Usual disclaimers... darn!
Especially for Ani!
***
Thomas Spense paced angrily in front of the Commodore who sat calmly at his desk, his boot heels clicking on the stone floor. Now that the pirates had gone and the riots appeared to have ended, he had demanded that marshal law be revoked immediately and had taken control of the town once more. "And how exactly did she escape?" he fumed, his coat tails flapping as he turned and turned again..
James Norrington sighed as he looked up at the man, wishing he would stop pacing and making him dizzy. "From what I have been able to discover, they broke into the Fort through the side gate and escaped the same way..."
"And what of the men that were found dead in the cells?" the Governor demanded. "Murdered!"
"I have spoken with the sole survivor from the cells," James Norrington said quietly. He suspected that Murtogg had some involvement with the escape, as probably did Mullroy, but he did not want to bring them to the Governor's attention - especially as they were known to be friends of the Sparrows. "It would appear that those found dead in the cells tried to ambush the crew of the Black Pearl..."
"The pirates, you mean!" Thomas Spense raged.
"The pirates," he regretfully conceded for they had put themselves outside of his protection with the riot and the attack on the Fort. "But the men threatened Mistress Sparrow, held a blade to her throat I believe. You can hardly blame Sparrow and his men for their deaths after that?"
"I do blame them!" Thomas Spense shouted. "And for the riot within the town - except that it wasn't a riot, was it? It appears you emptied most of the Fort and for what? A few bonfires!"
"There was no way of knowing that," James Norrington defended his decision even though he had suspected it of being a ploy on the night.
"And those responsible within the town? You will be punishing them, won't you?" the Governor demanded.
"I cannot punish the whole town..." the Commodore tried to explain.
"I will have them punished!" he shouted.
"How!" James Norrington finally lost his temper. "I believed we had a full scale riot on our hands - not surprising after the way you handled, no, mishandled things earlier. As far as I knew the Fort was secure!"
"Your incompetence is amazing!" Thomas Spense sneered.
"As is your arrogance! If you had bothered to take a few minutes to look into the background of this Davit Lucon you would have discovered that his brother was a pirate who sailed under Jean Claude Lact!" James Norrington argued.
Thomas Spense blinked, realising that the Commodore knew more than he did. "That does not make him a pirate," he defended.
"But it does make his testimony suspect! I have also discovered that this man has a feud with the Sparrows!" the Commodore countered. "He would have said anything against them to get his revenge and you hanged four known men on his testimony!"
"I will have the law upheld!" Thomas Spense raged.
"Then uphold it yourself! You never even gave those men a chance to prove their innocence!" James Norrington slammed his hand down on the desk in exasperation. "Even as Governor you are not above the same laws!"
Thomas Spense stopped pacing and looked at him carefully. "I could almost believe that you support these pirates!"
"If the testimony is proven false Governor, then they were not pirates!" He looked up at the man before him. "Which means you hanged four innocent men..."
"They were pirates!" he raged. "And when the Gauntlet is repaired and the two new ships arrive you will make hunting them down your number one priority!"
"Ah yes, the two new ships..." James Norrington flicked through the pile of papers before him until he found the one he was looking for, regretting that he had not had a chance to do more than glance at it earlier that morning. "I understand they should be here within a few weeks." He paused as he read, for the first time noticing the names of the two Captains - realising with dread that both of them had close ties with the Governor's family. "The HMS Wyndham and the HMS Phoebe... frigates..."
"Yes, frigates that will hunt down the damned pirates once and for all!" Thomas Spense crowed.
James Norrington read further, ignoring the Governor's triumphalism. "I see they are bringing a new Captain for the Gauntlet," he frowned. "I had hoped to promote Lieutenant Eccleston..." He did not recognise the name of the third Captain, but guessed from the Governor's attitude that again he was known to him. Obviously the Governor had been busy when he had been off searching for Mary.
"Eccleston has links to Groves!" the Governor smiled. "Therefore his loyalty must be considered suspect!"
"Loyalty to whom?" James Norrington raised one eyebrow as he looked at Thomas Spense. "I have always found him a most loyal officer..."
"He is tainted by Groves and therefore has links to the Sparrows. We cannot have a Captain of on of our ships having friendships with pirates, can we Commodore?" he gloated.
