Hal, formally known as the pirate Henry Morgan Francis Merritt, was out for vengeance against Richard March, Viscount Sandgrove. In an English tavern, Hal was approached by a mysterious man in black who wanted to hire Hal to murder March's wife. If not for being stranded in port, Hal would have ignored the offer; his Cherokee upbringing had taught him to be a warrior, not to murder the weak. Hal was, he thought, incognito, so he was understandably alarmed that this stranger knew his antagonism toward Viscount Sandgrove as well as how desperate he was for coin. But he took the stranger's money and gave it to his first mate George to pay the berthing fee and provide his crew's wages. The stranger wanted the head of the countess in a sack to prove she was dead.

Elspeth March, Countess Greymere, might have considered herself better off dead than in her six-month-long arranged marriage. March was a violent man who blamed Elspeth for his drunken impotence. He desperately needed an heir to secure the succession although he could not even manage to consummate the marriage. After March broke her wrist, she collected her maid Patsy and sneaked out for Greymere, her family home. When she stopped to rest on the way to her destination, Pirate Hal, looking like the Scot-Cherokee he was, revealed himself and gained her confidence by quickly hiding her from March and his fast-approaching men. He explained that he had been hired to kill her but offered her a deal instead.

When Elspeth turned up missing, March immediately looked for her at Greymere. For assistance, he turned to his elder, illegitimate brother Alex who lived at Greymere and was Elspeth's step-father. Clearly there was more going on than met the eye. Someone who knew Elspeth well wanted her dead.

This is exactly the kind of Historical romance which one can find on bookstore shelves published by one of the big presses. In THE LADY'S PIRATE, Anne Manning provides a swashbuckling hero who can be everything from Errol Flynn to Antonio Banderas, an innocent lady in jeopardy who manages to hold her own, a boatload of sea-faring redskins, and plenty of red herrings and secrets to be discovered as they fight their way against the odds trying to survive in a hostile world. It is a satisfying read.

Reviewed By: Allie
(c) July 2004