Revenge of the Fox
Chapter 27
Ralf sat in a corner of the Captain's cabin of the Black Pearl the next morning, his brain whirling with confusion. Joseph had brought him up here several minutes earlier telling him that they'd need to talk to him about the Vixen and Reynard in order to make plans. So far, though, everyone was too busy arguing to pay attention to him. Three gorgeous ladies sat calmly at the table. One, a lovely black haired girl wearing an almost indecently low cut black gown with red lace was pouring tea. Tea? On a pirate ship? The other, a beautiful honey blond was spreading jam on toast. She was wearing a man's pair of breeches and a shirt, her bare feet tucked decorously under her chair. The third, a smaller girl with dark brown hair, seemed to be trying not to be noticed. The Commodore was furious, his face hard and his voice loud. The object of his wrath, the black haired girl, was unmoved.
"Antonia, this is for your own safety!"
"I understand that. I also understand that my very good friend is in trouble, and I want to help save her."
"I order to stay behind!"
"I'm not one of your soldiers and you can't order me to do anything."
"I'm your husband!"
"No you're not. We're not married yet."
"Merely a technicality!"
"Technicality or not," said Antonia calmly, "we're not yet married. Although if I'd known what sleeping with a man was like, I'd have insisted on a shorter engagement." Norrington's face flamed, Will choked on his tea and Jack hastily turned a laugh into a cough. Annamaria was not so restrained. She leaned against the wall and laughed helplessly. "In fact," Antonia ignoring the reactions of the others in the room, "in the absence of my uncle, my guardian is probably my cousin. Right Elizabeth?"
"Hmmm," said Elizabeth, "Your closest male relative is your cousin's husband. Will, what do you think?"
"Don't get me into this," Will warned.
Norrington's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Let's just take care of that right now." He grabbed Antonia's hand and pulled her to her feet, ignoring the teacup that was spilled as he did so. "Sparrow, marry us please."
Jack, who had been leaning back with his feet on the table, spewed a mouthful of ale back into his tankard as his boots hit the floor. Coughing and choking he wheezed, "What?" as Gibbs helpfully pounded him on the back.
"You are a ship's captain, are you not?" Norrington asked coolly. "Therefore you must be able to perform marriage ceremonies aboard ship."
"Pirates don't need to get married aboard ship all that often," Jack said indignantly. "I've never done such a thing."
"You do funerals for those of your men who get killed, don't you?"
"Funerals, aye. But weddings?"
"If you can do a funeral, you can do a wedding," Norrington said dismissively.
"It's hardly the same thing!" Elizabeth protested. "You can't expect her to get married this suddenly!"
"Actually, it sounds extremely romantic," said Antonia laughing, "But James, I can't get married in this ridiculous dress. It's black for one thing."
"Absolutely, Miss Swann," said Gibbs. "Very bad luck to be wed in a black gown."
"As to that, lass" Jack said, gesturing to a cupboard built into the wall, "feel free to borrow one of Gwen's gowns. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. But are you sure you want to be married by a pirate captain?"
Antonia put a hand on Jack's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "I can't think of anything I'd like better."
Governor Swann would have found much to criticize in the ceremony that took place twenty minutes later on the quarterdeck. Rather than the elite of Jamaican society, the ceremony was witnessed by a group of sailors with questionable pedigrees and less than fashionable dress sense. The matron of honor was not only wearing a pair of men's breeches, but her feet were bare. The bride was wearing a too short slate blue gown instead of white satin. Rather than a respectable clergyman, an eccentric pirate with beads in his beard performed the marriage and needed extensive prompting to make it through the ceremony.
Still, Antonia's smile was radiant, and Norrington's was tender as they took their vows. When Norrington slipped the gold band on Antonia's finger and confessed that he'd been carrying the ring around with him since their disrupted wedding day in hopes of seeing it in it's rightful place, more than one person had to wipe away a surreptitious tear.
--
Gwen sat quietly in a corner of the Captain's cabin aboard the Vixen, embroidering flowers on the edge of a handkerchief. The half done embroidery project had been in the trunk of clothing Gwen had been given. She was finding it very useful as a way to keep her hands and eyes occupied while her ears strained to hear the conversation going on at the table a few feet away. Hopefully it also provided her with a shield. Why was it that men thought that a woman, sitting still and occupied with a household task, was deaf, dumb and blind? Today, however, Gwen could only be thankful for this idiocy.
Reynard was sitting at the table with his officers and a few others. The Vixen lay anchored in a small, somewhat shallow cove. Although there was a wide, sandy beach, the cove could only be reached from the open ocean through a narrow passageway cut into the cliffs. From what Gwen could deduce from the conversation, the Black Pearl would be lured into the passageway, and then trapped in the cove. After preparations for this trap were complete, the Vixen would leave the cove and anchor further down the coast where there was a more hospitable inlet. After the Pearl was lured into the passageway, the Vixen would block her way back to the open ocean, completing the trap. Unable to maneuver in the limited space, the Pearl would be a sitting duck.
