CH 36 Embers and Ink
She returned to the main cabin, where she found Jack facing the tall stern windows staring out at the lake. He turned around as she approached.
"Took you long enough!" he joked. He took the linstock from her and retreated to his bedchamber. "Lizzie! You could've at least cleaned up the floor!"
"Oh! I'm sorry! It slipped my mind!"
"You can get'em when we're finished. I'll let you clean up mine too." She could hear the smile in his voice.
"Oh, thank you, Captain, what an honor that will be!" She couldn't keep from smiling too. This was the kind of banter she had missed since Jack had come back from the Locker. Maybe things would go back to the way they used to be. But he said pirates don't have relationships… The smile disappeared.
Jack came out of the bedchamber a while later, wearing only his trousers. Elizabeth felt her face burning and wished she didn't blush so easily. She looked at her feet again.
"Haven't you ever seen a man without his shirt before? It's not unnatural, not even indecent!"
"It's just…it's not proper."
"Maybe where you're from it's not. But when it's sweltering hot it's a wondrous thing to doff my shirt and feel the breeze. You should try it sometime."
"I THINK NOT!"
Jack put up his hands in mock defense. "Joking, Lizzie, just joking!"
She raised her head to look at him, trying hard to stop the inevitable blush. He looked up at the ceiling for a moment. His locks and braids slid behind his shoulders, baring his upper chest. That was when she saw it.
A small stylized swan no bigger than a coin, neck arched gracefully, swam forever just below Jack's left collarbone. She only caught a glimpse of the swan before he moved and his hair fell back down over his chest, covering it. No, no, no...I know I didn't see that when he showed me those musket ball scars on the island. But when--?
Jack spoke, distracting her from the tattoo. "About that clothing problem…how long is your shirt?"
Elizabeth pointed to the middle of her thigh. "It comes down to about here. Why?"
Jack waved his hands as he spoke. "If you're not any more flexible than me, you're going to need help with the beasties from about here...," he touched her shoulders, "to about there, same as I am." He bent and touched the back of her knee.
She swallowed hard. "Exactly…"
"Simple enough, then! Just pull up the back of your shirt and I'll get the leeches off as much as I can see of your back. Then you let down the shirt, drop your breeches and I'll burn'em off your legs. Your shirt will cover your bum. Voila, your modesty and honor are preserved."
It matters to him? That was the last thing Elizabeth had expected from him.
"Captain…" she began.
"Only on the deck, love. In here, it's just Jack. Don't worry. I'll leave the leeches on your arse."
She looked at him very seriously. "Jack? I haven't had an opportunity to thank you for what you did in the lake. I can never thank you enough for saving my life. I know that I certainly didn't deserve it. You could have let me die to avenge...what I did to you...and you would not have been wrong to do it."
She looked away and swallowed hard, unsure how to continue. She took several deep breaths before starting again. Her eyes met his.
"But you didn't fail me. You upheld the trust you asked of me. You saved me from the crocodile, and you kept me from drowning in that net. Thank you, Jack."
Jack blinked and nodded slightly just once in acknowledgment, but said nothing. He just watched her.
She took another deep breath. "I must ask something important of you. I'm going to go mad thinking where these leeches might be crawling on me. If a physician was removing them I would have to trust him. I need to know that you're not going to do anything…or say anything later…that a physician would not do. May I ask that of you?"
Jack frowned at her. "I've already told you I won't force a woman who's not willing. You're not so I won't, simple as that." His expression relaxed into a smile, and he winked at her. "However, you are welcome to change your mind at any time."
Elizabeth scowled and Jack hurried on before she could interrupt him "No? I thought not. But one won't know if one doesn't ask, or something like that. Anyway, removing two pounds of leeches from a woman, any woman, isn't exactly something I'd brag up to the lads at the pub, savvy? So no worries, love."
He bowed slightly, one hand on his chest. His next words were spoken in an accurate imitation of a stuffy old man's voice. "Doctor Captain Jack Sparrow at your service, Miss! How may I be of assistance?"
Elizabeth's lips curved upward in the barest hint of a smile. Tension prevented her from fully enjoying Jack's humor. "Thank you. I know I can trust you, Jack. Please get all of the leeches off of me." She repeated it for emphasis. "All of them."
She turned her back to him, pulled her shirt up and off over her head, and clutched it tight to her chest.
She heard Jack inhale sharply. He said one word. "Oh."
For a moment he didn't do anything. Then she felt him move her hair aside. Her skin tingled where his fingers had brushed her shoulders. Sizzle, plop. Sizzle, plop. Jack cleared the leeches from her until he got down to the waist of her trousers.
"That's all of'em off of your back.
She pulled her damp shirt over her head and tugged it down. She could feel her heart racing. This isn't proper. But the leeches have to come off. But he's a pirate. No, he's Jack. This isn't safe. I told him I trusted him. Do I?
She loosened the buttons on the trousers and let them fall to the floor. As they fell, her blood turned cold again. She felt her chest tightening as fear engulfed her. Immediately the still image of herself and the dark angel who looked like Jack popped into her mind. He was standing behind her. One hand was on his stomach in silent laughter and the other was pointing over her shoulder at something she could not see. She got the distinct impression that he was laughing at…himself?
Behind her, Jack began singeing the leeches off of Elizabeth's thighs. He worked slowly upward until he reached the hem of the shirt. His breathing was shallow. Every so often he stopped working for a minute or two. Finally he completely stopped and remained still.
Elizabeth couldn't tell what he was doing. She couldn't hear him breathing at all. She finally glanced over her shoulder. He was turned away from her with his hands at his sides, head bowed in silent meditation.
