Usual disclaimers... but one day... one day! ;)
Okay - firstly I must apologise that this is only one chapter. Things have been rather hectic with my real life and my son's room is taking much longer than I would wish. Hubby and I are hoping to have him back in his room by the end of the weekend, so perhaps normal update speed will resume.
Regarding the Oscars... I am calmer now. I was sooooo disappointed that Johnny did not win, but on reflection would rather lose to Sean Penn than to Bill Murray.
Redmond - I haven't seen the film Mystic River, but from the trailers it seems very dark and not my kind of film at all. I like to "escape" in my films with a little lightness - which is why I like Pirates so much. I often describe it as a film to "take your brain out and giggle for two and a half hours..."
And do you know what... sometimes I don't put it back in! ;)
***
Mid-July
Louis sighed as Mary threw yet another tantrum. Nothing was ever good enough for her nowadays - and he hoped it was the pregnancy talking. Was it not enough that he had saved her from being raped by the crew? No. Was it not enough that he had fashioned a crude raft and saved them from being marooned? No. Was it not enough that he had stolen another ship, gained a new crew and set her up in luxury in New Orleans? No. All this in barely two months and still she was not satisfied.
"Will you shut up!" he shouted as she started to screech again, determined this time that she would not win. "We cannot return to Port Royal."
"But I want to see my mother!" she demanded. "You said that the Black Pearl was disgraced, that they'd been declared pirates - surely it should be safe!"
He rubbed his hand over his face, sighing heavily. "I sent a man into the town on our way back last week. Your mother and your brother and sisters have been sent back to England. It is only your father that remains in Port Royal. And the name of Lact has been correctly linked to me thanks to your husband - it would not be safe."
"But why has Mother been sent back to England?" she puzzled.
"Because your father appears to think it is too dangerous in Port Royal for them... and considering his feud with Sparrow he might be right," Louis explained.
"So why can I not return to Port Royal?" Mary whined.
"But you are disgraced there! They know you ran off with a pirate!" He looked beseechingly at her. "Worse - that you ran off with a French pirate." He took her hands in his. "The same French pirate whose child you now carry!"
"And what of Charlotte? How am I to get her back if I don't go to Port Royal and my father?" she asked.
"Your father does not have Charlotte!" he retorted, unable to see why she was so insistent on regaining her daughter. He was sure that she carried a son - his son - what use would she have for a mere girl then. "She left Port Royal in the care of your husband and has not been seen since!" he explained patiently wishing she would shut up about Charlotte - did she honestly think that he wanted to raise the daughter of an Englishman... an English Naval Officer at that!
"Theodore took her?" she gasped in disbelief. Although she had little responsibility in the raising of her daughter, she had been raised to consider it a mother's duty. The idea that a man thought he could raise a child was ridiculous.
"He not only took her, but he resigned from the Navy in order to raise her if the gossip is true." Louis looked at her, smiling. "The only thing that might work in our favour is that your father is very unpopular at the moment and seems to have a feud with the Sparrows... if we can get to him or get him to us with nobody seeing then there might be a chance..."
"A chance?" she frowned.
"He hates them, we hate them... perhaps we can yet get our revenge..." he smiled.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Well, we cannot go to Port Royal, but we could sail to a quiet bay east of town. I will send a man into town with a message and hopefully your father can ride out to us without too much notice..." Louis smiled, quietly watching as she realised what he had said.
She smiled broadly. "You mean I am leaving this city?" She hated New Orleans for she could not speak French and although Louis had employed servants that spoke English she felt very much the outsider. Louis had suggested that she learn to speak French and had offered to hire a tutor for her. He had tried to explain that it would make her life easier in New Orleans, but Mary had little aptitude for his language and even less interest in learning much to his dismay.
"For now... but only while we meet your father," he cautioned. "You cannot stay on board."
Mary nodded, relieved that at least she should get out of New Orleans for a few weeks. Hopefully she would be able to meet with her father and if nothing else he would at least know she was alive.
***
Governor Thomas Spense stared at the note that Forester handed him. It was addressed in a hand that he recognised and his heart skipped a beat. "Leave me!" he ordered, waiting until his butler had left before carefully opening it, his hands shaking as he read.
