Chapter 10: That Girl!
Will looked up, startled, as the maidservant he had left with Arianne appeared in the doorway. "Sir," she said, bowed, and left. A bit confused, Will stared after her for a moment, and then Arianne came into view. He smiled at her, and couldn't help but think how like a child she looked, her shirt far too big for her and nearly concealing her features, her hair bound back in a single braid, little tendrils of it falling around her face as it dried. The image of a child was lost, however, when he saw the bruise marring her perfect cheek. His protectiveness surged up in him again, and he vowed to himself that he would do his very best to keep his promise to her. He would protect her, no matter what it took.
"Come sit down, please," he said, gesturing to a chair, staying relaxed and hoping that it would help her relax as well. She smiled at him, and gingerly sat on the edge of a seat, looking all around the room.
"Not too shabby a house, eh?" Jack suddenly pitched in, and from the way Arianne startled, she hadn't even realized he was there.
"Not too shabby indeed. In fact, I think it's quite nice. Even nicer than ours, especially when--" she choked back whatever it had been that she had been about to say, and simply studied the room again. Taking her cue, Jack and Will pretended she didn't even start the sentence, though Will wondered what she really had been about to say...
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Arianne stopped herself before saying "when Amos is around," and smacked herself mentally for nearly slipping up. She did NOT want to think of him when she was in Will's house. Albeit she was likely to get eaten alive by Elizabeth, but that had to be less painful than anything she had dealt with from Amos. She fidgeted a bit in her seat, not looking forward to when she finally did meet the woman Will had married. She had no doubt whatsoever that Will had meant that she could be formidable. After all, she had stood up to the commodore to whom she had been affianced all to save Jack Sparrow from hanging...
Arianne tried not to think about that and instead focused on the kiss. She suppressed a sigh, and found herself staring straight at Will-- "And just WHAT is THAT?" exclaimed a startled--and yes, disgusted--woman at the top of her lungs from the doorway Arianne had entered not five minutes ago. She jerked her head up and looked at Elizabeth, trying to conceal her feelings behind a mask of indifference.
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Elizabeth entered the sitting room to find Jack, Will, and...what the hell? "And just WHAT is THAT?" she shouted. She was enraged. It was no wonder Will had been ignoring her in bed, he had been seeing THAT thing that was sitting on the couch. Jealousy immdediately rose up in her like a dragon at the first sight of the gorgeous woman's profile: a perfectly shaped face; waist-length hair that, from the tendrils, she knew would be a golden blonde; a perfect figure, in spite of the fact that it was nearly concealed by the oversized shirt she wore...and she was staring at Will-- HER husband!--with a look of rapt fascination and love radiating from her eyes.
"Elizabeth...this is Arianne and she's--" Will began, and Elizabeth's attention riveted on Will.
"You! No wonder you're home later than you used to be every single night! I had been wondering why you seemed to suddenly not be so anxious to return home to me, but now! Now I know! You've been going to this WHORE the whole time! How good is she, Will?" Her voice shook with rage and barely suppressed tears as Will just stared at her in abject shock. Clamping her lips shut so she wouldn't sob in front of him, she glared at him again through eyes that were threatening to overflow, and left the room abruptly.
As soon as she stepped out, one tear, then two, then a dozen and then what seemed like thousands began to flood from her eyes and she hurried upstairs to the bedroom suite she and Will shared. Flinging herself down on the bed, she buried her face in a pillow to muffle her sobs.
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Arianne swallowed hard, barely holding back tears herself. A whore? Sure, Amos called her that all the time...but somehow, hearing it from someone else made it hurt that much more. Oh and she was angry too. Very angry. How dared Elizabeth accuse Will of infidelity? How dare she! Will would never do anything of the sort, he wouldn't!
"Ah..." Jack began.
Will stood up. "I'm going to go talk to her," he said, his voice cold with anger. "Please, stay here." With that, he left the room as well, anger stiffening every line of his body and purpose lengthening his strides.
Arianne watched him go, pain and fury warring within her.
"Arianne," Jack said softly. She looked at him. "Elizabeth was just caught by surprise, love, she didn't mean what she said."
At the look of disbelief on her face, Jack amended that statement with, "Oh, she meant what she said, but given the time to calm down or someone--" by the stress on "someone" she knew it must have been Will, "to make her see sense, she'll realize that she really didn't mean it. She knows Will would never be unfaithful to her, but seeing another beautiful woman in her house staring at her husband..." Jack shrugged.
Arianne just stared at him, a little shocked at his eloquent speech and the emotion she couldn't quite name behind his words and his expression. Puzzled, she just stared at him.
