Such Great Heights Chapter 2
A/N: I apologise that it has taken so long for me to update, schoolwork has gotten in the way and I have been writing in short bursts of four or five sentences. But anyway! In this chapter we meet our OC! Yayyy! And to those who reviewed and favourited and put this story on story alert, I thank you! Your support is very welcome and I look forward to more reviews!
It was a clear day, despite the foggy morning they encountered earlier. The bright sun was high in the sky and brought great warmth to the atmosphere that made one person feel like they were wrapped in a large blanket. The sun reflected off the ocean and brought out the beautiful Caribbean blues and greens in the deep sea. One struggled to tell where the sea ended and the sky began on the horizon and the light, salty breeze made the whole scenery just perfect. The sea was calm, gently rocking the ship on which a large crew of men called to each other and laughed boisterously, the beautiful weather giving them time to relax and enjoy simply being on the ocean.
The ship itself was a beautiful, brand new ship that was destined to be anchored in Port Royal and provide another ship to the growing naval forces that were based there. The wooden planks were polished to a high sheen and all of the delicate paintwork had not been chipped at all. The sails were a pure, clean white and all of the equipment that was scattered around the ship hadn't ever been used before. It was christened the Challenger before they left England and was going to be second to the flagship, the Dauntless, the ship Captained by Port Royal's commander, Commodore James Norrington.
Commodore James Norrington, Edith Reynolds thought as she placed her hands and the railing and leaned over slightly to look at the dolphins that were jumping in the ships wake. She was soon to be his wife and she was not looking forward to it. Not even slightly. She had been a part of a deal between her parent s and his, so that they could marry off their second son. Edith had heard from a friend that the eldest Norrington son was unable to produce children and then that task fell to their other son. First, Edith was surprised, because she didn't even know a second son existed, they never talked of him. She then further learnt that he was a Commodore who commanded a naval base in the Caribbean town of Port Royal, and that he had not married yet.
Then, a few weeks later, Admiral Norrington, the Commodore's father came knocking. Edith was surprised to see the admiral at her door and it naturally made her curious. She had been hearing stories all week from ladies who she was forced to socialise with, that the Norrington's were going around and viewing young ladies who they thought were suitable to send to the Caribbean to bear their son's children. Edith had been summoned by her father and Admiral Norrington and his wife were sitting in the parlour, carefully examining her. She was asked several questions about what she liked doing and her interests, and in turn Edith gave polite answers and tried not to come across as the perfect candidate for a Commodore's wife. After they left, her father asked if she would be comfortable moving so far away from them. Edith in reply said no, saying that she wanted to stay in England, despite not really knowing what to do with herself as she was not married nor courting, she then said that she would become a governess and teach those who were unlucky enough to learn the basics they needed to know, such as reading.
But, after a rather long fight about how a lady should conduct herself and act around others, her father left in a huff and Edith to her thoughts. After another fight with her mother about how they dictated her life so much, Edith was rather fed up with the whole idea of her parents making decisions for her. It was a few weeks later after the Norrington's sent their son a letter saying they had chosen a wife for him, did they set off for Port Royal. His parents were accompanying her, as they wanted to be there when their son met his wife. The first few weeks had been torture, with Edith constantly cursing her father and mother, for not wanting to have any responsibility for her and sending her overseas.
Edith had reached the appropriate age to be courted several years ago, but she was not one who stood out in London's large social circles. Rather than being surrounded by hordes of men and commanding their attention for every waking moment, she was left alone, usually with only one or two men showing interest, before becoming quickly bored of her quiet and awkward mantra. And whenever a suitor would come and call on her, when she had one, Edith would always be found with some type of book that usually turned out more interesting than the men that her parents forced upon her. She soon came to where she was being sent over the ocean into the house of a man she had never met before.
Edith did not know anything about the Commodore. His parents weren't any help as they said he was a quiet child and left the family at fifteen to start making a living for himself, and they very rarely either sent or received correspondence from him. But from what she knew about naval officers were that they were very showy, stuck up and treated their wives like animals to be paraded around. Most were shallow, conceited and only ever thought about two things the navy and what to do next with their wives. And she was expecting her future husband, if his mother was anything to go by as his father was a rather sedate man, would be haughty and very shallow.
