving to take my dinner. But before I go, I would like to say one more thing to you,” Laron interjected before leaving Burke.

  Burke nodded his head, “What do you want to say?”

  “Do not assume so much. Do not assume that Cori hates you by her protection methods. Do not assume that she is happy here or chose this life freely unless you were here all her life. Do not assume that Falco and Marin provide her with a privileged life like royalty where you come from would. Do not assume things, Mr. Belcourt. If you want to know, find out the truth. If you do not want to know, try not to look so curious,” Laron said with a knowing smile.

  Burke stared at Laron for a moment. He was not sure what the Boatswain meant by his statement. One question kept coming to Burke’s mind and he decided to take Laron’s advice and find out. “Laron,” Burke began, smiling back, “If you worry so much about the girl and love her so dearly, why do you not marry her?”

  “Do you remember how I told you that I do not think you are a bad person who might hurt Cori?” Laron asked in return.

  “Yes,” Burke agreed, not understanding where the man was going with his retort.

  “Well, sir, I am a bad person. I know that I would hurt Cori. I am not worthy to be her husband. Falco is not either, and if I was any better than him I would fight for her. However, I do not want to free Cori from a life of pain and put her straight into another one. She deserves better than a pirate like me, Mr. Belcourt. Cori deserves a French Count,” and with that statement Laron nodded his head in farewell and sauntered to a table, leaving Burke in complete disarray.

  Burke sat alone during dinner, eating his meal. He made a deal with himself to assume less, as Laron had suggested. He searched the room with his eyes to look for Cori. She sat at a table with the two Hispanic servants. Cori would only eat a couple bites then rush to the three long tables of children nearby. She would separate boys from fighting, girls from giggling to loudly, and stop food from being thrown. Cori seemed tender and caring, disciplining the children with loving kindness. He could tell that the little ones all loved Cori also, and that was no assumption.

  By the time dinner was over the moon had set in the warm night sky. Just as Cori had warned that morning, Falco, Klaas, and Zeeman approached Burke to lock him up for the night. Falco picked at Burke for a fight but did not get a rise out of him. No one threw Burke into the room that night; he walked himself to Cori’s quarters and closed the door behind himself waiting to hear the clanking lock.

  Cori sat on a small stool beside the water basin. She ran a silver handled brush through her long black hair. This was the first time Burke actually saw Cori’s hair down, out of a bun or a braid. “Good evening, Mademoiselle,” Burke greeted warmly.

  “If you say so, Captain,” she replied caustically. Cori was not sure what the man was up to with his manners and charm but he was not going to fool her! She had been warned immensely by Novia that men play mind games and Cori was determined not to be tricked by them.

  “So, you help cook and serve meals during the day?” He asked, trying to start conversation.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “What else do you do, Mademoiselle?”

  “I clean.”

  “Oh,” Burke replied. He knew her guard was up and she did not plan to let him get to know her. Regardless, he kept trying. “Do you clean dishes or the ship?”

  “I clean both. I help clean whatever Aunt Novia needs me to clean. I help Uncle Guillermo cook whatever needs cooking. I help Yvet and the boys shoot when my father attacks a tough enemy. I help Zeeman when repairs need to be made to the ship. I help Klaas bandage wounds or tame fevers when the crew is sick or injured. I take orders from Sharlene and my father when they need me, as well. I even take orders from Laron when I know it is important. Do you have any other questions about my daily schedule, Sir?” Cori asked impatiently.

  “No, it sounds as if you stay busier than I thought,” Burke conceded.

  “I do not sit around sunbathing or napping, as you suggested earlier. I work on this ship and earn my keep. I have no choice but to live this life of pirating so I live it as I’m told to,” she explained testily. Cori was in no mood to deal with the handsome stranger. He was so attractive, smart, and charming. It was hard for her to hate him but she refused to admit any care for her fellow pirates, not even a good looking one.

  “I understand that now, Mademoiselle. You work hard. Tell me what you mean b
y having no choice but to live as a pirate. If you do not like being here why do you stay?” He asked.

  “I have no choice. My father says that this is where I shall live my life so it is where I am. A person cannot leave a pirate ship just because they want to. Surely you know that,” Cori hesitantly replied.