Gwen continued to embroider steadily, ignoring the fact that she was using the wrong shade of green for the flower leaves. The men continued to talk, arguing about how to subdue the Pearl's crew. Some of the men favored firing upon the Pearl with the Vixen's guns, but others disagreed. Reynard, especially, didn't want to damage the Black Pearl. He wants to sail it himself, thought Gwen bitterly. Just because it was Jack's. The consensus of the men around the table was that when Jack Sparrow was dead, the majority of the crew would be amenable to a change of leadership. Gwen hid a smile. The crew of the Black Pearl had learned the value of loyalty. Something Reynard the Fox failed to understand.
--
Plans now in place, Jack stood at the helm and guided his ship toward the small island where Reynard the Fox waited to kill him. Jack couldn't wait to see Reynard again. It had, after all, been nearly fifteen years since he'd laid eyes on the bastard. Where he wanted to see him, of course, was on the business end of his sword. Or maybe half way up – he wasn't too picky.
Ralf stood nervously nearby, flanked as always by the tall, quiet Joseph. Ralf had told Jack everything he knew about the trap Reynard was waiting to spring. He hoped it would be enough. The thought of Reynard getting his hands on him made Ralf break out into a cold sweat.
--
Author's note ** I tried to find some documentation of ship's captains performing marriage ceremonies, like in all the Hollywood movies, but I wasn't able to. The best I could find was a marriage ceremony performed in 1843 in Australia by a ship's captain. Fifty years later the couple was told that they weren't really married, so they had another ceremony. I'm not sure where the myth comes from, or when – if ever – ship's captains were allowed to do that sort of thing, but I included it in the story anyway. In the next chapter the characters will talk about the legality (or not) of Norrington and Antonia's wedding. Now days, you can get married in Florida waters by a ship's captain, but you need a marriage license and the captain has to be a notary public. Similarly in Bermuda, the captain aboard a cruise ship can marry you, but you need a license to marry, and the captain needs a license to perform the ceremony. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who knows more about the ship captains performing ceremonies.
Chapter 27
Ralf sat in a corner of the Captain's cabin of the Black Pearl the next morning, his brain whirling with confusion. Joseph had brought him up here several minutes earlier telling him that they'd need to talk to him about the Vixen and Reynard in order to make plans. So far, though, everyone was too busy arguing to pay attention to him. Three gorgeous ladies sat calmly at the table. One, a lovely black haired girl wearing an almost indecently low cut black gown with red lace was pouring tea. Tea? On a pirate ship? The other, a beautiful honey blond was spreading jam on toast. She was wearing a man's pair of breeches and a shirt, her bare feet tucked decorously under her chair. The third, a smaller girl with dark brown hair, seemed to be trying not to be noticed. The Commodore was furious, his face hard and his voice loud. The object of his wrath, the black haired girl, was unmoved.
"Antonia, this is for your own safety!"
"I understand that. I also understand that my very good friend is in trouble, and I want to help save her."
"I order to stay behind!"
"I'm not one of your soldiers and you can't order me to do anything."
"I'm your husband!"
"No you're not. We're not married yet."
"Merely a technicality!"
"Technicality or not," said Antonia calmly, "we're not yet married. Although if I'd known what sleeping with a man was like, I'd have insisted on a shorter engagement." Norrington's face flamed, Will choked on his tea and Jack hastily turned a laugh into a cough. Annamaria was not so restrained. She leaned against the wall and laughed helplessly. "In fact," Antonia ignoring the reactions of the others in the room, "in the absence of my uncle, my guardian is probably my cousin. Right Elizabeth?"
"Hmmm," said Elizabeth, "Your closest male relative is your cousin's husband. Will, what do you think?"
"Don't get me into this," Will warned.
Norrington's eyes narrowed. "Fine. Let's just take care of that right now." He grabbed Antonia's hand and pulled her to her feet, ignoring the teacup that was spilled as he did so. "Sparrow, marry us please."
Jack, who had been leaning back with his feet on the table, spewed a mouthful of ale back into his tankard as his boots hit the floor. Coughing and choking he wheezed, "What?" as Gibbs helpfully pounded him on the back.
"You are a ship's captain, are you not?" Norrington asked coolly. "Therefore you must be able to perform marriage ceremonies aboard ship."
"Pirates don't need to get married aboard ship all that often," Jack said indignantly. "I've never done such a thing."
"You do funerals for those of your men who get killed, don't you?"
