Sheltered growing up Rosa
Lee Almaida lived a carefree life after her mother and she experienced a
horrific ordeal on the seas and in the middle of Africa when four years old.
Meeting her adoptive father the only joy and good experience that occur from
it. The man honored by all sailors on sea and land for his bravery and unconditional
love. He was her hero, the model of her own husband to be. Now twenty years
later she is forced to return to the seas that took the life of many including
her birth father.
Abducted
from her parents’ castle in Portugal, Rosa Lee Almaida became part of a ransom
to The Falcon, a brutal Pirate King on the Island of Madagascar in exchange for
her younger brother Pedro’s life.
She
faced The Falcon’s son Roberto de Ville, a man equally fierce but with a hidden
agenda.
Reliving
her past on the voyage she found that she admired the Pirate for his leadership
and skill but can she look past his pirate exterior to see the man for who he
is? Through the inscriptions her parents left in their diaries she make a
choice to safe her life.
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About the Author:
Lynelle Clark is living in Gauteng, South Africa with her
husband. She started to write in 2010. Always loved to read books discovering
new worlds. A passion for travel and meeting new people. So far the journey of
writing was exciting, loving the whole process from beginning to end.
Excerpt from A Pirate's wife....
“December 25, 1623
It has been two years since
our journey of survival began in Africa. Two years since I have written
anything down in my diary, the only book I was able to save on that hopeless
night of September 29, 1621.
But before I capture those
terrible events, I want to pen down my love’s reaction to the estate we will be
living in for the rest of our lives.
In the end it became
possible for us to be together. The price was high but we have survived and I
know with Cisco at my side I can face anything else.
As a Christmas gift I gave
him full ownership of my estate. It has been handed down from generation to
generation of Artiagas. I knew he
would be the perfect land owner to continue the legacy my family started, and
that my inheritance was safe.
When
Rosa-Lee climbed on his lap to give him a big wet kiss he smiled down at her
and gave her a bear hug. The last few days he had been extremely emotional. We
both felt a deep compassion for him. I feel proud to know this man, my husband,
Cisco Almaida. When I handed him the papers he was shocked. Disbelief shone
clear in the blue depths of his eyes. He had the same expression when we first
arrived two days ago.
He could not believe the
large estate or the castle, built by my great-great grandfather all those years
ago.
When we arrived Cisco only
stared at the estate, the manicured gardens and lawns only yellow due to the
cold weather, and I had to encourage him to step into the castle as man of the
house. This was more than he ever dreamed of. His mind was stunned and
dumbfounded at the magnitude of the riches he faced.
I had
told him about the place, to prepare him, but I knew he would only appreciate
it fully when he saw it.
He stood in the enormous
foyer of the castle and gaped in awe. The magnificent wooden staircase
spiralled to the upper levels. The black and white marble tiles gleamed in the
late sunlight. Fires were already laid all through the house, for which we were
grateful. The staff had done a magnificent work in maintaining the place while
we were gone.
He felt overwhelmed by it
all until Rosa-Lee reached for his hand and walked with him to the parlor with
its exquisite furniture, tapestries and golden framed paintings of past
generations. She chattered nonstop, even if it was her first visit. But the
difference was she is used to these riches and he was not.
After we settled in, he
walked the estate over the next two days, and I showed him the inheritance.
Surrounded with a rapid-flowing river with tree lines on both sides, the castle
looked impressive, built out of stones and brick, standing three stories tall
in the Portugal sun. Each room was filled with generations worth of treasures;
heavy hand crafted furniture, art, and family portraits, tapestries bought in
India, China, Spain and Africa, rich in color, hung on the walls.
At first, he could not
comprehend the papers, or his new title as land owner. He struggled for words
this morning, but accepted the responsibilities as property owner. This was a
difficult time for Portugal. The country was in a transitional phase and
landowners were often unfair dictators. But I knew he was wise and would treat
his people with respect and kindness. He would give them what was fair,
distributing our wealth for the benefit of all.
Cisco is willing to learn.
His good, kind heart draws people closer. Already he and Franco, the manager of
the estate, have a close friendship. His first lesson was to learn to ride his
horse, another present from Rosa-Lee. She was so excited when the horse was
presented to him that she giggled with pure joy. His face lit up in childlike
wonder at the powerfully-muscled black stallion. When he approached the animal
the horse responded in like fashion. It took us a while to get him back in the
house.
What a delight the day has
been. Alfonso will leave soon on the ship Cisco received from the D.E.I.C. for
his brave efforts during the last two years. Kayla and Derek will leave for
their new home in Spain and the house will become ours alone. There are so many
things I still want to show him. I can hardly wait.
But tonight I will give him
his greatest gift when I reveal my pregnancy to him. I just know this will
leave him speechless.
