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 Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:05 am
 "Virginia, at that time, was the greatest and the richest of all the American colonies, and upon the farther side of North Carolina was the province of South Carolina, also strong and rich. It was these two colonies that suffered the most from Blackbeard, and it began to be that the honest men that lived in them could endure no longer to be plundered. [...] At last, when Blackbeard sailed up into the very heart of Virginia, and seized upon and carried away the daughter of that colony's foremost people, the governor of Virginia, finding that the governor of North Carolina would do nothing to punish the outrage, took the matter into his own hands and issued a proclamation offering a reward of one hundred pounds for Blackbeard, alive or dead, and different sums for the other pirates who were his followers." This definitely resonates with the details I know about Mary Anne Townsend. In other sources I've read, she's mentioned to be the niece of a "prominent and wealthy government official" and grew up in Jamestown, Virginia. And she had been sailing with her uncle during his business trip to Bermuda, so that lines up with these details of seizing and carrying away the lady.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:25 am
"On the evening of the twenty-second [of November] the two vessels under command of Lieutenant Maynard came into the mouth of Ocracoke Inlet and there dropped anchor. [...] The same night that Maynard came into the inlet a wedding was held on the shore. A number of men and women came up the beach in oxcarts and sledges; others had come in boats from more distant points and across the water. [...] It was nearly dark when they [the captain of the New Yorker and Blackbeard] stepped ashore on the beach. [...] Te young woman who had just been married approached the two. She had been dancing, and she was warm and red, her hair blowzed about her head. 'Hi, Captain, won't you dance with me?' she said to Blackbeard. Blackbeard stared at her. 'Who be you?' he said. She burst out laughing. 'You look as if you'd eat a body,' she cried. Blackbeard's face gradually relaxed. 'Why, to be sure, you're a brazen one, for all the world,' he said. 'Well, I'll dance with you, that I will. I'll dance the heart of you.' He pushed forward, thrusting aside with his elbow the newly made husband. The man, who saw that Blackbeard had been drinking, burst out laughing, and the other men and women who had been standing around drew away, so that in a little while the floor was pretty well cleared. [...] Blackbeard jumped up into the air and clapped his heels together, giving, as he did so, a sharp, short yell. Then he began instantly dancing grotesquely and violently. The woman danced opposite to him, this way and that, with her knuckles on her hips." [...] 'Your wife'll be a rich widdy then, won't she?' cried one of the men; and there was a burst of laughter. 'Why,' said the New York captain, - 'why, has a - a bloody p-pirate like you a wife then - a - like any honest man?' 'She'll be no richer than she is now,' said Blackbeard. 'She knows where you've hid your money, anyways. Don't she, Captain?' called out a voice. 'The divil knows where I've hid my money,' said Blackbeard, 'and I know where I've hid it; and the longest liver of the twain will git it all. And that's all there is of it.' Okay, so it sounds like the wedding on the beach must be some random couple Blackbeard and the other captain stumbled upon. And the people there just bring up the mention of Blackbeard's wife, which surprises the captain of the New Yorker.
But my OFMD brain likes to imagine all of the festivities are the wedding of Blackbeard and Mary Anne... and it's all of their pirate friends coming together for the occasion. And it's just the crew/friends discussing that theory that she knows the location of Blackbeard's treasure. Which... if you look into it... he doesn't directly deny his "wife" doesn't know the location of his treasure.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:33 am
Or... Or, in an AU head canon idea, it's Mary Anne marrying Izzy Hands. Thus we have the "groom" that Blackbeard pushes aside when the two of them dance... and their whole conversation of "Who are you?" is just a teasing manner. And would explain why this bride has no fear of dancing with such an infamous pirate.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 10:35 am
Hmm... yes... I like this idea more. whee
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:09 am
Ed stepped out of the dingy made his way up the beach, with the Captain of the New Yorker beside him. He couldn't help but let a smile come upon his face as he saw the colorful arrangement of flowers, ribbons, and other decor the crew, locals, and other visiting individuals had put up in honor of the celebration. The sound of Frenchie playing his instrument drifting through the various dancing individuals towards them.
"Well, they certainly know how to put on a celebration, don't they?" commented the Captain, leaning and hugging one of the posts nearby. Ed frowned briefly at the Captain, noticing they had become too far into their drink for his liking. This was not the night for any foolish behavior.
