A/N: OK! I'm back here! Wow, thousands years later..? From now on, I will write in present rather than in the past, changing style of writing. I hope you will not hate me for it. Remember this is an AU.
Chapter X - Alone
The Man From Apartment 512
It is a cloudy day in London and Angelica hangs out at a so-called friend's house. She is married to a Baron who always is away seeing his mistress, which lets the fortunate wife to have the whole house for herself and her friends.
Angelica does her best in trying to catch up on the gossip, even though her mind travels to the image of Jack and Maria. Ugh.
She is so lost in thought she barely notices when a member of Lord Christian's staff comes by to take Diana home. She cheek kisses her mother and leaves in a carriage, having her own driver who rules the horse leash. At last, even Angelica realizes she should head home.
She will have plenty of more tea parties to attend.
When the carriage pulls up to her house, she is assisted to the front door. She pauses in the entrance room as she hears her daughter's giggles coming from the backyard.
And Jack's.
She scans the room, just to make sure she is not watched. Then she slowly moves through a greater ballroom to reach the porch viewing the backyard.
Jack is holding a broken branch and so is Diana. She is fighting against him and he easily defends himself. In between he lifts her up in the air and swings her around as she laughs hard.
For some reason, the grudge Angelica holds against him goes away and she leans against a pillar contently. The sight is something she decides to memorize.
It is just so… beautiful.
Then she sees Maria in the corner of her eyes, further away in the garden. She is setting one of the outdoor dining areas.
"Maria, join us darlin'," Jack calls.
Angelica swallows.
"I shouldn't," Maria calls back.
Jack chuckles, clearly grinning wryly to her as if he is in a flirting mood.
"That'd be true. Fine lady like ye should rather be protected, aye?"
Those words give Maria a genuine smile as she for a brief moment pause her action before returning to her duties.
Is Jack doing this on purpose? Or is he truly a complete idiot she really should have forgotten once she left the Caribbean sea all those years aback?
Suddenly Diana sees her mother and stops tracks.
"Mother!"
Jack looks her direction and locks eyes with Angelica. She stands straight and crosses her arms.
"Spying on us?" Jack wonders.
Angelica ignores him. She does not have to pretend being on terms with this man when her husband is not around. She gestures for Diana to approach her.
"Have you had your supper yet?"
"Sí, Mami."
A warm smile forms Angelica's lips. "Good. Hurry up to bed then and I'll tuck you in."
Diana whines. "But Mother, Mr Jarrow is fun to play with!"
"Diana," Angelica warns. Even if she does not look at Jack, she can see his proud face in the distance. "It is time for bed. Maybe you can play with him tomorrow."
Diana shines and looks over her shoulder to wave to Jack.
"Night, Mr Jarrow!"
Honestly, Angelica has never ever heard Jack speak so softly.
"Goodnight, Diana."
Even if she is upset with him, there is this warmness in her heart of hearing his sincere tone. She almost feels bad when putting a possessive hand on her daughter's shoulder to bring her inside. Diana is a bit whiny and nags for almost an hour. At last after Angelica finishes a short fairytale, the little miniature is deeply asleep.
When she steps out of the bedroom she closes the door carefully. Smoothly she whirls around and sneaks towards the staircase. She does her best to be as quiet as possible. Jack is probably busy flirting with her maid anyhow. She just needs to sneak outside and cut a white rose to have at her nightstand. That is all she needs. No Jack, no Maria, no nothing.
As if on cue, she hears the doors close behind her in the grander chamber she passed an hour ago. The doors of glass leading outside were locked. She does not have to turn around to know Jack is in her presence.
"Are ye going' to change yer mind?"
She frowns and faces him. "Are you?"
"I asked ye first."
"The question remains."
He peers and so does she.
"I mourned you," she begins. "And once hearing you were alive – I was willing to do anything to see you again. Now I'd do the same to make you leave."
"Ye don't mean that."
