James stood in the doorway of the drawing room, trying to subtly watch Miss
Blythe where she sat, chatting animatedly with his cousin. He was pleased
the two women got on so well, not only for his own interests, but because
Marin knew very little of the ways of her own sex. It would do her good to
learn how to behave as a woman.
A soft expression crossed his face as he looked on her companion, admiring Laura's beauty as she spoke. He had fallen under her spell faster than he would ever have thought possible, drawn in by sparkling green eyes and a suspicious smile. The hour he had spent explaining to her the subterfuge that was going on surrounding Marin and Jack had been one of the more enjoyable of his life, he had decided.
Part of him was shying away from this sudden attraction, firmly telling him not to get involved, but the other, larger part of him was urging the commodore to seize the moment. If he hesitated too long, Laura would go home, and the likelihood was that he would never see her again. But he could afford to wait a while longer, he knew. Proposing during the week after your first meeting was hardly the way to go about a courtship.
He felt a presence at his elbow, and turned, swallowing a smile at Jack's appearance. Although he had seen it first the day before, just seeing the pirate captain dressed as an honest merchant, and behaving so impeccably was enough to set him chuckling.
Jack nodded to him.
'And how are you this fine evening, commodore?' he asked, his own eyes on Marin as she leant forward to whisper in Laura's ear. 'Well, I hope?'
James frowned.
'Perfectly well, I assure you,' he replied politely. 'Whatever makes you ask?'
Jack glanced up at him.
'Well, it appears that you have something wrong with your eye,' he told the commodore. 'It keeps sliding to the right, you see, and Lady Blythe wanted to know if you had a problem of the optical nature.'
James just about managed to prevent himself from flushing darkly in shame.
'There is nothing wrong with my eye, thank you,' he said shortly.
'No, I didn't think there was,' Jack said knowingly. 'After all, a man would have to be blind, or attached, not to want to watch young Miss Blythe.'
James' eyes widened in surprise.
'Am I that obvious?'
Jack shook his head carefully, still unused to the wig.
'No, mate, only to a pirate who knows every trick in the book,' he assured him. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of, mate.'
James nodded, forcing himself not to look over at Laura as she laughed at something Marin had said.
'She's perfect material for a navy wife, if you ask me,' Jack murmured, pointedly ignoring James' surprised start. 'Pretty, spirited, patient. I would bet she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. And she hasn't tried to shop us in yet, so she's loyal, too. Perfect for you, mate.'
'You're match-making, Sparrow,' James muttered darkly.
'Ah, well, it takes one to know one, mate,' the pirate said softly, fiddling about beneath his wig. 'These are very uncomfortable, you know.'
James hid his smile.
'I've been wearing one for nigh on twenty years, what do you think?' he asked acerbically.
Jack grinned.
'Point taken,' he murmured. 'And as for your other problem, if you take my advice, you'll wait for the opportune moment.'
James stared at him, not quite able to believe that this philandering pirate he had backed into a corner over marrying his cousin was giving him advice on how to catch the woman he now wanted to marry. History comes full circle, he thought to himself, his eyes returning to Laura and Marin. And he did so long for a family of his own.
Laura smiled brightly at her companion, still giggling a little over something the younger girl had said. To her surprise, she had not been at all shocked to discover that both Marin and her fiancé were pirates, having sensed something amiss with them as gentlefolk. The commodore had explained everything so clearly to her, she understood completely the reasons for their pretence.
Marin was fast becoming a good friend to her, though most of their conversations were on topics her mother would certainly disapprove of. The Irish girl had confided in her their plans for the spring, though she sensed something was being kept from her, and it had to do with the way Marin kept touching the locket that hung about her neck. Laura didn't mind, though. She was flattered to have been brought into their confidence at all, even invited to the wedding that was being planned around them as they chatted lightly.
'Marin, aren't you having any say at all in your own wedding?' she asked quietly.
Marin rolled her eyes.
'I'd sooner jump off the cliffs,' she said candidly. 'Honestly, Laura, I'm hardly the most feminine woman you'll ever meet. I'd much rather be married aboard ship by a captain, in my shirt and trousers. But no, Elizabeth is insisting on a church ceremony.'
'Albeit a small one,' Elizabeth interjected from where she sat with Will.
The governor had taken his sister-in-law down to the town, to show off his charge with as much pride as he could muster in the port town, so they were able to speak quite candidly for at least a few hours.
