The Lady's Pirate Excerpt 2

   The Lady's Pirate Excerpt 2:

✔️Man in distress

✔️Allies to Lovers

✔️Sexy times ensue

 

“You’re still here,” she said into the darkness.

Only Paulo’s outline was visible in the midday sunlight. He hadn’t wandered from the opening as she’d instructed but stood just beyond the sun’s reach. Not a fool, at least.

“I didn’t exactly have anywhere to go.” She didn’t need to see his face to hear the grin. “You’ve returned early. I haven’t a time piece on me, but I know it’s not dusk.”

He confused her, with his easy wit and sardonic joking in the face of invasion. Confused, yes, but Adi liked it. His easy manner lessened the burden of living in an occupied home, terrified one wrong word might see them all killed. Her mother-in-law closed up in the conservatory, Mélina tasked with playing for the colonel and Bardot, her mother keeping their small stores of food rationed so everyone ate.

No wonder she screamed into the storm last night. Adi wondered she didn’t do so every night.

“I brought more soup.” She skirted the small outcropping of rocks and held out the pot.

“I’m grateful.” He coughed and shook his head. “I’m afraid I swallowed more water than I intended.”

“How much did you intend to swallow?” She tilted her head as he accepted the pot and wondered if sitting looked too informal. She doubted there was any set etiquette for this sort of situation.

“None.” That smile was again evident in his voice. She wanted to see that smile, if it was as handsome as she imagined. Wide and boyish despite the warm masculinity evident in his tone. No, the man she half-dragged from the beach was no boy. “That plan didn’t exactly work out.”

Adi giggled only to immediately stifle it. A sharp thread of guilt wound through her—she shouldn’t laugh when the entire household lay under the threat of death. However even in the mere day since rescuing Paulo, Adi found herself lighter than she had been in years.

“Do most of your plans work out?”

“Eh.” He made a movement with his hand she couldn’t see between the deepening shadows and the bright sunlight. “Half and half, I’d say.”

“Not exactly a resounding endorsement.”

“I’m working on it.” He paused and she thought he sipped the soup. “Thank you for this, Adelaida. It’s delicious.”

“We have little meat.” She hadn’t meant to repeat herself, nor apologize for something out of her control, but felt she owned Paulo an explanation. “The French colonel, he slaughtered our pigs for his own men.”

“This is perfect, and I mean it. It’s more than I expected.”

He had an interesting way with words, and Adi frowned. “What did you expect?”

“Well, for a bit there, I expected to die on the beach.” He sighed and shook his head, his gait slow and unsteady as he moved beside her. “That didn’t happen, for which I am most grateful. My family would have been extremely displeased with me should that have happened.”

Something in his tone, just beneath the lightness of his words, told her the truth of that. They’d have been devastated if he’d died on her beach. Without saying, he told of his closeness with them. Family? Wife? Children? He hadn’t mentioned a wife. Hadn’t mentioned anyone. Shifting on her rocky seat at that uncomfortable thought, she curled her hands into her skirts for lack of anywhere else to place them.

“Where are they?” Her voice had dropped, and she cleared the strange huskiness from her throat.

He paused and though she couldn’t see his eyes in the uncertain shadows, she felt him weighing the answer. “Safe.”

“I’m glad.” She laughed, bitterness choking her. “Jealous, but I’m glad someone is safe at least.”

Available June 15, 2023

The Lady's Pirate Excerpt 1

The Lady's Pirate 

Chapter One

 

Southern Portuguese Coast

July 23, 1808

 

Adelaida Machado stepped from the cover of her family’s villa into the pounding vitality of the wicked summer storm. Though she reveled in the energy of the storm, she wasn’t foolish enough to race down the slick stone steps. Rather she cautiously picked her way, barefoot from the villa to the beach she so loved.

The wind whipped around her, as angry as the country as if the weather understood the simmering hatred lurking barely beneath the surface. Despite the late night and the driving rain, the air remained warm. Adi stepped off the last step and raised her face to the sky, letting the rain wash over her.

Another gust of wind plastered wet strands of loose hair against her cheek. Adi ignored them as she had ignored the constant frown of her mother-in-law, the worried look from her own mother, and the suspicious side-eyes of the French troops currently occupying her home.

