Pleasance and the Pirate

Pleasance Penworthy is regarded as an unmarriageable shrew—and a penniless shrew, at that. When her poverty encourages her to at least consider the proposal of her deceased father’s wealthy business associate, the man mysteriously insists that she travel to his estate in Savannah, incognito. Pleasance isn’t interested in marrying someone she hasn’t seen since she was two years old, but she’s intrigued by his tales of a vengeful pirate who is trying to ruin him. Disguised as a teenaged boy, she sets out by carriage to board a ship bound for Savannah.

Before she can reach her destination, though, the coach is waylaid by masked highwaymen in the service of Gasparde’s sworn enemy, sometime pirate, Gavin Spencer. Pleasance slaps the band’s leader, who retaliates by spanking her—in the presence of her traveling companions. Something about the screeching woman over his knee seems familiar, though, and the man turns out to be the handsome stranger she first encountered at a party, three years earlier—when he also spanked her! Pleasance is spirited away to Spencer’s own ship, to be held for ransom until they arrive in Savannah.

When a hurricane blows them off course, Pleasance is injured, and Spencer takes the ship into hiding, until she is well enough to travel. Before long, it becomes obvious to both the Captain and Pleasance that their relationship has changed from captor and captive, to something else.

On the voyage, Spencer explains that Gasparde is not the generous benefactor he claims to be, but a thief and a swindler. Still angry at being abducted, though, and increasingly irritated by her growing attraction to the handsome Captain, Pleasance does everything she can to escape, or at least make the voyage as difficult as possible. The Captain responds as he did at their first meeting—by treating her like the indulged brat she is.