Chapter Two: Dancing
Lorraine timidly held onto James's arm as he led her out onto the floor. She was amazed at how lean and strong if felt under her fingers. He had certainly changed over the years. Most definitely for the better. The last time she saw him, he had been an awkward boy at that stage in between being a child and a young man. He was certainly a man now. She looked up at his handsome face. It was clean shaven and stern. Odd, she didn't remember him being so stern. Well, time changed people's personalities as well as looks. But she could not make herself forget the little boy who used to chase her and play games with her.
"How long have you been in Port Royal, Miss Hawthorne?" James asked as he took her hand and placed his other hand on her slim waist.
"Almost a week," she replied as they began to dance, "I've been so busy what with planning my house that I haven't had a chance to be out and about much until today."
"I most certainly would have called on you had I known you were here," he replied, "May I ask where you're staying?"
"Yes certainly. I was staying at that inn just down the road from here," she bit her lip as she tried to recall its name. She should remember it, but she had just had so many things on her mind lately. "The Queen's Blessing! Ah, yes, that is its name. But Alexandria has talked me into staying with her and her husband. She says it's unseemly for an unmarried woman to be staying in town without a chaperon." Lorraine laughed. "I thought at my age it wouldn't matter, but I decided better to take her up on her offer than cause a stir."
A grin actually spread across James's face. "Yes the dear people of Port Royal still gossip more than anything." He lowered his voice and placed his lips close to her ear. He whispered confidingly, "And I'll have you know, Miss Hawthorne, that Mrs. Winchester is the matron of town gossip. You would do well not to risk ending up on her bad side."
Lorraine giggled. "I gathered that," she said through her laughter, "After spending the day with her, I think I know everything there is to know about all of Port Royal's residents. It's as if I never left."
James smiled, but she could tell that his polite but distant façade was back up. She wanted to break through that, to see something of that boy who had been so dear to her. With tossed her head, trying to get a strand of hair out of her face. She looked up into his light gray-green eyes. "What's all this 'Miss Hawthorne' about, James?" she asked. She smiled and continued, "Don't you remember little Lorraine, the silly girl you used to play with?"
James colored slightly. "I haven't seen you in years, Miss Hawthorne," he protested stiffly, "It wouldn't be proper."
"Not even if I asked you to call me Lorraine?" she persisted.
He appeared taken aback. "That wouldn't be proper, Miss Hawthorne," he said after a moment, not meeting her eyes, "At least not for some time."
Lorraine scoffed. "It is not proper for too old friends to call each other by their given names?"
James would not be dissuaded. "We were but children back then," he said sternly, "As adults we must not act like children."
It was Lorraine's turn to be taken aback. "Are you saying I'm acting like a child?"
James flushed. "N-no No, of course not," he stuttered uncomfortably, "I simply meant…."
But Lorraine, now a little angered interrupted him. "Well, if it is not 'proper' for you to call me by my first name, Commodore, then I highly doubt it is proper for you to ogle my…." She trailed off with a blush, hardly able to believe that she had almost said 'bosom.' "My… my dress like you were back at the table!" she finished instead heatedly, face still crimson.
James appeared to have realized what she really meant, for his face was just as scarlet as hers. "Miss Hawthorne, I… I… erm never… meant to be… impolite…. I just…."
"Don't talk of it!" she exclaimed a little too loudly, for a number of eyes turned to regard them. She blushed again and stared at the floor. She tried to steady her breathing. The excitement of seeing her old friend again, mingled with the tightness of her new corset was causing her to feel light headed. She took her hand off James's shoulder and placed it on her heaving bosom. "I'm afraid I feel a little faint, Commodore."
James raised his eyebrows. He looked as if he would be ready to catch her should she fall. "Would you like some fresh air?" he asked with concern, "I could take you out to the balcony…."
"Yes, please!" she said hurriedly. He took her arm and walked her out of the banquet hall onto the balcony.
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James felt a little worried as he watched Lorraine lean out over the edge of the balcony. Her face and chest were flushed, and her bosom was heaving with her panting breaths. He watched as she pulled out a fan and began to furiously fan her heated face. The situation might have brought about painful memories of that fateful day of his promotion and Elizabeth's fall if he wasn't so enthralled by Lorraine.
"Forgive me if I upset you, Miss Hawthorne," he said, "Is there anything I can get you?"
"No, no," Lorraine insisted, "I'll be fine in a moment. I just needed some air."
James nodded. His thoughts suddenly went back to that night years ago, just before she and her family left Port Royal. He had been but twelve and she eight. That had been his first kiss. Suddenly he found himself wanting to kiss her. He knew it would be very different from that innocent kiss they had shared long ago. Her lips were fuller now, the lips of a woman. He shook his head to dispel the notion altogether. He was a high ranking navy man. He couldn't disregard the rules of propriety.
Lorraine placed one hand on the railing of the balcony to steady herself and took a deep breath. Her breasts threatened to pop out of her tight bodice. James swallowed audibly. "Oh," she breathed, "It's awfully warm out. Do you feel hot?"
James swallowed again. Yes, he thought, becoming acutely aware of the stirring in his britches, Very. God, how long had it been since he had made love to a woman? Mentally he figured it up. Blast, had it really been six years?! Unbidden, the image of Lorraine unclothed came to his mind. He almost groaned aloud. Why couldn't she be the stick-like little girl he remembered from his younger years? He forced his mind back on track. "Actually, I'm feeling quite comfortable," he lied. He hoped his voice didn't sound too strained.