  Although Burke already knew the answer to his question, he posed it anyway, “Do you want to live your whole life on this ship?”

  “Of course not! Why anyone would want to be a pirate is beyond me! Why do people choose that career anyway, Captain Belcourt?” Cori defiantly inquired.

  Burke had already forgotten that Cori still thought he was a pirate as well, so not realizing that her question was directed at his own career, he answered, “Oh, different reasons I suppose. Some crooks want power and the only way they can get it is by attracting worse scoundrels to control with a quite unrespectable career. Others turn to pirating for prosperity. Maybe they are poor and hope for a better life? If you already have a bad life it could be hard to imagine pirating being any worse. Why did your father choose this career?”

  Cori knew that she should always listen to her Aunt Novia. This man was not to be trusted, however, it was hard not to! He seemed like such a charming, intriguing, comforting gentleman. She decided to tell him some of the story, leaving out one important detail, the reason Cori’s father hated her.

  “He was a respected Navy captain in France. The story I have heard is that he left France in search of new land to claim. He stopped at Cuba and met my mother. Of course, Cuba was already claimed by my mother’s homeland, Spain. Yellow Fever hit the island on their wedding day and they barely escaped before being infected with the disease. They were sailing to France for my father to retire, sale his belongings, and move to Cuba with my mother and her family.”

  Cori paused for a moment to catch her breath. The rest of the story was painful, “Nonetheless, before they reached France my mother died. By what I have heard, my father went crazy. He drank a lot, paced the ship at all hours of the night, did not sleep, and made a few really, really bad decisions. The crew thought that if they could get him to France then he would recover and be alright.

  Then, one of his bad decisions ruined their hope. Out of anger he attacked a peaceful vessel and ordered the sailors killed. He stole what they had aboard the ship and claimed it all as his own. Uncle Guillermo said that he cried all through the night and no one could sleep for hearing his loud wails. By morning he was hard as a rock, cold, heartless, emotionless, just like he is now. He announced to the crew that he was not returning to France. From that point on, he was a pirate.”

  “I am sorry, Corisanda. Did she die of Yellow Fever?”

  “No.”

  “Oh. Well, I am sorry for your loss,” Burke could tell she did not want to discuss the details of her mother’s death. He was not sure what happened to Cori’s mother but he knew it must be a painful subject so he did not ask any other questions about it.

  Cori feigned a small smile, “Thank you, it is alright.”

  “I know it is not easy to leave a pirate ship if you have been commanded to stay, but if I hated something as badly as you hate being on this ship I would find some way to leave!” Burke said encouragingly.

  “I have tried to leave before,” Cori sighed.

  “Yes, last night your father and fiancé were talking about where to put me. Your father mentioned that your room was the only one with a door locking from the outside. He said you would escape if given any opportunity. So what went wrong with your previous escape plans?” Burke asked, refusing to end conversation with his roommate.

  “Well, many things have gone wrong. I have tried to escape at least twenty times in my life. My father had been trading with islands and countries for a very long time. He knows his way around each of them and where all the hiding places are. I do not. Usually, if I escape on land I get lost because I have no idea where I am or where to go. My father finds me effortlessly. Another problem is that I look quite different than most do anywhere I have ever been and I am easily pointed out in a crowd,” Cori explained.

  Burke could not help but stare at the beauty before him. She was in a long, white cotton nightgown. It fit her body perfectly and showed her curves. Cori’s long black hair flowed down her back and her clean, tan skin seemed to glow in the candle light. “Yes, you are quite beautiful. I’m sure everyone notices you.”

  “No, I do not mean that I am necessarily beautiful. I am half Spaniard and half French. I am darker than the French and lighter than the Spaniards. I am taller than most women but I am shorter than most men. I am well educated because I had nothing other to do on this ship than to study and read, yet I have no knowledge of the world. I just do not fit in anywhere and I stand out in a crowd.” She sat down on her bed and faced the handsome man sitting across from her.

  Burke shrugged his shoulders, “Have you ever thought that maybe fitting in is not a good thing? Standing out and being one of a kind is much more attractive, if you ask me!”

  “Perhaps, but not if you are trying to hide from someone.”

  “I suppose that is true. Maybe escaping onto land is not a good way for you to escape then,” Burke suggested.

