Rendezvous With Grandmother: A Pirate Queen

By Pat Gantz

In book two Rendezvous with Grandmother, A Pirate Queen, Madam Quing wants her grandson, Jian to be her heir. However, the Secret Tiger Society will stop at nothing to capture Jian and seize the Dragon Woman's pirate kingdom in the South China Sea. Logan, Blair, and Sea Eagle's crew must rescue Jian from one p

• Language: English
• Publisher: Writers Publishing House
• Release date: Jun 7, 2024
• ISBN: 9781648735035

Pat Gantz

Pat Gantz lives with her husband, Ken, in Prescott, Arizona. As a child, Pat was the proverbial bookworm who read stories of historical fiction past midnight. This love of reading later extended to collecting books, especially from bookstores and museums during her travels. Surprisingly, in visiting seaport museums, she discovered something amiss; a lack of historical fiction during the Age of Sail for middle-grade readers. Inspired by tall mast ships that she explored when they were docked at seaports, Pat embarked on imaginary voyages that turned into stories for her Sailing the High Seas series. Rendezvous with Grandmother: A Pirate Queen, is Pat's second book in this series.

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The Jacobs Ladder was used to board the ship. It was pulled up at night or to prevent attackers from boarding the ship.

CHAPTER ONE

TROUBLE STRIKES HOME

Tell me again, said Doctor Ronnie Baran dryly, how did you get that black eye?

I can show you, Uncle Ronnie, said Logan eagerly. Chen Lo was teaching me a new martial art move. Watch!

All at once there was a flurry of movement on the crowded village sidewalk as Logan whirled around and thrust out a sharp elbow that stopped short of poking an innocent bystander in the eye. Parcels dropped, women screamed, and panicked children scattered everywhere.

Furious, a male bystander shouted at the thirteen-year-old Logan, Careful what yer doin’ lad! Someone will get hurt!

Abashed at the danger caused by his rash actions, Logan apologized, I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m sorry, sir. Picking up the dropped parcels, he handed them back to the owners.

Shaking his head in exasperation Uncle Ronnie gently chided, Oh, lad, think before you act.

Sighing at the well-deserved rebuke, Logan huffed out a breath. When would he ever learn to stop being impulsive? At least his twelve-year-old cousin Blair was at boarding school in London and not here to help him demonstrate the technique. Together, they could have caused real damage. Blair was more of a tomboy than a young lady.

Silently following the two males on the wood plank sidewalk, young Jian Lo, nephew of Chen Lo and mischievous pal of Logan, listened intently to an animated Logan and Doctor Baran as they talked about the war in the colonies. This same topic was shared by Brits across the country. It was 1781, and the colonists’ ragtag army would not give up fighting for independence against the British professional army of Redcoats, so named for their bright red jackets that screamed: Look at me and be afraid!

England will have a hard time trying to win this war with France supporting the Americans, said Uncle Ronnie. Using this strategy, France can weaken Britain’s power in world trade.

War, war, war, grumbled Logan. On land and at sea, war is everywhere.

Trying to lighten his nephew’s mood, Uncle Ronnie said, Can you imagine their General George Washington meeting the Chinese pirate queen, Madam Quing? Would she offer him a sword or a handshake?

Logan snorted. A sword is more her style.

Aye, I think you’re right.

As was his habit, Logan jumped to another topic. Walking past staring strangers, the shy lad asked, Does my eye look bad? It was hard to miss Logan’s shiner, even while avoiding trash blowing merrily past the small English businesses on this brisk windy day.

Uncle Ronnie said, ‘Logan, if you had two black eyes instead of one, you would look like a panda bear, or maybe a raccoon."

Funny, funny, said his nephew without humor.

Uncle Ronnie’s rugged face broke into a grin as they approached Lo’s Apothecary with its shop sign swinging wildly in the wind. The mortar and pestle etched on the tan sign let nonreaders know the shop’s products.

Choking back a laugh at Ronnie’s wit about Logan’s black eye, Jian turned round the corner and slipped behind his family’s apothecary to enter by the alley entrance.

