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Chapter 9

"Come wiv me"

            Jack held Elizabeth tightly while he kissed her to prevent her half hearted objections, and finally she submitted herself. He kissed her passionately for a few minutes, feeling overwhelmed, though he wasn't sure why. He barely realized that she was not kissing him with the same enthusiasm, but didn't care. Do I love her? He asked himself. He hadn't felt strongly about a woman before- the prostitutes in Tortuga were his main experience with the fairer sex, and there was no challenge presented with them, nor any complication. He would simply go to a small, dingy room or an alleyway, quickly take her, throw some change at her feet and walk away. That was so easy, so perfect for his lifestyle. He'd never considered falling in love with a girl and staying with her. No, he thought, breaking away from her, it wouldn't work. Looking back at her, he felt his heart skip a beat. She suddenly seemed so breathtakingly beautiful, and full of an essence of life that he had never noticed before. Love was an unfamiliar emotion to him. His parents had taken little interest in him when he was a boy, and he had stowed away on his first pirate ship when he was only nine. Going from harbour to harbour, he had made many friends, but forgotten them as quickly as he met them. The adventure he shared with Will and Elizabeth had opened his eyes to the ways people could feel for each other, and he wanted to be part of it. He wanted Elizabeth.

            Emotions rushed through Elizabeth's mind, so quickly she could not feel one long enough to identify it. She loved Will; of that she was certain. But how could you love one man so much and yet still be attracted to another? She didn't understand it. She had thought that once you found someone who you truly loved with all your heart, you would never want anything else to do with anyone else of the opposite sex. That was how it worked in books. But feeling the powerful arms of the strong pirate around her, she could barely think of Will. She just knew that she wanted Jack.

*****

            As Will walked down the road back to the smithy, he tried to gather his thoughts and make sense of them. It was market day, and the wide, cobbled road was filled with rickety wooden stalls holding various goods. The shouts from stallholders surrounded him, and it soothed him by giving him a welcome sense of normality. Oblivious to the venders trying to attract his attention, he slowed his pace and began to browse his favourite stalls. He and Elizabeth used to wander down the market, always stopping at the fabric stall, fruit stall and sausage stall. The former being the nearest, Will stopped to examine the rolls of material. That week, the vender had some new lilac coloured silk.

            "Imported all the way from China," claimed the plump man behind the stall. Will knew him; he was called Charles, and his wife worked in the local bakery. The family was poor, due to the wife's job paying little and the husband's having hardly any security, but seemed content.

            "Mmm," Will acknowledged mildly, running his finger over it. It felt soft and smooth.

            "Your girl'd love that, she would," stated the stallholder, getting ready to haggle. Will's eyes snapped up in surprise, and hurt, he moved on. The stallholder scratched his head in confusion. Then it dawned on him. Will and Elizabeth were not together for the first time in weeks; they must have had a row! He chuckled to himself, looking forward to telling Emily that later. That would make up for the loss of a sale on the new silk!

            Will wandered on, this time paying attention to the goods on offer, and ignoring his thoughts. Losing himself in the pleasures of market day, he realized guiltily that he was having a good time. A voice nearby interrupted him.

            "Camellias!" The middle aged townswoman manning the flower stall was calling for trade, waving a fresh bunch of camellias in the air.

            Elizabeth's favourite flower Will remembered, and, without thinking, walked over the road to purchase a bunch. It was only when he found himself clutching four of the pink flowers tied with string, his purse a penny lighter, that he remembered. Depression clouded his mind again, and he headed back to the blacksmith's shop, swinging the flowers down by his side.

            Flinging the camellias onto a hot work surface just inside the door, Will sat down heavily on a stool, exhaling. Mr. Brown was nowhere to be seen, and Will guessed he was upstairs, sleeping off a hangover. Determined to keep busy, he took a red hot-tipped sword from the fire and selected a hammer to mould it into shape. Pounding away, he soon forgot his troubles in the sweltering heat of the workshop.

*****

            Back at the big house, Jack had thought hard, and managed to come to a decision about the future, realizing that he didn't want to let Elizabeth and their child go. He wanted them to always be with him, and he wanted to get Will out of the picture forever. He was determined that the younger man would not marry Elizabeth, she belonged to Jack now, and he intended it to stay that way.

            "Come wiv me."

            Elizabeth was startled. "Come… where?"

            "On the Black Pearl. Come and live wiv me. You and the baby. I'll see ye right, I promise. I'll look after ye"

            "I… I don't think the Black Pearl is a safe environment for a child to grow up in, Jack," she tried, playing for time.

            "Then I'll give 'er up. I'll sell 'er, and we can buy a house. In England. Or Tortuga. Or anywhere." He looked her earnestly in the eye, trying to convince her. "Anything, Elizabeth. Just come wiv me."

            "Jack…"

            "Say yes."

            "I don't know," she groaned, breaking away from his grip. She was half thrilled, half horrified that he was proposing to give up the life and ship that he loved for her. 

            She could see no way out of the situation without hurting Jack, and she didn't want to do that. She wasn't ready to give up the chance of a life with him, but needed first to arrange the thoughts in her head. Telling him politely that she would consider his offer, she put on a wrap and exited the house. She wanted to find somebody to talk to, and Jack was no longer a candidate. She walked aimlessly for a few minutes, before deciding to see Will. She wanted to see where she stood with him, and whether there was a possible future to their relationship. Pushing the heavy door to the smithy open a crack, she peeked inside. Will was hammering away at a red, malleable piece of metal. His forehead was pouring with sweat and he was deep in concentration. Pushing it open further to allow herself entrance, she walked cautiously into the room, and shut the door with a heavy thud. Distracted by the noise, Will looked round and saw Elizabeth standing inside the shop, staring at him. Neither of them knew what to say, and Will stood there, his hammer still raised, waiting for her to speak.

            "Hello Will," she said finally. "How are you?"

            He turned away from her, and began to pound on his sword again. Eventually, when he had got the tip the shape he wanted it, he thrust it back in the furnace, laid his hammer down and wiped his face with a dirty rag. His hair was soaking and untidy with perspiration. "I've been better."

            "Will, I'm so sorry, I can't-"

            "Stop it, Elizabeth," he commanded roughly, "your apologies won't change anything."

            "Then what do we do?"

            Will rubbed his face, trying to decide. "I need more time to think, Elizabeth. I don't know if I can bring up another man's baby." He pulled a bench over, and gestured her to sit, while he leaned on a work surface. "I used to think I would do anything to have you by my side. I loved you so much, from the day we met 'till where we are now. And I loved you so much I couldn't bare the thought of anybody else loving you. Not Commodore Norrington, not Jack Sparrow, not anybody."

            "Loved?" asked Elizabeth in a small voice.

            "Loved."

            She sighed heavily, her heart feeling like a dead weight in her chest. "I see. Then I suppose you need no more time to think, do you?" He made no answer. "Well, I must be going now. Somebody has asked me a question and I need to give him an answer before it is too late." She walked slowly to the door and opened it, pausing before she walked out. "I've loved every minute I've spent with you, Will. Don't think too badly of me." Taking off her engagement ring, she placed it on a table by the door, and walked away.

*****

What will Elizabeth tell Jack? I need reviews! Thanks a lot.