Title: An officer and a maid.
Rating: PG
Pairing: Groves/Estrella, E/W, E/N
Warnings: There's a bit of unpleasentness in this chapter (read: Es's sister gets attacked).
Disclaimer: Disney owns them, I do not.

An officer and a maid

Chapter 13

Estrella ran through the streets, her hand firmly gripping her brother's. They had lived in their little room for several years now with no trouble at all. How could something be happening now?

"What did this man look like, darling?" she questioned as they neared the building that they rented a room in.

"He was big, really big. An' he had a knife."

"Dear God." Estrella pulled up short in front of the building. "Stay out here."

"But what if you need help?"

"I'll be fine, I-"

"I'm going in with you." a voice said from behind her. Turning, she saw the lieutenant run up, Elizabeth bounding behind him.

"I-but sir, I think-"

"I'll take care of Billy." Elizabeth walked over and picked up the small boy. "Go, before-" Elizabeth was cut off by a scream.

"Mary!" Estrella darted into the building, running up the narrow staircase. Pushing through the door, she found what she had hoped she would not. Her younger sister was cowering under a bed. Estrella recognized the man as one of the men who frequented the pub that Mary worked at. Mary was backed into a corner, her fair skin marred with several bruises. She had tears streaming down her cheeks and her blonde hair was streaming in all directions. "Mary!"

The man turned, taking in Estrella's appearance. Looking between the two sisters, he started to edge away from Mary towards Estrella. Being several inches shorter then her sister, Estrella soon felt overwhelmed. "Well, well. Two for the price of one. It's only fair, for what she owes me."

"I don't owe you anything!" Mary spat.

He whirled around to face her. "Quiet, wench, or you'll be dead instead of broken. Leading men on, always one step ahead, so you thought. Maybe now you'll know to just give a man what he wants instead of having to have it beaten out of you."

"Drop your weapon, sir." Groves stood in the doorway, behind Estrella, as though out of nowhere. The man simply laughed.

"Some navy man isn't going to scare me. I'm surprised you know the right end of the sword. What interest have you in women anyway? I've heard that the navy men prefer each other."

Groves took a step forward, almost white with anger. Quickly, he sliced at the man's hand, drawing blood and forcing him to drop the knife. The sword flicked over the other arm, rendering it useless as well. The sword then rested against the side of the man's neck.

"Perhaps the navy is not among the experts in swordsmanship, but the lower sections of London know a thing or two. Now, you can come quietly and be locked up in the fort or you can make a fuss and find yourself lying in several pieces. An unhappy accident." The man simply quivered on the floor, resigned. "Es- Miss Lawrence, if you would be so kind, would you please cross over to the window and see if the men from the garrison have arrived to take custody of this man?"

As the two soldiers from the fort took the man off to jail, Groves helped Estrella tidy up the room, which had been rather wrecked in the mayhem.

"I'm sorry about this, Lieutenant." Estrella apologized as she went to right a chair. Groves took the piece from her, setting it back upright himself. "You really didn't have to-"

"Of course I did. It's an officer's duty." Groves said with little emotion as he picked up the table, setting it where it had been.

Estrella looked at him, opening her mouth to say something, then thinking better of it. She instead crossed over to the bed and picked up her smallest sibling. "Are you all right, Emily?"

Emily nodded, not saying anything. Estrella looked her over for any bumps or bruises. Satisfied, she set the girl down on the bed. "Where are Billy and Miss Swann?"

"Sitting on the stairs. I didn't like the idea of leaving the governor's daughter standing on the street with a young boy dressed in a uniform. Miss Swann?" Groves turned toward the door, calling down. A few moments later, Elizabeth entered the room, Billy resting against her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Es?" she asked, concern in her eyes.

"I am, Miss, it's my sister-" At that moment, Mary walked back into the room. She caught sight of Elizabeth and dropped into a curtsey.

"Please-" Elizabeth waved for her to stand up. "You look pretty bad. May I help?" She looked between the two sisters.

Estrella nodded. "I could use the help. If you'll set Billy on the bed, I'll get you the bandages and such and then help the lieutenant with the rest of the room." Elizabeth nodded, setting the boy down gently on the bed and brushing the stray sandy hair out of his eyes.

"He is quite a nice boy. He's very sweet." She said to Mary.

"He's like Mother. She was the sweetest woman. He and I got our looks from her. She was very fair. She had grown up in England. Father had been down here, working. Es takes after him so much. He was hard, but fair."

"What happened?"

"They both got sick. We were young, I was probably ten. Es was 15. It was after that that she started working in the Governor's house."

"Oh." Elizabeth said softly. She quietly dabbed at the cuts and bruises that littered Mary's face and arms. Across the room, Estrella was quietly working on the room.

"Lieutenant, I hope I'm not too forward, but, well, what did you mean by the south of London?"

"It's where I grew up."

Estrella looked up in surprise. "What?"

Groves looked over at her and chuckled. "Not every officer is a man of leisure. I grew up in the not so nice part of London."

"They fight with swords?"

"They fight with knives. I ran into a bit of trouble while I was down there. Enough trouble to be taken to James's father." Estrella's eyes grew a little wider. "I had the choice of spending the rest of my life in a prison or the rest of my life in the king's service. He took a liking to me and recommended that I become an officer instead of just an able-seaman. And here I am." Groves glanced at Estrella, who was fussing with the tablecloth, suddenly unsure of herself. "What is it?"

"Nothing, it's nothing." She paused. "It's just that-"

"You never thought an officer would be from the same past as, say, a lady's maid?"

Estrella blushed furiously. Groves simply looked at her, his gaze softened. Across the room, Elizabeth had paused momentarily to watch the pair. Mary's voice recalled her to her job.

"He is rather sweet to her, isn't he? It is nice to know that there are some men who don't care so much about the 'proper thing' and who are willingly to look at a woman for what she is. Don't you think?"

"Wh-what?" Elizabeth said, slightly startled.

"I was just saying how it's wonderful to see an officer be something other than condescending to a maid. I would hope that he would marry her, but we cannot expect miracles can we?"

Elizabeth started to chew on her lip, thinking about what Mary had said as she watched Groves and Estrella. "No, I suppose we can't expect miracles." She said slowly.

"They do happen though. That's all one can hope for." Mary said. Elizabeth looked at her. This girl had nearly been ravished not an hour earlier. She had been cut, bruised, attacked. Yet she sat serenely in the chair, wishing for only the best for her sister. Elizabeth glanced back at the two of them. Estrella was standing next to the bed, making it around her two younger siblings, kissing both of them lightly as she finished. Groves stood at the end, leaning against the bedpost. Somehow, the proper British gentleman had dropped away, leaving behind only a young man, one who had seen his share of things, and who seemed to like the prospect that lay in front of him. He seemed more at ease and happier then he had the entire time Elizabeth had known him. Granted, this was only a few weeks on board ship, but this was more then the difference between sea and home.

A/N: One of the reviews asked how the whole letter thing worked, since this is the 17th century, not present day. I did take artistic license with that, but I'm also assuming that the events of the movie took several months, that the main action was not far removed from the trade routes so that ships might exchange correspondence at sea, and that in the haste of getting out to sea at the beginning there weren't enough provisions and such and that several stops had to be made because Norrington was too impatient to actually fully stock the ship in one sitting. So there's that explanation. A bit far fetched, I admit, but hopefully that answers the question. Life's been hectic, which is why this story looks abandoned. It isn't, I swear, but it is nearly over. Thanks for all the reviews and I hope you enjoy the rest.