Usual disclaimers... oh well!
***
The next afternoon the dressmaker arrived - it did not do to keep customers such as the Waike family waiting. Catherine turned so that the dressmaker could untie her laces to measure her. Rose sat on the window seat in her bedroom, overseeing the proceedings. Although the dressmaker appeared discrete, Catherine was uncomfortable knowing that her tattoo and a number of her scars would be clearly visible. Rose refrained from commenting until the woman had left with an order for a stout coat, several dresses and undershifts as well as appropriate undergarments.
"I still say a decent shirt and pair of trousers would have been easier!" Catherine muttered.
"Decent is one thing that such clothes would not be!" Rose chided.
Catherine shrugged. "It was worth a try..."
Rose looked at her sharply before they both burst out laughing. "Will you tell me more about him?" she asked. "It is so good to hear of his life..."
Catherine sighed as Rose retied her laces. "I will tell you a tale," she smiled. "A true tale, of how he proposed to me and stole the Captain's sister from beneath the nose of the Governor and Commodore alike..."
***
George looked at the scene before him in amazement. Rose and Catherine were sitting in her bedroom, looking out the window, talking and laughing together. The subject of their laughter was obvious. He waited until Catherine left the room before quietly opening the door and walking towards his wife. "I thought I said I did not want talk of pirates in this house!" he threatened
Rose looked up, paling. "But George... we were just..." she tried to explain.
"I said no pirates!" he thundered, hitting her across the face. Although nearing sixty he was still a powerful man and she stumbled against the bed.
"George... please..." she protested.
He hit her again, and again, neither of them hearing the door open again behind them.
"Leave her alone!" a voice threatened. George turned to see Catherine standing there, disgust on her face.
"Go!" he ordered. "This does not concern you!"
"But it concerns my husband," she countered, "so therefore it concerns me." She walked closer. "Leave her alone!"
For a moment Rose could see John, standing defiantly against his father, a hand smashing against his face - but it was not John, but Catherine who received the blow. She fell to the floor and he turned back to face his wife. "I will have no more talk of John!" he ordered angrily, raising his hand to strike her.
"I said leave her alone!" Catherine ordered, reaching for the poker beside the fireplace.
He turned, laughing as she wobbled before him. "So brave my dear. I doubt you will be so brave when John hangs on the gallows before you like the common pirate he is!"
Catherine paled. "You'd hand your own son to the hangman?" she gasped.
"They are already alerted!" he sneered.
"You bastard!" she hissed, swinging the poker as if it were a sword. Her first blow caught him on his knee and he stumbled to the ground, her second catching his temple as he fell. She dropped the poker, shaking. "Rose! Rose! Are you alright?" She dashed to her side.
Rose looked at her in disbelief, seeing for the first time her husband bested. "I... I..." she stuttered.
"Do you still wish to see Jack... I mean John?" Catherine urged.
Rose nodded shakily.
"Well then pack what you need, a thick cloak and a change of underclothes. We can carry no more!"
"Carry?" Rose gasped in shock.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to be here when he wakes up?" Catherine pointed to his unconscious form. "You can stay Rose, or you can come with me... the choice is yours!"
Rose looked down at George, a bruise rising on his temple where the poker had hit him. "I want to see my son!" she said defiantly. "I want to see John!"
"Well then, help me!" Catherine urged, looking through various dressers to find something to tie and gag him. Her eyes settled on the cords that held the curtains and Rose handed her a woollen scarf. "Where does he keep his money?" she asked. "We will need money!"
"In the drawer of his office," Rose said, reaching for her cloak. A small bag was quickly packed and she handed Catherine an older cloak to use. "Come, I will show you."
Rose locked her bedroom door. George would hopefully not be discovered for some time... the servants may have heard the shouting but had hopefully assumed that it was just him hitting Rose again. By the time that they discovered their error, Catherine and Rose would have to be well away.
***
"Where are we going?" Rose asked as the two women tried to hurry without drawing attention to themselves.
