Honestly felt my last chapter was rushed and a bit fragmented. Well, this one is extra long! Hope you enjoy.
Jack tells Kate about her father.
For the first couple hours out to sea, Kate lay in the cabin miserable with seasickness. Elizabeth scraped up some chopped ginger from the ship's skimpy supply of rations and offered it to her. Kate was grateful, though the spice burned her throat. She still remained in the cabin though, trying to get her queasy stomach to settle as the ship bobbed up and down on the waves.
Elizabeth took in the view of open water with deep breaths of wonder. It felt so wonderful to be in the great wide spaces again with no frivolous politics to deal with. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" Will mentioned as he stood beside her.
"Mmm." Elizabeth nodded. "Will, what made you decide to accompany us? I'm perfectly able to take care myself and you've more than proven to be a sufficient arms instructor to Kate, not to mention several boys in Port Royal. Why did you feel the necessity to come along?"
"Is that a complaint?"
"Mere curiosity."
"Elizabeth, contrary to what you must be thinking, I do not doubt your competence in looking after yourself." Will gave her a knowing smile, remembering the good whack she'd given one of Barbossa's thugs when he'd threatened Will! "I only wanted...to...insure that, you'll make it back. The last time you sailed out to sea, without me, I almost lost you."
"Well, that wasn't entirely at my own bidding." Elizabeth reminded him. "I was the one to claim Parley. But with every intention of returning to land."
"Indeed. That is why I came. If any trouble should happen to you along the way, I want to be there through it with you. I...don't want you to be alone. I want you to return and become Mrs. William Turner." Will said, gripping her hand.
"Oh, Will." She smiled warmly.
Jack watched the pair from his spot at the rudder, trying not to roll his eyes. He would never admit it to them, but he had a soft spot for the two young lovebirds. But watching them interact did rather irritate him at times. He periodically glanced down at his compass, making sure that he was steering the ship in the proper direction.
Kate finally emerged out on deck at high noon. She searched for Elizabeth, a familiar face. She hoped to avoid running into those unsavory goons again. Elizabeth was looking over some papers, legal papers that her father had entrusted to her. She noticed her maid and smiled. "Kate, there you are." She said. "How are you feeling?"
"Much better." Kate agreed. "My stomach doesn't feel so much now like the waves we're rolling on."
"I'm glad." Elizabeth said. "It will be sunset before too long."
"Yes." Kate nodded. She still felt the tiniest bit of lousy, but at least now she could walk about without her stomach churning. She walked up the steps to the helm where Jack was steering.
"Ahh, I was wonderin' where you'd gone into hiding." Jack smiled. "You're late. The day's nearly over. Ye missed half a day's magnificent view." He waved his hand out toward the sea.
"Couldn't be helped." Kate shook her head. "I'm still trying to find my sea legs."
"Oh, naturally. Feelin' better, I hope?"
"Very much, thank you." Kate nodded.
"That's good, luv." Jack approved. "I trust Anamaria found something roomy enough for you to move around in." He smirked, eyeing the masculine pirate clothes she was wearing, similar to Elizabeth, save for the short dark blue calico skirt hitched to one side of her hip that she wore over the black breeches. She may have to dress like a pirate, but she had no intention of looking as ugly as the crew. Plus, she still wanted to keep up some female prestige, hence the skirt.
"Aye, except I made a couple of adjustments to maintain my own taste." Kate stated.
"Not bad taste at all." Jack grinned. Kate frowned. She wasn't used to being looked at that way, even if he meant nothing dishonorable by it. Even if he meant it as a genuine compliment, his saucy glance was way out of her comfort zone.
"If you're going to speak to me, could you please address me to my face?" She asked flatly.
"I can do that." Jack nodded.
"Just see that you do." Kate sighed. She sat down on the steps and tried to write in her little diary without receiving another bout of motion sickness. She observed the crew going about their business, and watched Jack with growing curiosity. Could she really trust him? She didn't really have much choice at the moment. But had this been a stupid mistake? Heck, she didn't even know this guy! What if he wasn't everything Will and Elizabeth had said? What if he had changed since they met? What if he was a true pirate, in every sense of the word?
"I was so anxious to scarf down any clues about my father, and my past, that I didn't realize the gist of what I could be getting myself into!" She wrote in her diary with a small piece of charcoal that Will had fashioned into a type of pen. "I'm beginning to realize with embarrassment that I truly know nothing about pirates or how they really operate, needless to say, I can only pray to God I made the right decision placing my trust in Captain Jack Sparrow and what he can tell me about Father. I pray he is telling the truth!
