Chapter 14: Imperfect Tense
Pirate King or not, Elizabeth could hardly keep the events from spiraling out of control and it was the code itself that was her enemy this time. Suspicion being raised, John could not answer any of those questions Barbossa and Jocard quizzed him with, not to mention there was no excuse for him not knowing what beam reach or forestay meant. He was either not Jack, or too insane to be fit for captaincy. She should've known that the navigation lessons should've been their utmost priority and not reading his poems and him teaching her how to be a better kisser to the enjoyment of men. An impostor was no captain and as the crew agreed, John has found himself chained in the brig and Barbossa of course, ended up being captain. Now all she wanted to do was to sail off and find Jack, but she couldn't possibly get herself out of the agreement and take Saint Eustace.
It was Barbossa however, who helped her out of that one pretty quickly, having the much faster Pearl, he didn't care much what happened to the Papyri so they could fake a landwards attack on the fort which convinced the governor to shift his cannons, no matter how famous the island was for its selling arms to whoever paid more for it. This way the Pearl could dodge the enemy's gun completely and launch a real attack using a system of oars Barbossa implemented on one of the lower decks, with Jocard and Elizabeth's ships on tow.
Well packed up with ammunition and sugar as booty, Elizabeth got rid of most of it at her primary destination at a whatever price at Shipwreck Cove in great haste, especially that she now used her pirate king title and threatened some servants at Captain Teague's code keeper house and they have told her that the old man headed off for England with his son. For the first time it occurred to Elizabeth that perhaps Jack wasn't the victim in this, it was maybe John that was talked and frightened into hiding on the Pearl and Jack had taken his place as the Earl of Rochester on purpose. However it was, things were off track, surely Jack didn't plan losing his ship and she had to find him. The only thing that was on track was her, she was making good time towards the heart of the British Empire, the season favored the journey and she judged she couldn't have been all that far off in pursuing them. Having spent her early childhood in London, she found it quite easy to prepare herself and her wardrobe, she just had to remind herself she was the Jamaican governor's daughter, only better, cause she had all the money she would need whatever she ended up doing given all the wealth she gathered with recent piracy and all that was left to her as a successor of Sao Feng. Her inquiries as to where to find Lord Rochester sent her in the direction of a so called merry gang and with that, to the theater. Her heart jumped at the possibility, she had so much enjoyed this form of entertainment as a child and Norrington also used to sail over with her to San Juan for a rare performance once in a while. Would she have ever thought it will be piracy that took her to Lincoln's Inn Fields Theater, part of fashionable London as she was looking for somebody in the lobby she could ask about the merry gang's whereabouts?
"Elizabeth?"
She turned, unbelieving. He had no uniform, no sword, but a really silly curly wig and clothes as if he was just coming from ancient Rome. His bright greenish eyes, deep luscious voice and rosy face had given him away though, "James??"
He looked just as surprised as she was. There was moment where she stepped up to him and stroke his cheek hugging him, then they quickly pulled away from each other animated by their continued astonishment. To meet him in Tortuga, all right, open seas, all right, but a London theater? They blurted out in unison, "what are you doing here?"
tbc