Disclaimer: Don't own it. Don't own anything, really.
SHOUT-OUTS:
Whiffet: Thanks ever so much for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hope you like this chappie.
Disco Lil: I always did think Norrington got the short end of the stick. He deserves to be happy and I intend to make that happen for him. Not without a little bit of misery along the way, though. *cackles maniacally*
Mercury Gray: Wow! You followed me here from the LoTR section! Thank you for reviewing! Yes, Norrington does seem a bit bland, but I plan on giving him a sense of humor. Much as I would like to take credit for the name of Norrington's pursuer, I must admit that I wasn't thinking of Queen Mary when I decided on her name. I'm a bit ashamed of that now. How could I have missed it? And when Elizabeth is writing at the end, it's to a friend of hers. She'll probably pop up in this chapter, although not in person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day
"First of all, James, you'll need to get some new furnishings in here," Elizabeth said as she glanced around the rather sparse parlor. James stood by the doorway, looking rather sheepish.
"I don't have a need for very many things, Elizabeth," he reminded her. Elizabeth smiled at him.
"I know you don't, James. Really, your house is furnished like ours was when I first moved in after Will and I were married. It took me nearly a month to make it look the way it should," she informed him, shooting a mock glare at her husband. He responded by scowling right back at her.
"A month! But I only have a week, Elizabeth!"
His two friends were surprised by the rather emotional outburst and Elizabeth immediately sought to calm him.
"And a week will be all I need, James. But you must let me have complete freedom. I need to know how much you can spend."
"You need to know my finances?" questioned James. This thought had never occurred to him before and he was rather uncomfortable with it.
"Yes, I do. How else can I get things for your home?"
James saw the sense in this statement and led Elizabeth and Will into the room he used for his library. He pulled a particularly thick book off a shelf and handed it to them. Elizabeth sat in a chair and began leafing through the contents, while Will looked through some of the other books. Uncomfortable, James crossed the room to one of the windows and looked out on the seemingly endless expanse of ocean. James' house was not large, but it was nice and, to his secret delight, most of the windows faced his beloved sea. He couldn't begin to count the number of times he had stood for hours on end at his bedroom window, watching the waves roll in, hearing them hit the shore. His love for the sea had led him to join the Navy in the first place. Forgetting himself, he opened the window and closed his eyes, letting the salty air rush in around him. It was only when Elizabeth made a small noise that he remembered he had guests. He turned around and saw that she looked rather surprised.
"James," she began, "are you sure this is entirely correct? I mean, do you keep your own books or does your housekeeper do it for you?"
"I keep my own books, Elizabeth. I always have. I don't have a housekeeper and, even if I did, I certainly wouldn't let anyone else touch my finances."
"There is quite a bit of money here, James," Elizabeth continued as she kept turning the pages. She was too polite to ask where it all came from, but James knew her curious nature and didn't see the harm in letting her know.
"I have very little use for money. Some of what you see in there is what is left of the money I inherited when my father died. Most of it, though, is the money I've earned in the Navy. I'm somewhat frugal and I tend to save rather than spend."
"An admirable trait," Will said with a rather pointed look at his wife. Elizabeth ignored him.
"This is very helpful, James. Truly it is. Now, if you tell me what you think you'll need, I will see what I can find."
"But I haven't the slightest idea what I'll need, Elizabeth. You decide."
Will did not miss the glint in his wife's eyes as she realized she was being given complete and total free reign. He quickly stepped in.
"You must have some idea of what you don't want, though. Is there anything that you don't want, James?"
James saw the hidden meaning in Will's eyes and silently telegraphed a thank you to his friend.
"Absolutely no pink," he began. Elizabeth nodded.
"That is fine. I despise pink," she said.
"And I don't want to come home to lace curtains in my library, either. In fact, don't do anything to my library. At all."
Elizabeth looked somewhat disappointed at this, but agreed to it nonetheless.
"I don't want ridiculous looking knick-knacks and furniture, either, Elizabeth. You must remember that this is still my home. I shall have to live in it long after my sisters and niece return to London."
"Why ask for my help at all?" Elizabeth asked jokingly. Will grinned.