"Father, I am alive and safe. If you would wish to see me please ride eastwards from Port Royal on receiving this. If you are alone, a man will approach you and lead you to me. Mary."
He rose, placing the letter in the fire and watching it burn before striding purposefully from the room. He paced up and down, wondering if perhaps it was a trap. Theodore's words came back to haunt him - that she had left with her French pirate lover. He sighed heavily, realising that he would have to trust the note if he hoped to see his daughter again. He rang for his butler. "Forester, arrange for a horse to be saddled at the front gate in fifteen minutes. I am going out."
"Will you require an escort Governor?" Forester frowned at the unusual request, but held his tongue.
"No. I just need to clear my mind. I will be quite safe!" he declared.
"Yes Sir," Forester deferred, bowing as he left to arrange for the horse.
***
Thomas Spense quickly cantered along the track, eager to see his daughter. He reined to a halt when he saw a man standing in the middle of the track, apparently waiting for him.
"Monsieur Spense?" the man asked.
"Yes," Thomas replied. "You are from my daughter?"
"Oui, Mary and Louis are waiting for you on board the Teide... I will take you there."
The man gestured for him to follow and the Governor dismounted, walking beside his dapple grey horse as he followed the man.
"The Teide?" he asked cautiously. "Your ship?"
"Just follow," the man grunted as they left the track and walked through the trees towards the sea. After a short distance the man, obviously a pirate from his attire, turned to him. "Leave your horse here," he instructed. "We will need to climb down to the ship."
Thomas Spense tied his horse securely to one of the trees. It would not do for it to break free and have troops come looking for him. As he emerged from the trees he could see a small ship at anchor in the bay below, scull and crossbones flying proudly from its main mast. He swallowed, realising he must bury his hatred of pirates if he wanted to see his daughter again. He had never believed Theodore but now, faced with the proof, had to admit that the Captain had been right. A small ships boat was waiting on the beach and the man rowed him out quietly.
"Captain!" he called. "Spense for you!"
The cabin doors flew open and Mary ran at him, delight on her face. "Father!" she cried, rushing out to embrace him.
Thomas Spense was overwhelmed by her greeting. She had never been an overly affectionate child, but obviously being away from her family in such trying circumstances had changed her. He looked up, noticing a tall blonde man leaning in the doorway.
"Governor Spense," he smiled. "Perhaps you would join me in our cabin," he offered. "We were just about to eat." He stood aside as Mary led her father through the doors where he could see a small table set for three.
"This looks delightful..." Thomas Spense gasped in surprise, not sure what he had been expecting on board. "Not what I..."
"Not what you expected on a pirate ship Governor?" Louis laughed. "But we are French pirates monsieur, and we appreciate fine food. Come, sit!"
"How are you Mary?" he began, thinking she looked well. "I haven't seen you since before the fire... we feared you were dead! What happened?"
"My apologies Monsieur. My previous crew were a little overly enthusiastic when I told them to clean up a mess..." Louis apologised.
"A mess?" Thomas Spense frowned, before gasping in shocked realisation. "Edmund Groves?"
"What can I say," Louis shrugged. "The old fool saw us..."
"You killed him!" the Governor gasped.
"Oui. He knew me for what I was, a pirate, and I do not like my affairs being known..." Louis sighed.
"Your affair with my daughter you mean!" he growled angrily. "Why?"
Mary decided it would be safer to keep quiet, listening carefully as the men spoke. "Why? Because she was beautiful and because I wanted a way to get to Sparrow," Louis shrugged. "When I discovered that she shared my hatred it was an affair made in heaven," he smiled.
"Where..." Thomas Spense began.
"I am living in New Orleans," Mary explained.
"She has a fine house, servants, everything she could wish for," Louis explained.
"Except her family," Thomas Spense countered.
"That is a problem," he sighed. "Although now the Commodore knows who I am I can no longer return to Port Royal... and Mary is mine now." He paused. "But enough of our problems, I hear you have been having your own problems with Sparrow lately..."
"Nothing I cannot handle," Thomas Spense replied defensively.
"Really?" Louis raised his eyebrows in shock. "That is not what I heard... riots, jail escapes, your Fort nearly destroyed..."