She looked behind her, but no one followed her in this storm. No one was crazy enough.

For the first time in months, Adi breathed freely. Then she screamed.

Wading deeper into the ocean, her fingers clenched so tightly around her skirts she wondered if she could ever release the material. Adi vented her anger and sorrow and helplessness into the storm until she gasped for breath.

Head thrown back, eyes closed, rain running down her face and beating on her eyelids, she took in another breath. She released it in the same venting sounds, letting the wind catch her anguish and take it far out to sea.

Finally, spent, gasping for breath, knees weak, she opened her eyes. Nothing had changed. The rain continued pounding onto the coast like a vindictive maelstrom bent on annihilation. The sky remained black, heavy with clouds as if it wept for Adi and Portugal as she did. Her toes had gone numb in the cool, wet sand, and she slowly uncurled them as the waves continued their inexorable rush against the shoreline.

She could retrace her steps, walk back up the slick stone steps and back into the oppressive suspicion of the French colonel who thought her childhood home was now his.

Or she could not. Not yet.

Adi stepped toward the distant rocky outcropping that bordered the land. All her delay did was postpone the inevitable, but for now, that was good enough.

Suddenly, as if trying to impart a message, the wind completely stopped. Suspicion rose on her skin in a cold shiver, and she looked around the beach. It lay deserted. Wet, battered by the storm, and empty.

That sound came again. She’d thought it was the rain against the rocks, but no. Now that the wind eased, it sounded like something else.

A person.

Unease skittered down her spine. For one frozen moment, Adi didn’t know whether to race for the villa or investigate. The French occupation had taught her a caution she’d never before possessed, not here in her idyllic childhood sanctuary. However, no matter how brutally they treated the coastline, she refused to cower.

Picking her way over the rocks, she searched for the source of the noise. A villager, hiding from the French? There were many of them now. Perhaps the noise was merely an animal, a dog who wandered too far in the storm and became trapped.

She blinked as a gust of wind smacked her in the face. A man. As battered from the storm as the coastline, he half sat, half leaned against the rocks clutching a satchel of some sort.

“I hope it’s waterproof,” she muttered. Shaking her head at herself, Adi grimaced as she searched for a way over the rocks that wouldn’t tear up her bare feet. “Are you breathing?”

She carefully placed her hands on the rocks and peered over the barrier. Studying him for a moment, she took in his clothes, soaked through obviously, plain but in the darkness looked well-tailored. No hat, no uniform insignia, just a shirt and trousers, and shiny boots that would no doubt be as ruined as her gown.

He seemed alive. Sitting on one of the flatter rocks, she swung her legs over and scooted to the other side. Adi ignored the rending sound of fabric.

“Who are you and where did you come from? Fisherman? Probably not. Smuggler? Perhaps. Pirate?” Her lips twitched. Now she was being fanciful. Pushing off the rocks, she landed on the wet sand with a painful thud.

Ouch. She gingerly turned her ankle, but other than a faint twinge, it seemed unharmed. Adi sighed, but there was no help for it now. Crouching before the man, she brushed his wet hair from his forehead.

He startled awake, clutching the satchel as if it were a lifeline.

“Olá?” She asked, leaning back.

“Ah.” He coughed, one hand clutching the satchel, the other holding his chest as if his lungs ached. Otherwise, he seemed unharmed. “Olá.”

“Can you stand?” She asked in Portuguese, suspicious. But he seemed to understand well enough. Adi straightened and quickly looked up and down the still-deserted beach. Still, with the break in the storm, best to get moving. Just in case one of the French soldiers tried finding her. “We need to move off the beach.”

“Sim,” he agreed but didn’t move. “That would be for the best.”

 

Available June 15, 2023

Chocolate and The Lady's Pirate

 Chocolate plays a significant but small role in The Lady's Pirate. Adelaida's family are chocolatiers to the crown, but with the French invasion that's all disappeared. Especially since the royal family also disappeared to Brazil.

In the National Palace of Sintra they also had chocolate and pastry molds. No, I did not steal one! I was tempted, though! Here are some photos I took of original molds, several hundred years old. And yes, these are what Adelaida uses in The Lady's Pirate.

