Chapter Two

I'm Captain Jack Sparrow

A distraction arrived a couple of weeks later in the form of an old friend.

Early in the morning, there was a pounding knock at the front door of Elizabeth's house. A servant went to the door, a little bewildered, since no one was expected to be visiting, at least not by the front door and it was very early.

The man opened the door and was greeted by a flamboyant figure dressed in dirty, ragged clothes and an absurd hat positioned at a jaunty angle and a wide grin.

'Who the hell are you?' the servant exclaimed, shocked and slightly mortified.

The outlandish character looked offended. 'I'm Captain Jack Sparrow,' he said, his smile fading, then it bounced back. 'Elizabeth Turner lives here?'

'I don't see that it's any concern of yours,' the servant replied coldly and shut the door.

Jack Sparrow inserted his boot into the crack of the door and shoved it open. 'Tell her I'm here, savvy?'

'Tell her a filthy pirate is here to see her?' the man said, looking Jack up and down with an expression of disgust. 'I hardly think so.'

'She'll see me,' Jack assured him.

'Go away, you filth,' the servant replied and then froze as the pirate aimed a pistol at him.

Jack smiled. 'Go tell her Captain Jack Sparrow is here to see her. Savvy?'

Elizabeth dashed down the stairs, wrapping a thick dressing gown around her. She hadn't even bothered to brush her hair. 'Jack!' she exclaimed, delighted.

'Hello, darlin,' Jack greeted her with a wide grin. 'As lovely as ever. How's life treating you?'

'Never mind that,' she said, reaching the bottom of the stairs. Before he could protest, she gave him a huge hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. He backed off, pulling a face and rubbing at his cheek.

She laughed. 'It's good to see you, Jack.' Gesturing for him to follow her, she went into one of the rooms and closed the door. Sitting down, she asked, 'What brings you to Port Royal, Captain Sparrow?'

'Could just be for the pleasure of your company, love,' he replied. Not bothering to sit down, he started poking around the room, looking at the ornaments and paintings and disregarding those, nosing through boxes and inside vases and opening cupboards and closing them again with a disgruntled look.

'You expect me to believe that?' Elizabeth replied, smiling.

He shrugged. 'Worth a try.'

'You know, Jack, I would never have thought that you would ever have the nerve to actually come and knock at the door of my house,' she said. 'Would you like some tea?'

'Tea?' He stared at her blankly. 'I don't suppose you have any rum?'

Elizabeth smirked. 'No.'

'Oh.' He looked disappointed.

'Jack, why are you here?' she asked as he resumed his restless wanderng of the room.

He glanced out of the window, brow furrowed in thought, and then he spun and treated her to a wide, charming grin.

'What would you say to a matter of adventure on the high seas, love?' he asked.

She raised an eyebrow. 'More adventure? What kind of adventure?'

'Roaming the perilous seas, searching for lost and ancient and famous treasure?' he suggested.

Elizabeth lent back in her chair and knowing that she would probably regret asking this, said, 'What kind of treasure? Where would we be going?'

His grin widened. 'There's this cavern,' he siad.

'And?'

'It's called the Cavern of the Lost and it is – well, lost. Legend tells that this cavern was the hiding place of the greatest known treasure in the all the world but no one knows where it is. Savvy?'

'No,' Elizabeth said, folding her arms. 'That's all this place is? A lost treasure horde?'

'Well, it's more a lost treasure horde,' Jack replied, waving his hands to indicate that this didn't actually matter very much. 'Lost treasure, treasure of the lost, who cares? It's there and it's up for grabs.'

'And you know where it is because you have the compas,' she continued.

He nodded. 'Got it in one, love.'

'Why are you here and not there, then?' she asked.

'Well, see love, I need a ship and a crew,' Jack explained, sitting down and dumping his feet on the table. 'And since I find myself temporarily without either – '

'You lost the Pearl again.'

He sniffed. 'You want to give me a ship and crew or not?'

'How did you lose the Pearl again?'

He scowled and mumbled something.

She smiled. 'What was that?'

'Barbossa sailde off with her and left me marooned. Again. Except this time he did leave me marooned at a port so it's not quite as bad as last time – but back to the matter at hand, love. A ship and a crew.'

'You just expect me to give them to you?'

'Course not! I expect you to come with me.' He grinned at her expression. 'Come on, darlin. You weren't going to give me a ship and crew without adding yourself to it, were you? And you think I'd sail off into the horizon without you?'

'Yes,' she replied.

He sniffed. 'I'd have every reason to, what with you having killed me in the past but since knowing you, you'd insist that I could only have a ship and a crew if you was part of it – call it foresight, darlin.'

There was a pause.

'Jack, what aren't you telling me?' she asked.

'Nothing,' he said innocently. But there was a glint in his eye and a sardonic twist to his mouth that told her that he was, of course, not telling her the whole truth. But trying to get the whole truth out of Jack was like trying to converse with a brick wall so she gave up.

'So tell me more aboutt his treasure,' she said, leaning forwards intently. 'What are you looking frm the treasure? There must be one thing there that you want?'

He thought. 'Nah, just the treasure,' he said. 'And the fame and that comes with finding a legendary lost treasure.'

'You were never in anything just for the fame and money,' Elizabeth replied.

'Can't you just pretend to believe me?' he asked.

She shrugged. 'I'm that bored, Jack, I might just do that.'

'So what say you?' he asked intently.

She ignored the question for the moment. 'When would you want to leave?'

'Soon as everything's ready.'

'Is there anyone else looking for this treasure?'

'Who would, when no one else knows where it is?'

'That never stopped any pirates I knew,' Elizabeth pointed out.

He waved a hand dismissively. 'It's an adventure, Captain Swann.' He grinned at the reminder of their last adventure together. 'It's an adventure on the seas, no knowing where you'd be going or who you'd be meeting or what kind of beastie you might end up fighting and we both know that this isn't the kind of life you can say no to. Right, darlin?'

Elizabeth looked at him silently for a few moments. She should have known better than to trust him again, should have known better than to take up the offer of another adventure but –

'What say you?' he asked again.

'Aye,' she said, smiling.