Weatherby Swann sat in his study, examining the latest contract he had established with one of his German trading partners. Konstantin Böhm was his name as far as he recalled, but something about that young man irked him. Arrogant fool, was what Weatherby would call him after their meeting.

"You shouldn't get so worked up, father," his daughter Elizabeth spoke as she was seated by the fireplace and watched him from across the room.

"I know it's just business, but what parent would let such a disgusting young man like that roam free?" Weatherby complained. "Thinks he knows it all without having even lifted a single finger in all his life! And he dares to berate me? That self-serving, conceited litte-"

A knock on the door interrupted his rant. "Not now," he called out, still annoyed by his previous encounter.

"Commodore Norrington has arrived, Your Excellency," the maid announced from the other side of the door. "He requests to enter."

"Ah, right." He remembered the Commodore had talked to him recently regarding the witch in the dungeons. She claimed to be a saleswoman from foreign lands, which he had been asked to affirm. While it was a strange request, the Governor accepted out of curiosity, wondering what caused the Commodore to believe her. "He may enter!"

"Then I think I should leave," Elizabeth said and rose from her seat as soon as the door opened. She was then face to face with the Commodore whose face lightened upon seeing her. "Good morning, Miss Swann," He greeted her delightedly and bowed to her.

"Commodore," she acknowledged him briefly with a nod, flashing an awkward, almost forced, smile at him. Her gaze then landed on a woman behind him. Her straight black hair was loosely falling behind her shoulders, parted in the middle and tucked behind her ears. Her hair was a stark contrast to her light skin. What was most noticeable about her were her clothes. She wore a white turtleneck woolen shirt beneath a black coat. While it resembled the coats men would wear, it fitted her slim figure perfectly, reaching just below her waist. She wore matching black pants and pointed shoes that only hid her toes, with thin heels that elevated her by a few inches. Her appearance was so outlandish to the young woman, but at the same time conveyed a certain elegance and boldness.

Elizabeth didn't know what was more scandalous, her pants or her revealed ankles and feet. Although she had to admit she certainly would love to own shoes such as the ones that woman was wearing.

As they passed each other, the woman gave her a smile accompanied by a slight bow of her head, which she met with a smile of her own before leaving.

The Governor and Commodore proceeded to greet each other and Norrington introduced Weatherby and Delia to each other.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Governor Swann," she spoke as she confidently approached him, holding out her hand to him. Upon seeing that gesture, Norrington lowered his gaze in faint embarrassment.

Confusion washed over Swann's face and he eyed her hand curiously, but accepted it and held out his own which she grasped in a firm handshake, her eyes fixed on his. It was uncommon for a woman to greet a man as an equal, much less a governor. Unheard of, even. Since Weatherby Swann was a kind-natured man, however, he let it slide, especially taking into consideration that she might be a foreigner.

"Why, the pleasure is all mine, Miss Veynes," said Swann and managed a smile through his confusion which she kindly returned, unfazed by his bewildered look.

As they withdrew their hands, the Governor gestured towards the two chairs facing his desk, asking the Commodore and the woman to take a seat and walked around it to be seated on his own chair.

"It has come to my attention that you are being accused of witchery," Swann began. "And despite all the evidence, Commodore Norrington has granted you the benefit of doubt. What say you, Miss Veynes?"

"I am sincerely grateful to the Commodore for releasing me and honored to be here," Delia spoke as she bowed her head to show her appreciation, "but I have to admit, I am just as clueless about the situation as you are."

The Governor raised his eyebrows at her, then turned his head to Norrington questioningly, awaiting further explanation as to the reason for her presence. The man in question cleared his voice and said, "I have postponed her trial for further investigation. Miss Veynes claims to be a saleswoman from another country. Since trading is your specialty, I was wondering if you could confirm if that is the case."

"I see," Swann nodded, lowering his gaze in thought. When the contract he had been occupied with before caught his attention, he suddenly came up with an idea. "I think I know of a way."

He then lifted his head to address Delia again, "How familiar are you with contracts?"

"I deal with them almost everyday, usually with the help of my lawyer. Why would you like to know?" Came her response as she followed his gaze landing on the parchment on the desk.

"I have recently closed a trading deal with a German merchant," the Governor began, "it was a good deal, but I have been asked to pay in advance. And there is something about this contract," He handed her the parchment, "I can't quite make sense of."

Commodore Norrington watched as Delia skimmed through the contract.

"These are some pretty long sentences," she uttered to herself, "the long ones are the most dangerous."

In between the paragraphs, she would occasionally look up to ask the Governor some questions. Despite his best attempts, Norrington failed to understand most of their conversation.

"What goods were you buying again?" Delia inquired, her eyes locked on the parchment this time.

"Oh, mostly cloth, silks, paintings and books."

"Then why isn't any of it written in here?" The woman inquired, handing the contract back over to the Governor.

"But it is!" The elder insisted, placing his finger on the parchment as he sought for a specific sentence. "Right here. The buyer will receive the promised goods within a month after payment."

"Yes. Promised goods," Delia nodded. "But promised goods can be anything. He might as well send you apples and claim they are the goods you asked for."

"Oh no, he wouldn't do that." The governor shook his head disbelievingly.

"So you know him well?" Delia pressed further.

"Well, yes- actually, no. His father is a long term trading partner of mine."

Norrington looked back and forth between the two as they talked. The governor insisted the young man had come to trade on behalf of his father who had already sent a letter beforehand announcing the visit of his son. This seemed to spark even more questions from her and the commodore finally began to understand where the conversation was going.

"So this is the first time you have seen his son?"

"Yes."

"And… you have never seen them together before?"

The governor was oblivious to her suspicions, shaking his head. "Unfortunately not. Though I'd very much like to see how he handles that pompous spoiled boy."

Delia raised her eyebrows, exchanging knowing glances with the Commodore. When she faced the Governor again, a sweet smile formed on her lips.

"I'd like to meet him."