Usual disclaimers... humbug!
Final chapter for today...
***
Rose was safely concealed within the house when Isaac returned with his father and the usual entourage of guards. Catherine arranged for refreshments to be sent ashore for the men on the beach, but only Isaac and Jeremiah boarded the Black Pearl.
"Jeremiah!" Catherine smiled warmly in greeting as he climbed over the rail, instantly looking around for her.
"Mistress Sparrow, it is good to see you returned to us," he acknowledged, cordially kissing her hand.
"Please, join me in the main cabin. I've arranged for some refreshments..." Catherine opened the cabin doors, bidding him follow.
"Thank you," he nodded, following her through the open doors into the shade of the cabin. "It was rather hot on the trail..."
"Booth! Cotton! Jean Claude! Hallam!" Jack shouted as he emerged from below deck. "Senior crew meeting now!"
Jack held the chair for Catherine as she sat before sitting himself, both of them putting their feet on the table, unconsciously mimicking each other. Tobias carried in several trays of food whilst Moses struggled with a large jug of water.
"Rum Jeremiah?" Jack asked politely as he himself uncorked a bottle.
"I think that fresh water looks more inviting at the moment," Jeremiah admitted. "I would rather get on with the meeting... Isaac would tell me nothing only that it was to do with the other ship." He accepted a tankard of water from Moses, before he and Tobias left the cabin. "So, what is the news?"
"Kitty..." Jack nodded, indicating for her to start.
"Let's just say that I know where she is, who is Captaining her, how many cannons... well, ports at least..." she said quietly. "I've seen her and she was rigged the same as us, near enough, and her sails were black."
Jeremiah gaped. All of his contacts had been unable to find anything out about the mystery ship and yet here was Catherine seeming to know the answers to all that he had asked for. "Where?" he demanded. "Tell me!"
Catherine looked to Jack, waiting for his nod before continuing, her look not missed by Jeremiah. "Let's just say that my return home involved several detours thanks to the authorities," she smiled. "The ship you are looking for is in New Orleans and is under the command of Captain Louis Lact."
"Lact..." he mused. "So that is why no trace was found of him or his woman. She is your brother's wife, is she not?"
"The whore you mean?" Catherine snarled, surprising Jeremiah with her venom. "The whore who will be bearing Lact's bastard within a month or so..."
Jeremiah gasped, unable to keep the shock from his face. "She is with child?"
"Alive and parading her shame up and down the docks for all to see..." she acknowledged. "But she can't stay pregnant forever... and then she's mine!"
"What about the ship?" Jeremiah prompted, trying to steer the conversation back to the ship. He knew of the bad blood between the two women and accepted that it would probably come to blows eventually.
Catherine paused. "If you didn't know the real Black Pearl then you could be forgiven for thinking it was us - she even has our name painted on the stern, just in case anyone failed to identify her," she added sarcastically. "And Spense has paid for it!"
"How do you know it is the Governor?" Jeremiah frowned, still shocked by the news but admiring how Catherine had picked out the vital information - the rigging, the gun ports and such. "He is known for his hatred of pirates - why would he deal with Lact?"
"Because of Mary!" she replied. "Rumour has it in New Orleans that the ship was paid for with English gold. With the connection between Louis, Mary and the Governor... who else could it be?" she asked. "You know how much he hates us!"
Jeremiah nodded. "This would explain a lot. Despite being pirates you are popular with the common-folk, but not the notables. If the common-folk were to turn against you, and even your own kind, then there would be nowhere to hide, nowhere to give you shelter... he'd have you within a month!"
"I'd like to see him try," Jack muttered sourly. "Frigates or not, he's not havin' m' wife or m' ship!"
"So what is your plan? You will be taking this ship obviously..." Jeremiah began.
"Not immediately," Catherine interrupted, causing all the men to look at her in surprise, Jack included. "If we blow the ship we have no proof, no witnesses either within our own community or elsewhere. We need to go to Port Royal!"
"Port Royal?" Jack frowned. "Why?"
Jean Claude started chuckling and nodded to Catherine. "The Commodore!"
"Exactly!" Catherine sighed. "Unfortunately we have to prove to him that the Port au Prince atrocity was not committed by us - and the only way to do that is to hold him hostage onboard until Louis strikes again. He will have been on the ship - he will know it is not us! We need somebody official on our side and he is the only man who will be true to his word regardless of the consequences!"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Kidnap th' Commodore?" he laughed. "That should be interestin'!"
"And how do you propose to do that?" Jeremiah asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise at her idea.
"That would be telling," she winked. "But for now I intend to have some quiet time alone with my husband before helping arrange the party for tomorrow night... then we will decide..."
"You already know," Jack accused, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I have an idea," Catherine admitted. "But I want to sleep on it first..."
"Will I know your plan before you leave?" Jeremiah asked, trying to conceal his eagerness.
"Probably not," she smiled. "But we will return within a few days if we are lucky." Catherine frowned, biting her lip as she tried to figure his interest. "Whilst he is here though James Norrington will be under our protection," she warned. "He will be released unharmed..." She saw the flicker of anger briefly in his eyes - obviously he had been wanting to ask the Commodore a few questions himself.