"To the docks - I have to find someone. If Jack comes looking for me he will be walking into a trap. I must warn him!" Catherine explained.
"But how," Rose puzzled, panting slightly as she turned the corner.
"With Isaac!" Catherine grinned as she saw him coming out of a tavern across the street. "Stay here!"
Catherine threw the hood of her cloak back, opening it to reveal her cleavage. She sauntered across the street. "'Ello sailor," she slurred, wrapping her arms around him. "Wanna show a girl a good time?"
He nearly drew his sword before realising it was her. "Kitty!" he hissed, worriedly looking at the bruise on her face.
She linked her arm in his. "Walk a ways with me good Sir," she teased, guiding him back across the street to the quiet alley where she had left Rose.
"What..." he gasped, seeing the older lady with an equally bruised face.
"Isaac," Catherine sighed heavily. "I need to ask you one thing - are you Black Pearl or Hallam! Answer me now!"
"Hallam!" Rose inhaled sharply, looking at the young man before her and remembering Catherine's earlier comment about a man of that name serving on the ship.
"Dammit Isaac! I need to know!" Catherine demanded.
He took a deep breath. "I'm crew Kitty!" he assured her. "I'd not have risked th' sharks otherwise."
She nodded, accepting his reasoning. "Alright," she bit her lip as she looked up at him. "I'll say this once, but if you ever reveal it to anyone I will kill you Isaac..."
"Kitty!" he protested.
"I mean it Isaac! This is bigger than you realise!" she warned.
"I am crew Kitty!" he insisted. "What is it?"
"Jack's family," she sighed. Isaac's eyes widened. "I can't explain at the moment, but Jack's father and brother are laying a trap for him. This is Rose, his mother..."
"Pleased to meet you Mistress Rose," he said courteously, kissing her hand.
"Considering I've just attacked his father with a poker we need to leave London fast!" she hissed, watching as a small group of dockers wandered by.
"You what?" Isaac gasped.
Catherine handed him some money. "I need a pair of trousers, a shirt and a pistol - sword too if you can get it. I am going to make for Portsmouth with Rose and try to get a ship to home from there. I want you to wait here and catch Jack before he approaches the family house..."
Isaac looked again at Rose, considering. "Jack is a Waike!" he gasped, realising the enormity of what he had stumbled into. Catherine had not been wrong - his father would do anything to get his hands on such information.
"If you want to continue breathing, I'd keep that to yourself - savvy?" Catherine warned.
"Aye Kitty," he assured her.
"Now get me those things and meet me at the coaching stop outside of the White Horse as fast as you can!" she ordered. "Dammit - move! They could find George at any time!"
Isaac turned to leave. "I'll not let you down Kitty," he said. "Mistress Rose," he nodded, before dashing off.
"Come on, we have to get on a coach!" Catherine said quietly and the two women headed southwards towards the River Thames and the White Horse Inn.
***
Isaac quickly purchased the items that Catherine had asked for, even finding a short sword that he hoped would not be too heavy for her. He stopped at a street stall and bought some food and bottles of ale. It would be a long journey to Portsmouth, some seventy miles or so, and the women would need something to eat and drink during the coach ride.
"Kitty!" he called, spotting them through the crowds thronging around the inn. "Kitty!" She turned, spotting him and smiling. "Here!" He handed her what he had bought. "There is spare powder and some spare shot too," he whispered. "Keep safe or the Captain will kill me!"
"I'll be fine," she assured him, helping Rose into the carriage. "Just keep watch for Jack and get him out of this city fast!"
"I will! Stop worrying!" he smiled.
She climbed up into the carriage herself - they were the last of the six passengers. "I'll stop worrying when we are all back home safely... savvy?"
"Aye, savvy?" he winked, standing back as the carriage driver cracked his whip, the horses breaking into a trot. "Keep safe Kitty," he whispered to himself as he stood, watching them disappear around the corner before turning back to the docks.
***
You know the routine guys... reviews buy you more chapters!