She does not know if she fights because she does not want to live on a vessel. Or if she is mad at him for the maid incidents. But, she has never been a woman willing to share. Let alone, Jack himself.
"I've never meant anything more."
She storms past him and he lets her swing the doors behind him open. Before he realizes he once again has failed this argument, she is off upstairs towards her bedroom.
He sighs and eventually heads for the library. He plops down in a leather armchair after pouring himself a glass of pure rum.
Rum always drown the sensations he prefer not feeling. This moment, is one of those.
He does not count time, but figures he has been sitting there for quite some time drinking by the blurry vision – when Maria enters the room.
Her intentions had just been to replace some books on the shelves. When she sees Jack though, she lingers for a moment.
"Am I a bad person?" Jack wonders aloud. The thought has never really struck him before.
"No, Mr Jarrow… Zack," she answers.
"I prefer being on the seas. It be what I do, always have done."
Maria notices perhaps the Lancaster's guest is becoming a bit too intoxicated. Never before has she heard a guest easing his heart like that.
"Of course."
"And… would it be terrible… spending time on land?" he suddenly wonders.
She shakes her head but then nods. "If I may have a say, it is always important to do what you love to do, to be happy."
"But what is," Jack trails off and stands up to pour himself some more rum. "I be no happy being on the seas, when I don't have the right person with me."
He takes a large swig and does not notice Maria advances towards him.
"I'll admit it. Must be the greatest fool out 'ere. Letting go of such a… for the seas."
Maria looks… hungrily? – At him.
Jack looks defeated. "Too what good now? I must have lost, right?"
Maria's eyes go darker, clearly mistaking of which woman he spoke of.
The dress is still on and pushes Angelica's chest uncomfortably. The staring up to the ceiling makes her no good and she sits up.
Maybe she should just go with it. She will never be happy spending the rest of her life in London, as if she is some kind of a trophy to her husband. She wants to spend her life with Jack, at any cost. And they will figure out a way. With Diana. They have to.
What an idiot she has been. She loves Jack and she should be with him. Diana should too.
Stop with the games, Angelica.
Just go for him and tell him you want to be with him. Whatever he says is fine. The only important thing is that the three will be together.
She swallows and walks with determined steps towards the guest bedroom. She opens is slowly, only to find it empty.
Jack has not gone to bed yet?
She heads downstairs but stops at the last step by the odd sound. Her eyebrow quirks somewhat and she follows it. Moans?
She approaches the doorway of the library and can clearly see Maria pinned against a wall, Jack holding one of her legs up in the grip of his hand.
She does not know if it is possible to hear how her heart breaks into millions of pieces. It is as if those pieces are shattering all over the floor.
It feels as if someone has punched the air out of her and her knees weaken.
She has to grab the wall and lean into it, feeling the teary eyes blur her vision.
What a fool she was.
She has to gasp for air.
Suddenly the front door bursts open and Christian appears. He enters the house.
She jumps and wipes her tears away quickly, completely failing in faking a smile.
God, how that is hard. She can feel how the tears are threatening in the corner of her eyes and she prays her struggle in breathing is not noticed by him.
"Angelica? You are awake," he seems surprised. Fortunately the darkness covers the sight of her appearance.
She opens her mouth but as her voice cracks, she closes it. She is not able to speak. Her hands must be trembling and she just wants to collapse on the floor and remove the image out of her head. Rewind time and never head downstairs. Never let Jack back in her life.
Jack appears in the doorway after clearly hearing the arrival of Lord Christian. Maria is hiding in the room.
"Oh, and Mr Jarrow?" Christian goes on as he hangs his outer coat onto a hanger.
Jack glances to Angelica and can see her empty stare.
Can she possibly have seen him?
No.
He hoped not.
It cannot have been a true sight.
If he had been religious, that would be a moment he would pray for her not to have seen his mistake.
But her absolute broken appearance reveals nothing but that.
And he knows it.
She ignores him and heads upstairs without giving him a glance.
She definitely did see.
A/N: There you go! :) Not the happiest end of chapter. More will come.