Several minutes passed before she heard him turn around. He slowly lifted the hem of her shirt. Elizabeth's blood wasn't cold anymore. She was sweating profusely and her heart was pounding so hard she could feel her heartbeat in her face. She heard the sizzling sound several times, then a pause, then several more times, another pause and one more sizzle and plop.
"That was the last one. Get dressed." He sounded hoarse.
Elizabeth wasted no time yanking up her trousers and buttoning them around the shirt as she tucked it in. She got the vest on and buttoned before she turned around. Jack's back was to her, and he leaned on his elbows against the back of a nearby chair. His shoulders were hunched forward, and his forehead rested on his clasped hands.
The linstock lay on the edge of the table. Elizabeth picked it up, anxious to get it over with but afraid to start. Finally she murmured, "Stand up straighter, Jack. I can't see to reach your shoulders like this."
He stood up straight, close to the chair. His hands rested on its back. He still appeared to be meditating. His eyes were closed. His breathing was very shallow and slow. Elizabeth had to move his hair to get to his bare shoulders. As she touched him, he gasped as if she had startled him. .His back stiffened for a moment before he relaxed again.
Elizabeth examined the scars on his back as she worked. The man's entire back was a slashed and punctured canvas that illustrated the story of his life. Groups of long thin scars crossed his back in every direction. His ribs displayed two short ragged scars that may have been from a blade. He also bore a large bite mark on his side, too big to be from human teeth. There was one round dark scar that looked just like the ones on his chest; the gun shot scars that he had showed her on the island. She wondered if the leech bites would leave scars to add another scene to the canvas.
When his back was clear of the bloodsuckers, she stopped, unsure of what to say. Do I have to ask him to take off…!
She searched for words for a long moment before speaking. "I'm finished, Jack."
His voice was raspy. "I'm truly sorry you have to see this, love. The ugliest part of any man is his arse. But I don't want'em crawlin' where the sun doesn't shine either." He reached for his trouser buttons. Elizabeth felt her blood turn to icy slush in her veins. She shut her eyes tightly. The contents of Jack's pockets jangled and clunked noisily as the trousers hit the floor.
Elizabeth forced her reluctant eyes to open. He stood with his back to her, feet together, head lowered, hands on the chair. She immediately forgot about breathing. For just a moment she forgot about everything except the fact that she was alone in a room with a naked man, one to whom she was not married.
Then the momentary dam in her brain burst and a flood of thoughts rushed out at once. I AM ruined. I shouldn't be seeing this. Get to work, girl! Get it done quickly! Oh my, he is quite wrong…. Leeches, Elizabeth, not lechery. Leeches. I am RUINED!
She stepped forward and began to burn the leeches. She wanted to work fast, but she found it impossible to be both accurate and quick when her hands were quivering like those of a palsied old lady. She had to grasp the linstock with both hands at once to hold it steady.
After several eternities his legs, as well as the other area that disturbed her so much, were clear. She took a step back, and opened her mouth to tell Jack she was finished. But she saw one more leech. It was… Oh, no…
Elizabeth realized she was getting dizzy. She had been holding her breath again. She looked away from Jack, inhaled deeply and waited until her head cleared. Elizabeth, finish it.
"Jack? You've only got one more. But it's…it's…it's in a bad spot. I don't want to burn you…. Um…"
"Are you trying to ask me to spread'em?"
Elizabeth swallowed hard. "Um…yes," she whispered. I want to die. Right now.
Jack moved his feet to shoulder width apart and leaned slightly forward over the chair back. "Got a clear shot?" His voice sounded strained.
"Uh…….uh huh."
She moved the linstock hesitantly toward the final leech. She didn't want to ask him to move his legs again. She did not want to see any more than she already had. But there still wasn't quite enough room to get to the leech without burning Jack in a very awkward place. Oh, no…
"Hold still, Jack." She put the back of her free hand against his inner thigh to protect it from the sparking hemp as she scorched the leech that was attached high on the opposite inner thigh. The muscles in Jack's legs went from relaxed to taut and tight in an instant. She felt the hemp sear her hand. The leech fell; she jumped backward and yanked her hand away. She dropped the linstock by her feet. Her hand was burned; a round blister was already rising on the palm where the slow match had touched it. She heard Jack inhale hard and curse once.
"Did I burn you?"
"….No. 'm alright."
"I'm finished, Jack."
"Turn around, Lizzie. Look the other way."
Elizabeth did so without hesitation. She faced the tall stern windows and held her face in her hands. She was panting, her heart was racing and her head was spinning. Don't faint now. Not now.
She heard the sound of a chair scraping on the floor. "Lizzie, go on. Leave now."
"I still need to clean up the leeches." She turned toward Jack. His trousers were back in place. He had turned the chair around and was leaning heavily on the back of it.
"No! Go. Get out now. Go!" He was flushed and breathing unevenly.
"Jack, are you feeling alright? Did I hurt you? Is there anything I can do?"
"No, no, no, just go. I'm just feeling a mite strained. Long day, tired, headache, all that. And,,,I, ah, need to use the pot. So would you please give me some privacy?"
"Oh! Of course! I'm sorry!" She hurried toward the cabin door. As she neared it, she could hear many voices just outside.
She opened the door and stepped out into the warm orange light of early evening. Several of the pirates had their ears pressed to the window of Jack's bedchamber. They were hushing each other. The rest of the crew stood crowded together nearby, watching them. Elizabeth closed the cabin door. The eavesdroppers fell over each other as they jerked away from the window.