†††
It was the year 1641 on the
south coast of Portugal. The lone figure of a young woman looked over the vast
blue sea. A breeze rippled playfully on the water’s surface. To her it spelt
trouble, haunting her thoughts with what if’s, reliving the past as if
it were just yesterday, crystal clear in her mind. Every day for the last two
weeks she had looked at the horizon, hoping to see her father’s well-known
merchant ship with his ensign flag appear. But there was no sign. The
foreboding feelings accumulated again within her heart, making her anxious and
troubled.
While she waited she read her
parents” diaries, a present for her eighteenth birthday, and her most treasured
possessions in the whole world, for the umpteenth time. The leather-bound books
were soft under her touch, the papers already yellowing. She had read them so
often that she knew them by heart, but still they evoked in her a sense of
belonging. They held her past but also her future. At twenty-four she knew her
future would be colourful and beautiful. She felt safe when reading the pages,
and knew if they had made it, she would make it as well.
Coming on the ship was her
eagerly-awaited younger brother, only sixteen years of age. He had been so
excited about his first voyage as a sailor that they could hardly stay in the
same house with him. Their father had taught them all about the sea since they
could understand and walk.
He had taught them to read the
stars at night, to read charts, navigating their own way. He sent them on the
ship for countless lessons; lessons they never tired of.
Pedro always had a bigger love
for the sea. He was more like their father in his kind-heartedness, and was a
gentle giant with dark blond hair. He was more excited about the lifestyle of a
sailor, exploring new countries, loving the openness of the seas. Their father
told the stories of his adventures and especially the time she, Rosa-Lee, and
their mother had met him. He was still a sailor then, and the tale included the
two years it took them to get back to Portugal after leaving India, where their
journey had begun and Rosa-Lee had been born.
As a birthday gift, her father
had given Pedro the position of cabin boy to Captain Alfonso, his good friend,
to go out to India. He went away for seven months, and by her father’s
calculations, he should have already been back.
Her other brother Manuel was
the farmer. He inherited the love of the land and its people from his mother.
He also looked like their father in build, but his skin and hair were darker,
like Rosa-Lee’s and her mother’s. Manuel had a gentle and caring heart that
made him loveable and accessible to the villagers.
At the tender age of eighteen,
he was already a leader. The people looked up to him and along with their
father he built up the estate and expanded the business.
Rosa-Lee knew that this delay
in Pedro’s safe return was hard on her mother and father. Not knowing his
whereabouts was difficult but they could only remain calm, waiting. The mood
tensed in their home as her father paced the passageways of the castle, anxious
and nervous.
Finally, on Sunday afternoon of
the second week, Rosa-Lee saw sails heading their way. Shading her eyes, she
squinted as she watched the sails coming nearer to the shore at a tormentingly
slow rate. Rosa-Lee could now see that it was the Contra O Vento. The
smaller frigate usually accompanied the merchant ship as extra security. It was
faster and streamlined, not her father’s bulky merchant ship.
Dread filled her heart as she
watched the sailors running around on the deck, furling the sails to dock in
the harbour. The ensign on the top of the main mast certainly was her father’s
crest. Cisco Almaida was a merchant working for the D.E.I.C. He received his
first ship eighteen years ago after serving at the sea for nineteen years as a
sailor. It was a reward for his bravery and leadership during that fatal voyage
where her biological father had passed away along with two hundred and sixty
four crewmembers, slaves and passengers. Gathering the cream fabric of her
skirt in her hands she ran down the road to the harbour to meet the captain of
the ship she recognized. She was hoping that it would be good news about her
brother but the sense of dread did not leave her small body as her chestnut
hair streamed behind her, her small oval face wary and troubled.
The months of waiting in
anticipation of Pedro had been too long. They stayed a close-knit family,
especially Mother, Father and herself, but the two boys who had not yet had
adventures did not understand the dangerous side of sailing ships. It sounded
foreign and distant to them, just stories they had heard all their lives. But
Rosa-Lee and her parents knew how quickly things could change on the sea. They
had lived on it and had survived its worst.
Pedro was still very young,
inexperienced about life.
Rosa-Lee’s dress whipped
against her legs as she ran down the shoreline into the town, her lungs burning
with the unusual exercise. Today she did not see the splendour of the sea or land,
the birds flying just over the top of her head. She did not notice the familiar
faces, townspeople who waved at her and flashed toothy smiles. She just wanted
to find out any news. With only the Contra O Vento coming in she was
worried.
When she reached the berth, the
captain stood on the bridge at the side, peering through the tackle works, deep
in thought. As the plank lowered onto the pier she had a sinking feeling that
something was very wrong; that life as she knew it is about to change.
“Captain,
any news?” she shouted.”
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This is wonderful Thanks M.C.V and Jolie for a wonderful post.
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