Elizabeth has said that Captain Sparrow has an irritating knack for leaving his friends in the dark when he's onto something. That does not exactly bolster my confidence! But she also told me that he is a friend, and Will told me he's a good man. That's good enough for me, and right now, that's what I'm clinging to.
It can't be just wishful thinking can it, that someone who knows about my father's fate suddenly showed up out the blue after all these years? Who just happened to mention off hand a clue that I have been asking about for so long, and just happened to actually know my father whom I can barely remember? It can't be mere chance or just good luck! Can it? My gut feeling tells me no. My mind and heart tell me that this was meant to be! I'm going to hold to that feeling with everything that I am.
My father may be dead. I pray not. But at least now, I will have the chance to know for sure!"
Night had fallen. The crew had eaten their meager supper and did their required tasks. Well, some of them did. Others such as Pintel and Ragetti could be heard around the ship, making bets over the most random and most ridiculous things with the other men and threatening to shoot each other in the eye or the mouth if they lost or paid great insult. Kate found the whole conversation vulgar and just plain dumb. "What a waste of bullets." She said to herself. She stood next to Elizabeth who was gazing out at the beautiful night. "Doesn't it unnerve you, Miss, the way they are at each other's throats as if it were an every day occurrence?"
Elizabeth chuckled at her servant. "Yes, it greatly irks me sometimes the things they will talk about." She sighed. "But I have learned that that's their way. And you'll find that these are the most savory bunch of pirates you'll probably ever meet, Kate."
"Ugh." Kate grimaced.
"And to them, this 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth' method is an everyday occurrence! But I've had to learn the hard way to just ignore them. Unless of course they drag me into it!"
"So, you've grown accustomed to this scurvy lingo?" Kate gaped.
"More than I would like to." Elizabeth sighed. Kate shook her head grinning.
"If I may say so, Miss, you're much more hard-bitten than I ever would've dared to guess." Kate said. Elizabeth blushed. "And may I add, I'm extremely relieved that you're with me on this venture!"
"You're my friend." Elizabeth said. "And my father does have matters for me to tend in England. How could I say no?"
"She was just looking for a good excuse to sail the ocean again and mingle among pirates." Will teased as he appeared. Elizabeth's jaw dropped and her face went red with embarrassment.
"I...I..." She tried to protest, but looked away as Will laughed at her. He'd hit a nerve and he gladly rubbed it in her nose.
"If you'll excuse me," Kate giggled and slowly maneuvered away, leaving the two lovebirds to themselves. Elizabeth pouted at Will, trying not to smile. Will gave her the look and knew he'd won the argument.
Jack was sitting on a barrel near the rudder, with his knee crossed and contentedly drinking a bottle of rum. Kate shyly walked up next to him but kept her eyes on the ocean. "I never knew the sea could be so pretty, especially at night." She remarked lightly.
"Ahh. Then you haven't seen anything yet then." Jack replied proudly.
"I've always been afraid of going out to sea." Kate hung her head.
"You? Afraid?" Jack chuckled skeptically. "I never would've guessed that by the way you practically pestered me into mental fatigue to bring you along!"
"I know." Kate sighed. "I suppose I was just so caught up in the moment of excitement that I didn't realize what I was saying."
"Reconsidering?" Jack prodded.
"I just hope I'm not making a serious mistake." Kate bit her lip.
"Mistakes aren't all bad, you know. Some can be quite the adventure."
"Well, I just pray to find the answers, once and for all."
"You really don't remember your father, do you?" Jack asked thoughtfully, cocking his head.
"I remember a little." Kate answered solemnly. "I recall that he was very tall. I always told my playmates he was a giant. Of course I was much smaller then. It's been years since I heard his voice, but I think I remember it being very deep. It always made me feel safe, with the exception of if I'd broken one of the household rules, then it would be unnerving!
'He always said he would protect us no matter what. And Mother said he was called a heretic for it, but he did teach me a little of how to take care of myself with ruffians, for any time that he wasn't there to do it. The two things he taught me from early on were to stand up for myself when the moment called for it, and to stand up for what matters, even if no one else will. But aside from those things, I can barely recall much about him. It's been so long.'" Kate said wistfully, looking back out onto the ocean.
"Well, dear, yur old man was one tough buzzard, that much I can tell ye!" Jack exclaimed. "I suppose that comes with the territory being in that line of work. I could never do it though!"
"Oh, come now. A rugged, infamously feared fellow like you?" Kate teased. "If you heard half the tales they tell of you, you wouldn't have any trouble living up to that image! Not by the way you turned down my offer at first."
"I like the sound of that." Jack boasted.
"You said you knew my father." Kate looked at him tentatively.