National Palace of Sintra

 After visiting Portugal, I did extensive rewrites of the kitchens in The Lady's Pirate. They are not typical English kitchens, they're so much more! More open because of the heat in a far more southern country. Check out the combination oven and stove. The countertop/bench along the fires is made of clay, which conducts the heat. The tiles keep it all together. So they put the pots on the bench over the fires for things like broths and such, and then the square holes are for breads. There's also a spit which was ginormous!

SINTRA Portugal TOURISM Guide - Complete 2023 Trip Planner

Kitchen - National Palace of Sintra (parquesdesintra.pt)

Portuguese Boats

 For someone who suffers from terrible seasickness (and many other forms of motion sickness) I spend a lot of time researching boats. But in The Lady's Pirate, those boats are needed!

Part of my story involves boats, specifically how many people can fit in a Portuguese fishing boat? There's a formula. Number of people = vessel length (ft.) x vessel width (ft.) ÷ 15. Why 15? No idea, but that's the official formula. 

When we were in Portugal, we visited the Maritime Museum and it was fascinating. I know, it doesn't sound it, but it really was amazing. Below are 2 photos I took in the museum of types of ships I use, the caique and the barca de pesca. 

Caïque - Wikipedia

The Lady's Pirate Cover

 I can't believe I never revealed my cover here! Time has completely gotten away from me! I adore this cover, it's perfect for the location-Portugal-and the setting I wanted to evoke.

The Lady's Pirate

Adelaida Machado loved 2 things. Creating unimaginable chocolate creations to tempt the senses and walking the beach along her family's villa. The first sustained her during the French Invasion. The second brought her Grayson Conrad.  She could've done without either.

Grayson Conrad agreed to deliver food and medical supplies to a Portuguese contact in exchange for French troop movements. Running a blockade? Easy. He hadn't counted on the storm that destroyed his ship or the beautiful widow who rescued him from the rocky shoreline.

Sparks fly, and not just when she discovers he's English and a risk to everyone she loves. He gives her the only hope they have that perhaps the French can be overthrown, and she'll do everything in her power to help him. Even at the risk to her own heart. But when a traitor in her village brings down the wrath of the French army, Adelaida has two choices--give up Grayson or sacrifice everything she holds dear.

Available June 15, 2023

Portuguese Chocolate Research

Sacred Gifts, Profane Pleasures by Marcy Norton is one of the books I read in my research for The Lady's Pirate.

Other articles were The History of the Chocolate Bonbon, a short Wikipedia history of the chocolate truffle to figure out wording and timelines, an article on revitalizing ancient traditions, and a History Channel bit on the history of chocolate. 

Napoleon's Death

 I missed it, he died May 5, 1821 so the anniversary was Friday. The most likely cause of death was stomach cancer, however I particularly like the theory that one or more of his closest advisors who surrounded him at his death also poisoned him.

He always looks so put out! 

The Lady's Pirate

 The Lady's Pirate

Adelaida Machado loved 2 things. Creating unimaginable chocolate creations to tempt the senses and walking the beach along her family's villa. The first sustained her during the French Invasion. The second brought her Grayson Conrad.  She could've done without either.

Grayson Conrad agreed to deliver food and medical supplies to a Portuguese contact in exchange for French troop movements. Running a blockade? Easy. He hadn't counted on the storm that destroyed his ship or the beautiful widow who rescued him from the rocky shoreline.

Sparks fly, and not just when she discovers he's English and a risk to everyone she loves. He gives her the only hope they have that perhaps the French can be overthrown, and she'll do everything in her power to help him. Even at the risk to her own heart. But when a traitor in her village brings down the wrath of the French army, Adelaida has two choices--give up Grayson or sacrifice everything she holds dear.

Available June 15, 2023

The Lady's Marquess excerpt

The Lady's Marquess: Conrad Legacy Book 1

Available for pre-order!

Chapter One

 

The Britannia

Portsmouth, England

February 1806

 

Miss Esme Marta Olivia Conrad disliked lying. She didn’t see the point to it, not when the truth was right there waiting to be spoken. To be fair, she also enjoyed the looks on people’s faces when she did tell the truth.

People enjoyed their pretty little lies. They expected them, welcomed them. One look and they thought they knew what you were about to say—the roundabout fib, the sly story, the beautifully wrapped up falsehood to keep within society’s good graces.