James Norrington considered his options carefully. Catherine's warning in the cells now held more threat when the three new Captains were clearly in the Governor's pocket. "And we cannot have more than one Commanding Officer within this Fort," he warned. "I will not have you interfering in Naval matters Sir!"
"Touché Commodore," he smiled, realising that his meddling was known. "But I will have those pirates - and I will see Sparrow hang!" He turned towards the door, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. "Good day Commodore!" He walked out, whistling merrily to himself for he was exceedingly pleased overall with the meeting. James Norrington would find himself dancing to a different tune from now on - one that he intended controlling.
James Norrington watched from the window as the Governor crossed the yard and departed the Fort. He was concerned about the three new Captains and did not like that their loyalties would be to Spense first and not to him. He did not understand the feud that the man seemed to have with the Sparrows, why he was so intent on destroying them after all the years that they had actively helped Port Royal. They had even helped save his own family! He shook his head in confusion, frowning as his eyes caught upon the destruction of the cells and the outer wall. Jack's response had been worse than he had feared and it would be months before the Fort was fully secure again. And Dead Man's Rock destroyed too. Whatever you could say about Jack Sparrow he was thorough.
***
"No!" Rosamund Spense looked at her husband in shock.
"I meant what I said my dear. I believe it has become too dangerous within the Caribbean for you and the children. As soon as a safe ship can be found I am sending you all back to England!" he declared.
"This would not have been necessary if not for this stupid fight of yours with the Sparrows!" she protested.
"Silence!" he bellowed angrily. "I will not have anyone in my family defending those pirates!" He took a step closer to her and for a moment she paled, stepping back. "I am doing this for your safety my dear and that is always paramount in my mind. I will send for you again once it is over."
Rosamund Spense bowed her head and held her tongue. She was worried about him but knew better than to argue when he was in such a temper. "I will see to our packing then," she demurred, leaving the room quietly.
"Do so!" he commanded. "First ship Rosamund! First ship!"
***
Okay - that is your lot for the day today... although I have two more completed chapters just sitting and waiting for your reviews before I upload them.
So... REVIEW!
Ta!
Especially for Ani!
***
Thomas Spense paced angrily in front of the Commodore who sat calmly at his desk, his boot heels clicking on the stone floor. Now that the pirates had gone and the riots appeared to have ended, he had demanded that marshal law be revoked immediately and had taken control of the town once more. "And how exactly did she escape?" he fumed, his coat tails flapping as he turned and turned again..
James Norrington sighed as he looked up at the man, wishing he would stop pacing and making him dizzy. "From what I have been able to discover, they broke into the Fort through the side gate and escaped the same way..."
"And what of the men that were found dead in the cells?" the Governor demanded. "Murdered!"
"I have spoken with the sole survivor from the cells," James Norrington said quietly. He suspected that Murtogg had some involvement with the escape, as probably did Mullroy, but he did not want to bring them to the Governor's attention - especially as they were known to be friends of the Sparrows. "It would appear that those found dead in the cells tried to ambush the crew of the Black Pearl..."
"The pirates, you mean!" Thomas Spense raged.
"The pirates," he regretfully conceded for they had put themselves outside of his protection with the riot and the attack on the Fort. "But the men threatened Mistress Sparrow, held a blade to her throat I believe. You can hardly blame Sparrow and his men for their deaths after that?"
"I do blame them!" Thomas Spense shouted. "And for the riot within the town - except that it wasn't a riot, was it? It appears you emptied most of the Fort and for what? A few bonfires!"
"There was no way of knowing that," James Norrington defended his decision even though he had suspected it of being a ploy on the night.
"And those responsible within the town? You will be punishing them, won't you?" the Governor demanded.
"I cannot punish the whole town..." the Commodore tried to explain.
"I will have them punished!" he shouted.
"How!" James Norrington finally lost his temper. "I believed we had a full scale riot on our hands - not surprising after the way you handled, no, mishandled things earlier. As far as I knew the Fort was secure!"
"Your incompetence is amazing!" Thomas Spense sneered.
"As is your arrogance! If you had bothered to take a few minutes to look into the background of this Davit Lucon you would have discovered that his brother was a pirate who sailed under Jean Claude Lact!" James Norrington argued.
