Your first review 'prize' in the mail, Hilary. And the dear, departed Joshamee must be creating a whirlpool at the bottom of the sea with two women on board!
Lady Skywalker, you are so not going to like some of this chapter, but I make up for it in the end!!
Sakhara, I doubt anything will ever come between Maddy and Jack, although some may give it a damned good try ;)
Linnie, thanks for your help, as alwaysThe rest of you, you're slipping behind with your reviews. If ya don't start givin' me some soon, I may be forced ter get t'cat out! :p
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Chapter 44
Maddy cursed her arm, and not for the first time. She was growing increasingly bored of sitting around with nothing to do, just watching everyone going about their chores with a sense of purpose. Even Rebecca had pitched in a couple of times, and that was even more of a blow. She didn't like the way the young woman seemed to follow Jack around, or how she wore her shirt knotted at the waist with most of the buttons left undone. What she liked even less was the way Jack would laugh at some of the things Rebecca said to him. Maddy sighed in despair, self-pity washing over her, as she cursed herself for that as well.
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Jack stood at the helm with a self-satisfied grin on his face. All the repairs had been finished and they were at long last, ready to set sail once more. Jack found that the only trouble now was deciding where to sail to. Maddy hadn't seemed to be able to get close enough to Rebecca to find out what she was hiding, so Jack decided to try and find out himself. He watched the young woman as she sauntered across the deck, humming a tune to herself and smiling at a private joke, then turned his head to look to the sea, and decided to head north anyway, there were always plenty of ports to drop Rebecca off at if she proved to be trouble. 'Raise t'anchor, an' let's get out o'here. I've had quite enough o'the bloody place.' Jack's grin grew wider on hearing the crew's laughter, then he felt The Pearl lurch as her anchors were raised. 'C'mon me darlin,' He whispered, stroking a wheel spoke tenderly, 'Let's get yer back to t'ocean.'
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Rebecca stood at the bow of the ship and watched as the open ocean got nearer and closed her eyes, savouring the feeling. Not all that long ago she had begun to wonder if she would ever get off the island and escape Pierre Castigne. Rebecca smiled ruefully to herself. 'Shame about Pierre, at least he knew how to satisfy a woman, unlike most men I knew. Ah well.' She turned round on hearing Jack's voice and watched him for a while, eyeing his lean frame showing through his loose shirt. 'I bet he can satisfy a woman,' she mused, before making her way over to him. 'Captain Sparrow, I gather you are taking me home?' Rebecca had realised the best way to get through to Jack was to massage his ego, which she did as often as she could.
'That all depends on you luv, tell me why you're so secretive, an' I might just take ya home. If not, there's plenty o'places I can drop ya off at.' Jack shrugged indifferently and turned from the girl, knowing very well that it would infuriate her.
'How many times do I have to tell you?' Rebecca's voice was sharp and loud, and carried across the whole deck. 'I don't have any secrets.'
Jack chuckled and turned back to her, 'Ah, but we all have secrets luv, just some worse than others.'
Rebecca looked at Jack under long lashes and stuck her breasts towards him slightly. 'I really, really don't have any secrets Captain,' she whispered, breathlessly. 'I don't know what I need to do to convince you.' Rebecca placed a hand on Jack's shoulder, squeezing it, her eyes blazing into his.
Jack opened his mouth to say something, and abruptly shut it again when he noticed Maddy coming towards them. He braced himself, waiting for an onslaught, but it never came, instead Jack watched in amazement and with a little disappointment as Maddy merely glanced at him and went below. Jack frowned, not sure what to make of his wife's attitude, then called for Eb to take over the helm as he followed Maddy below. There he found her in their cabin, staring solemnly out of the window.
'Y'all right luv?' Jack sat beside her and took her hand in his, looking in alarm as he noticed tears streaming down Maddy's face. 'Eh, come on Madalene luv, there's no need fer them,' he brought Maddy's fingers up to his lips and kissed them gently and wiped the tears from her face. 'Madalene, what's wrong?'
'Nothing… everything.' Maddy stared dejectedly out of the window, not daring to look at Jack in case she broke down completely.
'Come on wifey,' Jack swung a leg onto the seat and pulled Maddy to him, so her back was pressed into his body. 'Right, tell yer Uncle Jack what's wrong.'
Maddy took a deep breath then shuddered, closing her eyes. 'I'm just scared my arm won't heal and I won't be able to remain on board.'
'Eh? Of course yer arm'll heal luv, ya just got to be patient. O'course that bein so difficult fer you an' all…' he teased, feeling happier when Maddy chuckled. 'Is that all?' Jack said in a mocking tone, but immediately knew that it wasn't by the way he felt Maddy's body tense against his. 'What else is there luv?'