"Kitty's right Jeremiah," Jack interrupted, realising that he had not taken her words well. "We need him on our side... all of Tortuga does before th' King's Navy comes down on our heads!"
"Do you really expect to get back your privateer status?" Jeremiah snorted in disbelief.
"I'll not make an accord a third time with th' Governor," Jack admitted, "unless I'm holdin' all th' cards..."
"If we could somehow prove that he had dealt with Louis, financed a pirate ship knowing it would be used for..." Catherine mused. "Damn it Jeremiah, he'd be powerless against us!"
Jeremiah raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "And how do you intend to do that?" he asked.
"With the help of James Norrington!" Catherine looked to Jack for support. "He is already surrounded by those whose loyalty has been bought by the Governor... all three of his Captains are in the man's pockets! If we play this right then we could have him on our side!"
Jack nodded sagely. "Aye," He smiled. "An' he has already helped us when we sprang Kitty from jail by lookin' th' other way..."
"There was that," Jeremiah conceded. "But that does not mean he will help you this time..."
"Perhaps the old family friendship between the Norrington's and the Groves' will count for something..." she ventured.
"That is a lot to risk on old friendships," Jeremiah cautioned, although he admired the way she was thinking.
"But we won't know until we try," Catherine grinned. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained - so to speak." She paused, looking carefully at Jeremiah. "Can I have your word on his safety?" she pressed.
Jeremiah blinked at her audacity. "And what will you do if I say no?" he warned.
Catherine shrugged, smiling innocently at him. "Anchor elsewhere," she admitted. "Well?"
Jeremiah looked at Jack sourly. "Your wife is worse than you are!" he growled, turning back to Catherine. "Alright! He will be safe here, Mistress Sparrow!"
"Thank you," she smiled warmly.
"If that is all Sparrow, I'd best be getting back to town so I can put this information to good use," Jeremiah said, rising.
"As long as nobody takes Lact but us..." Jack cautioned.
"He is yours," Jeremiah acknowledged. "No ship will stand against him, I will see to that."
Jack and Catherine both rose, courteously seeing Jeremiah from the ship. The crew filtered out of the cabin behind them. "Oran," Catherine smiled, "when you go into town could you ask the stonemason to visit Will as he has a job for him..."
"Weren't you goin' t' ask Hallam?" Jack frowned.
Catherine shrugged. "Well, since Oran is going too I'd rather keep it in the family, so to speak..."
"True," Jack admitted. What the Old Man did not know would not hurt him.
***
Okay... you know the routine - reviews make me write faster!!!
Final chapter for today...
***
Rose was safely concealed within the house when Isaac returned with his father and the usual entourage of guards. Catherine arranged for refreshments to be sent ashore for the men on the beach, but only Isaac and Jeremiah boarded the Black Pearl.
"Jeremiah!" Catherine smiled warmly in greeting as he climbed over the rail, instantly looking around for her.
"Mistress Sparrow, it is good to see you returned to us," he acknowledged, cordially kissing her hand.
"Please, join me in the main cabin. I've arranged for some refreshments..." Catherine opened the cabin doors, bidding him follow.
"Thank you," he nodded, following her through the open doors into the shade of the cabin. "It was rather hot on the trail..."
"Booth! Cotton! Jean Claude! Hallam!" Jack shouted as he emerged from below deck. "Senior crew meeting now!"
Jack held the chair for Catherine as she sat before sitting himself, both of them putting their feet on the table, unconsciously mimicking each other. Tobias carried in several trays of food whilst Moses struggled with a large jug of water.
"Rum Jeremiah?" Jack asked politely as he himself uncorked a bottle.
"I think that fresh water looks more inviting at the moment," Jeremiah admitted. "I would rather get on with the meeting... Isaac would tell me nothing only that it was to do with the other ship." He accepted a tankard of water from Moses, before he and Tobias left the cabin. "So, what is the news?"
"Kitty..." Jack nodded, indicating for her to start.
"Let's just say that I know where she is, who is Captaining her, how many cannons... well, ports at least..." she said quietly. "I've seen her and she was rigged the same as us, near enough, and her sails were black."
Jeremiah gaped. All of his contacts had been unable to find anything out about the mystery ship and yet here was Catherine seeming to know the answers to all that he had asked for. "Where?" he demanded. "Tell me!"
Catherine looked to Jack, waiting for his nod before continuing, her look not missed by Jeremiah. "Let's just say that my return home involved several detours thanks to the authorities," she smiled. "The ship you are looking for is in New Orleans and is under the command of Captain Louis Lact."
"Lact..." he mused. "So that is why no trace was found of him or his woman. She is your brother's wife, is she not?"
"The whore you mean?" Catherine snarled, surprising Jeremiah with her venom. "The whore who will be bearing Lact's bastard within a month or so..."
Jeremiah gasped, unable to keep the shock from his face. "She is with child?"
"Alive and parading her shame up and down the docks for all to see..." she acknowledged. "But she can't stay pregnant forever... and then she's mine!"
"What about the ship?" Jeremiah prompted, trying to steer the conversation back to the ship. He knew of the bad blood between the two women and accepted that it would probably come to blows eventually.