"James," she breathed, and he barely had time to catch her before she fell to the floor.
"Somebody get some water!" he called as he kneeled over her. He moved his face close to hers, and he could tell she wasn't breathing. Recalling what Jack Sparrow had done to revive Elizabeth that day she had fainted and fallen from the battlements, James ripped open the front of her bodice and corset. At the same time Governor Weatherby Swann, along with Gillette, the Winchesters, Elizabeth, William Turner, and a few others came to stand in the doorway leading out to the balcony.
"Sir!" Governor Swann exclaimed, "What in the name of God…?"
He cut off as Lorraine, now freed of the restriction of her too tight corset, began gasping for breath. James sighed with relief. "Now will someone get Miss Hawthorne a glass of water?" he asked a little harshly. A servant who had come out to see what all the fuss was about turned and ran back inside to fetch the water. "Miss Hawthorne?" he continued in a softer tone as he helped Lorraine sit up, "Are you alright?"
"Yes, I believe so, Commodore," she said as she stood to her feet. She looked down and blushed when she saw that the front of her dress and corset were ripped open. A thin white shift was her only garment left undamaged, and it did little to conceal.
James blushed with her and took off his jacket. He threw it around her shoulders, and she buttoned it up so that she was properly covered once again. Then the servant came back with her water. She drank eagerly, and the guests who had come out onto the balcony began drifting back inside except for Lorraine, himself, Governor Swann, Elizabeth, and William Turner. Lorraine looked at them a little nervously. "This is a lovely party, Governor," she said with a demure blush after a moment of silence.
"Yes, quite," said Weatherby, still a little shaken from all the excitement, "But… erm… do forgive me…. Miss Hawthorne, was it? Are you new here to Port Royal?"
"No, forgive me, Governor," said Lorraine with yet another blush, "I don't know how I could have forgotten to introduce myself properly. I am Lorraine Hawthorne. I used to live here in Port Royal as a child, but my family moved to London when I was only eight. I just arrived back only a short while ago."
"Ah, yes," the Governor said, now enlightened, "I remember your family. Your father was a good man. May I ask how he's doing?"
Lorraine paled, and James was half afraid that she would faint again, but she steadied herself. "I'm sorry, Governor, but my father passed away around a month ago." A look passed over her violet eyes that James took for pain and… fear. Odd, that. He could see why speaking of her father's death would cause her pain, but not fear. He thought that there must be more to this, but he did not press.
"Oh, forgive me, Miss Hawthorne," Governor Swann said, "My condolences." Then wishing to change the subject, he gestured to Elizabeth and William. "This is my daughter and her fiancé, William Turner."
"Ah, Miss Elizabeth!" Lorraine exclaimed with a radiant smile, "You were but a babe when my family left. You've grown into a lovely woman."
Elizabeth smiled back at Lorraine. James wondered at which woman was more beautiful. There was a time when he thought that no woman's beauty could compare with Elizabeth's, but when he looked at Lorraine…. Well, it was close.
"Thank you, Miss Hawthorne," Elizabeth said. She took William's hand and pulled him forward. "This is my betrothed, Will Turner. You wouldn't have known him. He arrived in Port Royal years after your family departed."
Lorraine smiled again and offered her hand to William. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mister Turner. I wish the best to you both."
"Thank you, Miss Hawthorne," William said politely, "And thank you for attending our betrothal banquet. You are most welcome."
James wanted nothing more than to be away from the couple, so he offered his arm to Lorraine. "Miss Hawthorne, might I interest you in another dance?" he asked, "If you will excuse us?"
Lorraine looked down at her new attire then looked back up at him. She gave a shrug and a small amused smile and took his arm. "Why, that sounds lovely, Commodore." They moved back into the banquet hall, followed by the others. As they began to dance again, Lorraine leaned close to him and said in an amused voice, "I don't think I'm properly dressed for this occasion anymore, do you, Commodore?"
It was James's turn to flush. "Forgive me, Miss Hawthorne," he said, "I will have your dressed replaced. It's just that…. Well, I didn't know what else to do…."
"Very quick thinking, if I do say so myself," she laughed, "Do not worry about the dress. I have others. Really, I should be thanking you. I wanted so much to be rid of that cursed corset!"
James found himself smiling. Not one of the fake smiles that he often used, but a real genuine smile of pleasure. How long had it been since he was truly happy and mirthful? "Then it was my pleasure, Miss Hawthorne," he chuckled. He sighed contentedly at the feel of her in his arms as he twirled her around the dance floor. She seemed to fit perfectly against him. She was so soft, so warm. "I am glad to see you again, Miss Hawthorne," he said sincerely.
Lorraine smiled at him. Not the way she had smiled at the Governor or Elizabeth or Will or any of the other guests, but a special smile. It lit up her whole face and made him feel a little weak. He hoped he wasn't imagining that the smile was just for him.
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Well how did you guys like it? Thank you, Abydell and krissmiss2000, for the reviews. I appreciate them very much. And thank you, Abydell, for giving me Gillette's real name. I'll use Andrew from now on. Sorry it has been a while since my last update. I had to have my wisdom teeth cut out and I haven't really felt like writing for a while, but now I'm recovered, and I'll try to keep the updates coming. Please review!
