Sands saw Jack and the rest of the pirates returning to the ship and decided to go below deck to talk to his little stowaway before Jack called him to work. He was curious to learn more about her. He entered his cabin and found that she was fast asleep in the bed. He smiled to himself as he looked at her sleeping form, curled up in a defensive ball, frowning in his direction. Even asleep she looked like she was ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
He sat down in the chair across form the bed and looked at her. His movement awakened Kat and she opened one eye and squinted at him.
"What are you staring at?" she spat out at him, annoyed that he was watching her as she slept and even more annoyed with herself for not realizing it sooner.
"Do you always sleep all curled up like that? It doesn't look very comfortable."
"What difference does it make how I sleep and why do you care?" Her eyes shot fire at him for asking about what she considered to be a far too personal matter for a young lady to be discussing with a man.
He shrugged and ignored her question. "So, Kat, tell me about yourself."
"There's nothing to tell," she replied bluntly as she sat up. She really just wanted to keep sleeping but apparently that wasn't going to happen.
"Oh, there's plenty to tell, like how a girl like you ended up on a pirate ship, where you live, who your parents are."
He looked at her with his eyebrows raised waiting for her reply.
"I'd rather not talk about any of that and you have no reason to know. I simply took you up on your offer of refuge in your cabin but if you are going to be so darn nosy I'll just take my leave right now and go back on deck."
"I get paid to be nosy, but don't get your knickers in a knot, you don't have to tell me."
Her eyes widened at his disgusting remark. "That was completely inappropriate, Mr. Sands."
"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I'm sticking my neck out for you so the least you can do is be friendly toward me."
"Friendly? If by friendly you mean to imply….," she began.
"No, I'm not implying anything," he cut her off. "You sure get your hair up quick. Kat is a good name for you….really."
She relaxed a little. Maybe she was being too defensive, but she was on a pirate ship and he was a stranger and she just didn't know what to expect and didn't want to be caught in a compromising position.
"I apologize if I have been too harsh and I do thank you for your kind offer of allowing me to stay in your cabin."
Sands grinned, "See that wasn't so hard."
"Don't push your luck," she said with a frown at his arrogant remark.
Sands laughed at the look on her face. He enjoyed this girl's quick wit and temperament and she was incredibly beautiful. He found himself wanting to get to know her better.
"How long do you plan on hiding out on this ship?"
"Just long enough to get to a suitable port where I can make a life for myself," she replied.
Sands knitted his eyebrows together. "What could a young girl like you do to make money to survive? The options are, not very good ones, I'm afraid."
He didn't want this beautiful young girl to end up a street whore. He wasn't sure that she fully realized the implications of what she was suggesting and how her life could end up.
"I'll manage. It's no concern of yours," she said boldly.
He grabbed her arm and looked intensely into her eyes, "But it does concern me. I took you in and I want to make sure you are safe. I'm not going to just set you loose in the streets."
Her eyes narrowed at him, "Mr. Sands, you are neither my father nor my husband and what I do or do not do is not for you to decide. Now, let go of my arm!" She jerked her arm away from him and looked at him defiantly.
"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into," he hissed at her.
He got up and left the cabin before he let his anger get the better of him. The girl was impossible, he thought. Her pride would surely get her into trouble and he hated to see that happen to her. He lit a cigarette and stood looking over the rail of the deck as the ship sailed away from the island port. Why should he care? But, for some reason, he did. She just seemed so wild, untamable and full of life and he would hate to see her spirit destroyed by the evils of the world. He sighed. He needed to concentrate on his mission and not get sidetracked by some silly little girl. Once he had captured Jack Sparrow he would be going back to his own time and getting on with his life and she would just have to manage on her own.