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Will made his way to the bedroom, his anger increasing with every step he took. He stopped just outside the door to breathe deeply and at least calm himself a little so he wouldn't lose control before entering, and heard what could only be sobbing. He sighed, his fury receding--but not by any means evaporating. He turned the handle and entered the room as quietly as he could and sat on the chair closest to the bed.
"Elizabeth," he said, just a touch of coldness entering his voice, which he stifled before he could continue. "Elizabeth, that was truly hurtful," he said as calmly as he could. "How could you ever think that I would be unfaithful to you?"
She lifted her head and looked at him, eyes red, face blotchy from her crying. "I--I don't know..." she said, wiping her nose on a handkerchief and sitting up, trying to get herself back under control, the occasional sob still racking her body.
"For your information, Elizabeth, that girl out there was being brutally beaten by her own brother this afternoon, and I happen to believe that it wasn't the first time it's happened, though maybe not to the extreme he was taking it to today. Did you even look at her face? Did you see the bruise on her cheek, extending to her jawline?"
"N-n-nooo," Elizabeth said, her expression now one of shame.
"Right. All you could think about was that you had been cheated of something that was yours, am I right?"
Elizabeth just stared at her lap.
He walked over and lifted her chin so she had to look at him. "Am I right?" he whispered. She sniffled and nodded slightly. He let her go. "Now, what I would like to know is why you would even have cared if I were going to some whore--and I'm not--when you don't even love me anymore yourself."
Her eyes widened. She started to deny it. "No," he said sharply. "Don't even start. I know, Elizabeth, I know that you don't. You've always been a terrible liar, and I've heard you mumbling in your sleep. You accused me of being unfaithful to you...just how faithful have you been to me?"
Anger sparked in her eyes and she opened her mouth to say something cruel, but stopped herself. Her expression changed to one of shame once more. "I...Will, I...I do still love you...but not...not as a wife should love a husband. I'm sorry." She hung her head again.
"Elizabeth, it's alright. I--what really hurt was that you were lying to me. I stopped coming to you for--things--because we aren't suited to each other. We shouldn't remain together if we're both in love with someone else."
Her head snapped up. "'We're both in love with someone else'?" she asked, startled. "But who...that girl?!"
"Yes, 'that girl,' and now I'd like to know who it is you've been thinking of all this time," he asked gently, if a little irritated at Elizabeth not even acknowledging that Arianne did indeed have a name.
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Wooooooot! Chapter 10! ^.^ Thanks again to my reviewers, and thank you Mia for "demanding" new chapters all the time:P I love you too, lol!
Will looked up, startled, as the maidservant he had left with Arianne appeared in the doorway. "Sir," she said, bowed, and left. A bit confused, Will stared after her for a moment, and then Arianne came into view. He smiled at her, and couldn't help but think how like a child she looked, her shirt far too big for her and nearly concealing her features, her hair bound back in a single braid, little tendrils of it falling around her face as it dried. The image of a child was lost, however, when he saw the bruise marring her perfect cheek. His protectiveness surged up in him again, and he vowed to himself that he would do his very best to keep his promise to her. He would protect her, no matter what it took.
"Come sit down, please," he said, gesturing to a chair, staying relaxed and hoping that it would help her relax as well. She smiled at him, and gingerly sat on the edge of a seat, looking all around the room.
"Not too shabby a house, eh?" Jack suddenly pitched in, and from the way Arianne startled, she hadn't even realized he was there.
"Not too shabby indeed. In fact, I think it's quite nice. Even nicer than ours, especially when--" she choked back whatever it had been that she had been about to say, and simply studied the room again. Taking her cue, Jack and Will pretended she didn't even start the sentence, though Will wondered what she really had been about to say...
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Arianne stopped herself before saying "when Amos is around," and smacked herself mentally for nearly slipping up. She did NOT want to think of him when she was in Will's house. Albeit she was likely to get eaten alive by Elizabeth, but that had to be less painful than anything she had dealt with from Amos. She fidgeted a bit in her seat, not looking forward to when she finally did meet the woman Will had married. She had no doubt whatsoever that Will had meant that she could be formidable. After all, she had stood up to the commodore to whom she had been affianced all to save Jack Sparrow from hanging...
Arianne tried not to think about that and instead focused on the kiss. She suppressed a sigh, and found herself staring straight at Will-- "And just WHAT is THAT?" exclaimed a startled--and yes, disgusted--woman at the top of her lungs from the doorway Arianne had entered not five minutes ago. She jerked her head up and looked at Elizabeth, trying to conceal her feelings behind a mask of indifference.
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Elizabeth entered the sitting room to find Jack, Will, and...what the hell? "And just WHAT is THAT?" she shouted. She was enraged. It was no wonder Will had been ignoring her in bed, he had been seeing THAT thing that was sitting on the couch. Jealousy immdediately rose up in her like a dragon at the first sight of the gorgeous woman's profile: a perfectly shaped face; waist-length hair that, from the tendrils, she knew would be a golden blonde; a perfect figure, in spite of the fact that it was nearly concealed by the oversized shirt she wore...and she was staring at Will-- HER husband!--with a look of rapt fascination and love radiating from her eyes.
