The Privateer's Revenger aka Treachery PDF
Preview The Privateer's Revenger aka Treachery
$24.00 A Kydd Sea Adventure Praise for The Kydd Series tt hh ee P P JJuulliiaann SSttoocckkwwiinn “Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life on ship and shore A rr in Britain’s oceanic empire is engrossing. He writes evocatively Kii vv y of shipboard routine, the panic and confusion of combat, and daa the terrifying approach of a storm at sea, and he knows how to dtt ee S stage enthralling action scenes.” —Publishers Weekly ee e rr Facing a grim future, Thomas Kydd takes a ’s’s “Continuing the rousing adventures of Thomas Kydd . . . A fate into his own hands. Now his courage dRR and seamanship must win the day if he is Stockwin, a career navy man, writes of the nautical life with v e to come home alive. nee vivid authority.” —Kirkus Reviews tvv u ree In this ninth installment in the Kydd “A rousingly exciting and delicious full-immersion in the perils enn series, Lieutenant Thomas Kydd faces im- Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of four- of seafaring and society during the great Age of Sail!” gg placable enemies in high places as he reels teen to TS Indefatigable, a tough sea-training —Dewey Lambdin ee from the death of his fiancée and the loss of school. He joined the British Navy at fifteen, his brig, Teazer. Framed and unfairly dis- transferred to the Australian Navy when his “This writer knows his stuff when it comes to describing life missed from his ship, he and his friend Renzi family emigrated there, and saw active ser- at sea.” —The Historical Novels Review JJ struggle to survive in Guernsey while they vice in Vietnam. He became a teacher and an uu attempt to clear Kydd’s name. Then Renzi is educational psychologist. Later he was com- ll hired by a mysterious nobleman and reluc- missioned into the Royal Naval Reserve and ii tantly engages in covert operations, while was awarded the MBE. Retired from the RNR aa Kydd becomes captain of a deadly privateer. with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he nn Kydd cannot forget his lost honor, however, now lives in Devon, England. Visit him on the and seizes one final chance for revenge and web at www.julianstockwin.com. SS restoration. tt P rivateer s oo ’ the cc kk ww evenge R McBooks Press, Inc. ii ISBN: 978-1-59013-165-7 Ithaca, New York 52400 nn For a free Historical Fiction Catalog visit us M at www.mcbooks.com—or call us toll-free—at Pc Cover painting by Geoff Hunt. 1-888-BOOKS11 (1-888-266-5711). 9 781590 131657 reBo Dust jacket & interior design by Panda Musgrove. so sk s $24.00 A Kydd Sea Adventure Praise for The Kydd Series tt hh ee P P JJuulliiaann SSttoocckkwwiinn “Stockwin’s richly detailed . . . portrait of life on ship and shore A rr in Britain’s oceanic empire is engrossing. He writes evocatively Kii vv y of shipboard routine, the panic and confusion of combat, and daa the terrifying approach of a storm at sea, and he knows how to dtt ee S stage enthralling action scenes.” —Publishers Weekly ee e rr Facing a grim future, Thomas Kydd takes a ’s’s “Continuing the rousing adventures of Thomas Kydd . . . A fate into his own hands. Now his courage dRR and seamanship must win the day if he is Stockwin, a career navy man, writes of the nautical life with v e to come home alive. nee vivid authority.” —Kirkus Reviews tvv u ree In this ninth installment in the Kydd “A rousingly exciting and delicious full-immersion in the perils enn series, Lieutenant Thomas Kydd faces im- Julian Stockwin was sent at the age of four- of seafaring and society during the great Age of Sail!” gg placable enemies in high places as he reels teen to TS Indefatigable, a tough sea-training —Dewey Lambdin ee from the death of his fiancée and the loss of school. He joined the British Navy at fifteen, his brig, Teazer. Framed and unfairly dis- transferred to the Australian Navy when his “This writer knows his stuff when it comes to describing life missed from his ship, he and his friend Renzi family emigrated there, and saw active ser- at sea.” —The Historical Novels Review JJ struggle to survive in Guernsey while they vice in Vietnam. He became a teacher and an uu attempt to clear Kydd’s name. Then Renzi is educational psychologist. Later he was com- ll hired by a mysterious nobleman and reluc- missioned into the Royal Naval Reserve and ii tantly engages in covert operations, while was awarded the MBE. Retired from the RNR aa Kydd becomes captain of a deadly privateer. with the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he nn Kydd cannot forget his lost honor, however, now lives in Devon, England. Visit him on the and seizes one final chance for revenge and web at www.julianstockwin.com. SS restoration. tt P rivateer s oo ’ the cc kk ww evenge R McBooks Press, Inc. ii ISBN: 978-1-59013-165-7 Ithaca, New York 52400 nn For a free Historical Fiction Catalog visit us M at www.mcbooks.com—or call us toll-free—at Pc Cover painting by Geoff Hunt. 1-888-BOOKS11 (1-888-266-5711). 