***
The next afternoon the dressmaker arrived - it did not do to keep customers such as the Waike family waiting. Catherine turned so that the dressmaker could untie her laces to measure her. Rose sat on the window seat in her bedroom, overseeing the proceedings. Although the dressmaker appeared discrete, Catherine was uncomfortable knowing that her tattoo and a number of her scars would be clearly visible. Rose refrained from commenting until the woman had left with an order for a stout coat, several dresses and undershifts as well as appropriate undergarments.
"I still say a decent shirt and pair of trousers would have been easier!" Catherine muttered.
"Decent is one thing that such clothes would not be!" Rose chided.
Catherine shrugged. "It was worth a try..."
Rose looked at her sharply before they both burst out laughing. "Will you tell me more about him?" she asked. "It is so good to hear of his life..."
Catherine sighed as Rose retied her laces. "I will tell you a tale," she smiled. "A true tale, of how he proposed to me and stole the Captain's sister from beneath the nose of the Governor and Commodore alike..."
***
George looked at the scene before him in amazement. Rose and Catherine were sitting in her bedroom, looking out the window, talking and laughing together. The subject of their laughter was obvious. He waited until Catherine left the room before quietly opening the door and walking towards his wife. "I thought I said I did not want talk of pirates in this house!" he threatened
Rose looked up, paling. "But George... we were just..." she tried to explain.
"I said no pirates!" he thundered, hitting her across the face. Although nearing sixty he was still a powerful man and she stumbled against the bed.
"George... please..." she protested.
He hit her again, and again, neither of them hearing the door open again behind them.
"Leave her alone!" a voice threatened. George turned to see Catherine standing there, disgust on her face.
"Go!" he ordered. "This does not concern you!"
"But it concerns my husband," she countered, "so therefore it concerns me." She walked closer. "Leave her alone!"
For a moment Rose could see John, standing defiantly against his father, a hand smashing against his face - but it was not John, but Catherine who received the blow. She fell to the floor and he turned back to face his wife. "I will have no more talk of John!" he ordered angrily, raising his hand to strike her.
"I said leave her alone!" Catherine ordered, reaching for the poker beside the fireplace.
He turned, laughing as she wobbled before him. "So brave my dear. I doubt you will be so brave when John hangs on the gallows before you like the common pirate he is!"
Catherine paled. "You'd hand your own son to the hangman?" she gasped.
"They are already alerted!" he sneered.
"You bastard!" she hissed, swinging the poker as if it were a sword. Her first blow caught him on his knee and he stumbled to the ground, her second catching his temple as he fell. She dropped the poker, shaking. "Rose! Rose! Are you alright?" She dashed to her side.
Rose looked at her in disbelief, seeing for the first time her husband bested. "I... I..." she stuttered.
"Do you still wish to see Jack... I mean John?" Catherine urged.
Rose nodded shakily.
"Well then pack what you need, a thick cloak and a change of underclothes. We can carry no more!"
"Carry?" Rose gasped in shock.
"Do you honestly think I'm going to be here when he wakes up?" Catherine pointed to his unconscious form. "You can stay Rose, or you can come with me... the choice is yours!"
Rose looked down at George, a bruise rising on his temple where the poker had hit him. "I want to see my son!" she said defiantly. "I want to see John!"
"Well then, help me!" Catherine urged, looking through various dressers to find something to tie and gag him. Her eyes settled on the cords that held the curtains and Rose handed her a woollen scarf. "Where does he keep his money?" she asked. "We will need money!"
"In the drawer of his office," Rose said, reaching for her cloak. A small bag was quickly packed and she handed Catherine an older cloak to use. "Come, I will show you."
Rose locked her bedroom door. George would hopefully not be discovered for some time... the servants may have heard the shouting but had hopefully assumed that it was just him hitting Rose again. By the time that they discovered their error, Catherine and Rose would have to be well away.
***
"Where are we going?" Rose asked as the two women tried to hurry without drawing attention to themselves.
