Show Me the Horizon
Chapter 14
Annamaria, hands bound, was ushered through the door into the Captain's cabin on the Dona Catalina. "Greetings," said Captain DaSilva. "Welcome to the Dona Catalina, the pride of the Spanish Royal Fleet. I cam Captain Diego DaSilva at your service." He made a mock bow.
"Captain," said Annamaria with a slight nod, her eyes wary. "One wonders why I've been brought here."
"A gesture of good faith from my good friend Dominic LeSerre," said DaSilva smoothly. "Well, my dear, I've heard much about you."
"Have you?" asked Annamaria politely. "I've never heard of you."
DaSilva smiled. He advanced on Annamaria slowly, she stepping back from him until her back was against the cabin wall. "You are curiously uninformed. Still, my dear, you're well known among the seamen of the Caribbean. Save for Jack Sparrow himself, there's no one the Spanish sailors would rather have fall into their hands. He, we would have to send to his maker. For you, however, I have another fate planned." He grasped her hands, forced them above her head against the wall, and kissed her. She struggled, but was unable to get away. He laughed softly. "Yes, my dear, I have another fate planned for you. In due time." He turned away and said to the guard, "Take her below."
--
Gwen leaned against the rail of the Dauntless and looked out over the ocean. The sun was setting and colors of the sky were brilliant pink and orange. Jack came up to stand beside her. "The sea is beautiful," she murmured. "Look at the way the last of the light glitters on the water. And the sky seems to go on forever."
"Aye," agrees Jack. "It's the most beautiful thing there is. Just think - if you look to the north you can imagine the coast of America - Florida, the Carolinas, Boston and New York. Look to the East and you can imagine the ports of Europe or Africa or India. The world is wide open, luv. All you need to do is look hard enough."
"Have you been to these places?"
"Most of them. I spent a few years near the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean after I lost the Pearl eleven years ago. I also spent some time off the African coast before coming back west. I missed the Caribbean. As wonderful as the rest of the world is, there's no where more beautiful than here."
"Would you go traveling again?"
"I might, someday."
There was a long pause as both looked out over the ocean. "So what happens now?" asked Gwen.
"First off, we need to find the Pearl," said Jack. "Then Norrington wants to take the Turners and you to Port Royal. He doesn't want to hunt down the Banshee with civilians aboard. Don't worry about going to Port Royal, the Turners will take you under their wing if I ask them to."
"They're such good friends of yours that they'd look out for a stranger on your request?" asked Gwen.
"We've saved each others lives so often I've lost track of how many," said Jack simply. "I'd do anything they asked of me, and they'd do the same."
"And what of this Annamaria I've heard spoken of?"
"Annamaria is the second mate of the Black Pearl," replied Jack. "She's a rather remarkable woman, a very skilled sailor and a good fighter. She's an escaped slave from a cotton plantation in South Carolina, so her feelings about freedom are as strong as mine."
Gwen turned and looked at him. "And beautiful?"
"Very," agreed Jack. "But before you mention it, she and I are not, and have never been, involved intimately."
Gwen looked unconvinced. "Why not? A beautiful woman who shares your interests and sails on your ship? I would have thought you were made for each other."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Jack agreed. "And I can't say it's never crossed me mind. But Annamaria and I are too much alike. We tend to quarrel incessantly when we're together. It doesn't help that I'm the Captain and she's second mate. She needs to be an equal with any man she's with. That can't happen between us - I need to be able to give orders and have them obeyed instantly. The lives of the crew can depend on it. She's a very special woman and a good friend. That's it."
"That's a very perceptive," said Gwen. "You've thought about it a lot, haven't you?"
Jack shrugged. "I'm a pirate, luv. Figuring out how people think and what is important to them is a big help to me."
"How so?"
"Think about it," Jack explained. "There are several ways to be a successful pirate. One is the way me old mate Barbossa did it. He did it with brute force - killed everyone in his path. If you're strong enough it's very effective. Me, I prefer not to kill people if I can avoid it. So I have to think what will make people surrender without having to kill them. It's not so hard to do, once you get in the way of it." He grinned suddenly. "Here I am, telling you all me secrets. Don't tell on me, darling, or I'll never live it down."
