Revenge of the Fox
Chapter 2
Will walked from the garden to the house, nodding and smiling at the guests who were milling around. He moved with more confidence among the elite society of Jamaica than he had on his own wedding day two years previously. Since the voyage to St. Kitts last year, he'd found his niche, balanced neatly between the mundane life of the blacksmith and the exciting life of a privateer. When he and Elizabeth had returned from St. Kitts, with his share of the plunder of three Spanish ships, they'd purchased their own home in Port Royal. While it wasn't nearly as large as the Governor's house, it was comfortably roomy and situated on a street with the homes of other successful craftsmen, merchants and minor aristocrats. The compromise he and Elizabeth had made was working out very well. Elizabeth had hired a housekeeper, a manservant and one maid to keep the household in order and do the cooking. Will had taken on an apprentice to aid him in his shop. This lad had taken well to the basics of the job, and relieved Will of a lot of the routine work. It left him free to concentrate of the swords he was rapidly becoming well known for throughout the Caribbean. He now had a number of orders for custom swords and knives to fill. If it wasn't a long list, at least it was a respectable one. He'd taken another voyage on the Pearl a while back, only returning a few weeks ago. This time Elizabeth hadn't accompanied him; she'd been busy helping Antonia with all the wedding plans. He'd missed her a great deal, but had to admit the time apart had been beneficial to them both. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, he mused. Certainly the reunion had been well, warm. So he moved through the crowd, a handsome young man with his head held high, the confidence of knowing himself to be successful evident in the relaxed line of his shoulders.
"Will!" A voice called out. Governor Swann gestured to him. "Will, would you go upstairs and find out what is keeping those girls? The wedding should have started nearly half an hour ago!"
Will smiled at his father-in-law. It really was easier to be fond of the man when he didn't have to live with him. "I'm sure they're just fussing over Antonia's hair or some such thing and lost track of time. I'll go and see." He clapped the Governor on the shoulder and started up the stairs. Reaching Antonia's bedchamber, he tapped lightly on the door. "Elizabeth? Antonia? Are you ready yet?" When there was no answer, he tapped again a little louder. "Elizabeth?" Cautiously opening the door, he called out again. "Ladies, are you here?" Entering the room, he stared perplexed at the crumpled veil on the floor by the bed. Quickly he checked the room, glancing out onto the balcony, noting the bruised and broken vines along the trellis. Alarmed now, he returned to the bedroom, and only then noticed the note on the dressing table. Once upon a time, Will would never have opened a letter addressed to someone else. However, too much association with Jack Sparrow had blunted many of his sensibilities. Quickly he picked up the letter and scanned the contents. His heart skipped a beat as he read and for a moment he felt almost dizzy. Taking a deep breath, he flung open the door and strode down the hallway, and hurried down the stairs.
"Governor, there's a problem," he said tersely. "Go up to Antonia's room and I'll explain." He started across the foyer to the garden. "You!" He called to a footman. "You'll find Commodore Norrington in the study. Send him up to Miss Antonia's room immediately." Leaving the startled footman and bewildered Governor staring after him, he strode rapidly out of the house. Weaving quickly through the wedding guests, Will searched for Jack. Finally he saw him chatting animatedly to several gentlemen who were looking at him in astonishment. Although Gwen had gotten Jack into a perfectly respectable looking suit of clothes - black velvet coat laced with gold and matching black breeches and waistcoat, he was still wearing his faded red headscarf and his hair was still braided with beads, coins and other baubles, presenting a rather incongruous sight. Jack was also swaying on his feet and waving his wineglass around as he retold (with great exaggeration) the tales of his latest voyage. "That had better be an act," muttered Will. Quickly he went up to the group and took Jack by the arm. "Excuse me, gentlemen, for interrupting. Jack, I need to talk to you." With a smile he hauled Jack away.
"What's up with you, lad?" Complained the pirate, shaking his arm loose from Will's grasp. "I was just getting to the best part of me story!"
"Jack, we've got a serious problem," said Will tensely.
"The bride's not having second thoughts, is she?" Asked Jack amiably.
"Worse. She's been kidnapped, along with Elizabeth and Gwen."
Instantly the amiable tipsy expression disappeared from Jack's face, replaced by a sharp, cold look. He stopped and grabbed Will's shoulder, spinning him around to look into his face. There was fear in Will's eyes. "You're serious."
"Deadly serious," Will replied. "The kidnappers left a letter for you. Come upstairs, I need to explain this to the Commodore and the Governor yet."
Jack snatched the letter out of Will's hand and read it quickly. "Reynard," he muttered.