9 781590 131657 reBo Dust jacket & interior design by Panda Musgrove. so sk s the privateer’s evenge R Also by Julian Stockwin Kydd Artemis Seaflower Mutiny Quarterdeck Tenacious Command the Admiral’s Daughter Julian Stockwin the privateer’s Revenge A Kydd Sea Adventure McBooks Press, Inc. www.mcbooks.com Ithaca, New York Published by McBooks Press 2008 Published simultaneously in Great Britain by Hodder and Stoughton Copyright © 2008 Julian Stockwin All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written per- mission of the publisher. Requests for such permissions should be addressed to McBooks Press, Inc., ID Booth Building, 520 North Meadow St., Ithaca, NY 14850. Cover painting by Geoff Hunt RSMA. Represented by Artist Partners Ltd., www.artistpartners.com. Dust jacket and interior design by Panda Musgrove. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stockwin, Julian. The privateer’s revenge : a Kydd sea adventure / by Julian Stockwin. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-59013-165-7 (alk. paper) 1. Kydd, Thomas (Fictitious character)—Fiction. 2. Great Britain—History, Naval—18th century—Fiction. 3. Seafaring life—Fiction. 4. Sailors— Fiction. I. Title. PR6119.T66P75 2008 823’.92--dc22 2008019445 McBooks Press publications can be ordered by calling toll-free 1-888-BOOKS11 (1-888-266-5711). Please call to request a free catalog. Visit the McBooks Press website at www.mcbooks.com. Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To Admiral Sir James Saumarez Chapter 1 His Majesty’s brig-sloop Teazer eased sheets and came round prettily for the last leg of the short passage from Polperro east- wards to Plymouth Sound. The ship’s clerk knocked softly at the captain’s cabin door. There was no reply so, from long friendship, Nicholas Renzi entered quietly. Commander Thomas Kydd was sitting rigid at the stern windows staring out. He turned, his face a bleak mask. “Tom, dear fellow? I’ve brought you this,” Renzi said, proffering a glass. “The natives hereabouts do swear by its power to lay demons and recruit the spirit.” Kydd accepted the offering but it remained untouched in his hand. “Fine nor’-westerly blow,” Renzi went on brightly. “We should raise the Sound on this tack, I’d venture.” There was no response from the fine and ambitious sea officer, who had made the incredible journey from the fo’c’sle to the quarterdeck, then achieved his own command, now brought so low. It had been so sudden. Returning triumphant after a rousing cruise, Kydd had decided to snatch a few moments in Polperro, the home of his newly betrothed, Rosalynd. There, he had learned of her tragic death, just days before. Renzi drew a chair close. There was little to be said—grief was such a private thing, but in this Renzi knew guilt. His closest friend had stood alone when he had followed his heart and asked Julian Stockwin a country lass to be his bride, not Persephone Lockwood, the ad- miral’s daughter. There had never been a formal understanding between Kydd and Miss Lockwood, but society—and Renzi—had been outraged nevertheless. “You should know this, dear friend, I—I own myself shamed by my actions, you must understand,” Renzi said, in a low voice. “It was unpardonable not to recognise that it was—that your senti- ments sprang from the noblest and purest . . .” His words went unheard but he vowed that whatever lay ahead for Kydd he would be at his side. Especially when he tried to re- enter the world that had turned its back on him. But there were more pressing concerns now. “We dock in so little time I have to ask, shall you prepare to take the deck again?” Kydd’s face turned slowly. His eyes filled as he tried to speak and his fists clenched. Renzi knew for the sake of the future that Kydd should be the one to take Teazer to her rest. “You are the captain still, and duty is a stern mistress. Shall I . . . ?” He let it hang. As the words penetrated, Kydd rose from his chair like an old man and made his way to his inner cabin. After a few minutes he emerged and took a last long look through the windows at the receding wake. “I have th’ ship, Mr Standish,” Kydd mumbled to his first lieuten- ant, and stood alone, face set and pale, staring ahead. Rame Head passed abeam; Teazer hauled her wind for the Sound and home. Hands went to stations for mooring ship and she came gently to single anchor at Barn Pool. The early autumn sunshine had a fragile, poignant quality as the sloop’s gig pulled across the short distance to the dockyard; at Kydd’s side, Renzi held ship’s papers. The boat nuzzled into the landing stage and Kydd stepped out, seeming lost and bewildered. “This way, old fellow,” Renzi said, glaring at passers-by, who
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