Next morning Jack met Agatha for breakfast, to take her to his ship afterwards.

He had already been surprised at her wanting to go out and meet Will without Elizabeth's knowledge, but he was downright astonished when she told him she wanted him to argue with her and take issue with everything she was about to say to Will.

"I think you won't regret it," she said crisply—and more to the point, she offered him his favorite ring off her hand if he agreed and performed to her satisfaction.

It required a little arranging and slight deception to avoid Elizabeth's suspicions, but they finally made it. Jack sailed the Pearl, with Agatha aboard, out of the cove into the open sea, and then launched the Pigeon again. The message this time read:

Will,

You got your wish. Elizabeth's aunt wants to meet you.

Jack

The Dutchman surfaced, water pouring off the deck, and Will appeared on the deck of the Pearl only a moment later. The crew were still obviously uneasy with his presence. Two of them still tried to spit and spin surreptitiously. Gibbs was the only one who stood his ground, smiling and nodding a greeting to Will.

Jack waved him into the captain's cabin, where Agatha waited, sitting in one of the chairs as if it were a throne. He introduced them.

"Will, meet Elizabeth's Aunt Agatha. Auntie, this is Will Turner, your nephew by marriage."

"A pleasure, ma'am," Will said with a warm smile and a little bow.

Agatha sat up very straight. "Is it, indeed? I am not pleased, Mr Turner. I am not pleased at all."

"Beg pardon, ma'am?" Will asked, astonished.

"You expect me to be happy to meet the man who entrapped my niece in a fraudulent marriage, got her with an illegitimate child, and then abandoned her to go sailing about for the next decade?"

Will blinked opened and closed his mouth a few times.

"Oh, sit down," Agatha ordered irritably.

Jack slid into his usual chair, and Will pulled out another and sat with alacrity.

"What do you mean, fraudulent marriage, Auntie? They were married right here on the deck of the Pearl." Jack's face looked suitably puzzled, and Agatha tipped him a very subtle wink.

"By you?" she asked sharply.

"Well, no. It was that scrofulous thief, Barbossa," Jack replied.

"Only the rightful captain of a ship has the authority to perform a marriage." She turned back to Will. "Did this Barbossa go through the whole ceremony? Did he even have a Book of Common Prayer?"

"Er, no," Will said.

Jack jumped in again. "They were in the middle of a battle, dearie. No time for the whole thing."

"'Marriage is an honorable estate, not to be entered into lightly,'" she snapped out the quote. "What about the vows? Did you make proper vows?"

"Er, Barbossa was a little busy. We sort of made our own."

"Invalid marriage vows. Did you at least get a license and file it in Port Royale?"

"License?" Will asked, confused.

"No license, no proper vows, no proper ceremony. Were there witnesses?"

"Yes, of course there were witnesses!"

"Most of whom you killed, though," Jack pointed out.

Will gave a shrug and grimace of reluctant agreement.

"No witnesses. There is nothing about your marriage that was valid, Mr Turner! You, sir, have dishonored my niece. You are a cad!"

"I'm... sorry?" Will said. He looked fearfully taken aback. He swallowed and tried to regain control of the situation. "For what it's worth, ma'am, I have considered us married, and so has Elizabeth."

"I know she has, which is more than you deserve, young man! I tell you, it was not the act of a gentleman to go ahead and consummate such a marriage, with the full knowledge that you would be gone for a decade. It was, in fact, the act of a self-centered swine. You removed any hope of her getting it annulled, and then you abandoned her. No help, no money, no prospects, and no friends except for Captain Sparrow, here."

Will looked around rather desperately. Jack was no help—his mouth had fallen open like a fish's, and he looked astonished.

"Aunt Agatha, I assure you—" Will began.

"Don't you dare call me Aunt! I am no aunt to a miserable cur like you!" Agatha cried, furious.

William frowned at Jack. "Did you put her up to this?"

Jack shook his head and made a hands off gesture. "I'm as surprised as you are, mate. She's always been perfectly sweet to me."

"That's because unlike this utter bounder who alleges to love my niece, you've actually looked out for her welfare!" Agatha told him. "Pirate or no, you've been more generous than this neglectful, parsimonious lout!" She smacked Will on the shoulder and he cowered.

"Half a mo'—he can't help his being neglectful, but parsimonious? Auntie, you can't get on him for that. It's not as if ferrying the dead is a paying gig," Jack protested.

She snorted. It was a dainty, ladylike snort, but it was definitely scornful.

"Lord of the seas, you told me he was," she scoffed, contempt dripping from every word. She gave Will another withering glance. "Do you dare to tell me that you can't find a sunken treasure ship, or a pirate's hoard, or anything like that, Mr Turner? So that the woman you claim to love might be able to at least look after herself and the child you gave her before you disappeared? You're the one who left her all alone in a village full of people who despised her!"

"What?" Will was still stunned. He looked to Jack for confirmation. "Really?"

"Aye, they did," Jack nodded confirmation. "I already told you that." His mind had caught on his favorite word. "Treasure?" He cuffed Will's other shoulder. "Aye, if you're lord of the sea, you ought to have access to all the sunken treasures through the ages! Even the one at Isla de Muerta, which was reclaimed by the sea. It was only the coins that were cursed, mate."

Will glanced at him. "Oh, aye, I know where that is," he said. "And I could put my hands on a dozen more if I wanted. I just never thought of it.

