Praise for the works of Stephanie Laurens
“Stephanie Laurens’ heroines are marvelous tributes to Georgette Heyer: feisty and strong.” Cathy Kelly
“Stephanie Laurens never fails to entertain and charm her readers with vibrant plots, snappy dialogue, and unforgettable characters.” Historical Romance Reviews
“Stephanie Laurens plays into readers’ fantasies like a master and claims their hearts time and again.” Romantic Times Magazine
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Principal Characters:
Frobisher, Caleb – Hero, youngest Frobisher brother and captain of The Prince
Fortescue, Katherine (Kate) – Heroine, missing governess from the Sherbrook household in Freetown
In London:
Family:
Frobisher, Declan – Caleb’s older brother
Frobisher, Lady Edwina – Caleb’s sister-in-law, Declan’s wife
Frobisher, Robert – Caleb’s older brother
Hopkins, Aileen – Robert’s intended, Lt. William Hopkins’s sister
Staff in Declan & Edwina’s townhouse:
Humphrey – butler
Government:
Wolverstone, Duke of, Royce, aka Dalziel – ex-commander of British secret operatives outside England
In Aberdeen:
Frobisher, Fergus – Caleb’s father
Frobisher, Elaine – Caleb’s mother
Frobisher, Royd – Caleb’s oldest brother
In Southampton:
Higginson – head clerk, Frobisher Shipping Company Office
In Freetown:
Holbrook, Governor – Governor-in-Chief of British West Africa
Eldridge, Major – Commander, Fort Thornton
Decker, Vice-Admiral – Commander, West Africa Squadron
Winton, Major – Commissar of Fort Thornton
Babington, Charles – partner, Macauley & Babington Trading Company
Macauley, Mr. – senior partner, Macauley & Babington Trading Company
Undoto, Obo – local priest
Muldoon – the Naval Attaché
Winton – nephew of Major Winton, Assistant Commissar at the fort
At Kale’s Homestead:
Kale – slavers’ leader
Rogers – Kale’s lieutenant in the settlement
Fifteen other slavers, including “the pied piper”
In the Mining Compound:
Mercenaries:
Dubois – leader of the mercenaries, presumed French
Arsene – Dubois’s lieutenant, second-in-command, presumed French
Cripps – Dubois’s second lieutenant, English
Plus twenty-eight other mercenaries – of various ages and extractions
Captives:
Dixon, Captain John – army engineer
Hopkins, Lieutenant William – navy, West Africa Squadron
Fanshawe, Lieutenant – navy, West Africa Squadron
Hillsythe – ex-Wolverstone agent, governor’s aide
Frazier, Harriet – gently bred young woman, Dixon’s sweetheart
Wilson, Mary – shop owner-assistant, Babington’s sweetheart
Mackenzie, Ellen – young woman recently arrived in the settlement
Halliday, Gemma – young woman from the slums
Mellows, Annie – young woman from the slums
Mathers, Jed – carpenter
Plus eighteen other men – all British of various backgrounds and trades
Diccon – young boy, seven years old
Amy – young girl, six years old
Gerry – boy, ten years old
Plus sixteen other children – all British, ranging from six to ten years old
Plus five other children – all British, ranging from eleven to fourteen years old
On board The Prince:
Fitzpatrick, Lieutenant Frederick – First Mate
Wallace, Mr. – Master
Carter – Bosun, goes into the jungle but returns to the ship
Quilley – Quartermaster, goes into the jungle and remains with Caleb
Hornby, Mr. – Steward, goes into the jungle but returns to the ship
Johnson – midshipman, goes into the jungle but returns to the ship
Foster, Martin, Ellis, Quick, Mallard, Collins, Biggs, Norton, and Olsen – midshipmen and experienced seamen who go into the jungle and remain with Caleb.
On board The Raven:
Lascelle, Phillipe – Captain, privateer, longtime friend of Caleb’s
Reynaud – Bosun, goes into the jungle but returns to the ship
Ducasse – Quartermaster, goes into the jungle and remains with Phillipe
Fullard, Collmer, Gerard, Vineron – midshipmen and experienced seamen who go into the jungle and remain with Phillipe
Plus four other seamen – all of French extraction, who go into the jungle but return to the ship
CHAPTER 1
July 14, 1824
Jungle east of Freetown, West Africa
Caleb Frobisher moved steadily forward through the jungle shadows. His company of twenty-four men followed in single file. No one spoke; the silence was eerie, stretching nerves taut. Beneath the thick canopy, the humidity was so high that forging ahead felt like walking underwater, as if the heavy atmosphere literally weighed on their limbs.
“Hell’s bells,” Phillipe Lascelle, at Caleb’s heels, breathed. “Surely it can’t be much farther.”
“It’s only midmorning,” Caleb murmured back. “You can’t be wilting already.”
Phillipe snorted.
Caleb continued along the path that was little more than an animal track; they had to constantly duck and weave under and around palm fronds and low branches festooned with clinging vines.
Somewhere ahead lay the slavers’ camp they’d come to find—or so Caleb fervently hoped.