Gwen laughed. "Your secrets are safe with me." Her smiled faded and she asked "What of Elizabeth Turner? You've never been involved with her either?"
"No," replied Jack. "Though I do admit that when we were marooned together last year I'd planned differently. But she had other ideas."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, she encouraged me to drink too much that first night, and we were picked up by the Dauntless the next morning."
"And what would have happened if you hadn't been rescued so quickly?"
"Likely nothing. Elizabeth is a resourceful girl, she'd have thought of something else." He lifted Gwen's chin with a finger to look into her face. "A determined 'no' would have done it. I'm not a rapist, whatever else I am. As you have cause to know."
"I do know," she said softly.
Jack moved his hand along her cheek under her hair and pulled her to him. Leaning in, he kissed her softly on the lips. Pulling away slightly he whispered, "Will you be saying 'no' to me, my love?"
Gwen looked flustered and pulled back. "I don't know what to say, Jack. Why do you want me, just because I'm conveniently here?"
"I want you because you're beautiful. I want you because you're good company, because I dragged you on a long trek halfway across Cuba and you never complained. Because you're so easy to talk to that I've told you more about myself than I've told people I've known for years. I want you because you find the sea as beautiful as I do. You're a remarkable woman, Gwen, and I've a fondness for remarkable women." He took her hand and kissed her palm. "Don't say no to me."
"And the future?"
"Every time a sailor sets foot on deck he may be killed by a storm, sickness or battle against another ship. There's no point in dwelling on tomorrow. Let the future take care of itself, luv. Think about today."
"I have to think about the future, Jack," Gwen answered. As much as I'd like to share a moment with you, I'm not interested in being merely a notch on your sword belt. I deserve a man who cares enough for me to offer me more than a brief romance. Unless you can offer me a future, Jack, I'll be saying 'no' to you." Laying her hand briefly on his face, she turned and went below.
Chapter 14
Annamaria, hands bound, was ushered through the door into the Captain's cabin on the Dona Catalina. "Greetings," said Captain DaSilva. "Welcome to the Dona Catalina, the pride of the Spanish Royal Fleet. I cam Captain Diego DaSilva at your service." He made a mock bow.
"Captain," said Annamaria with a slight nod, her eyes wary. "One wonders why I've been brought here."
"A gesture of good faith from my good friend Dominic LeSerre," said DaSilva smoothly. "Well, my dear, I've heard much about you."
"Have you?" asked Annamaria politely. "I've never heard of you."
DaSilva smiled. He advanced on Annamaria slowly, she stepping back from him until her back was against the cabin wall. "You are curiously uninformed. Still, my dear, you're well known among the seamen of the Caribbean. Save for Jack Sparrow himself, there's no one the Spanish sailors would rather have fall into their hands. He, we would have to send to his maker. For you, however, I have another fate planned." He grasped her hands, forced them above her head against the wall, and kissed her. She struggled, but was unable to get away. He laughed softly. "Yes, my dear, I have another fate planned for you. In due time." He turned away and said to the guard, "Take her below."
--
Gwen leaned against the rail of the Dauntless and looked out over the ocean. The sun was setting and colors of the sky were brilliant pink and orange. Jack came up to stand beside her. "The sea is beautiful," she murmured. "Look at the way the last of the light glitters on the water. And the sky seems to go on forever."
"Aye," agrees Jack. "It's the most beautiful thing there is. Just think - if you look to the north you can imagine the coast of America - Florida, the Carolinas, Boston and New York. Look to the East and you can imagine the ports of Europe or Africa or India. The world is wide open, luv. All you need to do is look hard enough."
"Have you been to these places?"
"Most of them. I spent a few years near the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean after I lost the Pearl eleven years ago. I also spent some time off the African coast before coming back west. I missed the Caribbean. As wonderful as the rest of the world is, there's no where more beautiful than here."
"Would you go traveling again?"