--
Gwen lay sandwiched between Annamaria and Antonia. Both women were shaking. Gwen figured that Annamaria was shaking with rage, and Antonia was shaking with fear. She herself was feeling remarkably calm. Once they'd been wrapped up in blankets, they'd been unable to see. Gwen had felt herself carried for a while, and then she'd been placed on a hard surface, crammed between two other bodies. When she felt movement, she'd realized that they were lying in a wagon of some sort. The cloth wrapped around her head was making it difficult to breathe and the jolting of the wagon didn't help. She concentrated on breathing in and out slowly and carefully. What was Jack likely to do when he found her missing? It shouldn't take too long to realize that something was wrong. When Elizabeth and Antonia didn't come down for the ceremony someone would investigate. Gwen took comfort in that fact. The combined influence of Commodore Norrington, Governor Swann and Captain Jack Sparrow should insure that the kidnappers were caught before long. And if the Commodore and the Governor weren't able to do anything legally, Gwen had no doubt that Jack, Will and Joseph would take other measures.
Annamaria was indeed shaking with rage. She couldn't believe she'd been captured with so little effort. For a moment she'd been tempted to run instead of walking into that room. But she'd seen Reynard's eyes. He'd have shot Elizabeth instantly if she'd done so. Elizabeth had been too good a friend to her to let her die that way. So, Annamaria had docilely allowed herself to be bound, gagged and carried off, like a stupid damsel in distress. So here she was, crammed in a tiny space between the side of a wagon and another body (Gwen, she thought), being jolted down the road, hardly able to breathe between the blanket wrapped around her head and the ridiculous corset that was cutting off her air supply. A corset. Annamaria Simone, second mate of the Black Pearl, the most fearsome pirate (okay, privateer) ship in the Caribbean, was being carted away wearing a silk dress and a corset. She didn't even have a knife on her person.
Antonia was indeed shaking with fear. Her mind was whirling with frightening images. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, it had become the most terrifying. Who were these people, and why did they want her? That man, Reynard, had said he had scores to settle with Jack Sparrow, Will and James. What did he intend to do to them? Struggling for composure, Antonia breathed as deeply as her corset would allow. She had to get a grip on herself. She had to regain control.
Elizabeth was not shaking. Her quick-witted mind was turning over every scrap of conversation she'd overheard from their captors. They had the look of seafaring men. Pirates, no doubt, who had run afoul of Commodore Norrington as well as Jack Sparrow. What score might they have against Will? He'd only been on two voyages with Jack, and they'd met only Spanish ships on those trips. These men didn't seem Spanish. They were English speaking. She'd heard one of them mention Tortuga. Did that mean they were headed to Tortuga? Surely her father and the Commodore would close the harbor as soon as they realized that she and the other women were missing. They would be found, Elizabeth was sure of it.
Chapter 2
Will walked from the garden to the house, nodding and smiling at the guests who were milling around. He moved with more confidence among the elite society of Jamaica than he had on his own wedding day two years previously. Since the voyage to St. Kitts last year, he'd found his niche, balanced neatly between the mundane life of the blacksmith and the exciting life of a privateer. When he and Elizabeth had returned from St. Kitts, with his share of the plunder of three Spanish ships, they'd purchased their own home in Port Royal. While it wasn't nearly as large as the Governor's house, it was comfortably roomy and situated on a street with the homes of other successful craftsmen, merchants and minor aristocrats. The compromise he and Elizabeth had made was working out very well. Elizabeth had hired a housekeeper, a manservant and one maid to keep the household in order and do the cooking. Will had taken on an apprentice to aid him in his shop. This lad had taken well to the basics of the job, and relieved Will of a lot of the routine work. It left him free to concentrate of the swords he was rapidly becoming well known for throughout the Caribbean. He now had a number of orders for custom swords and knives to fill. If it wasn't a long list, at least it was a respectable one. He'd taken another voyage on the Pearl a while back, only returning a few weeks ago. This time Elizabeth hadn't accompanied him; she'd been busy helping Antonia with all the wedding plans. He'd missed her a great deal, but had to admit the time apart had been beneficial to them both. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, he mused. Certainly the reunion had been well, warm. So he moved through the crowd, a handsome young man with his head held high, the confidence of knowing himself to be successful evident in the relaxed line of his shoulders.
"Will!" A voice called out. Governor Swann gestured to him. "Will, would you go upstairs and find out what is keeping those girls? The wedding should have started nearly half an hour ago!"
Will smiled at his father-in-law. It really was easier to be fond of the man when he didn't have to live with him. "I'm sure they're just fussing over Antonia's hair or some such thing and lost track of time. I'll go and see." He clapped the Governor on the shoulder and started up the stairs. Reaching Antonia's bedchamber, he tapped lightly on the door. "Elizabeth? Antonia? Are you ready yet?" When there was no answer, he tapped again a little louder. "Elizabeth?" Cautiously opening the door, he called out again. "Ladies, are you here?" Entering the room, he stared perplexed at the crumpled veil on the floor by the bed. Quickly he checked the room, glancing out onto the balcony, noting the bruised and broken vines along the trellis. Alarmed now, he returned to the bedroom, and only then noticed the note on the dressing table. Once upon a time, Will would never have opened a letter addressed to someone else. However, too much association with Jack Sparrow had blunted many of his sensibilities. Quickly he picked up the letter and scanned the contents. His heart skipped a beat as he read and for a moment he felt almost dizzy. Taking a deep breath, he flung open the door and strode down the hallway, and hurried down the stairs.