  Cori looked at Burke like he had lost his mind, “What do you mean?”

  “Have you ever considered fleeing by a boat?” He asked. She turned her head sideways, silently urging him to continue his idea. “Does your father ever stop on land where other boats are docked?”

  “Rarely, but sometimes when we are visiting South America we do not attack passing ships. We sail by peacefully so we can take the land by a surprise attack. Then, sometimes when we stop there are other boats coming or going. In Africa we go straight to the port as if we were legal as can be! The pirating cities there are feared and dangerous, illegal traders are a commonality and no one tries to arrest us as they would if we stopped in Europe.” She quickly informed him.

  “Okay, so what if you snuck off The Beloved Loss and onto another boat that was soon to be leaving. If your father noticed you were missing he would probably check the surrounding land. You could hide in the cargo area of the boat until you were days into the sea or until it stopped at another island where you felt safe and wanted to reside,” he prompted.

  “That is excellent! Oh, I have been trying to think of a plan for so long now, one that would not fail! This is perfect! You will not tell them where I am, will you?” She whispered.

  He shook his head from left to right, “No, I plan to leave this blasted boat at my first opportunity also. If you do not tell on me, I shall not tell on you. Deal?”

  “Deal!” Cori agreed with a smile.

  “So when are you going to try the plan out?” He asked as he snuggled into the uncomfortable cranberry chair.

  “I shall do it as soon as we get somewhere with other boats coming in or out! I probably will not have my chance until we get to Africa,” she answered with enthusiasm.

  “Africa? Is that where we are going now?” Burke questioned, remembering Laron also mentioning Africa that evening.

  “Yes, we have stopped at all the places along our route in South America and the neighboring islands. Our last stop was Hispaniola and we left there right before meeting you! Now we are on our way to Africa with a loaded ship, ready to trade or sale and reload to head back this way.”

  “Interesting,” Burke nodded. “I know my way around there pretty well. Maybe I could escape by that route too.”

  “If Falco does not have you killed first,” Cori reminded.

  The captive captain laughed loudly, “He already hates me so it’s truly possible that he might try.”

  Cori smiled in response. The sound of the man’s laughter made her heart race. She knew that this man was not trustable. He was just like any other man, only out to use whoever he needs to in order to get whatever he wants. The difference between this man and most was that he was so breathtakingly attractive. Cori thought he must be the most handsome man al
ive, but she knew that she had not seen many men.

  She was nearly as tall as most of the men she had met in her life but this handsome pirate towered over her. Cori never denied being attracted to his strong arms and handsome face. She could outsmart most men, especially Klaas and Zeeman, but Burke seemed different in that way too.

  Looking up, she realized he was staring directly at her again. “Do you love Falco?” He asked bluntly.

  She answered as honestly as she could, “No. I loathe him.”

  By the time she finished her sentence Burke was already inquiring for more information, “Then why are you marrying him? Do you not know how beautiful you are? If you left this ship you could be a bride of royalty. You could marry a Prince, a Duke, or a Count. Men would fight over you left and right. You know, you are different than most women. Instead of being timid and meek, you are strong and brave. Would you not like to marry someone you love?”

  “Of course I would! But it is not that easy, you see. My father promised me to Falco when I was only fourteen. There are a million reasons I want off of this ship, and Falco is one of them. I hope to escape before being forced to marry him but I have already been eighteen for three months. I am supposed to be planning my wedding as we speak. By the end of the year I will be his wife. Unless, of course, I can get off of this ship,” she retorted.

  Burke was not sure what he should say next. His heart throbbed as he stared at the beautiful maiden. He hoped she would not be forced to marry Falco de Vries, for her sake. For some reason that he could not understand, he even hoped she would not marry Falco for Burke’s own sake.

  Stop getting involved, he told himself. I need to be concerned about getting myself away from this ship. Falco already thinks I want his woman; I shall get myself killed trying to help Cori. Besides, I am engaged to Odelia. I like that about as little as Cori likes being engaged to Falco. I have my own problems to worry about. Still, he could not help but stare at the lovely girl and worry about her future. Deciding to clear his mind with some much needed rest, he looked toward Cori again, “Goodnight.”