"Funerals, aye. But weddings?"
"If you can do a funeral, you can do a wedding," Norrington said dismissively.
"It's hardly the same thing!" Elizabeth protested. "You can't expect her to get married this suddenly!"
"Actually, it sounds extremely romantic," said Antonia laughing, "But James, I can't get married in this ridiculous dress. It's black for one thing."
"Absolutely, Miss Swann," said Gibbs. "Very bad luck to be wed in a black gown."
"As to that, lass" Jack said, gesturing to a cupboard built into the wall, "feel free to borrow one of Gwen's gowns. I'm sure she wouldn't mind. But are you sure you want to be married by a pirate captain?"
Antonia put a hand on Jack's shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "I can't think of anything I'd like better."
Governor Swann would have found much to criticize in the ceremony that took place twenty minutes later on the quarterdeck. Rather than the elite of Jamaican society, the ceremony was witnessed by a group of sailors with questionable pedigrees and less than fashionable dress sense. The matron of honor was not only wearing a pair of men's breeches, but her feet were bare. The bride was wearing a too short slate blue gown instead of white satin. Rather than a respectable clergyman, an eccentric pirate with beads in his beard performed the marriage and needed extensive prompting to make it through the ceremony.
Still, Antonia's smile was radiant, and Norrington's was tender as they took their vows. When Norrington slipped the gold band on Antonia's finger and confessed that he'd been carrying the ring around with him since their disrupted wedding day in hopes of seeing it in it's rightful place, more than one person had to wipe away a surreptitious tear.
--
Gwen sat quietly in a corner of the Captain's cabin aboard the Vixen, embroidering flowers on the edge of a handkerchief. The half done embroidery project had been in the trunk of clothing Gwen had been given. She was finding it very useful as a way to keep her hands and eyes occupied while her ears strained to hear the conversation going on at the table a few feet away. Hopefully it also provided her with a shield. Why was it that men thought that a woman, sitting still and occupied with a household task, was deaf, dumb and blind? Today, however, Gwen could only be thankful for this idiocy.
Reynard was sitting at the table with his officers and a few others. The Vixen lay anchored in a small, somewhat shallow cove. Although there was a wide, sandy beach, the cove could only be reached from the open ocean through a narrow passageway cut into the cliffs. From what Gwen could deduce from the conversation, the Black Pearl would be lured into the passageway, and then trapped in the cove. After preparations for this trap were complete, the Vixen would leave the cove and anchor further down the coast where there was a more hospitable inlet. After the Pearl was lured into the passageway, the Vixen would block her way back to the open ocean, completing the trap. Unable to maneuver in the limited space, the Pearl would be a sitting duck.
Gwen continued to embroider steadily, ignoring the fact that she was using the wrong shade of green for the flower leaves. The men continued to talk, arguing about how to subdue the Pearl's crew. Some of the men favored firing upon the Pearl with the Vixen's guns, but others disagreed. Reynard, especially, didn't want to damage the Black Pearl. He wants to sail it himself, thought Gwen bitterly. Just because it was Jack's. The consensus of the men around the table was that when Jack Sparrow was dead, the majority of the crew would be amenable to a change of leadership. Gwen hid a smile. The crew of the Black Pearl had learned the value of loyalty. Something Reynard the Fox failed to understand.
--
Plans now in place, Jack stood at the helm and guided his ship toward the small island where Reynard the Fox waited to kill him. Jack couldn't wait to see Reynard again. It had, after all, been nearly fifteen years since he'd laid eyes on the bastard. Where he wanted to see him, of course, was on the business end of his sword. Or maybe half way up – he wasn't too picky.
Ralf stood nervously nearby, flanked as always by the tall, quiet Joseph. Ralf had told Jack everything he knew about the trap Reynard was waiting to spring. He hoped it would be enough. The thought of Reynard getting his hands on him made Ralf break out into a cold sweat.
--
Author's note ** I tried to find some documentation of ship's captains performing marriage ceremonies, like in all the Hollywood movies, but I wasn't able to. The best I could find was a marriage ceremony performed in 1843 in Australia by a ship's captain. Fifty years later the couple was told that they weren't really married, so they had another ceremony. I'm not sure where the myth comes from, or when – if ever – ship's captains were allowed to do that sort of thing, but I included it in the story anyway. In the next chapter the characters will talk about the legality (or not) of Norrington and Antonia's wedding. Now days, you can get married in Florida waters by a ship's captain, but you need a marriage license and the captain has to be a notary public. Similarly in Bermuda, the captain aboard a cruise ship can marry you, but you need a license to marry, and the captain needs a license to perform the ceremony. I'd be happy to hear from anyone who knows more about the ship captains performing ceremonies.
