It is the summer of 1801 in the West Indies. Napoleon has become the First Consul of France. The wars of the Revolution are drawing to a close with the Treaty of Amiens drawing near, Austria having arranged the Treaty of Lun�ville and Britain having forced the French to surrender in Egypt. Captain Sir Edward Pellew has been spying on Spanish territory in the Caribbean, where Captain Bernardo Vasquez has been secretly seizing English ships illegally, as he anticipated changing tides a few years too soon in Napoleon�s need for a fleet and Spain willingness to supply it. He justifies this with the War of Oranges against Portugal, which was a move to restrict trade with England. Miss Diana Pulliams is a passenger on Pellew's ship, the Indefatigable, and is the daughter of Captain Atticus Pulliams of the Rose, which is one of the ships Vasquez captured. A few pirates also took interest in the ships in their waters, including Captain Serena Kraege, Katherine Sapphire, and Henry Rose, Kraege�s coxswain. The Indy made short work of the pirates, but in a bad stroke of luck was then caught by the Spanish. Because the pirates had been following the Indy for at a distance to determine whether or not they would risk the taking her, they knew the English had been spying, which they could have all been hanged for as well as the pirates hanged for piracy. A deal was struck that the pirates would behave as British sailors, and the pirates said nothing about the spying, though it could only be expected this was not a permanent arrangement, which began a mess of escape plans on both sides when they were taken prisoner. On the way to the fort at Punto de Oso, many subplots began to unfold: The Master�s mate Archie Kennedy and Diana fell in love, while Midshipman William Bush is temporarily promoted to acting-lieutenant because of the death of Lieutenant Chad. He manages to scare a few people by leapfrogging the chain of command at times. Kraege is forced to play a respectable lady, and Mister Rose, discovering with blessed coincidence that Miss Pulliams, his former student, was on board, tells her that he was pressed to the pirate ship as he had been pressed to the British navy years earlier. Another captured ship produces the pirate Katherine and a Spanish spy, who is an English traitor, named John Ricketts, who knows Serena none-too-fondly, is a threat to the deal between the English and scoundrels, and causes trouble left and right. Once they reach the fort, the women are taken to live with Captain Vasquez �temporarily,� while he arranges a ship to return them to the English, though considering his illegal activity, it is likely he never truly had the intention of helping them. All other characters are imprisoned, except for Ricketts, the Spanish, the English Doctor Clive, and a helpful sneaker named Bart who goes to get information from a nearby town that may help. There, Captain Pulliams was found, Archie and William became better friends, First Lieutenant Eccles and a few others died of yellow fever, which William also caught but slowly recovered from. In the fort�s town, Doctor Clive and Serena became fond of each other, after Ricketts nearly disrupted the charade again and stabbed Serena during a dinner party. Luckily, after such crazed actions, his claims were not believed, and he was also put in prison. Meanwhile, Hector Barello, a lieutenant who was afraid for his country in regards to Napoleon�s possible intentions because of Vasquez, helps the English escape from prison. Bart, not keeping to his word, returned only to rescue Katherine and Ricketts, which provided the perfect distraction. Telling Vasquez the prisoners had fled- in the wrong direction- Barello took his wife and two ships and arranged a plan that gave the English a small head start from Vasquez�, acting as one of the lieutenants. Once it appeared that battle was inevitable before they could reach Kingston, Pellew used the changing winds near a section of shoals to get the weather gauge over Vasquez, defeating him easily because the Spanish had separated their forces to try and cut the English off around the other side during the night. The English fleet arrived because of the smoke marking the scene and helped capture both Spanish third class frigates. During the battle, Doctor Clive died from a splinter to the neck when he had gone on deck, and Henry Rose lost a leg. Serena was offered protection from hanging because of her help, but because her care for Clive affected her so, she returned to piracy as soon as they reached Jamaica, where Katherine and Ricketts were hanged.
