It was a time when Kings ruled the land and lands beyond. It was a time when pirates owned the sea and the treasures it hid. It was a time of betrayal intermixed with lies and love governed the actions of many.
King James ruled with a firm but kind hand. By his side, his pretty Spanish wife, Anne, reigned over the court. By day it was a time of pressing matters that plagued the kingdom. But by night…it was a swirl of color, passion, mystery and intrigue.
Beyond the court, lay the land and beyond the land lay the sea. And within the sea…there was the Caribbean. King James valued his islands as ports for his ships and as rewards. Those who where good to the crown could hope for a coveted spot on the one of the islands. To be a Governor was a great honor.
It had been many years since Ireland had given the crown trouble. Once a sore spot in the side of a ruling monarch, the passionate natured people had cooled their heels and their tongues. The most famous of all the Irish was a young woman. A woman by the name of Lady Skye de Masco. She was an amazing woman, being only twenty and having already outlived three husbands. She was enormously wealthy because of her departed husbands. She owned gold, land and ships…three things that made her valuable to the crown. Ordinarily King James wouldn't have hesitated to call upon her for her help but as it was, the crown owed a good deal to Skye.
Skye's marriages had been political marriages to aid the crown. Her first husband had been Lord Robert Kerry, a fat, abusive man who had used Skye miserably but had died of a heart attack. He left behind a widow of eighteen who was now one of the richest women in England. James had then called on Skye and matched her with Duke Jean du Piermont. The Duke was a quiet man who lived on a small island called Belle Marie. The arrival of fiery Skye had been a slap in the face to him but within one month, he was happily paying court to his exquisitely beautiful Irish wife. Skye's aloofness began to slip as her husband strived to do anything her heart desired. But happiness in this marriage was not for Skye. The Duke died four months after their marriage from an epileptic fit. He left behind a saddened nineteen-year-old Duchess who now found herself with two countries in debt to her: England and France. She was also left with her own island, a title, and a tripled fortune.
She returned to the court of King James and there instantly befriended the pretty young Queen who was fascinated by the Duchess Skye. And it was at court that Skye first met Adam de Masco. The tall, board shoulder Englishman with an air of exciting danger that intrigued Skye. The rumor that ran through the court like a wild fire was that Lord de Masco was a pirate who made his ever-growing fortune off the Spanish. And as long as de Masco was praying off the Spanish, King James welcomed him. In fact, King James encouraged de Masco and rewarded him the hotter the rumors became. De Masco's name was tied to the pirating and pillaging of four large Spanish gallons. None of the court was surprised when Queen Anne was spotted in court with a fantastic necklace of Spanish gold and emeralds the size of a lady's fist around her neck.
King James found an excellent way to reward his pirating friend. He dispatched an invitation to Adam to come and enjoy the court. The night Adam arrived, a masked ball was in full swing. Adam stood by the King's side, his simply black suit, complete with sword, tri-cornered hat, and devilishly good looks. And then Skye had appeared. She had been dressed in black velvet and styled as a pirate queen. Adam…was smitten. Within three minuets, he was shouldering aside the other court dandies that surrounded Skye and had swept her away.
The marriage of Lord Adam de Masco and Duchess Skye du Piermont was the occasion of the year. The land had never seen a more beautiful couple and Adam and Skye where toasted all around.
Adam instantly whisked his lovely little wife away to his home on Lundy Island. But that very night, Spanish Dons invaded Lundy Hall and Lord de Masco was killed.
The murder of Lord de Masco almost caused England and France to turn on Spain. The new Lady de Masco had sense enough as she slipped and fell in her husband's blood to order the men responsible caught before they set foot off the island. Drenched from head to toe in blood, she stood in the hall and looked coldly at the caught men. She made a ghastly sight standing there but with a firm voice she ordered all the Spanish Dons killed. Their bodies where thrown back onto their ships and the ships sailed back to Spain with rotting carcasses in their holds.