"Sorta, but I was smashed!" Jack laughed. "Did ya know I almost killed ya, over that rum supply?"
"´Course I did," Elizabeth said. "But I knew you were saving that shot for Barbossa-"
"Yup," Jack said, slurping his rum.
Layla, who hadn´t said anything to Elizabeth in the last couple of days, said, "Lees, j´espere I can meet ta maman.
Elizabeth smiled weakly at her. "Layla, ma maman est mort."
Layla gasped. "Zut alors," she said sadly. "Je suis desolee."
Annamaria looked over. "Dead? Of what?"
It pained Elizabeth to talk about her mother, but she didn´t want to make a scene, seeing as she had made enough scenes to last a lifetime. "I don't know," she said rather stiffly.
Annamaria and Layla didn´t appear to realize that it was a touchy subject for their friend. "Did she die when you were little?" Annamaria asked.
"Yes," Elizabeth said, eyes downcast. "Of a disease. Short illness."
"Ou est her grave?" Layla inquired, her big eyes growing ever more round and glassy.
"I don´t know," Elizabeth snapped quietly, clenching her fists.
"Did she look like you?" Annamaria wanted to know.
"I´m told she did," Elizabeth snarled. "But I would like to finish my rum, please."
It did not take the other two ladies long to figure out that Elizabeth did not care to talk about it.
Over the course of the next few days, the crew and especially Jack were careful not to mention Elizabeth´s mother, or give Lizzie any unnecessary stress. While Annamaria, Marcella, and Layla took Elizabeth onshore to get fitted for dresses, Jack and Will went on a frantic mission to find Elizabeth´s missing carpet bag of jewelry.
"Think I left it in. . . here," Jack grunted, pushing back a barrel full of rum. He and Will were down in the bilges, scrambling to find Elizabeth's jewelry before she came aboard.
"Found it!" Will cried, grabbing an ugly maroon bag and raising it over his head in triumph. "Let´s go up to the deck an´ sort through it," Jack suggested. He wanted to see what was so precious. Hey, he was a pirate.
Will looked apprehensive. "Is that such a good idea? Elizabeth will be coming back soon." Jack ignored Will and bounded up the stairs to the deck in front of his cabin. He sunk to his knees and gently shook the bag free of its contents.
His smeary eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. Glittering sapphires, diamonds, rubies, and emeralds winked up at him. Hands shaking, he reached for a silky, thin strand of silver with round diamonds and examined it. His fingers trembled and itched to pocket it and say it never existed.
"Jack! JACK!" Will cried, running up the staircase.
Jack jumped and dropped the necklace. Thankfully, the gems did not shatter. "What?" he growled.
"Anna, Marcie, Layla, and Lizzie are back," said Will. He gaped at the small mountain of jewelry. "Elizabeth sure will be pleased to know ALL her jewelry is there," said Will. He cast a knowing look on Jack's hands which were clasped together desperately between his knees.
"Hello! Anyone there?" Elizabeth called, coming up flocked by her women friends. She nearly stepped on the pile of jewels with her slipper. "Oh Jack! Thank you!" She leaped on Jack and kissed him on his rough, chapped lips. "Now we can finally carry on with our plans."