Chapter two manages to have accidentally skipped about three and a half years to begin in late 1805, just before the crowning of Napoleon as Emperor and the redeclaration of war between England and France. We do, however, recognize the time jump over the Treaty of Amiens with the support of the characters discussing the time and their different ages later on. Diana Pulliams has returned to Portsmouth to live in her mother's home. She has been keeping correspondence with Archie, who has been made Master on a small ship, and their relationship seems to be growing very well. Henry has also been pardoned for his piracy and released from the navy due to the peace and influence of Captain Pulliams. Henry has resumed his position as Diana's tutor, while Captain Pulliams resumes his position on the sea. William takes his exam and is made a lieutenant of the same ship as Archie, but when he goes to visit Diana to tell her the news, many strange things are afoot. Diana had been forced to go out on a date with the wealthy Lord Percival, an arrogant snob who wished to be in her company no more than she did. On their way to dinner, they see Hector Barello lying face down in a side street and quickly go to his aid. He awakes in her hosue and tells them that Serena is in Portsmouth with a man helping her. Earlier on, Hector had happened along the two plotting, but had been knocked out by a French spy named Jean-Christian Luc Badeau, who works at a local theatre under the name Christian. He is interested in placing Serena in the navy to get information for France and takes her and Mister Earl Mowry, an old pirate companion and love interest, to his apartment to discuss the possibility. As Serena leaves to think on it, Jean realizes that Nickolai Chevalier, a fellow theatre performer, had been listening in. Both being actors, Jean shooes Serena and Earl along, inviting Nicki in. Nicki casually congratulates him on a good performance, while Jean dismisses the discussion as part of a play. Niether, however, is convinced, and Jean forces Nicki to stay with him. He finds he cannot kill the man because it would arrouse suspicion and all the theatre performers were likely to be questioned. Nicki, on the other hand, soon comes to terms with his new situation and tries to befriend Jean, encouraging him to leave the business. Jean lavishes affection on him and makes a few expensive purchases, having lived a very private and solitary life for the last twenty years, which leads Nicki, a homosexual or 'pouffe,' to become quite attached to him. Meanwhile, after the alert is sounded for Kraege, she attempts to frame Mowry's wife as the recent murderer of a British captain, the only crime Lt. Bush knows Kraege committed after her pardoning in Jamaica. Kraege runs and takes refuge at Jean's apartment, but much more has been going on there. Nicki has discovered a kitten in the alley and brought it in, naming her Annouska after a childhood friend. When Nicki goes to buy food for the kitten, he is attacked my Claude Meursault, another spy who works with Jean. Claude tries to drown Nicki in a wash basin outside the house of Emily Bronte. Luckily, she comes out and is able to get Nicki help from her friend (and love interest) Doctor Haysfield. Though Nicki is still sick, when Jean manages to find him, they decide it's best to go back to his place, but Nicki is none too pleased when Jean leaves again to murder someone. Nicki's discovery of Jean's rosary beads and a collection of old playbills encourages him to continue trying to change the man. When Serena gets there, Jean is not happy that she could bring suspicion on him as well, so he finds her a place quickly on a naval ship- which happens to be the same ship William and Archie are assigned to- to help her keep a low profile until he can pull strings to get her a more influential position, once all of this dies down. Nicki is still ill with fever when Claude comes to Jean's apartment, angry himself that Kraege had made herself known when it had been Jean's plan to enlist her help. Claude sees Nicki and orders Jean to kill him. Jean agrees but instead brings Nicki back to Doctor Haysfield, hoping to get a document written up that says Nicki is dead, since he is now in great danger. In his state, though, Nicki tells Miss Bronte the truth about Jean. She in turn tells Haysfield, and much arguing ensues, as Haysfield is good friends with Doctor Stephen Maturin, a British spy. Hayfield says Jean can follow through with his promises to Nicki to leave his allegience to France, or be imprisoned. It turns out the British had been growing suspicious of several figures in Portsmouth and were coming to arrest them, Jean and Claude included. Jean is afraid to simply cut off ties to France, though, because a few months earlier the French Secret Service had infiltrated England and captured many traitors to have the executed. With Haysfield's help, though, Jean and Nicki are able to get a ride to France with Maturin's friend Captain Aubrey, so Jean can peacefully request leaving the service. At the Pulliams Estate, Diana's mother does not want her to marry a sailor because of what she has experienced with Diana's father, Atticus. Diana defies her, however, and in Henry's company, she goes aboard the ship of Commander Nicholas Groves. The ship is heading for Gibraltar and then southern France to supply the British blockade in Toulan. In Gibraltar, Diana knows she will be able to have her father perform a marriage ceremony for Archie and her, a natural ritual at sea. After Serena discovers that these familiar faces are also aboard, though, she deserts and manages to make it to the safety of a Spanish vessel after getting shot in the arm. Mister Mowry does not escape and will be tried and hanged when the ship reaches the bloackade and has enough captains present for a sea trial. No great battle occurs because the British are concerned with protecting the trading line and flee. On the Spanish ship, Serena meets her brother Louis, who has been pressed to the Spanish navy as a doctor. She escapes with him to France, though she has to cut off his ear to convince him, as they are not on especially good terms after Serena killed their parents and all. Her mind made up, Serena begins a journey toward Paris to see if she can get a position as a privateer. Meanwhile, Jean returns to the city Aix-en-Provence with Nicki, who has taken on the role of a traveling Italian. They stay in Jean's father's old house, which has been kept by his brother Gabriel. Jean is not on the best terms with Gabriel because Jean was a revolutionary and Gabriel a loyalist to the French monarchy, but they make it work. Jean's old lover Estelle comes around to try and gain Jean's affections again. She was part of a noble family that had lost its wealth some time ago. Jean is able to run her off by telling her that