Uncle Ronnie chuckled as he opened the door, and they stepped inside the apothecary. Traveler, the Lo’s Airedale Terrier, announced their presence with a single joyous bark. Woof! At the sound, Mr. Lo parted the glass bead curtain in the middle as he walked from the back room into the shop. Clink, clink, clink, clink! His usually smooth forehead was creased in lines of worry.

Instantly Ronnie and Logan glanced at each other then back at Mr. Lo.

Is something amiss, sir? asked his friend and best customer.

Doctor Baran, I need your help, the short, older man answered bluntly.

If there is anything I can do, I am at your service, said his friend.

Mrs. Lo, a wee, trim woman, entered the apothecary’s shop area and invited them into the back sitting room for a cup of tea. We will explain the problem, and then you can decide if you want to help us, she said, but first, look around our shop.

Nephew and uncle glanced around the dim, aromatic room. Aye, it was clear that something was amiss. It was 1781, and shipping goods from China to England could be unreliable. Still, Mr. Lo’s apothecary was normally stuffed almost to the point of bursting. Now, too many jars were only half-full. Shelves usually stocked with white willow, Chinese rhubarb, ginger, and ginseng were empty. What happened? It looked like locusts had invaded the shop and cleared many of the shelves. Logan’s heart sank. Those were the very ingredients needed for preparing herbal medicines that were on his uncle’s shopping list.

Oh my, the doctor said, peering into a glass case. I see you do not have the catswort salve I need to apply on Logan’s black eye.

Turning to the youngster, Mr. Lo studied Logan’s swollen eye. For now, the only thing you can do is apply a cold compress.

Abruptly the apothecarist turned and walked back through the curtain of white beads. Clink, clink, clink, clink! Puzzled, the doctor and Logan followed.

This is not good, Logan thought, his mind in a whirl. In an undertone he asked his uncle, What happened to Mr. Lo’s supplier? Where are his older sons, Ning, Zan, and Xing, who help in the shop? Why…

Doctor Baran stopped his nephew’s rapid-fire questions with THE LOOK. Logan’s mouth snapped shut.

In her tiny sitting room, Mrs. Lo poured tea into small, delicate China cups without handles. As everyone sipped, the fragrant steam from the tea’s steeped orange peel teased their olfactory sense. All at once, she signaled her husband with a slight nod.

Taking a deep breath, he began describing their troubles. Have you heard of the Chinese pirate queen we know as Madam Quing? This powerful woman is the leader of over 30,000 pirates and 500 junks, with the number of ships joining her fleet in the South China Sea growing every month.

"On her last visit from the boarding school, Blair could not stop talking about the pirate queen, said Logan. News reports of the woman’s daring at sea are all the rage in London. Blair is fascinated by any female leader, even a woman so notorious as Madam Quing."

She’s not the best role model for the lass, murmured Mrs. Lo.

Mr. Lo continued, When our daughter died in childbirth, her husband gave us Jian to raise. The man promised not to tell his mother, Madam Quing, about the baby. We tried to keep Jian’s identity secret, but a spy on the Portsmouth docks ferreted out that twelve-year-old Jian is her grandson.

The spy also informed her that Jian helps us with the financial part of our business because he has a keen mind for numbers, speaks several languages, and has been learning about herbs and traditional Chinese medicine. These are valuable skills and Madam Quing wants Jian to live on her junk so she can train him to inherit her pirate empire in the South China Sea.

Holy sailor! All but snapping his fingers at the conclusion that jumped to his mind, Logan asked, Madam Quing wants her grandson, and your shop is growing bare. Is there a connection?

Mr. Lo replied, "Six months ago, we received a message written in Mandarin. Madam Quing demanded that we send Jian to her. Month by month she is destroying our business until we obey this command. Our apothecary shelves are growing bare because she steals our supplies, gives our crews no option but to join her service or die, and either burns or seizes our trading ships for her fleet. Soon, nothing will be left except for what we can grow