'When is it going to be?' Laura asked, interested despite herself.
She had never been one to consider weddings and marriage as anything other than a necessity, something that had to be done. Then she had come to Port Royale, to find that her cousin had married for love, not necessity, and was arranging a wedding for another such match. And she had met the commodore.
Laura had never met anyone quite like James Norrington. So stiff and austere, and yet he was so genuinely fond of his cousin that she found it hard to believe that he was not a warm caring man. It had surprised her to hear that he had not yet found himself a wife, and she had found herself lying awake at night, thinking about that gentle smile of his and the warmth that lurked just behind his eyes. He was a man she could imagine being married to herself.
'I don't know the dates,' Marin grimaced, drawing her out of her thoughts. 'Elizabeth has it all in hand.'
Laughing, Elizabeth abandoned her husband to join the conversation.
'You're just not making an effort, Marin,' she chided her friend. 'The wedding is going to be at the end of next week. Everyone we invited has said they're coming.'
Marin blanched.
'Who have you invited?' she asked, her face deathly pale.
Elizabeth gave her a secretive smile and patted her hand.
'That's for me to know and you to find out,' she said brightly.
'Have you told the captain?' Laura asked, wanting to know exactly how they were going to get the pirate to his own wedding.
'That's Will's job,' Elizabeth told them, her eyes sparkling with amusement. 'I suggested telling him the morning of the actual wedding would be a good time.'
Both girls started to laugh, highly tickled by the thought of a groom who was unaware of his own pressing engagement until the day. Marin shook her head, trying to quell the butterflies that had started up within her. She had not realised that the wedding was so close, and found herself suddenly nervous, on edge. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Jack, it was just that she wasn't sure she was ready for everything that being married would entail.
Laura glanced up, brushing her dark hair from her face, and found James' eyes on her, dark with some unreadable emotion. Unwilling to break this somehow intimate moment of contact, she held the gaze, aware that her heart was hammering and her breathing had become shallow. For that long moment there was nothing else in the world for her but him. That warmth she had seen lurking behind his eyes flared suddenly, a soft smile crossing his face as he looked on her.
Then he turned away, distracted by the captain beside him, leaving Laura to regain control of herself as she listened to Elizabeth and Marin arguing good-naturedly over something or other. What was wrong with her? She had never known a single look destroy her composure so devastatingly before, to warm her through from the inside out. With that one look, he had woken something inside her, though she could not name what it was, only that she needed him to stoke it. She needed him.
The topic of the girls' conversation changed, drawing her out of the trance- like state she had found herself in.
'So what are you going to do with the money?' Elizabeth had asked Marin, neither conceding defeat on the other subject.
The Irish girl sighed.
'Well, I'm hoping to make a sort of safe haven for the families of the men who sail with us,' she murmured. 'On the island my father left me. I want them to be safe, not in constant danger of being attacked or arrested for having a pirate for a father, or brother, or husband. Such things aren't right.'
Elizabeth nodded, a soft frown on her face.
'I know,' she said quietly. 'I had thought to do the same, but Will mentioned that we didn't have anywhere to set up. We thought we might buy a plot of land and start a trading company, somewhere pirates can trade for supplies and rum without fear of arrest.'
'Why don't you set up on our island?' Marin invited. 'That way we can all stay together anyway.'
She leant forward, grasping the older girl's hand tightly.
'I've lost too much to lose contact with you, too, Elizabeth.'
Laura was touched by the way Elizabeth wrapped her arms about her friend, murmuring her agreement into her ear as they pulled apart. They were very close, she realised, remembering everything they had been through together. No wonder, she thought. Marin didn't seem the type to need anyone, but it was blindingly obvious in those few moments just how she valued their friendship.
Marin smiled impishly.
'And if all goes to plan, will you be joining us, Miss Blythe?' she asked suddenly.
Laura followed her glance to the commodore and blushed, confirming both women's suspicions that James' infatuation was not just a one way thing. Marin reached over and embraced her.
'You're just what he needs,' she whispered to the embarrassed girl. 'I shall enjoy having you as a cousin.'
Laura smiled shyly, not trusting herself to look up at them. But a part of her was overwhelmingly glad that these two approved so whole-heartedly with the match that was haunting her dreams. Mrs Laura Norrington . . . perhaps it wasn't such a foolish hope, after all.