Blackbeard turned as a young woman skipped over to them. He blinked in shock as he realized he knew this angelic beauty who stand before her. Although her hair was tied back with white ribbons and pale flowers, the combination of the sea breeze and evening of activity had made it escape in places and fan out in waves about her like a halo.
"Hello, Captain," she teased, a huge smile on her face, adding more color to her already warm cheeks. "Will you do me the honor of an dance?"
"Who are you?" said Ed, still shocked that this was the woman he had come to know so well. The woman who had been his own wife at one time; though now the title was merely for business purposes rather than romantic as it started out as.
Mary Anne burst out laughing at his reaction. "You look like you've seen some fantastical being. Surely such fine fabric and gay festivities can't change me that much."
Ed relaxed and flashed a smile in her direction. "You always were a brazen one," he commented.
Izzy had stepped forward to see how matters were going between his Captain and his new wife. Ed was pleased to see that his First Mate had been fitted with well-made pieces as well and a small collection of flowers were pinned on his breast, matching those in Mary Anne's hair.
"Well then, a dance you ask for?" said Ed, stepping forward, placing a hand upon Izzy's shoulder in comradery before leading Mary Anne past him out to the dance floor. "Dance with you, I shall. I'll dance the heart out of you."
A big smile appeared on Izzy's face as he saw the two most important people in his life come together once more. The crew seeing the two taking the dance floor, cheered and stepped aside to leave a cleared area for them. Frenchie seeing the two dancers being focused on, easily transitioned into a fun jig for the two of them to dance to. Ed leaped, clapped, and did a variety of strange dances while Mary Anne twisted and turned, with her hands on her hips holding up her skirts, occasionally flaring them out in a Spanish-like manner.
After a series of dances of just the two of them, with the rest of the crew, and the newly wedded couple, Ed finally made his way back to the captain of the New Yorker. While he had not moved from his spot by the post, Ed could see the man had managed to acquire even more liquor and was barely holding himself up.
"She is sure to be a rich lady then, won't she?" said the Captain, slurring his words over his alcohol-loosened tongue. "Being with a man like that. Best First Mate any Captain could ask for."
"My wife will be no richer than she is now," replied Ed.
He knew Mary Anne's ways. While she was just as impressive with her seizing and raids of merchant ships she came across, Mary Anne was never one to hoard the loot. She either found ways of distributing it among her crew or used the funds she acquired from them to be used upon the needs of the less fortunate. Not that any of the individuals of the higher classes were aware the mysterious donations to such establishments had been done by a pirate and not just some semi-unfamiliar lady of respectable status.
"Wife," said the Captain, turning to Ed with blurry eyes. "Why... why, has a - a blood p-pirate like you have a wife - like any honest man?"
"Why shouldn't I have a wife?" asked Ed, looking back at him with confusion and the low laying anger of the Captain's words potentially leading to an insult of some sort. "Regardless, she's my First Mate's now. We are strictly... business partners now."
"So, she knows where you've hidden your money, then. Doesn't she, Blackbeard?"
"The devil knows where I've hid my money," replied Ed, his voice taken a colder tone, warning the Captain to not weasel his way into details he had no reason to be getting into. "And I know where I've hid it. And that's all there is to it."
The Captain stared at Ed and then raised his hands in surrender, letting the subject drop, before raising the bottle in his hand to his lips for another swig. Ed let a low growl hum out of him as he watched. Yes, this Captain may become a problem if he continued his ways with his drink.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:11 am
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:14 am
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:21 am
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:23 am
Yeah... pretty much the Blackbeard bits of this book are the only interesting ones to me.
I think it's because I recognize the name of the pirate. Where are the others are just random names I'm not familiar with and don't know if they are real ones or just some fictional creations by Howard Pyle. Plus I think the voice during Blackbeard's story is more entertaining than the others; not as monotone and boring as the others.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 11:27 am
I even changed the speed up a bit, so it goes quicker to get through this book. sweatdrop
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 2:05 pm
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:22 pm
So looking forward to being done with my shift. Bored out of my mind.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:24 pm
*increases the speed of audiobook more* Ugh... it's so slow and boring again. I just want to be done with it already.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:25 pm
I've got it up to 1.8 now. I tried 2 but it got a bit too garbled at times at that point.
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Posted: Sun Nov 12, 2023 3:36 pm
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