The Daredevil Snared. Stephanie Laurens. Читать онлайн. Newlib. NEWLIB.NET

Автор: Stephanie Laurens
Издательство: HarperCollins
Серия: MIRA
Жанр произведения: Морские приключения
Год издания: 0
isbn: 9781474054386
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first voyage is one of exploration, the second one of discovery. The third journey brings maturity, while the fourth is a voyage of second chances. Continue the journey and follow the adventure, the mystery, and the romances to the dramatic end.

      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

The Daredevil Snared

      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.