'Rebecca, there's something about her I don't like. Well, besides the fact that she's all over you, she acts like your bloody shadow.'
It was Jack's turn to sigh. He'd hoped Maddy hadn't noticed that particular thing about the girl, but nothing got past her. 'Aye, I know she is luv, but that's just her, she's all over most o'the men on board. Well, the good lookin' one's anyway,' he said with a grin. The teasing didn't work this time, and Jack felt Maddy's sobs as she gave in to her tears once more. He held her tightly, soothing and crooning until her tears were spent and she sat back against him, exhausted. Jack let Maddy go and stood, then dropped to his knees in front of Maddy. 'Look Madalene Sparrow, I luv ya, yer know that, if the worst happens an' yer arm don't heal, then we'll work somethin' out, savvy?' Jack held Maddy as tightly as he could without hurting her and rocked to and fro, nuzzling her neck.
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'Cap'n, Rebecca says she would like ter see ya in her cabin. She said ya'd know what it was about.' Moyles looked with suspicion at his Captain, not liking what the message implied.
'Oh does she now? Well, that's very interesting Moyles.' Jack looked around the moonlit deck, making sure everything was running smoothly, before going below to Rebecca's cabin.
He stood outside the door, wondering whether he should have told Maddy first, but quickly shook it off. 'Nothin' that she need worry about,' he told himself. So he knocked on the door and entered without waiting, stopping dead when he saw Rebecca lying on the bunk, naked. His wide eyes roved up and down her body as she got off the bunk and came towards him, a teasing smile playing on her lips. Jack realised a bit too late that he really shouldn't be there and made to go back out the door, but Rebecca anticipated this and darted in front of him, blocking his way.
'Ah, look luv … now this *really* isn't a good idea.' Jack gulped as she wound her arms and a leg around him, pulling him in to her. 'Why don't yer just say what yer have to say, an' I'll go, savvy?'
'I'll tell you whatever you want afterwards Jack,' Rebecca purred, her tongue tracing a line around Jack's ear, making him moan, in spite of his frantic state.
'After what luv?' No sooner had the words left his mouth, than his eyes widened as he realised her meaning. 'There'll be no *afterwards* luv, nor will there be a before or during either.' But Jack's words were cut off by Rebecca's lips pressing against his, and her hands travelling down his body. Jack made panicked noises into Rebecca's mouth, then roughly pushed her off him, consciously putting his hands somewhere safe as he did so, and dived for the door, pulling it open before Rebecca had chance to react, cursing as he saw crewmen scattering along the corridor when the door flung open. They had all been listening in front of the cabin door. 'Even they knew what was going on,' Jack chastised himself for not picking up on it earlier. After shutting the door, he leaned against the wall in an attempt to gather his wits about him, then made his way slowly back to his cabin. He was certainly not looking forward to telling Maddy, although he knew he must.
Maddy looked up from the book she had been reading as Jack entered the cabin, and she stared curiously at his demeanour. She patted her legs, then wrapped her arm around Jack's waist as he sat on her lap. 'What's wrong love?'
Jack took a deep breath and half smiled at Maddy, reminding her of a naughty schoolboy. 'Ah, well…' Jack scratched his head through the bandana, 'Ya see it's Rebecca luv. I had word that she was goin' ter spill her little secret to me, so I goes off to her cabin and....' Jack stopped, and frowned at Maddy, who had a feeling she knew what was coming.
'Yes?'
'Well, when I walked she was naked, but nothing happened, I left as soon as I could get her off me,' Jack gabbled, wincing and closing his eyes tight, as he prepared for a blow that didn't come. He opened one eye and peered at Maddy, looking in astonishment as she was shaking with laughter.
'Oh what I wouldn't give to have seen the great Jack Sparrow, womaniser extraordinaire, legging it out of a beautiful, naked woman's room.' Maddy laughed until tears were pouring down her face and her sides were aching. She leaned against Jack's arm for support and felt him start to laugh too, once he realised the irony of the situation. Soon both of them were reduced to helpless giggles as Jack recounted what had happened.
'I'll be t'laughin' stock of t'crew after this,' Jack moaned, his face falling slightly.
'Well then, we'll just have to give them something else to gossip about won't we?' Maddy pushed Jack off her lap and stood, then mimicked Rebecca's action by winding her good arm and a leg around Jack's body, pulling him close and kissing him passionately before leading him to the bunk, a seductive smile playing on her lips.