"That I did, dearie." Jack nodded.
"What can you tell me about him?"
"What can I say? He was a prison guard. Captain of the guard, the most back-biting, inflexible, gravel-jawed, merciless type of people you could ever meet!" Jack announced with a fearful look on his face. Kate's countenance fell. To think that her father had been an unreasonable, heartless scoundrel began to bring tears to her eyes. Jack noticed and figured he better mend his comment quickly, before he got slapped! He wasn't in the mood to deal with a crying woman, again. "Scratch that." He offered a feeble grin. "But it's a tough job, and Captain Summers was overqualified for the role in my opinion!"
"So...you're saying...he was a tyrant?" Kate looked petrified, the disappointment heavy in her voice.
"Never." Jack assured her. "Only to the vilest and most cold-blooded of men, which does not include me. Don't get me wrong, luv. Like I said, yur father was a decent man considering his line of work. Very rigid and straight to the point on the job, but when it came to what was close to his heart...you would see an entirely new man. He spoke of you and your mother. Very little, being a man under the flag of the law doesn't allow time for personal matters. But when he did, no one could deny he had treasure that he would guard with his life. And woe be to those who dared to harm it!"
Kate breathed in relief. Her hand subconsciously smoothed out her necklace without realizing it. Hearing such praised words made her miss her father more, but warmed her heart to know her mother's memory hadn't been for nothing.
"What do you know about the Marquis of the Midnight Moon?" Jack asked.
"Very little I'm afraid." Kate moaned. "The Marquis of Canterville was threatened with scandal, which fed the juicy busy-bodies all over England. That I do know! He was accused of fathering an illegitimate child, and then rumored to have been committing treason against his own country. There was a little circumstantial evidence, enough to call forth a trial, but the case was closed due to lack of testimony and therefore thrown out."
Jack rolled his eyes and flinched. "Not even the half of it!" He argued. "Bloody papers never get the true facts."
"That's what you told me when you were in the brig." Kate nodded.
"The Gospel truth, luv." Jack said solemnly. Kate stepped closer to him.
"What did happen, Jack?" She asked seriously. That was the first time she'd addressed him by his first name.
"Best better sit down, luv." Jack said in a warning tone.
"No thank you." Kate shook her head firmly. His tone indicated that the details weren't going to be pretty. Jack shrugged and cleared his throat.
"The Marquis of Canterville made many visits to London." Jack began. "I, ahem, happened to on numerous occasions attempt to 'borrow' from him on said visits."
"You mean stealing." Kate narrowed her eyes. Jack bit his lip and straightened his shoulders.
"At the time I had no ship. She was gone. I was looking for a good boat to st-err, borrow-to sail out and find a certain grisly someone who could help me out of my predicament. See, I had only very recently been reknowned a pirate, a criminal, so folks weren't exactly open to doing business with me. The Marquis of Canterville had just arrived in London. All gussied up he was, like a fat peacock strutting around. I'd seen him many times through my previously formerly errands in the city, so I knew what he'd have on him upon arrival. Figured it couldn't hurt to help meself to his loot, so I attempted to take it for meself. But...things went a bit...ahem, awry shall we say."
"In other words, you were caught and arrested." Kate finished for him.
"Well, there is that." Jack shrugged. "Anyhow, that's how I met yur father, lassie. It wasn't my first time in the brig in London-having been labeled a dangerous criminal to the crown. Aye, Captain Summers had his sharp eye on me, he did. Even took me by surprise sometimes the way he'd just show up at one of me business appointments, when I thought I'd fooled him like a proficient foxy fox!"
"What does all this have to do with the case?" Kate asked stepping closer to him. "And I've been dying to ask, how do you happen to know so much about it?"
"Couldn't be helped, luv." Jack said. "At the time of the case being brought to court, the jail was my home away from home. Ye don't find juicy gossip only out on the street and at fancy tea parties, luv. It passes through prison faster than anywhere else. I just happened to inconveniently be picked up and locked in at the time, so I heard what all the hullabaloo was about. Fascinating the way the real facts never get out in the open when it comes to politicians.
'The Marquis' wife's brother was claiming that he had proof that his squinty brother-in-law had fathered an illegitimate child before he married his current wife. Most claimed that he was jealous of the fortune and so was trying to blacken Marquis Louis' name. But a certain someone had found a young boy near the docks months ago who bore a striking resemblance to the man Louis himself, and had the same birthmark the man did on his chin. Medical records showed that there had been a child born under Louis' roof, one that was never seen in public. When the Marquis' wife found out, she filed for divorce, demanding to take her husband's fortune with her. Of course she couldn't unless the stupid fellow was dead. So, she killed herself. She was found in her dressing room, with a half-drunk bottle of poison in the room and a note. Said she would rather die than endure the public scandal she was bound to be bombarded with from her peers. You can imagine the talk in town! I'd say she was the smart one.'" Kate frowned at him. "To leave the man, I meant."