Esme was not one of those people. She didn’t particularly care what society thought of her, no doubt why she remained unmarried, nor did she listen to gossip. Most of it was untrue, anyway, and harmful no matter how one looked at it.

Today was not one of those times, however. Today, well, this entire voyage, centered on subterfuge.

“Thank you, Captain.” She smiled sweetly at the older man as he helped her aboard.

Captain Jasper Badger had sailed with her family’s shipping company for nearly two decades. The legal, merchant side of Conrad Shipping. Not the more clandestine smuggling business they’d done their best to disentangle themselves from.

“Welcome aboard, Miss Esme.” He smiled at her and nodded, keeping an eye on the short line of passengers behind her. “I confess, I’d expected your parents, or perhaps Mr. Grayson.”

Esme tried not to let her irritation show. No matter how frequently someone expected a male member of her family, it never failed to irritate her. She forced her scowl into a smile and willed her fingers to release her skirts before they wrinkled.

Scowling and wrinkled skirts was not part of her plan. Such as it was.

“I’m afraid you have me, captain.” She tried to temper her words but wasn’t sure how well she succeeded. “And Countess von Almy.” Esme nodded to her companion. “I’m sure we’ll suffice.”

Yes, there was a definite bite there.

Badger, a conscientious, affable man, flushed and nodded. “I do apologize, you’re quite right. And I thank you for coming, these disruptions are more frequent than mere rough seas warrant.”

“Yes.” Esme breathed out her crossness and reminded herself Badger didn’t mean anything by his comments. “It worries me that both ships are targeted.”

Badger nodded, keeping an eye on the crew, the passengers, and anyone who wandered closer enough to their conversation. Esme had to admire that. But then he had come to them, worried about not only the company’s reputation but the very real fear that a regular passenger on this transatlantic crossing was the culprit.

A full half of the passengers were regulars, which made discerning who tampered with the cargo difficult.

“I can vouch for my crew, miss.” Badger shook his head. “However, given the destruction, I’m hesitant to dismiss any of them outright.”

Esme tilted her head and hoped her hat might stay put. The unrelenting wind had other ideas. “You haven’t told anyone your concerns?”

He shook his head. “Only Mr. and Mrs. Conrad, miss.”

Unease danced over her arms and made her stomach jump. They had not considered the crew, with so many having worked for the company for almost as long as Badger himself. Conrad Shipping paid well and looked after both the crew and their families. They didn’t have a lot of new faces. This made their detecting all the harder.

“Thank you, Captain, we’ll work to stop this and return to normal operations.” She smiled and nodded, adding a small tittering laugh for show to any who might be watching.

“Esme, häschen.” Aunt Hannah turned to her, frowning in the wind. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“Sailing to British North America on one of our ships during a tenuous treaty with France? One Britain didn’t even sign?” Esme turned from the door where she listened for any eavesdroppers. “Or trying to ferret out the thief in our company?”

“Either.” Hannah sighed, a long-suffering sound Esme knew all too well. “Both.”

Today, the sun shone brightly overhead and not a cloud marred the winter sky. A good omen, she thought.

She held that belief while several more passengers boarded. Captain Badger and Mr. Webber greeted them all by name, regular passengers it seemed, as the crew prepared the ship and loaded passenger trunks and cargo. She smiled and wondered if the small pull of her lips was simpering enough.

Hannah was right. A week wasn’t enough, she should’ve practiced more. Then again, she’d never been particularly good at planning.

“Does anyone seem off?” Esme whispered. “Or too friendly with any of the crew?”

“Not that I’ve seen,” Hannah admitted. “But then there’s no reason—”

Whatever else she said, Esme didn’t hear. At that moment, a tall, handsome man stepped onto the deck as if he, not Esme, owned the ship. The perfect tilt of his hat, the smart cut of his clothing all screamed wealth. That wasn’t what stopped Esme cold.

She’d grown up with money. Knew the good and bad of it, what it bought and what it couldn’t, and what people were willing to do to obtain it.

It wasn’t the man’s obvious wealth that had all the breath rush from her. It was the man himself.

She cursed. Hannah elbowed her with a warning look. “You’re out of character, häschen.” Esme barely acknowledged that warning, however true it was.

“Ah, My Lord Strachan,” Captain Badger said jovially. “We’re so pleased you could join us.”