Nicki is his lover, though Jean is not aware until then that Nicki speaks French, when he comes down to support Jean's story. This causes some awkwardness between them. The other Badeau brother, Felix, is fighting in Austria and Prussia and died. Nicki is able to sense him as a spirit inhabiting one of the rooms in the Badeau house, just as he was able to sense his chilhood 'friend' Annouska, who was a girl that died in the building of his home in Russia. Despite the initial animosity and confusion between them, Nicki is able to calm the spirit, just as Jean packs up and heads toward Paris to speak with Napoleon and Fouche, the head of the French Secret Service. Claude escaped from England, though, and randomly meets up with Serena. He is able to put her in direct contact with Napoleon and a private shipping company that give her a ship. She goes out on the sea, with Claude watching her in case she is not so loyal as she came off, as he remains very suspicious of Jean. Louis does not go with her and runs off to Toulon to try and get back to England through the bloackade. He rows out to Groves' ship, having seen it in the earlier scuffle, and is brought aboard. When Bush hears his name is Kraege, though, he is immediately untrusting and has Louis pressed so he can be questioned in the morning. Louis escapes before being examined by the doctor, finds Earl, and escapes with him as well. The three character groups' paths converge in a tavern in Toulon. William is depressed because much of his family remains in Germany, very near to France, where Napoleon is expected to soon invade to make a path towards Prussia. He has been paying to get them to England since he was twelve but does not have enough for the rest. Archie has money for a house with Diana, who is on her way back to England, but he decides to give it to William and continue living with Diana's hateful mother for a while. After the escape of Louis and Earl, William and Archie go in to Toulon to look for them, but also hire Nicki, Gabriel, and David Carton to get William's family out of Germany. Archie had recognized Nicki from the Portsmouth theatre and trusts him. David is an English marine that was captured in port after the Treaty of Amiens was broken. He has been in a French prison for a year and escaped to get back to England through Toulon. However, he needs money to support his mother and brother and jumped at the opportunity. After a talk with Gabriel, Nicki realizes more about Jean and becomes more attached to David instead. Also in the tavern, Earl and Louis meet a young girl names Art Blastside. It seems for a moment that she intended to go with the 'pirates' after she heard them plotting on how to return to England, but she ends up following Nicki, Gabby, and David back to Aix. Her father spent some time in England, and she also recognized Nicki, and their path to England seemed much more assured. As soon as Gabriel discovers her there, he disencourages her from joining them to Germany because of the great number of thugs on the road and the poor quality of the roads altogether. He has her stay with Sylvestre, a childhood friend of the Badeaus. Sylvestre finds her a position in the local theatre but tells her that she must follow her heart. Earlier, though, on the way home, Diana's ship had been captured by a French privateer, Henri Agnew. Henry makes the mistake of mentioning money, and he is set ashore in France to get ransom money for the new Mrs. Kennedy. On the way back south to Toulon, Henry gets the help of a young woman named Sophia. By the time Henry gets there, though, Diana was already rescued--by Serena! Diana makes it home with Henry and Sophia, who seemed to take quite an interest in William, just in time for Claude to threaten and convince Serena of her true affilitaions. Similarly, because of suspicions falling on him, Jean has not been allowed to leave the Secret Service and is being watched closely. He met up with Estelle again in Paris, and they swiftly became intimate again, though this time it seems that Estelle cares for him sincerely. At the end of chapter two, Jean and Serena are working for the French; Diana, Henry, and Sophia return to the Pulliams Estate, the members of Groves' crew are stuck serving in the blockade, Louis returns to England, while Earl meets Serena in Toulon and marries her!!! Gabby, Nicki, David, and Art begin the long journey to Germany.
Present chapter, running summary
With a one month time jump, Serena has returned to England with Earl. Earl returns to his old home with Amelia, who is now remarried and cleaning the place out. When she returns again, Serena has killed Earl and is now on to threaten her family and use them to gain vengeance on Diana and Sophia for trying to kill her during a tight escape to the British bloackade. She holds her younger sister, Clare, hostage, while sending Rebecca to the Pulliams Estate to get Diana and Sophia, though Rebecca and the others have plans to have Serena arrested instead. Louis is still in trouble with the law because of the misunderstanding with Lt. Bush. Gabriel, Nicki, David, and Art are now all travelling together and have reached the Busch residence. David and Nicki have become much better friends, and Dieter Busch is already very friendly with the newcomers as well. They are soon to leave for Hamburg. On a walk, however, Nicki, David, and Dieter encountered two witches studying in Germany, Karen Woodruff and David's brother Victor. This interesting meeting is interrupted, though, by Jean and Claude, who have been stationed to get information on Germany so Napoleon can pass through it. Claude is seeing if Jean is truly loyal- which puts Jean in a bad situation when it is discovered that Nicki is still alive, and an even worse situation when Victor kills Claude. Because Nicki's nerves have driven him into an epilleptic attack, he cannot defend Jean, who is run off back towards France. He doesn't truly realize the foul nature of this mistake until he is being interrogated and tortured by the French Secret Service. Jean is rescued by Estelle with a hefty sum of money, while Clare Kraege is rescued by Diana. Once Serena saw that her ship had been captured by Captain Pulliams in port, she decided to cut her losses for the moment and make a quick get away with Louis remaining her hostage. After a poorly executed murder attempt, Louis presently finds himself running away and trying to hide from his sister. Meanwhile, Victor and Karen have been forced from the Busch home because of their suspicious behavior. It seems that Gunter may suspect them as witches. Everyone is packing up and getting ready for the first leg of the trip in the morning, while the people of the Pulliams Estate eagerly await Diana's return and have ensured the participation of the police in the matter.
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