According to Elmley Academy for the Enlightenment and Enrichment of Ladies of Exemplary Character . . . Subject: Important Things To Consider Before Stowing Away Aboard a Sailing Vessel. Rule Number 1: Choose a seaworthy vessel. Avoid those which have recently seen battle, especially those crippled, worn out veritable floating hulks in need of extensive repairs. Rule Number 2: Fair weather is your friend. Avoid voyages in storm season whenever possible... moreAccording to Elmley Academy for the Enlightenment and Enrichment of Ladies of Exemplary Character . . . Subject: Important Things To Consider Before Stowing Away Aboard a Sailing Vessel. Rule Number 1: Choose a seaworthy vessel. Avoid those which have recently seen battle, especially those crippled, worn out veritable floating hulks in need of extensive repairs. Rule Number 2: Fair weather is your friend. Avoid voyages in storm season whenever possible. Rule Number 3: If you must go to such extremes for transportation make certain your chosen vessel’s captain is exceedingly handsome and a phenomenal kisser. A lady never knows when extenuating circumstances may make these attributes paramount in importance . . . Lady Charlotte Preston has the great misfortune to stowaway on the Badger, a wounded frigate with more patches to her hull than able-bodied crewmen to man her. Complicating that bit of bad luck, a monster storm blows the crippled ship onto deadly shoals where she’s run aground on a sandbar and begins to break apart. Captivated by the spirited beauty since first discovering her aboard his ship, Captain Constantine North, manages by herculean effort to rescue Charlotte who is trapped below deck in her cabin, sparing her from certain death. With all the long boats already deployed and carrying the entire crew toward shore, the pair is stranded in the deadly tempest on a sinking ship. It requires all of his considerable skill and extraordinary flair for getting out of bad scrapes to fight the mounting threats. It is a hard-fought battle of survival with little hope for success. And yet all of the elements collide to forge an attraction that is stronger than Mother Nature’s mightiest wrath. Desire swells between the niece of the powerful Duke of Swaleness and the illustrious but low-born naval officer. On a night when their lives hang in the balance the strictures of society seem of no consequence. They ride out the storm, seeking comfort in each other’s arms, surrendering to forbidden desire. And while the odds are not in their favor, and they are tested at every turn, love is always its own reward. By tempting Fate, a secret past emerges and destiny is unleashed from its rigid and unsympathetic constraints to sweep the two lovers along in a great storm tide of passion. A romance for the ages, come along for a thrilling journey where a legendary, all-conquering devotion is born. less
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