"To the docks - I have to find someone. If Jack comes looking for me he will be walking into a trap. I must warn him!" Catherine explained.
"But how," Rose puzzled, panting slightly as she turned the corner.
"With Isaac!" Catherine grinned as she saw him coming out of a tavern across the street. "Stay here!"
Catherine threw the hood of her cloak back, opening it to reveal her cleavage. She sauntered across the street. "'Ello sailor," she slurred, wrapping her arms around him. "Wanna show a girl a good time?"
He nearly drew his sword before realising it was her. "Kitty!" he hissed, worriedly looking at the bruise on her face.
She linked her arm in his. "Walk a ways with me good Sir," she teased, guiding him back across the street to the quiet alley where she had left Rose.
"What..." he gasped, seeing the older lady with an equally bruised face.
"Isaac," Catherine sighed heavily. "I need to ask you one thing - are you Black Pearl or Hallam! Answer me now!"
"Hallam!" Rose inhaled sharply, looking at the young man before her and remembering Catherine's earlier comment about a man of that name serving on the ship.
"Dammit Isaac! I need to know!" Catherine demanded.
He took a deep breath. "I'm crew Kitty!" he assured her. "I'd not have risked th' sharks otherwise."
She nodded, accepting his reasoning. "Alright," she bit her lip as she looked up at him. "I'll say this once, but if you ever reveal it to anyone I will kill you Isaac..."
"Kitty!" he protested.
"I mean it Isaac! This is bigger than you realise!" she warned.
"I am crew Kitty!" he insisted. "What is it?"
"Jack's family," she sighed. Isaac's eyes widened. "I can't explain at the moment, but Jack's father and brother are laying a trap for him. This is Rose, his mother..."
"Pleased to meet you Mistress Rose," he said courteously, kissing her hand.
"Considering I've just attacked his father with a poker we need to leave London fast!" she hissed, watching as a small group of dockers wandered by.
"You what?" Isaac gasped.
Catherine handed him some money. "I need a pair of trousers, a shirt and a pistol - sword too if you can get it. I am going to make for Portsmouth with Rose and try to get a ship to home from there. I want you to wait here and catch Jack before he approaches the family house..."
Isaac looked again at Rose, considering. "Jack is a Waike!" he gasped, realising the enormity of what he had stumbled into. Catherine had not been wrong - his father would do anything to get his hands on such information.
"If you want to continue breathing, I'd keep that to yourself - savvy?" Catherine warned.
"Aye Kitty," he assured her.
"Now get me those things and meet me at the coaching stop outside of the White Horse as fast as you can!" she ordered. "Dammit - move! They could find George at any time!"
Isaac turned to leave. "I'll not let you down Kitty," he said. "Mistress Rose," he nodded, before dashing off.
"Come on, we have to get on a coach!" Catherine said quietly and the two women headed southwards towards the River Thames and the White Horse Inn.
***
Isaac quickly purchased the items that Catherine had asked for, even finding a short sword that he hoped would not be too heavy for her. He stopped at a street stall and bought some food and bottles of ale. It would be a long journey to Portsmouth, some seventy miles or so, and the women would need something to eat and drink during the coach ride.
"Kitty!" he called, spotting them through the crowds thronging around the inn. "Kitty!" She turned, spotting him and smiling. "Here!" He handed her what he had bought. "There is spare powder and some spare shot too," he whispered. "Keep safe or the Captain will kill me!"
"I'll be fine," she assured him, helping Rose into the carriage. "Just keep watch for Jack and get him out of this city fast!"
"I will! Stop worrying!" he smiled.
She climbed up into the carriage herself - they were the last of the six passengers. "I'll stop worrying when we are all back home safely... savvy?"
"Aye, savvy?" he winked, standing back as the carriage driver cracked his whip, the horses breaking into a trot. "Keep safe Kitty," he whispered to himself as he stood, watching them disappear around the corner before turning back to the docks.
***
You know the routine guys... reviews buy you more chapters!