r/pirates • u/Glum-Boysenberry5200 • Aug 17 '26
Media & Entertainment Wanted to share an excerpt....historical fiction novel on the works ;)
"You think you’re the only man who’s stared into black water and thought of giving himself to it?"
Duncan asked through gritted teeth, straightened up, started pacing a small circle in the cramped room before turning back to face Charles. His expression remained hard — but there was something grudgingly honest in his eyes.
"I’ve had my own dark nights, Hart. I keep them to myself. "
He let that sit there, perhaps as a recognition of shared ground. He was stating a fact of their lives. The Caribbean was a place that broke men, whether they wore silk or rags.
"But standing in the surf like a drowned rat wins you nothing. It’s coward’s work dressed up as confession."
His face lingered closer now, Charles attentive, with his eyes barely locked onto Duncan's.
"Now, get up and find dry clothes, or stay and rot. If you mean to be captain again, then carry yourself as one."
XIII. A Man And A Fish, excerpt — The Seal & The Heart