Writing Exercise: The Silver Ladle (a pirate adventure with Frantiesco Patrick Dias Evaristo)

Frantiesco Patrick Dias Evaristo has one of the best names ever. When I learned that he speaks fluent Portuguese and was volunteering to be a subject of my writing exercises, I immediately thought of Rafael Sabbatini's novels of swashbuckling adventure. In real life, Frantiesco is a talent actor and family man, and therefore unlikely to be prowling the seven seas in search of treasure and glory... but then again, you never know. :)

      ​Of all the dives in Tortuga, the Silver Ladle had to be the lowest. Its low, heavily timbered ceilings resonated with the sound of raucous laughter and the jibbing of gambling men. And yet it was here that they found the man they were looking for.
      Frantiesco Dias Evaristo would have happily challenged anyone who called him a pirate. He was, as he avowed, a privateer, a buccaneer, if that made things clearer to his audience, and proudly boasted that he had the fastest ship and the most loyal crew, a claim that held up under scrutiny. He was a big man, with a dangerous charming smile, and a deceptively quiet manner. He spoke Portuguese and English like a native and listened quietly as Jonathan explained the situation to him. Only when the story was finished, did the buccaneer speak.
       “So, Captain Levasseur kidnapped your sister and you would hire me and my crew to rescue her,” Dias said, slowly, deliberately. He had a tall tankard of rum and a small ornate dagger, which he played with as he spoke. “Why wouldn’t you pay the ransom demand to Levasseur?”
        “I don’t reward pirates or kidnappers,” Jonathan said, nervously rubbing his hands together. “And I was told that you had a history with this Levasseur.”
        Dias smiled, a dangerous smile.
      “Oh, yes,” he said. “I have some unfinished business with Levasseur. I even learned a few choice words in French for the day I should meet him again.”
      He stood, took the dagger by the point and threw it, scoring a bullseye in the dart board across the room. Then he turned, smiling broadly at Jonathan and his companion.
       “Very well, sir, I accept your commission. We sail at dawn. And I promise you, senhor: we will get your sister back.”

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