As Agatha's face gathered thunderclouds, Jack nudged Will. "I'd advise getting right on that, mate, before she blows again!"

"Right." Will hastily disappeared.

Jack gave Agatha an admiring glance. "Remind me never to get on your bad side, dear Auntie."

She exhaled heavily and her lips curved in a prim smile. "Treat my niece and me properly, and you won't."

"There!" Will was back, with a small cloth bag, which he shook out over the table. Several enormous pearls rolled out.

Jack whistled.

Agatha sniffed. "Well, it's a start." She glared at Will. "Did you realize that you set her up to pass her decade of waiting for you in no better state than a disgusting hovel in a fishing village? Were you aware that she had to draw all her own water from a stream, get all her own wood for her fire? Completely alone, with not a single friend or servant to help her. Not even with the baby. She, the daughter of a governor! No one in the village would help her, because they all thought she was no better than she should be. Even if that were true, you're the one who made her that way! I have nothing further to say to you. Good day, Mr Turner!"

With one final finger-wag and a sharp nod, she pocketed the pearls and stalked out of the cabin onto the deck, slamming the door behind her.

Jack and Will exchanged wide-eyed looks.

Finally Will blew out his breath in what was almost a chuckle. "Can't thank you enough for introducing me to my in-laws, Jack," he said sarcastically.

Jack shook his head. " I'd've warned ye if I'd known she was going to blow up like El Popo, mate. Best you be off now, and show up with a proper treasure, though. 'Just never thought of it,' indeed," he mocked.

"It's true. I ferry the dead; I don't look for lost treasure. What good would it do me?"

"Might provide for your wife and child."

"Wife?" Will said bitterly. "Apparently not. Think she's right? Is our marriage not valid?"

Jack shrugged. "I guess not. She's been conspirin' with me dad for a couple weeks now, an' he knows the laws better'n any other pirate alive. If he says you're not married to 'er, then you're not. Sorry, mate." He rummaged around in his desk, but didn't find a bottle of rum. He held out his hand to Will, snapping his fingers expectantly.

Will sighed and produced a bottle from nothingness like he had done before, and handed it to Jack, who uncorked it and took a swig. Then Will snapped his own fingers for Jack to hand it back to him. Jack reluctantly handed it back and Will took it and drank.

"Of course you realize that whatever treasure you manage to produce will only be a stopgap measure," Jack remarked. "She still needs her husband. We're going to have to think of some way to free you, Will."

"Dere is no way," came a woman's voice from the corner, where the shadows coalesced into the human body of Calypso.

Jack stood up to greet her. "Calypso!" he greeted, sounding a little nervous. "Or do you prefer Tia Dalma, as I used to call you?"

The woman wore a dress made of seaweed, and had tiny starfish decorating her dreadlocks the way Jack wore trinkets and beads in his. "You can call me Tia Dalma," she said, not taking her eyes off Will. "Captain Turnah can call me anyt'ing he likes." Will smiled at her.

"Oi!" Jack protested. They both ignored him.

"Hello again, William Turnah. How you likin' your destiny?" she asked, floating over and caressing his face.

"Not what I expected it to be, but you knew that."

"I know many t'ings, William Turnah. 'Bout your destiny and 'bout your marriage also."

"Tia, what are you doing here?" Jack asked. "Just drop in to discuss matrimonial law, or was there another purpose?"

"Did you know my marriage wasn't valid?" Will asked, capturing her roving hand in his and staring up at her intently.

"It don't matta," she told Jack, turning her head in his direction but still keeping her hold on Will's hand. "Wheddah it valid or not, it over now. Marriage last till deat' do dem part. He died. Dey parted now."

Jack's mouth fell open. He had been so very careful to respect their marriage that he had never stopped to think that Will's death nullified it. Which meant that Elizabeth was free. Which meant that it didn't matter whether she could get an annulment or not—

"—She could remarry," he muttered to himself. Too late, he realized he'd said it out loud and looked up, cringing, to see their responses.

Will was giving him a very thoughtful look, while Calypso was smiling hugely.

Jack cleared his throat. "One more thing, Will," he said, changing the subject. "The woman who tried to kill Elizabeth and little Jake in New Flimwell is going to be coming to Shipwreck Cove to try and attack them again. Me dad and me are going to mount a defense, but can we count on your support if the battle doesn't go as it ought?" He purposely didn't mention that she was an old flame of his, figuring that while it probably would come out sooner or later, it might as well come out after he had secured the Dutchman's help.

Will hesitated. "Ordinarily I am supposed to stay out of these things, but—"

Calypso interjected, "You may protec' your family, William. An' de Turnah name."

"Thanks, love," both Will and Jack spoke at the same time. They looked at each other. Will reddened a little. Jack raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Will cleared his throat. "Er, well, yes. Just let me know when you need me, Jack." His tone was very businesslike.

So was Jack's. "Right, I'll launch the Pigeon."

"Tell Elizabeth's aunt I'll be in touch about that matter we discussed."

"I shall."

Will gave Jack a sharp nod, took Calypso's hand, and the two of them faded from sight. Jack raised his eyebrows and shook his head. It looked as if Will hadn't been quite as lonely as Elizabeth had thought.

At any rate, they now had the Dutchman on their side as well, and that's what he told Elizabeth when he and Agatha arrived at her meeting with Teague that afternoon.