Chapter 4
A/N: Okay, this one's a bit longer than the others, so yay for me!! There is a lot of dialogue in this chapter, and I'm having a really hard time trying to write Jack correctly. So if you have any suggestions, please let me know! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, you are great, wonderful, excellent people and you have my undying affection. Please, keep it up! And sorry about any spelling and typing errors. : )
"Capt. Jack Sparrow at your service, Foster."
The pirate stepped forward and grabbed Capt. Foster's hand, shaking it thoroughly and practically pulling him into a hug.
" Ah, Capt. Sparrow, you cannot begin to imagine how happy I am to find you here… How are you, lad? Enjoying your stay in Port Royal, I daresay."
Jack's smile split into a cocky grin, and his eyes twinkled. "How did you guess? But then, I'm sure that you know as well as I do that there be some of the best female company in the Caribbean to be had on this here island. '
Capt. Foster, remembering the presence of two high-ranking members of English society, had the grace to look embarrassed.
"Yes, well…"he stuttered, his cheeks as red as an officer's uniform.
Noticing the captain's obvious discomfort, Jack frowned slightly. Capt. Foster was not normally the sort of man to go red in the face, especially about something so trivial as prostitutes. Confused, he turned his attention back to the captain's accompaniment, and looked them all over again. This time, Jack seemed to take in the blatant meaning behind Ms. Darcy and Mr. Wyndham's fine dress and haughty manner. Raising his eyebrows, Capt. Sparrow clapped his hands together and looked at Foster
"Well, as much as I would love to stay here and chat, I am a bit busy at the moment. So if there was something you were wanting, Foster…"
"Ah, yes," said Capt. Foster, seeming greatly relieved at the change in subject matter. "If you would be so kind as to step aside with me for a second, I will soon let you be on your way."
The two men walked over to the building were Jack had been standing, and looked to be having a very serious conversation.
" What does the captain mean by this, talking to a foul pirate as if they he was any normal man?" Peter asked Foster's men, a touch of anger in his voice. Emaline was relieved, for she had been thinking the same thing, and had hoped that someone would explain it.
A man by the name of Tibbs answered him. "Beggin' your pardon, sir, but Capt. Jack Sparrow is about as close as it comes to a decent pirate. The man has more gold than Midas, but he never kills anybody to get it if he can help it.. Not that I condone his stealing, but it's better than him being a bloodthirsty fiend like most of them other pirate captains. He may be a bit off his rocker, but Capt. Sparrow's a good man."
" I fail to see how any man can be a pirate and a good person at the same time," said Peter icily. "But you did not answer my question, Mr. Tibbs. Why is Capt. Foster speaking with that piece of slime?"
"It's like this, sir. A few years ago, Capt. Foster came upon Sparrow while he was out at sea. The little one-man boat Sparrow was on had sprung a leak, and he was up to his knees in water. Capt. Foster recognized him right away from all the wanted posters he had seen with Sparrow's picture on them, but he gave him a lift anyway. He said he just didn't have it in him to let a man drown, no matter who he was. The captain took him to the nearest port, and let him go his own way. But before he left, Sparrow gave Foster his word that the captain would forever have his services for anything he needed. And he's stayed true to his word, or so Capt. Foster says. He won't tell us details, just that Sparrow's helped him out a few times and that he greatly respects him, pirate or no pirate."
"How touching," spat Peter. Mr. Tibbs simply looked at him, before turning back to the other men.
"Can you believe this outrage, Ms. Darcy?" Peter asked Emaline, his eyes burning like fire.
"No, sir," she answered truthfully. "I thought Capt. Foster far too good of a man to be mixed up with someone like that Sparrow fellow.
"Aye, so did I. I've completely lost all the respect I had for Foster. When we reach St. Croix, I'm going to refer him to the martial court straight away. To help a man like Jack Sparrow is bad enough, but stay acquainted with him is simply mad. Why, just look at him. He has to be the ugliest piece of vermin to have ever claimed to be a man. Disgusting, don't you agree?"
"Yes," Emaline said, though with a good deal less conviction. "Disgusting."
~***~***~***~
"So, what's with the trollop and her fruitcake? Don't tell me they're passengers of yours." Capt. Jack Sparrow leaned against the wall with one hand, and fingered his pistol with the other. This was turning out to be a very interesting night, if he did say so himself. First, Madame Bingley's House of Pleasure was having a half-off special, and now good old Foster had turned up out of nowhere and wanted to talk to him.
"Yes, I'm afraid they are," Capt. Foster sighed. "As a matter of fact, they--or really, just the girl-- are what I need to talk to you about."
"Well go right ahead, mate. Though I don't see what I have to do with either of them."
"I don't know if you're aware or not, but I've heard rumors that there is a massive attack being planned by all of the Gullah pirates. I don't know how much truth there is in this, but I checked all the ships docked here as we were coming ashore, and I'd say more than forty have the Gullah symbol burned into them."
"Aye, I know something of it," said Jack, his demeanor becoming much more serious. Gullah's were an elite, deadly band of pirates, and they were not something to take lightly. "But the attack is not supposed to be until later in the week, and I plan to leave long before that. Tomorrow, if possible."
" I know, we plan to leave tomorrow as well. But I am still worried, because I have to go to the merchants market and get supplies before we leave, and there are far more pirates about than I would like. I don't know why, but I just have a feeling that the attack is going to be tonight. Maybe I've been around pirates too much and I'm starting to think like them. But it just makes more sense, that they would go ahead and do it tonight, because that way they have both the numbers and the element of surprise. Anyway, in the event that there is an attack, and something happens to me, I want you to make sure that the girl comes to no harm."
"Me?" asked Jack, clearly surprised. He was not exactly the best choice to look after a woman, especially one who appeared as witless as that one did. "Why can't you ask some of the officers to take care of her? And besides, she's got that man with her. He'll look out for her."
"Jack, don't be ridiculous," said Capt. Foster, sounding slightly irritated. "You know perfectly well that 'fruitcake', as you called him, doesn't stand a chance against one Gullah, let alone a great hoard of them. And as for the officers, they will be in as much danger as she is. No, my boy, I'm afraid you're the only one fit for the job."
" I don't know, Foster. Look at me, I'm not exactly a ladies maid. That girl would no sooner come with me than she would go with any other pirate, savvy? I know her type, they hate pirates as much as they hate the French, and that's saying something. And why would you care what happens to the little chit, anyway?"
"First, that girl is the daughter of Charles Darcy, who is perhaps the most powerful man in England, save for the King. If she would were to go missing, do you know how many more ships the King would send down here? You and your crew would be caught and hung before you could wink. And secondly, call me crazy if I can't stand the thought of the poor girl being tortured by the Gullah's."
At that, Jack looked over at the girl, and felt a wave of nausea rise at the mental picture of the innocent young thing being raped by pirates. Unlike most of his kind, Jack had no stomach for taking anything a woman was not willing to give. The thought alone was enough to get him to agree.
Capt. Foster beamed at him, and vigorously shook his hand. "It may all come to nothing," he said, his voice much lighter. "I may be completely off on this, but still, I like to take precautions. Thank you, Jack. I know that I can trust you. Oh, and if I don't see you again, enjoy Madame Bingely's and tell your crew I said hello." Foster turned to leave.
"Wait, Foster," Jack called, remember something that he had been meaning to ask. "What's the chit's name? She'll be more likely to come with me if I know her name."
Capt. Foster smiled. He knew that could trust Jack, though he prayed it wouldn't come down to that. Still, it was nice to see him taking charge, and treating his promise seriously.
"Her name is Emaline."