"I don't quite understand." Kate frowned in confusion as she finally sat down opposite him. "How does this lead up to the case of the Midnight Moon?"
"Patience, luv. I'm coming to that." Jack said. "You see, as I said before, the child was found down at the docks, by a certain someone, purely by accident, I assure you. Curiosity led to solo investigation. Yur father disguised himself as a hired hand on a ship, The Cartwheel. Said ship was from another continent, and did not port in any of the main harbors in England, but rather offshore, less traveled ones. Well, one thing led to another, yur father and the certain unnamed someone snuck onto the ship. While Captain Summers checked out the conditions and workforce of the crew, the certain someone roamed into captain's office and searched the records. He found some very interesting material. It was a ship that exported slaves."
"Slaves?" Kate's eyes widened in horror. She was only a servant, and well-paid and fed. But being a slave, a piece of property? She didn't want to imagine!
"Aye, lass. The Marquis' unclaimed child, his name and his mother's name, both of 'em were on the ledger of listed slaves, to be transported to another location...in Bermuda."
"Bermuda?"
"Quite. From there, slaves were sold and bought, and distributed to anywhere in the world, anywhere from Lisbon to Saudi Arabia, wherever their new masters decided."
"That's awful." Kate shuddered. She didn't even like the idea of the numerous African slaves being taken all over the world.
"Further poking and prodding showed names, of Englishmen in the ledger. Some were physicians, some were even soldiers, hobos, mostly people who could not make end's meet, especially in London. The Marquis's illegitimate son was sent to an orphanage after that, God be with him.
'The certain someone snuck out of the prison at night and traveled down to the lightly traveled docks, watching for any more signs of The Cartwheel. One night, the ship did indeed return. This person, identity not relevant, watched as many English citizens: men, women, even children-mostly poor and destitute-were ushered one by one toward the ship. The Marquis himself was there, bartering with the ship's captain. They exchanged money...for the people! As if they were livestock.'" Jack said in disgust. Kate grimaced. She felt sick.
"What did the certain someone do?" She asked.
"Well, he was just about to leave and high-tail it outta there, when a young lad, skin and bones, crept out of the tall grass, pure terror on his face. He told the person, that the Marquis had promised to help his parents make a better life, but the next thing he'd known, was that they were being sold like material goods, and that he'd most likely never see them again. This young lad had escaped off the ship to get help. He begged the man to help him. The man offered to bring him to your father, Kate. But as they snuck away, the poor, weary lad who was lingering behind was shot and killed. The certain someone got a good look at the murderer: only a boy, a young man of about seventeen at the time. Learned later his name was Ralph Briggs-that's the name he gave-, the Marquis' secret apprentice who handled public relations."
"Ohh..." Kate winced and looked away. "That's horrible! How can people be so cold?"
"It's a cruel world out there, darlin'." Jack said sympathetically.
"How does my father tie into the rest of the story?"
Jack looked down at his hands for a moment. "Well, darlin', the certain someone was arrested for burglary and told yur old man what he saw. Captain Summers immediately sent out a warrant to bring the Marquis in for questioning and scour through his personal and business records. Of course, they weren't where one could easily find 'em. The witness suggested the good captain search Marquis Louis' personal carriage, the same one he always traveled to London in. Your father found letters in a hidden compartment built underneath the handsome. Lists of names, dates, and prices coincided with the records found on the ship. Captain Summers brought the evidence to the courts who ordered a trial of treason committed by Marquis Louis against his own people."
"Why would he do such a thing? As if trading African slaves wasn't inhumane enough?!" Kate hissed.
"Money and power, dear." Jack said unhappily. "Englishmen brought about more profit, mainly because they were educated, supposedly, or skilled in something while the slaves sent up from Africa practically have to learn everything about what we do, how we live. Englishmen would be better workers, the traders said."
"What happened during the trial?"
"Oh," Jack continued, "the Marquis was a very popularly unpopular fellow!"
"Served him right." Kate snapped.
"But so was your father, luv." Jack stated seriously. "He bore the most brunt of the political displeasure. His brothers in arms were verbally chastised and physically harassed by those who didn't appreciate them treating Sir Louis for who he really was, a scoundrel. Word spread through the jail faster than a forest wildfire! Citizens and aristocrats alike threatened your father to back down, those who weren't more than ready to hang Sir Louis, that is. But in all this, Captain Summers thought first and foremost of you, lass, and your mother. He greatly feared for the two of you, it was in his eyes. And then the trial."