*~*~*
Well, what do you think? Does the dear commodore deserve to be match-made or not?
A soft expression crossed his face as he looked on her companion, admiring Laura's beauty as she spoke. He had fallen under her spell faster than he would ever have thought possible, drawn in by sparkling green eyes and a suspicious smile. The hour he had spent explaining to her the subterfuge that was going on surrounding Marin and Jack had been one of the more enjoyable of his life, he had decided.
Part of him was shying away from this sudden attraction, firmly telling him not to get involved, but the other, larger part of him was urging the commodore to seize the moment. If he hesitated too long, Laura would go home, and the likelihood was that he would never see her again. But he could afford to wait a while longer, he knew. Proposing during the week after your first meeting was hardly the way to go about a courtship.
He felt a presence at his elbow, and turned, swallowing a smile at Jack's appearance. Although he had seen it first the day before, just seeing the pirate captain dressed as an honest merchant, and behaving so impeccably was enough to set him chuckling.
Jack nodded to him.
'And how are you this fine evening, commodore?' he asked, his own eyes on Marin as she leant forward to whisper in Laura's ear. 'Well, I hope?'
James frowned.
'Perfectly well, I assure you,' he replied politely. 'Whatever makes you ask?'
Jack glanced up at him.
'Well, it appears that you have something wrong with your eye,' he told the commodore. 'It keeps sliding to the right, you see, and Lady Blythe wanted to know if you had a problem of the optical nature.'
James just about managed to prevent himself from flushing darkly in shame.
'There is nothing wrong with my eye, thank you,' he said shortly.
'No, I didn't think there was,' Jack said knowingly. 'After all, a man would have to be blind, or attached, not to want to watch young Miss Blythe.'
James' eyes widened in surprise.
'Am I that obvious?'
Jack shook his head carefully, still unused to the wig.
'No, mate, only to a pirate who knows every trick in the book,' he assured him. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of, mate.'
James nodded, forcing himself not to look over at Laura as she laughed at something Marin had said.
'She's perfect material for a navy wife, if you ask me,' Jack murmured, pointedly ignoring James' surprised start. 'Pretty, spirited, patient. I would bet she's not afraid to get her hands dirty. And she hasn't tried to shop us in yet, so she's loyal, too. Perfect for you, mate.'
'You're match-making, Sparrow,' James muttered darkly.
'Ah, well, it takes one to know one, mate,' the pirate said softly, fiddling about beneath his wig. 'These are very uncomfortable, you know.'
James hid his smile.
'I've been wearing one for nigh on twenty years, what do you think?' he asked acerbically.
Jack grinned.
'Point taken,' he murmured. 'And as for your other problem, if you take my advice, you'll wait for the opportune moment.'
James stared at him, not quite able to believe that this philandering pirate he had backed into a corner over marrying his cousin was giving him advice on how to catch the woman he now wanted to marry. History comes full circle, he thought to himself, his eyes returning to Laura and Marin. And he did so long for a family of his own.
Laura smiled brightly at her companion, still giggling a little over something the younger girl had said. To her surprise, she had not been at all shocked to discover that both Marin and her fiancé were pirates, having sensed something amiss with them as gentlefolk. The commodore had explained everything so clearly to her, she understood completely the reasons for their pretence.
Marin was fast becoming a good friend to her, though most of their conversations were on topics her mother would certainly disapprove of. The Irish girl had confided in her their plans for the spring, though she sensed something was being kept from her, and it had to do with the way Marin kept touching the locket that hung about her neck. Laura didn't mind, though. She was flattered to have been brought into their confidence at all, even invited to the wedding that was being planned around them as they chatted lightly.
'Marin, aren't you having any say at all in your own wedding?' she asked quietly.
Marin rolled her eyes.
'I'd sooner jump off the cliffs,' she said candidly. 'Honestly, Laura, I'm hardly the most feminine woman you'll ever meet. I'd much rather be married aboard ship by a captain, in my shirt and trousers. But no, Elizabeth is insisting on a church ceremony.'
'Albeit a small one,' Elizabeth interjected from where she sat with Will.
The governor had taken his sister-in-law down to the town, to show off his charge with as much pride as he could muster in the port town, so they were able to speak quite candidly for at least a few hours.
'When is it going to be?' Laura asked, interested despite herself.
