Blackhearts (38 page)

behind his back, pointing fingers at the unsightly figure before them.

Teach had been numb to it all. He hadn’t had any feelings

left. Until he’d seen his father.

Teach’s was one face among hundreds on the docks, and

Teach did not fear discovery. On his feet he wore stout calf-hide boots. He had the old jacket and floppy hat John had given

him. Once again his face and hair were unkempt, and his father

would have a hard time recognizing him.

Teach watched as his father addressed the crowd briefly.

There was a haunted look in his eyes, and his was the face of a

man suffering.

Teach knew instinctively that if he would simply show him-

self, his father would recover, but Teach was unwilling to move.

His father would make him stay in Bristol, and Teach could not

accept that fate. Everywhere Teach looked he was reminded of

Anne. The pain of her absence hadn’t dulled. He was constantly

aware of the knowledge that she was somewhere far away and

he couldn’t reach her.

Teach’s eyes moved over the crowd, but they paused briefly

on the familiar sight of William and Patience standing together, William’s arm draped protectively around her. Teach’s mouth

tightened slightly, but he gave no other response.

Swinging his bag of belongings onto his back, Teach pushed

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through the throng. In his bag were the things he’d packed from the house, and in Teach’s pocket was the ring he’d planned to

give Anne.

As Teach approached the boarding plank, he reached for the

papers in his waistcoat and handed them to the stocky young

man near the plank. On Teach’s instructions, John had paid

the original first mate a tidy sum not to report that morning,

allowing Teach to take his place. The first mate was a represen-

tative of the merchant owner, and in most cases, he could not

be removed from his office by the captain of the ship.

A cheer went up as the assembly dispersed, people jockey-

ing for a better position to watch the mighty
Deliverance
set sail.

“You’re late,” the man said, giving Teach a once-over.

“I know,” Teach said shortly. It hadn’t taken much for him

to mimic his father’s signature on his papers. He’d mastered

the art when he’d been a schoolboy and Drummond had taken

Teach to his office once in a while, before Drummond had

decided that a merchant life was no life for his son.

“I wonder what Richard Drummond would say if he knew

you cared so little for your post,” the man said doubtfully.

Teach nodded. “You’re free to go and ask him yourself, . . .”

He waited for the young man to supply his name.

“Jack Thurston.”

“Well, Jack Thurston, you’re free to go and ask him your-

self, but he’s a very busy man. If you want to waste his time—”

Jack shook his head. “No, that won’t be necessary.”

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Teach was an imposing figure, and he knew how to use his size to his advantage. He was quickly learning that he didn’t

need to employ force to get what he wanted.

“Are you as good a first mate as they say?” Jack asked.

Teach didn’t know what kind of rumors John had spread,

but he could imagine they’d been slightly exaggerated.

“Aye, I am.” There was an undercurrent of danger in Teach’s

nearly blank expression.

Jack obviously assumed that Drummond had employed

Teach at the last minute, knowing what a target the
Deliverance
would provide out on the open sea. Any sloop out there would

have heard of the galleon’s maiden voyage and know what a coup

it would be to capture such a ship. Most of the
Deliverance
’s crew was former soldiers, prepared to fight if any pirates dared show themselves. “Well, then, what’s your name?” Jack asked. “I can’t read this chicken scratch.”

Teach studied Jack for a moment. “The name is Edward

Teach.”

Jack nodded. “Good enough, although I think ‘Edward’

is too fine a name for you. If you intend to look like a street

urchin and smell like a sow, I shall have to call you something

else.” He looked Teach over from head to toe, noting his shabby

black hair and beard. “You’re no dandy. I’ll call you Blackbeard.

Welcome aboard.”

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A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S

It’s both incredible and humbling to think of all the people

who helped make this book possible. First of all, an enormous

thank-you goes to my amazing editor, Sara Sargent. Working

with you has been a privilege and an honor. You understood

what I wanted to write from the beginning, and without your

valuable insight, Anne and Teach’s story wouldn’t be what it is

today.

To the remarkable publishing team at Simon Pulse, who

helped make this dream of mine come true: Mara Anastas, Mary

Marotta, Liesa Abrams, Kayley Hoffman, Carolyn Swerdloff,

Teresa Ronquillo, and Nicole Ellul. Thank you so much for all

of your support! Karina Granda, you rendered me speechless

with the beautiful design for the cover. I couldn’t have asked for a more accurate symbol of Anne and Teach’s struggle. And to

Sarah McCabe, Rio Cortez, and Danielle Esposito, thank you

for taking the time to read the manuscript and making sure I

told Anne’s point of view the way it should be told.

Quinlan Lee, I will never forget the day I received your

e-mail asking if we could have a chat. You were an answer to my prayers and I will always be grateful to you for being such a huge champion of this book.

Thank you also to Tracey Adams, agent extraordinaire, who

took me on. Your knowledge of and passion for the industry lets

me know I’m in very capable hands. A special shout-out to Josh

Adams who came up with the brilliant title for this book. And

to Samantha Bagood, your feedback was greatly appreciated.

I’m incredibly blessed to be a part of the Adams Literary family.

There have been many writerly friends who’ve supported

me on this journey. I’m grateful to Anne Perry, über-talented

murder-mystery author and longtime family friend. I’ll never

forget your encouragement and our discussions about charac-

terization and plot. To my sister from another mister/critique

partner, Becky Wallace: I wouldn’t have made it this far without you, cyber best friend. One day we will get to hang out together.

Thank you also to Caroline Richmond and Lynne Matson for

being awesome betas.

Thank you to the many book bloggers who’ve already shown

incredible support and excitement for
Blackhearts
.

I have several nonwriterly friends who’ve helped me along

the way. Dionne Matthews, Brandee Hammett, Andrea Stroud,

Sam Loveland, and Becca Castleton, thank you for taking the

time out of your busy schedules to read for me. Of course I

couldn’t have written as much as I did without the help of Janine Sydney, and Jake Simpson, as well as Holly and James Loveland.

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Thanks for being there for me throughout this entire process and entertaining my kiddos while I pursued my dream.

To my mother, Doris S. Platt, you always encouraged me

to write. You knew I would love it, because you taught me to

love books. You were right! To my father, James S. Platt, you

taught me the importance of getting up every day and going to

work, no matter what. To my siblings Andrea Christiansen and

Cameron Platt and their families, thank you for listening to me

when I talked about my story ideas. For my twin sister, Kirsten

Major, I’m so glad I had you by my side. Not everyone is as

lucky as we were to come with our very own best friend. Your

family is lucky to have you! To my in-laws, the Castroman/

Perez clans, thanks so much for all your support.

And finally to my beautiful family: Sophia and Anthony,

you are my everything and I’m proud to be your mother. You

always believed in me. Thank you for understanding when

I said, “Mommy has to write.” And to my Miguelo, I knew

when we first met that you were the one for me. Without your

encouragement I wouldn’t have made it this far, and I’m thank-

ful for every day we spend together.
Te amo mucho.

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