Free Care and Feeding of Pirates by Jennifer Ashley Page B

collided after a larger band
of pirates had raided the merchantman, murdered the captain and
most of the crew, stolen the ship, and condemned the captain's
daughter and the few men left alive to a longboat.
    Christopher's father had taken the survivors
on board. Emile had liked the look of the young Englishwoman,
snatched her away to his cabin, and likely raped her. He'd fallen
in love with her in his own fashion, and kept her with him.
Christopher had no idea if they'd ever officially married, but his
mother always behaved as though she were his father's legal
wife.
    Christopher's mother had tried to raise
Christopher to be a good Englishman and Anglican, with poor
results. His father pretended to fear God, but in truth, Emile
Raine feared nothing.
    When Christopher was ten years old, their
ship was attacked by yet another band of pirates and their hold
stripped of its contents. Christopher's father had planned to sell
that cargo to get them through the winter.
    Emile, brave and stupid, had told the pirate
captain where he could shove himself. The pirate captain had shot
him dead. The pirate captain then tried to rape Christopher's
mother. Christopher had grabbed one of the pirates' pistols and
shot the pirate captain through the head.
    The other pirates had said good
riddance, thrown the bodies overboard, and elected a new
captain. That captain divided the spoils and set the Raine ship
alight, because it was not worth saving. The new captain told
Christopher's mother to bring her little son and stepdaughter and
come with him, and Christopher's mother had obeyed, not having much
choice.
    A few months later, Christopher's mother
escaped ashore to the Carolinas without taking Christopher or
Manda. Christopher never saw her again.
    He and Manda had found a home among those
pirates who'd burned their father's ship. Emile and crew had been
petty criminals--these men were tough, fearless, and smart. They
taught Christopher how to track a ship, how to tell if it were
loaded or running empty, how to assess cargo for the best yield,
how to sell it safely for the best price. By the time Christopher
reached the age of fourteen, he'd become as much a pirate as any of
them, as ruthless and cruel as only the young can be.
    Now he was twenty years older, and different
things mattered.
    "Discover anything more?" he asked
Finley.
    Finley nodded, blue eyes quiet. "Alexandra
had the right of it. I knew she would. Earl Switton lives in
Surrey, near Epsom. I don't know him myself, but Henderson
does."
    That explained Henderson's presence. "Where
do I find him?" Christopher asked. "Let us go have a conversation
with this earl."
    Henderson shook his head. "A commoner does
not pay an impromptu call on a lord. He makes an appointment, which
might or might not be granted."
    "Sorry, I forgot to bring my etiquette book.
But I have a lord sitting right here. Finley can pay an impromptu
call on him."
    "No, I can't," Finley said. "We haven't been
introduced. He's an earl, and I'm only a viscount." He grinned. "A
hanging offense."
    "You may laugh," Henderson broke in. "But you
ignore the rules at your peril. If you don't follow them, you'll
never get near Lord Switton."
    "True," Christopher said. "All right, we'll
play your game. What do I do to gain an appointment with this great
man?"
    "You can't," Henderson said. "But I can. He
and my father went to school together. I've already written to
him."
    "Kind of you," Christopher said. "But why
should you? You looked ready to shoot me last night."
    Henderson said nothing, sipping his port in
silence. Finley answered, "Because my wife asked him to help.
Henderson will do anything for my wife."
    Finley spoke lightly but his look was
slightly irritated. Christopher sensed an old annoyance between the
two that went beyond the banter at this table.
    Christopher was not interested. He drained
his ale. "Whatever his reason," he said, "we'll go to Surrey
tomorrow. Thank you, Henderson. I'm obliged."
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