“Strachan?” Hannah’s voice raised slightly.

“Well, hell,” Esme muttered. “What is he doing here?”

Of all the people to board, she had honestly never expected she’d know any of them. It had simply never occurred to her. And Landon Carhart, the Most Honorable Marquess of Strachan was the last person she expected. He wasn’t even on the passenger list!

Now her brother’s closest friend stood barely twenty feet from her. Esme didn’t know how he’d react, if he’d even recognized her. It’d been three—four?—years at least since they last met. Five?

Before his father died in a gaming hell fight amidst so much scandal Landon had spent the next year traveling the country with Esme’s brother, Grayson, rather than return home. Women, Esme thought, several in various stages of dress. Men, too, which had sent tongues a wagging. And something else she couldn’t remember at the moment.

Besides the duel, of course.

“He wasn’t on the list?” Hannah whispered, the words nearly caught by the wind.

“No,” Esme muttered. “A last-minute addition we didn’t know about.”

“This is not a good portent,” Hannah added just as Landon turned in their direction.

“Agreed,” Esme sighed. Just then a particularly strong gust of wind sent her bonnet askew. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

 

The Lady's Marquess

 What can you expect from The Lady's Marquess?



✔️Forced proximity

✔️Transatlantic voyage

✔️ Brother's Best Friend (Or Best Friend's Sister, depending on how you look at it...)

✔️1806-Napoleonic Wars

✔️Stop the spy

✔️Discover the vandal

✔️Find the killer

✔️Happily Ever After

Tidbit Tuesday-Sailing Vessels

 What I know about ships of any kind is that if it's in a back bay or on a river, I'm probably not going to be sick. If we happen to cross into the ocean, all bets are off. There is data to back me up on this, from a cruise ship to a fishing boat, to a jet ski. Which is so unfair, I love the water and am a water sign!

Clearly sailing is not my forte.

A Sideways Look at Regency Life — All At Sea! - Liberta Books

I've done a lot of research into sailing vessels during my writing and may still take a mini-course on it. If I had to travel via packet ship, I'd never survive. Looking at those itty bitty cabins gives me claustrophobia and I'm not prone to such things.

I learned a lot of terminology while researching and this is the best site I've found for what I need. (Also, it took me until this article to learn that jetsam is things that sink and now I can sing the Little Mermaid song with slightly more understanding.)

Definition of packet ship or packet liner (thoughtco.com)

Packet boat - Wikipedia

Self-Care Monday and Meditation

The first time a friend told me she was going to a garden where they had some sort of meditation circle labyrinth, I knew it was not for me. She was going to walk this labyrinth, which wasn't even a cool maze thing, and go super slow and I wanted to scream.

That was also the first time I tried to explain that people meditated differently. Not everyone can sit in silence or with meditation music for minutes on end. I can and have but it's not my fav. Nor did I want to walk really slow around a circle and think my thoughts. I'm a Scorpio, I'm already all up in my head! But walking it several times while I focused is a definite plus.

I usually walk while listening to a 20 minute guided meditation. I'm moving, which helps me focus, and can let myself go on the treadmill where I know I won't run into anything.

What about you, what do you do?

The Lady's Marquess-Cover Reveal!

Miss Esme Conrad is tracking down the person responsible for disrupting several of her family's cargo shipments. Landon, The Most Honorable Marquess of Strachan, is searching for a French spy. The year is 1806, the ship is The Britannia, he's a titled gentleman and she's his best friend's sister. 

They have 35 days between Portsmouth and Kingston, Canada. What could possibly happen? 

Available March 15, 2023

Tidbit Tuesday-Commerce

 This is the Regency card game that eventually morphed into modern day poker. In The Lady's Marquess, Esme is a Commerce player, who relies on herself for the win rather than a partner. In the story, I don't go into much detail, but it's fascinating to learn about different games!

Commerce (card game) - Wikipedia

The best combinations are, from high to low:

1. Tricon - three of a kind being Ace best, and so on down to the 2.
2. Sequence - three cards of the same suit and sequence, being A K Q best down to 3 2 A.
3. Flush - three cards of the same suit, the highest "point" wins.
4. Pair - two similar cards, the highest pair winning.
5. Point - the greatest value of cards regardless of their suit, counting Ace 11, Courts 10 each, and numerals their face value.