"Elizabeth...this is Arianne and she's--" Will began, and Elizabeth's attention riveted on Will.
"You! No wonder you're home later than you used to be every single night! I had been wondering why you seemed to suddenly not be so anxious to return home to me, but now! Now I know! You've been going to this WHORE the whole time! How good is she, Will?" Her voice shook with rage and barely suppressed tears as Will just stared at her in abject shock. Clamping her lips shut so she wouldn't sob in front of him, she glared at him again through eyes that were threatening to overflow, and left the room abruptly.
As soon as she stepped out, one tear, then two, then a dozen and then what seemed like thousands began to flood from her eyes and she hurried upstairs to the bedroom suite she and Will shared. Flinging herself down on the bed, she buried her face in a pillow to muffle her sobs.
********************************
Arianne swallowed hard, barely holding back tears herself. A whore? Sure, Amos called her that all the time...but somehow, hearing it from someone else made it hurt that much more. Oh and she was angry too. Very angry. How dared Elizabeth accuse Will of infidelity? How dare she! Will would never do anything of the sort, he wouldn't!
"Ah..." Jack began.
Will stood up. "I'm going to go talk to her," he said, his voice cold with anger. "Please, stay here." With that, he left the room as well, anger stiffening every line of his body and purpose lengthening his strides.
Arianne watched him go, pain and fury warring within her.
"Arianne," Jack said softly. She looked at him. "Elizabeth was just caught by surprise, love, she didn't mean what she said."
At the look of disbelief on her face, Jack amended that statement with, "Oh, she meant what she said, but given the time to calm down or someone--" by the stress on "someone" she knew it must have been Will, "to make her see sense, she'll realize that she really didn't mean it. She knows Will would never be unfaithful to her, but seeing another beautiful woman in her house staring at her husband..." Jack shrugged.
Arianne just stared at him, a little shocked at his eloquent speech and the emotion she couldn't quite name behind his words and his expression. Puzzled, she just stared at him.
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Will made his way to the bedroom, his anger increasing with every step he took. He stopped just outside the door to breathe deeply and at least calm himself a little so he wouldn't lose control before entering, and heard what could only be sobbing. He sighed, his fury receding--but not by any means evaporating. He turned the handle and entered the room as quietly as he could and sat on the chair closest to the bed.
"Elizabeth," he said, just a touch of coldness entering his voice, which he stifled before he could continue. "Elizabeth, that was truly hurtful," he said as calmly as he could. "How could you ever think that I would be unfaithful to you?"
She lifted her head and looked at him, eyes red, face blotchy from her crying. "I--I don't know..." she said, wiping her nose on a handkerchief and sitting up, trying to get herself back under control, the occasional sob still racking her body.
"For your information, Elizabeth, that girl out there was being brutally beaten by her own brother this afternoon, and I happen to believe that it wasn't the first time it's happened, though maybe not to the extreme he was taking it to today. Did you even look at her face? Did you see the bruise on her cheek, extending to her jawline?"
"N-n-nooo," Elizabeth said, her expression now one of shame.
"Right. All you could think about was that you had been cheated of something that was yours, am I right?"
Elizabeth just stared at her lap.
He walked over and lifted her chin so she had to look at him. "Am I right?" he whispered. She sniffled and nodded slightly. He let her go. "Now, what I would like to know is why you would even have cared if I were going to some whore--and I'm not--when you don't even love me anymore yourself."
Her eyes widened. She started to deny it. "No," he said sharply. "Don't even start. I know, Elizabeth, I know that you don't. You've always been a terrible liar, and I've heard you mumbling in your sleep. You accused me of being unfaithful to you...just how faithful have you been to me?"
Anger sparked in her eyes and she opened her mouth to say something cruel, but stopped herself. Her expression changed to one of shame once more. "I...Will, I...I do still love you...but not...not as a wife should love a husband. I'm sorry." She hung her head again.
"Elizabeth, it's alright. I--what really hurt was that you were lying to me. I stopped coming to you for--things--because we aren't suited to each other. We shouldn't remain together if we're both in love with someone else."
Her head snapped up. "'We're both in love with someone else'?" she asked, startled. "But who...that girl?!"
"Yes, 'that girl,' and now I'd like to know who it is you've been thinking of all this time," he asked gently, if a little irritated at Elizabeth not even acknowledging that Arianne did indeed have a name.
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Wooooooot! Chapter 10! ^.^ Thanks again to my reviewers, and thank you Mia for "demanding" new chapters all the time:P I love you too, lol!