"The trial." Kate gulped, not sure she wanted to hear any more.
"Briggs, Sir Louis's right hand man, was extremely vocally belligerent toward Captain Summers and the one witness. He threatened the both of them to a 'fate worse than death' if they did not remain silent on the testimony. When ye live in a crammed cell for days to weeks, the grapevine grows an extra pair of ears. Captain Summers made his most trusted deputy promise to send you and your mother somewhere safe, out of England, should the trial show clear signs of not turning out in his favor."
"And it didn't." Kate said solemnly, staring down at her hands.
"Aye. Your father told them time and time again that he had a solid witness, but when he revealed the witness's identity, the testimony was brushed aside. The courts ordered a 'test'. They let Sir Louis return back to his normal life, on one condition: that he arrange an exchange with The Cartwheel on an appointed night, with the officers and patrolmen and soldiers there to observe. If slaves or evidence of slaves were found, he would be arrested, found guilty, and executed within time. So, with a two weeks' notice, Sir Louis was to make the exchange at midnight."
"I can surmise what happened next. No ship." Kate sighed.
"Oh, yes. There was a ship! Just not The Cartwheel. It was the Lady Charlotte, one of the Royal Navy's most reliable vessels, returning from a long voyage. No Cartwheel, no exchange, no slaves, no witness. Which didn't matter anyway, as the witness had disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Unavoidably detained. So, that was that. Captain Summers' deputy came and took you and your mother out of London that night, and arranged a secret passage for you on a ship bound for Jamaica."
Tears were now pouring down Kate's eyes. Her father had gone through so much, all for trying to do the right thing, all to help people still be treated like people. And all for nothing! "And my father?" Kate gulped anxiously.
"As I told you before, luv, I did not say that he was murdered. But he and the witness both conveniently vanished and were never heard from again. The last I saw of your father, Katie darlin', he was being dragged away in shackles in the dead of night." Jack told her grimly. Kate re-positioned herself so that she wasn't facing him. She winced and turned her face away, trying to hide her tears. "I'm sorry, luv." Jack grunted.
"Oh, Father..." Kate wept. "He didn't do anything wrong! What ever happened to him?!"
"I cannot say for sure, darlin'. My money is bet on Briggs, that he either shot him, or..."
"Or placed him on a slave ship, like human cargo!" Kate snapped with tears.
"Aye."
"A fate worse than death." Kate shuddered. "So," she faced Jack again, "there is the possibility that my father could...still be alive?!" She asked hopefully.
"That was a very long time ago, luv." Jack shook his head.
"But it is possible!" Kate persisted.
"It's possible. Just not probable." Jack said.
"Jack...Captain Sparrow..."
"Call me whatever you prefer, dearie." Jack shrugged with a smile.
"You warned me that things could get ugly, and that I'd learn things I wish I hadn't. I deeply regret hearing all you've just told me. But I do not regret the fact that you did tell me. If anything, this clears up so many foggy gaps that even my mother didn't know, or...didn't tell me about. It adds up a lot. But there is much more to be said and brought to light. Will you please, help me find out what became of my father?" Kate asked in a pleading voice.
"Ye got me out of the clink back in Port Royal, remember? Though I could've sprung meself out, I still owe ye for that, lass. Aye. We'll find out what became of the good Captain Summers. That I can promise you!"
"Thank you." Kate breathed, smiling warmly.
"Besides, I have an old debt to square away with someone, should we meet up along the way." Jack mentioned.
"You've told me the truth, Jack?" Kate asked cautiously.
"Every word, luv." Jack replied.
"Thank you. I appreciate you being honest with me." Kate tried to wipe her tears away.
"Oui! Better get back to me wheel!" Jack gasped and checked his compass as he took his hand to the ship's rudder.
"Goodnight, Captain Sparrow." Kate said as she hurried back to the cabin she would be sharing with her mistress.
"Sleep tight, luv." Jack smiled.
Kate's mind was racing wildly and hot tears still fell down her face. She finally had facts, a lead, answers! But their journey was far from over! "Please be alive, Father! Please be where I can find you!"
Whoa! A lot to take in. Can't believe how long this turned out! Reviews are very needed for this chapter! So, we've learned what all the hullabaloo was about the Marquis of the Midnight Moon. But there are still other mysterious questions that weren't answered in this chapter: what became of Kate's father? What happened to the key witness, that certain someone Jack kept mentioning? Who was that witness?
What are your theories? And what do you think of Jack and Kate's growing friendship?