"The town won't think so highly of them when they return to their pirate ways!" he asserted.
"Are you so sure that they will? Despite all you have done to them they have kept to the accord, not hitting a single English ship. No, you need to destroy his reputation first..." Louis reasoned.
"We'll catch Sparrow!" he vowed.
Louis laughed at the Governor. "The only thing that can catch the Black Pearl monsieur is the Black Pearl - no ship is that fast, not even your new frigates!"
"Why can't you build one?" Mary asked, sipping her tea daintily.
"What?" both men gasped, looking at her in disbelief.
"I said why can't you build one?" she repeated. "What makes the ship so fast anyway?"
"Her shape, her size and those damned oars for a start!" Louis cursed. "It would cost a fortune..."
"How much of a fortune?" Thomas Spense asked cautiously.
"In your money... twenty thousand pounds at least!" he sighed. "There is no way..."
"There is always a way," the Governor smiled. "I have some, and I know that others would be interested in the death of that pirate!" He paused, taking a bite of food. "Nanette Roseridge for a start..."
"Roseridge?" Louis frowned. "The plantation family..."
"The very same," Thomas Spense smiled. "If I can get the money, how long would it take to build?"
"If we can get somebody to build it... what, six months or so?" Louis shrugged. He looked at the Governor. "You are serious - aren't you?"
"Never more so," he smiled. "You said that we need to destroy his reputation. We will never catch him until the folk of Port Royal and other towns turn against the ship..."
"I am sure a few atrocities would see to that," Louis smiled. "And I do atrocities very well..."
***
Thomas Spense lay quietly in his bed, watching the shadows from the trees dance across his ceiling, exceedingly pleased with his day. Nanette had readily agreed to finance his plan to catch Jack Sparrow without too many questions, eager to get revenge on those she blamed for the death of her son. He had spared her the details, fearing that if she knew exactly how far he was going to hang the Sparrows that she would rediscover her morals... and he had left his far behind long ago with this feud. They would not escape the noose this time!
***
Okay - next chapter is all about Jack and the journey eastwards... so if you want to read it you know the drill... reviews ladies!
Ta!
Okay - firstly I must apologise that this is only one chapter. Things have been rather hectic with my real life and my son's room is taking much longer than I would wish. Hubby and I are hoping to have him back in his room by the end of the weekend, so perhaps normal update speed will resume.
Regarding the Oscars... I am calmer now. I was sooooo disappointed that Johnny did not win, but on reflection would rather lose to Sean Penn than to Bill Murray.
Redmond - I haven't seen the film Mystic River, but from the trailers it seems very dark and not my kind of film at all. I like to "escape" in my films with a little lightness - which is why I like Pirates so much. I often describe it as a film to "take your brain out and giggle for two and a half hours..."
And do you know what... sometimes I don't put it back in! ;)
***
Mid-July
Louis sighed as Mary threw yet another tantrum. Nothing was ever good enough for her nowadays - and he hoped it was the pregnancy talking. Was it not enough that he had saved her from being raped by the crew? No. Was it not enough that he had fashioned a crude raft and saved them from being marooned? No. Was it not enough that he had stolen another ship, gained a new crew and set her up in luxury in New Orleans? No. All this in barely two months and still she was not satisfied.
"Will you shut up!" he shouted as she started to screech again, determined this time that she would not win. "We cannot return to Port Royal."
"But I want to see my mother!" she demanded. "You said that the Black Pearl was disgraced, that they'd been declared pirates - surely it should be safe!"
He rubbed his hand over his face, sighing heavily. "I sent a man into the town on our way back last week. Your mother and your brother and sisters have been sent back to England. It is only your father that remains in Port Royal. And the name of Lact has been correctly linked to me thanks to your husband - it would not be safe."
"But why has Mother been sent back to England?" she puzzled.
"Because your father appears to think it is too dangerous in Port Royal for them... and considering his feud with Sparrow he might be right," Louis explained.
"So why can I not return to Port Royal?" Mary whined.
"But you are disgraced there! They know you ran off with a pirate!" He looked beseechingly at her. "Worse - that you ran off with a French pirate." He took her hands in his. "The same French pirate whose child you now carry!"