"Governor, there's a problem," he said tersely. "Go up to Antonia's room and I'll explain." He started across the foyer to the garden. "You!" He called to a footman. "You'll find Commodore Norrington in the study. Send him up to Miss Antonia's room immediately." Leaving the startled footman and bewildered Governor staring after him, he strode rapidly out of the house. Weaving quickly through the wedding guests, Will searched for Jack. Finally he saw him chatting animatedly to several gentlemen who were looking at him in astonishment. Although Gwen had gotten Jack into a perfectly respectable looking suit of clothes - black velvet coat laced with gold and matching black breeches and waistcoat, he was still wearing his faded red headscarf and his hair was still braided with beads, coins and other baubles, presenting a rather incongruous sight. Jack was also swaying on his feet and waving his wineglass around as he retold (with great exaggeration) the tales of his latest voyage. "That had better be an act," muttered Will. Quickly he went up to the group and took Jack by the arm. "Excuse me, gentlemen, for interrupting. Jack, I need to talk to you." With a smile he hauled Jack away.
"What's up with you, lad?" Complained the pirate, shaking his arm loose from Will's grasp. "I was just getting to the best part of me story!"
"Jack, we've got a serious problem," said Will tensely.
"The bride's not having second thoughts, is she?" Asked Jack amiably.
"Worse. She's been kidnapped, along with Elizabeth and Gwen."
Instantly the amiable tipsy expression disappeared from Jack's face, replaced by a sharp, cold look. He stopped and grabbed Will's shoulder, spinning him around to look into his face. There was fear in Will's eyes. "You're serious."
"Deadly serious," Will replied. "The kidnappers left a letter for you. Come upstairs, I need to explain this to the Commodore and the Governor yet."
Jack snatched the letter out of Will's hand and read it quickly. "Reynard," he muttered.
--
Gwen lay sandwiched between Annamaria and Antonia. Both women were shaking. Gwen figured that Annamaria was shaking with rage, and Antonia was shaking with fear. She herself was feeling remarkably calm. Once they'd been wrapped up in blankets, they'd been unable to see. Gwen had felt herself carried for a while, and then she'd been placed on a hard surface, crammed between two other bodies. When she felt movement, she'd realized that they were lying in a wagon of some sort. The cloth wrapped around her head was making it difficult to breathe and the jolting of the wagon didn't help. She concentrated on breathing in and out slowly and carefully. What was Jack likely to do when he found her missing? It shouldn't take too long to realize that something was wrong. When Elizabeth and Antonia didn't come down for the ceremony someone would investigate. Gwen took comfort in that fact. The combined influence of Commodore Norrington, Governor Swann and Captain Jack Sparrow should insure that the kidnappers were caught before long. And if the Commodore and the Governor weren't able to do anything legally, Gwen had no doubt that Jack, Will and Joseph would take other measures.
Annamaria was indeed shaking with rage. She couldn't believe she'd been captured with so little effort. For a moment she'd been tempted to run instead of walking into that room. But she'd seen Reynard's eyes. He'd have shot Elizabeth instantly if she'd done so. Elizabeth had been too good a friend to her to let her die that way. So, Annamaria had docilely allowed herself to be bound, gagged and carried off, like a stupid damsel in distress. So here she was, crammed in a tiny space between the side of a wagon and another body (Gwen, she thought), being jolted down the road, hardly able to breathe between the blanket wrapped around her head and the ridiculous corset that was cutting off her air supply. A corset. Annamaria Simone, second mate of the Black Pearl, the most fearsome pirate (okay, privateer) ship in the Caribbean, was being carted away wearing a silk dress and a corset. She didn't even have a knife on her person.
Antonia was indeed shaking with fear. Her mind was whirling with frightening images. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life. Instead, it had become the most terrifying. Who were these people, and why did they want her? That man, Reynard, had said he had scores to settle with Jack Sparrow, Will and James. What did he intend to do to them? Struggling for composure, Antonia breathed as deeply as her corset would allow. She had to get a grip on herself. She had to regain control.
Elizabeth was not shaking. Her quick-witted mind was turning over every scrap of conversation she'd overheard from their captors. They had the look of seafaring men. Pirates, no doubt, who had run afoul of Commodore Norrington as well as Jack Sparrow. What score might they have against Will? He'd only been on two voyages with Jack, and they'd met only Spanish ships on those trips. These men didn't seem Spanish. They were English speaking. She'd heard one of them mention Tortuga. Did that mean they were headed to Tortuga? Surely her father and the Commodore would close the harbor as soon as they realized that she and the other women were missing. They would be found, Elizabeth was sure of it.