In case of a tie between two or more of the players in any round, the highest Tricon wins, coming Aces first, then Kings, Queens, down to Twos. If the tie happens to be in a sequence, the highest wins, reckoning the A K Q sequence as the best and the 3 2 A sequence as the lowest. If with Flushes, the one making the best "point" wins. If Pairs, the highest wins and if two hands are alike, then the holder of the highest third card has the preference. With Point a tie is very rare, but if that does happen, the holder of the first highest card different from the opponent's wins.

Commerce (card game) - Wikipedia

Commerce Games - Game Rules Learn About Card Game Classifications

Commerce Card Game (classicgamesandpuzzles.com)

Self-Care Monday-Take a Hike

 Literally. Walking is the best form of exercise, which I'm sure you've heard a million times before. Walking in winter? Not my idea of a good time. I bought a treadmill for this, but it's boring without something to watch or listen to.

Still, I persevere, because walking does make me feel better! And it's a great way to exercise the pup, who, despite being a corgi, also isn't a fan of the winter. (Corgis are double coated specifically for the winter.)

One other thing I do in winter is walk up and down the stairs. It's a great form of exercise and helps strengthen the knees, too. 

Tidbit Tuesday-Whist

A few weeks ago, I spent a good portion of an hour figuring out how to play whist. I'm still not entirely sure. Seems a combination of Uno (you have to play the same suit if you have it) and rummy or Hi-Lo maybe. Apparently, it's the forerunner of Bridge, but I've never played that so am coming in blind.

In The Lady's Marquess, there are several scenes where Esme and Landon play the game, but since it's not the focal point of the story, I gloss over it. Also, more for my sanity! If you're interested, here's a video and a few links!

Whist Game Rules - How to Play Whist the Card Game

Whist (bicyclecards.com)

Self Care Monday-Baby Steps

 All week all I've heard is new year new you! That sounds like a lot of work I'm not interested in. Plus, there are parts of the old me I like a lot. So...new year, new baby steps!

Changing everything in the new year is, in my (not so) humble opinion hard. A recipe for burnout. Probably why most resolutions don't last beyond the month.

I started this last year when I change 1 small habit. What did I want my 2022 to look like? And why? from there I worked on small monthly or weekly changes I could make. 

For instance, I wanted to read more. But between work, writing, and life, I didn't have a lot of the time I used to, to sit and read. So I borrowed more audiobooks from my library's Libby app and listened while I walked (also a great motivator for walking!). I also listened in the car which isn't easy when you live within minutes of your job but wonderful when driving long distances. 

By upping my audio game, I listened to more titles as well as walked more since I was motivated to listen while on the treadmill. Win-Win.

What are your baby steps for this year?

New Series!

 I've talked about Kaya and Paul's children a little, but I'm excited that I have the next 5 stories planned. The Conrad Legacy: 5 children, 5 stories of love and heroism during the Napoleonic Wars.

The Lady's Marquess: Esme and Landon
The Lady's Pirate: Grayson and Adelaida
The Lady's Rogue: Yasmine and Alexander
The Lady's Risky Endeavour: Philip and Layla
The Lady's Courtship Ruse: Trevor and Savannah

Tidbit Tuesday -Canadian Fishing

Another fun tidbit in The Lady's Marquess is fishing and the transport of saltfish (cod) to not only Britain but Portugal and Spain.

Deep sea fishing rights have long been a source of contention between nations. During the Napoleonic Wars, people still had to eat, but when those nations withdrew from the saltfish trade, it gave Upper Canada the means to increase their own trade. Someone had to supply those armies!

Napoleonic Wars and the Economy

Entrance to the Harbour of St. John's, NL, ca. 1811

Napoleonic Wars and the Economy (heritage.nf.ca)

The withdrawal of warring nations from the saltfish trade gave the colony an almost complete monopoly over the lucrative industry, while rising fish prices and high catch rates saw profits soar. Britain's 1809 military alliance with Spain and Portugal also prompted both countries to grant preferential treatment to British imports, which included Newfoundland and Labrador saltfish. As wages and standards of living rose, so too did Newfoundland and Labrador's permanent population.

Napoleonic Wars and the Economy (heritage.nf.ca)

Dried and salted cod - Wikipedia