She would try to distance herself from the man as much as possible when in private, but somehow she would have to manage to be the perfect wife for the Commodore in the public. She would do her duty, provide the commodore with children and then raise them for him before they were taught by someone else, but keep her distance from the man as much as possible.
Edith was soon pulled from her thoughts as someone called her name "Miss, the Admiral and Mrs Norrington wish to see you." said a lieutenant who was standing slightly behind her.
"Thank-you sir" Edith said as she gathered her skirts and moved slowly on the gently swaying ship, despite being on the sea for nearly three months, she had not acquired her sea legs. She moved to where the second lieutenants cabin, where the Norrington's had spent their trip while she slept by herself in the third lieutenants cabin.
She knocked on the door and waited until a deep voice was heard though the thick wood "enter" it rumbled and Edith pushed the door open. Sitting on the small couch that was in the small cabin were the Norrington's, who did not show any emotion on their faces.
"Please sit" Admiral Norrington said, his hand sweeping towards the only chair that sat available in the room. Perching herself on the edge of the chair, Edith pushed her hair from her face and gave the Norrington's her full attention.
"The captain told us that we will be landing in Port Royal in about a weeks' time." Admiral Norrington spoke softly.
"Oh that is…" Edith trailed off, not knowing how to express her feelings about the marriage in front of her future husband's parents.
"Yes, yes my dear, wonderful!" Mrs Norrington said with critical eyes and a sarcastic tone. "when we get there, it will be straight into getting that wedding dress your mother gave you… it will need a bit of fixing though, it looks decades old." She paused and sent a smug smile which her husband missed. "And we'll also get straight into planning the day, which should be in about in a months' time. I'm sure James will be more than happy with the arrangements." Another smile "I'm sure he has been looking forward to seeing such a beautiful woman in such a place like Port Royal."
Knowing that she would not be able to give the snarky reply that she would give in return, Edith locked her jaw and turned her head, staring out of the small window on the side of the ship.
"Yes though, he has always been so swept up in his naval work, just like his father" at that Mrs Norrington turned to her husband and smiled sickeningly. "But I'm sure that he'll find you to be a sufficient wife, able to produce many children."
"Of course Madam Norrington" was all Edith could say, bowing her head trying to hide the ever growing frustration and anger.
"You may leave now Ms Reynolds" she said, waving her hand dismissively and returning to a pile of wool sitting on her lap.
Moving out of the room, Edith let the mask she had placed on her face melt away as she walked to her quarters and let the anger take over. Moving into the room Edith growled and went to slam the door behind her, but she noticed that there was another person standing in the room, her expression terrified.
"Oh-oh sorry miss, I'll just get moving" stuttered Emma, her maid as she quickly smoothed the sheets.
Emma had been her maid since Edith was first debuted as her father thought that a fresh young woman would know many more techniques and stuff so that his daughter was as beautiful as possible. Emma was only a few years older than her and she had become a maid to help support her family, after a few months, the two young women became fast friends and someone who Edith would talk to when she needed support.
"No, don't bother Emma. I've just had a bad morning." Edith sighed as she sat down in a chair.
"Would you like to talk about it, Miss?"
"No… I mean yes" Edith stopped herself before she could possibly offend the maid, despite the fact that she would not show it. "It's just that Madam Norrington is… is impossible! I dread to think what her son is like, probably worse than her. She wants to get fix up grandmother's dress! I don't even know why I am here!" Edith whispered, tears coming to her eyes.
"Oh don't worry Miss" Emma said as she moved and put her hand on Edith's shoulder. "There is no need for your grandmother's dress to be fixed; it is already very, very beautiful dress. And I'm sure that Commodore Norrington could not possibly be like his mother, he would have some qualities of his father and he is not so bad. It's going to be wonderful, moving to such an exotic place."
"I don't know I just don't want to do this." Edith whispered as Emma moved to pull her into an embrace.
"It'll get better Miss, you can count on that."
A/N 2: don't forget to review guys I want your opinion! It is awesome when you do and you'll have a faster update!