"And what of Charlotte? How am I to get her back if I don't go to Port Royal and my father?" she asked.
"Your father does not have Charlotte!" he retorted, unable to see why she was so insistent on regaining her daughter. He was sure that she carried a son - his son - what use would she have for a mere girl then. "She left Port Royal in the care of your husband and has not been seen since!" he explained patiently wishing she would shut up about Charlotte - did she honestly think that he wanted to raise the daughter of an Englishman... an English Naval Officer at that!
"Theodore took her?" she gasped in disbelief. Although she had little responsibility in the raising of her daughter, she had been raised to consider it a mother's duty. The idea that a man thought he could raise a child was ridiculous.
"He not only took her, but he resigned from the Navy in order to raise her if the gossip is true." Louis looked at her, smiling. "The only thing that might work in our favour is that your father is very unpopular at the moment and seems to have a feud with the Sparrows... if we can get to him or get him to us with nobody seeing then there might be a chance..."
"A chance?" she frowned.
"He hates them, we hate them... perhaps we can yet get our revenge..." he smiled.
"What are you going to do?" she asked.
"Well, we cannot go to Port Royal, but we could sail to a quiet bay east of town. I will send a man into town with a message and hopefully your father can ride out to us without too much notice..." Louis smiled, quietly watching as she realised what he had said.
She smiled broadly. "You mean I am leaving this city?" She hated New Orleans for she could not speak French and although Louis had employed servants that spoke English she felt very much the outsider. Louis had suggested that she learn to speak French and had offered to hire a tutor for her. He had tried to explain that it would make her life easier in New Orleans, but Mary had little aptitude for his language and even less interest in learning much to his dismay.
"For now... but only while we meet your father," he cautioned. "You cannot stay on board."
Mary nodded, relieved that at least she should get out of New Orleans for a few weeks. Hopefully she would be able to meet with her father and if nothing else he would at least know she was alive.
***
Governor Thomas Spense stared at the note that Forester handed him. It was addressed in a hand that he recognised and his heart skipped a beat. "Leave me!" he ordered, waiting until his butler had left before carefully opening it, his hands shaking as he read.
"Father, I am alive and safe. If you would wish to see me please ride eastwards from Port Royal on receiving this. If you are alone, a man will approach you and lead you to me. Mary."
He rose, placing the letter in the fire and watching it burn before striding purposefully from the room. He paced up and down, wondering if perhaps it was a trap. Theodore's words came back to haunt him - that she had left with her French pirate lover. He sighed heavily, realising that he would have to trust the note if he hoped to see his daughter again. He rang for his butler. "Forester, arrange for a horse to be saddled at the front gate in fifteen minutes. I am going out."
"Will you require an escort Governor?" Forester frowned at the unusual request, but held his tongue.
"No. I just need to clear my mind. I will be quite safe!" he declared.
"Yes Sir," Forester deferred, bowing as he left to arrange for the horse.
***
Thomas Spense quickly cantered along the track, eager to see his daughter. He reined to a halt when he saw a man standing in the middle of the track, apparently waiting for him.
"Monsieur Spense?" the man asked.
"Yes," Thomas replied. "You are from my daughter?"
"Oui, Mary and Louis are waiting for you on board the Teide... I will take you there."
The man gestured for him to follow and the Governor dismounted, walking beside his dapple grey horse as he followed the man.
"The Teide?" he asked cautiously. "Your ship?"
"Just follow," the man grunted as they left the track and walked through the trees towards the sea. After a short distance the man, obviously a pirate from his attire, turned to him. "Leave your horse here," he instructed. "We will need to climb down to the ship."
Thomas Spense tied his horse securely to one of the trees. It would not do for it to break free and have troops come looking for him. As he emerged from the trees he could see a small ship at anchor in the bay below, scull and crossbones flying proudly from its main mast. He swallowed, realising he must bury his hatred of pirates if he wanted to see his daughter again. He had never believed Theodore but now, faced with the proof, had to admit that the Captain had been right. A small ships boat was waiting on the beach and the man rowed him out quietly.
"Captain!" he called. "Spense for you!"
The cabin doors flew open and Mary ran at him, delight on her face. "Father!" she cried, rushing out to embrace him.