"I might, someday."
There was a long pause as both looked out over the ocean. "So what happens now?" asked Gwen.
"First off, we need to find the Pearl," said Jack. "Then Norrington wants to take the Turners and you to Port Royal. He doesn't want to hunt down the Banshee with civilians aboard. Don't worry about going to Port Royal, the Turners will take you under their wing if I ask them to."
"They're such good friends of yours that they'd look out for a stranger on your request?" asked Gwen.
"We've saved each others lives so often I've lost track of how many," said Jack simply. "I'd do anything they asked of me, and they'd do the same."
"And what of this Annamaria I've heard spoken of?"
"Annamaria is the second mate of the Black Pearl," replied Jack. "She's a rather remarkable woman, a very skilled sailor and a good fighter. She's an escaped slave from a cotton plantation in South Carolina, so her feelings about freedom are as strong as mine."
Gwen turned and looked at him. "And beautiful?"
"Very," agreed Jack. "But before you mention it, she and I are not, and have never been, involved intimately."
Gwen looked unconvinced. "Why not? A beautiful woman who shares your interests and sails on your ship? I would have thought you were made for each other."
"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Jack agreed. "And I can't say it's never crossed me mind. But Annamaria and I are too much alike. We tend to quarrel incessantly when we're together. It doesn't help that I'm the Captain and she's second mate. She needs to be an equal with any man she's with. That can't happen between us - I need to be able to give orders and have them obeyed instantly. The lives of the crew can depend on it. She's a very special woman and a good friend. That's it."
"That's a very perceptive," said Gwen. "You've thought about it a lot, haven't you?"
Jack shrugged. "I'm a pirate, luv. Figuring out how people think and what is important to them is a big help to me."
"How so?"
"Think about it," Jack explained. "There are several ways to be a successful pirate. One is the way me old mate Barbossa did it. He did it with brute force - killed everyone in his path. If you're strong enough it's very effective. Me, I prefer not to kill people if I can avoid it. So I have to think what will make people surrender without having to kill them. It's not so hard to do, once you get in the way of it." He grinned suddenly. "Here I am, telling you all me secrets. Don't tell on me, darling, or I'll never live it down."
Gwen laughed. "Your secrets are safe with me." Her smiled faded and she asked "What of Elizabeth Turner? You've never been involved with her either?"
"No," replied Jack. "Though I do admit that when we were marooned together last year I'd planned differently. But she had other ideas."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, she encouraged me to drink too much that first night, and we were picked up by the Dauntless the next morning."
"And what would have happened if you hadn't been rescued so quickly?"
"Likely nothing. Elizabeth is a resourceful girl, she'd have thought of something else." He lifted Gwen's chin with a finger to look into her face. "A determined 'no' would have done it. I'm not a rapist, whatever else I am. As you have cause to know."
"I do know," she said softly.
Jack moved his hand along her cheek under her hair and pulled her to him. Leaning in, he kissed her softly on the lips. Pulling away slightly he whispered, "Will you be saying 'no' to me, my love?"
Gwen looked flustered and pulled back. "I don't know what to say, Jack. Why do you want me, just because I'm conveniently here?"
"I want you because you're beautiful. I want you because you're good company, because I dragged you on a long trek halfway across Cuba and you never complained. Because you're so easy to talk to that I've told you more about myself than I've told people I've known for years. I want you because you find the sea as beautiful as I do. You're a remarkable woman, Gwen, and I've a fondness for remarkable women." He took her hand and kissed her palm. "Don't say no to me."
"And the future?"
"Every time a sailor sets foot on deck he may be killed by a storm, sickness or battle against another ship. There's no point in dwelling on tomorrow. Let the future take care of itself, luv. Think about today."
"I have to think about the future, Jack," Gwen answered. As much as I'd like to share a moment with you, I'm not interested in being merely a notch on your sword belt. I deserve a man who cares enough for me to offer me more than a brief romance. Unless you can offer me a future, Jack, I'll be saying 'no' to you." Laying her hand briefly on his face, she turned and went below.