Catherine paused. "If you didn't know the real Black Pearl then you could be forgiven for thinking it was us - she even has our name painted on the stern, just in case anyone failed to identify her," she added sarcastically. "And Spense has paid for it!"
"How do you know it is the Governor?" Jeremiah frowned, still shocked by the news but admiring how Catherine had picked out the vital information - the rigging, the gun ports and such. "He is known for his hatred of pirates - why would he deal with Lact?"
"Because of Mary!" she replied. "Rumour has it in New Orleans that the ship was paid for with English gold. With the connection between Louis, Mary and the Governor... who else could it be?" she asked. "You know how much he hates us!"
Jeremiah nodded. "This would explain a lot. Despite being pirates you are popular with the common-folk, but not the notables. If the common-folk were to turn against you, and even your own kind, then there would be nowhere to hide, nowhere to give you shelter... he'd have you within a month!"
"I'd like to see him try," Jack muttered sourly. "Frigates or not, he's not havin' m' wife or m' ship!"
"So what is your plan? You will be taking this ship obviously..." Jeremiah began.
"Not immediately," Catherine interrupted, causing all the men to look at her in surprise, Jack included. "If we blow the ship we have no proof, no witnesses either within our own community or elsewhere. We need to go to Port Royal!"
"Port Royal?" Jack frowned. "Why?"
Jean Claude started chuckling and nodded to Catherine. "The Commodore!"
"Exactly!" Catherine sighed. "Unfortunately we have to prove to him that the Port au Prince atrocity was not committed by us - and the only way to do that is to hold him hostage onboard until Louis strikes again. He will have been on the ship - he will know it is not us! We need somebody official on our side and he is the only man who will be true to his word regardless of the consequences!"
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Kidnap th' Commodore?" he laughed. "That should be interestin'!"
"And how do you propose to do that?" Jeremiah asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise at her idea.
"That would be telling," she winked. "But for now I intend to have some quiet time alone with my husband before helping arrange the party for tomorrow night... then we will decide..."
"You already know," Jack accused, narrowing his eyes at her.
"I have an idea," Catherine admitted. "But I want to sleep on it first..."
"Will I know your plan before you leave?" Jeremiah asked, trying to conceal his eagerness.
"Probably not," she smiled. "But we will return within a few days if we are lucky." Catherine frowned, biting her lip as she tried to figure his interest. "Whilst he is here though James Norrington will be under our protection," she warned. "He will be released unharmed..." She saw the flicker of anger briefly in his eyes - obviously he had been wanting to ask the Commodore a few questions himself.
"Kitty's right Jeremiah," Jack interrupted, realising that he had not taken her words well. "We need him on our side... all of Tortuga does before th' King's Navy comes down on our heads!"
"Do you really expect to get back your privateer status?" Jeremiah snorted in disbelief.
"I'll not make an accord a third time with th' Governor," Jack admitted, "unless I'm holdin' all th' cards..."
"If we could somehow prove that he had dealt with Louis, financed a pirate ship knowing it would be used for..." Catherine mused. "Damn it Jeremiah, he'd be powerless against us!"
Jeremiah raised a sarcastic eyebrow. "And how do you intend to do that?" he asked.
"With the help of James Norrington!" Catherine looked to Jack for support. "He is already surrounded by those whose loyalty has been bought by the Governor... all three of his Captains are in the man's pockets! If we play this right then we could have him on our side!"
Jack nodded sagely. "Aye," He smiled. "An' he has already helped us when we sprang Kitty from jail by lookin' th' other way..."
"There was that," Jeremiah conceded. "But that does not mean he will help you this time..."
"Perhaps the old family friendship between the Norrington's and the Groves' will count for something..." she ventured.
"That is a lot to risk on old friendships," Jeremiah cautioned, although he admired the way she was thinking.
"But we won't know until we try," Catherine grinned. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained - so to speak." She paused, looking carefully at Jeremiah. "Can I have your word on his safety?" she pressed.
Jeremiah blinked at her audacity. "And what will you do if I say no?" he warned.
Catherine shrugged, smiling innocently at him. "Anchor elsewhere," she admitted. "Well?"
Jeremiah looked at Jack sourly. "Your wife is worse than you are!" he growled, turning back to Catherine. "Alright! He will be safe here, Mistress Sparrow!"
"Thank you," she smiled warmly.
"If that is all Sparrow, I'd best be getting back to town so I can put this information to good use," Jeremiah said, rising.
"As long as nobody takes Lact but us..." Jack cautioned.
"He is yours," Jeremiah acknowledged. "No ship will stand against him, I will see to that."
Jack and Catherine both rose, courteously seeing Jeremiah from the ship. The crew filtered out of the cabin behind them. "Oran," Catherine smiled, "when you go into town could you ask the stonemason to visit Will as he has a job for him..."
"Weren't you goin' t' ask Hallam?" Jack frowned.
Catherine shrugged. "Well, since Oran is going too I'd rather keep it in the family, so to speak..."
"True," Jack admitted. What the Old Man did not know would not hurt him.
***
Okay... you know the routine - reviews make me write faster!!!