Lady Gwendolyn Montgomery has defied her father, dressed as a boy and bargained passage aboard a merchant ship to save her beloved, who has been banished to the Caribbean. But when her ship is waylaid by pirates, Gwen must join with the flashy and dangerous Captain Lady Rackham if she hopes to save her betrothed-and avoid dying by hangman's noose, or at the hands of Blackbeard himself."Stand aside lads," came the answering voice. Gwen screwed her eyes shut, fighting against the vision that rose up in her mind: the eye patch...the hooked nose...the beady eye...the fingerless hand reaching for her throat... Tom sucked in his breath. Gwen's eyes snapped open. The pirates obediently parted for their captain...To reveal a very different sight indeed. Striding forward on booted feet came a young woman. Strong and slender, like the blade of a sword. She had a sharp, beautiful face. Large, long-lashed eyes-black and piercing. She had perfect brown skin, except for a vertical scar on the right side of her face; and a set, intelligent mouth. Her eyebrows, dark and scrutinizing, matched the color of her streaming midnight hair, which hung curling, wild and windblown around her face and collar. She wore an elbow-length sleeved shirt, a lace-up, leather bodice; a broad, silver-buckled belt from which hung a long, magnificent sword and a small pistol; wide, baggy trousers and knee-high black boots with straps. Atop her head perched a black, white-plumed tri-cornered hat, and she had two dangling, silver earrings in her left ear. About her neck she wore several jeweled necklaces-along with a wooden cross that bore the word "MERCY." The lady stopped right beside the man with the pistol and they exchanged a glance. He nodded, then put away his weapon. The woman spread her stance, put her hands on her hips and grinned. Her gaze fell upon Captain Arnold. "Good morning, Captain! How are you on this lovely day?"