She had never been one to consider weddings and marriage as anything other than a necessity, something that had to be done. Then she had come to Port Royale, to find that her cousin had married for love, not necessity, and was arranging a wedding for another such match. And she had met the commodore.
Laura had never met anyone quite like James Norrington. So stiff and austere, and yet he was so genuinely fond of his cousin that she found it hard to believe that he was not a warm caring man. It had surprised her to hear that he had not yet found himself a wife, and she had found herself lying awake at night, thinking about that gentle smile of his and the warmth that lurked just behind his eyes. He was a man she could imagine being married to herself.
'I don't know the dates,' Marin grimaced, drawing her out of her thoughts. 'Elizabeth has it all in hand.'
Laughing, Elizabeth abandoned her husband to join the conversation.
'You're just not making an effort, Marin,' she chided her friend. 'The wedding is going to be at the end of next week. Everyone we invited has said they're coming.'
Marin blanched.
'Who have you invited?' she asked, her face deathly pale.
Elizabeth gave her a secretive smile and patted her hand.
'That's for me to know and you to find out,' she said brightly.
'Have you told the captain?' Laura asked, wanting to know exactly how they were going to get the pirate to his own wedding.
'That's Will's job,' Elizabeth told them, her eyes sparkling with amusement. 'I suggested telling him the morning of the actual wedding would be a good time.'
Both girls started to laugh, highly tickled by the thought of a groom who was unaware of his own pressing engagement until the day. Marin shook her head, trying to quell the butterflies that had started up within her. She had not realised that the wedding was so close, and found herself suddenly nervous, on edge. It wasn't that she didn't want to marry Jack, it was just that she wasn't sure she was ready for everything that being married would entail.
Laura glanced up, brushing her dark hair from her face, and found James' eyes on her, dark with some unreadable emotion. Unwilling to break this somehow intimate moment of contact, she held the gaze, aware that her heart was hammering and her breathing had become shallow. For that long moment there was nothing else in the world for her but him. That warmth she had seen lurking behind his eyes flared suddenly, a soft smile crossing his face as he looked on her.
Then he turned away, distracted by the captain beside him, leaving Laura to regain control of herself as she listened to Elizabeth and Marin arguing good-naturedly over something or other. What was wrong with her? She had never known a single look destroy her composure so devastatingly before, to warm her through from the inside out. With that one look, he had woken something inside her, though she could not name what it was, only that she needed him to stoke it. She needed him.
The topic of the girls' conversation changed, drawing her out of the trance- like state she had found herself in.
'So what are you going to do with the money?' Elizabeth had asked Marin, neither conceding defeat on the other subject.
The Irish girl sighed.
'Well, I'm hoping to make a sort of safe haven for the families of the men who sail with us,' she murmured. 'On the island my father left me. I want them to be safe, not in constant danger of being attacked or arrested for having a pirate for a father, or brother, or husband. Such things aren't right.'
Elizabeth nodded, a soft frown on her face.
'I know,' she said quietly. 'I had thought to do the same, but Will mentioned that we didn't have anywhere to set up. We thought we might buy a plot of land and start a trading company, somewhere pirates can trade for supplies and rum without fear of arrest.'
'Why don't you set up on our island?' Marin invited. 'That way we can all stay together anyway.'
She leant forward, grasping the older girl's hand tightly.
'I've lost too much to lose contact with you, too, Elizabeth.'
Laura was touched by the way Elizabeth wrapped her arms about her friend, murmuring her agreement into her ear as they pulled apart. They were very close, she realised, remembering everything they had been through together. No wonder, she thought. Marin didn't seem the type to need anyone, but it was blindingly obvious in those few moments just how she valued their friendship.
Marin smiled impishly.
'And if all goes to plan, will you be joining us, Miss Blythe?' she asked suddenly.
Laura followed her glance to the commodore and blushed, confirming both women's suspicions that James' infatuation was not just a one way thing. Marin reached over and embraced her.
'You're just what he needs,' she whispered to the embarrassed girl. 'I shall enjoy having you as a cousin.'
Laura smiled shyly, not trusting herself to look up at them. But a part of her was overwhelmingly glad that these two approved so whole-heartedly with the match that was haunting her dreams. Mrs Laura Norrington . . . perhaps it wasn't such a foolish hope, after all.
*~*~*
Well, what do you think? Does the dear commodore deserve to be match-made or not?