Thomas Spense blinked, realising that the Commodore knew more than he did. "That does not make him a pirate," he defended.
"But it does make his testimony suspect! I have also discovered that this man has a feud with the Sparrows!" the Commodore countered. "He would have said anything against them to get his revenge and you hanged four known men on his testimony!"
"I will have the law upheld!" Thomas Spense raged.
"Then uphold it yourself! You never even gave those men a chance to prove their innocence!" James Norrington slammed his hand down on the desk in exasperation. "Even as Governor you are not above the same laws!"
Thomas Spense stopped pacing and looked at him carefully. "I could almost believe that you support these pirates!"
"If the testimony is proven false Governor, then they were not pirates!" He looked up at the man before him. "Which means you hanged four innocent men..."
"They were pirates!" he raged. "And when the Gauntlet is repaired and the two new ships arrive you will make hunting them down your number one priority!"
"Ah yes, the two new ships..." James Norrington flicked through the pile of papers before him until he found the one he was looking for, regretting that he had not had a chance to do more than glance at it earlier that morning. "I understand they should be here within a few weeks." He paused as he read, for the first time noticing the names of the two Captains - realising with dread that both of them had close ties with the Governor's family. "The HMS Wyndham and the HMS Phoebe... frigates..."
"Yes, frigates that will hunt down the damned pirates once and for all!" Thomas Spense crowed.
James Norrington read further, ignoring the Governor's triumphalism. "I see they are bringing a new Captain for the Gauntlet," he frowned. "I had hoped to promote Lieutenant Eccleston..." He did not recognise the name of the third Captain, but guessed from the Governor's attitude that again he was known to him. Obviously the Governor had been busy when he had been off searching for Mary.
"Eccleston has links to Groves!" the Governor smiled. "Therefore his loyalty must be considered suspect!"
"Loyalty to whom?" James Norrington raised one eyebrow as he looked at Thomas Spense. "I have always found him a most loyal officer..."
"He is tainted by Groves and therefore has links to the Sparrows. We cannot have a Captain of on of our ships having friendships with pirates, can we Commodore?" he gloated.
James Norrington considered his options carefully. Catherine's warning in the cells now held more threat when the three new Captains were clearly in the Governor's pocket. "And we cannot have more than one Commanding Officer within this Fort," he warned. "I will not have you interfering in Naval matters Sir!"
"Touché Commodore," he smiled, realising that his meddling was known. "But I will have those pirates - and I will see Sparrow hang!" He turned towards the door, pausing with his hand on the doorknob. "Good day Commodore!" He walked out, whistling merrily to himself for he was exceedingly pleased overall with the meeting. James Norrington would find himself dancing to a different tune from now on - one that he intended controlling.
James Norrington watched from the window as the Governor crossed the yard and departed the Fort. He was concerned about the three new Captains and did not like that their loyalties would be to Spense first and not to him. He did not understand the feud that the man seemed to have with the Sparrows, why he was so intent on destroying them after all the years that they had actively helped Port Royal. They had even helped save his own family! He shook his head in confusion, frowning as his eyes caught upon the destruction of the cells and the outer wall. Jack's response had been worse than he had feared and it would be months before the Fort was fully secure again. And Dead Man's Rock destroyed too. Whatever you could say about Jack Sparrow he was thorough.
***
"No!" Rosamund Spense looked at her husband in shock.
"I meant what I said my dear. I believe it has become too dangerous within the Caribbean for you and the children. As soon as a safe ship can be found I am sending you all back to England!" he declared.
"This would not have been necessary if not for this stupid fight of yours with the Sparrows!" she protested.
"Silence!" he bellowed angrily. "I will not have anyone in my family defending those pirates!" He took a step closer to her and for a moment she paled, stepping back. "I am doing this for your safety my dear and that is always paramount in my mind. I will send for you again once it is over."
Rosamund Spense bowed her head and held her tongue. She was worried about him but knew better than to argue when he was in such a temper. "I will see to our packing then," she demurred, leaving the room quietly.
"Do so!" he commanded. "First ship Rosamund! First ship!"
***
Okay - that is your lot for the day today... although I have two more completed chapters just sitting and waiting for your reviews before I upload them.
So... REVIEW!
Ta!