Thomas Spense was overwhelmed by her greeting. She had never been an overly affectionate child, but obviously being away from her family in such trying circumstances had changed her. He looked up, noticing a tall blonde man leaning in the doorway.
"Governor Spense," he smiled. "Perhaps you would join me in our cabin," he offered. "We were just about to eat." He stood aside as Mary led her father through the doors where he could see a small table set for three.
"This looks delightful..." Thomas Spense gasped in surprise, not sure what he had been expecting on board. "Not what I..."
"Not what you expected on a pirate ship Governor?" Louis laughed. "But we are French pirates monsieur, and we appreciate fine food. Come, sit!"
"How are you Mary?" he began, thinking she looked well. "I haven't seen you since before the fire... we feared you were dead! What happened?"
"My apologies Monsieur. My previous crew were a little overly enthusiastic when I told them to clean up a mess..." Louis apologised.
"A mess?" Thomas Spense frowned, before gasping in shocked realisation. "Edmund Groves?"
"What can I say," Louis shrugged. "The old fool saw us..."
"You killed him!" the Governor gasped.
"Oui. He knew me for what I was, a pirate, and I do not like my affairs being known..." Louis sighed.
"Your affair with my daughter you mean!" he growled angrily. "Why?"
Mary decided it would be safer to keep quiet, listening carefully as the men spoke. "Why? Because she was beautiful and because I wanted a way to get to Sparrow," Louis shrugged. "When I discovered that she shared my hatred it was an affair made in heaven," he smiled.
"Where..." Thomas Spense began.
"I am living in New Orleans," Mary explained.
"She has a fine house, servants, everything she could wish for," Louis explained.
"Except her family," Thomas Spense countered.
"That is a problem," he sighed. "Although now the Commodore knows who I am I can no longer return to Port Royal... and Mary is mine now." He paused. "But enough of our problems, I hear you have been having your own problems with Sparrow lately..."
"Nothing I cannot handle," Thomas Spense replied defensively.
"Really?" Louis raised his eyebrows in shock. "That is not what I heard... riots, jail escapes, your Fort nearly destroyed..."
"The town won't think so highly of them when they return to their pirate ways!" he asserted.
"Are you so sure that they will? Despite all you have done to them they have kept to the accord, not hitting a single English ship. No, you need to destroy his reputation first..." Louis reasoned.
"We'll catch Sparrow!" he vowed.
Louis laughed at the Governor. "The only thing that can catch the Black Pearl monsieur is the Black Pearl - no ship is that fast, not even your new frigates!"
"Why can't you build one?" Mary asked, sipping her tea daintily.
"What?" both men gasped, looking at her in disbelief.
"I said why can't you build one?" she repeated. "What makes the ship so fast anyway?"
"Her shape, her size and those damned oars for a start!" Louis cursed. "It would cost a fortune..."
"How much of a fortune?" Thomas Spense asked cautiously.
"In your money... twenty thousand pounds at least!" he sighed. "There is no way..."
"There is always a way," the Governor smiled. "I have some, and I know that others would be interested in the death of that pirate!" He paused, taking a bite of food. "Nanette Roseridge for a start..."
"Roseridge?" Louis frowned. "The plantation family..."
"The very same," Thomas Spense smiled. "If I can get the money, how long would it take to build?"
"If we can get somebody to build it... what, six months or so?" Louis shrugged. He looked at the Governor. "You are serious - aren't you?"
"Never more so," he smiled. "You said that we need to destroy his reputation. We will never catch him until the folk of Port Royal and other towns turn against the ship..."
"I am sure a few atrocities would see to that," Louis smiled. "And I do atrocities very well..."
***
Thomas Spense lay quietly in his bed, watching the shadows from the trees dance across his ceiling, exceedingly pleased with his day. Nanette had readily agreed to finance his plan to catch Jack Sparrow without too many questions, eager to get revenge on those she blamed for the death of her son. He had spared her the details, fearing that if she knew exactly how far he was going to hang the Sparrows that she would rediscover her morals... and he had left his far behind long ago with this feud. They would not escape the noose this time!
***
Okay - next chapter is all about Jack and the journey eastwards... so if you want to read it you know the drill... reviews ladies!
Ta!