"Because the Commodore is a busy man, my love. He can't spare the time to furnish this home in the space of a week. Whereas you, my dear wife, seem to have quite a lot of spare time on your hands these days."
She stuck her tongue out at him and James suppressed a laugh. He was glad he had friends to see him through this.
**************************Later that afternoon
Elizabeth sighed as she and Will walked home. It shouldn't be difficult at all to help James furnish his home and hire the proper help. She was confident that she could do it before his family arrived. What she had seen in his home, however, only proved something she had long suspected. James was lonely.
Will noticed the sigh and drew his wife closer to him. He, too, had seen that the commodore was very much alone. It made him even more grateful that he had Elizabeth in his life.
"Something must be done," Elizabeth said suddenly. Will looked at her curiously.
"About what, love?" he asked.
"About James. He's so lonely, Will. But I think I have something that will help."
"Oh?"
Will's voice was cautious. Even before they were adults, he had learned that Elizabeth's 'plans' did not always bring about the desired result.
"Yes. Do you remember that letter I had you send off for me this morning?"
"Yes. What about it?"
"That was a letter to my friend, Evelyn. I know you've heard me talk about her."
"Is this the friend that you left behind in England?"
"My best friend. Yes, it is. She lives in America now, you know. Do you remember me telling you about her husband?"
"Vaguely. Didn't he die a couple of years ago?"
Elizabeth nodded her head.
"Yes, and it's a wonder she didn't too. She was expecting her third child at the time, you know."
"Third child? How old was she when she got married?"
"Sixteen. And her parents were violently opposed to it, too. No well-bred British girl should marry a lowly Irish farmer, they said. But that's what she did. And they disowned her for it, too. But at least she had three happy years."
"How did they manage to have three children in three years?" Will asked. Elizabeth smiled.
"It is possible, darling. But their first two are twins. Don't you remember me telling you about that?"
"Oh, yes. What were their names again?"
"Aislinn is the only girl. She's five minutes older than her brother Quinlan. And Torin is the youngest. He's named after his father."
"Strange names," Will commented.
"Yes, but beautiful. Evelyn never was one for doing things other people considered 'normal'. I suppose the same thing goes when it comes to naming her children."
Will shook his head, realizing that Elizabeth had successfully managed to keep him from asking the one question he had wanted to ask since she first brought Evelyn up. Determined not to be sidetracked again, he jumped in with both feet.
"Did you write to her and ask her to come for a visit just so you could play matchmaker with her and Norrington?"
Elizabeth smiled at Will disarmingly and was dismayed to find that it did not have the desired effect.
"Did you Elizabeth?"
"Yes, I did. James is far too lonely for his own good. It is my opinion that, if left to his own devices, he might never marry."
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Will asked, unable to see the hole he had just fallen into. When he met Elizabeth's gaze, though, he quickly tried to get himself out of it.
"I didn't mean it that way. Honestly, I didn't. What I meant was that plenty of men remain bachelors their entire life and seem very happy. Not as happy as I am, of course," he hastily added. Elizabeth hid a smile. She loved it when Will tried to get himself out of trouble.
"That's the problem, though, Will. James isn't happy. You saw that as clearly as I did. Eventually, he might do something he'll regret later on."
"Such as?"
"His unhappiness could drive him to propose to a woman who doesn't really love him. Then he would have a lifetime of misery."
"And what if Evelyn is not the right person for him, either?"
"Then she isn't. Either way, I'll at least get to see my best friend again. Besides, she's a midwife."
Will's expression changed dramatically.
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? I'll get to work making room for her and her children first thing tomorrow morning."
Another smile was hidden as Elizabeth congratulated herself on hitting Will's current weak spot. Her pregnancy. In all honesty, Evelyn wasn't actually a midwife. But she had written that she assisted one and, besides, she had three children of her own. For Elizabeth, that seemed like more than enough experience. She kissed Will as he opened the front door of their home.
"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away.
"That was a thank you, William Turner, for being such an understanding husband," she replied, her eyes shining. Will merely grinned and led his wife inside.
***********************************Four Days Later
"Well, James? What do you think?"
James walked around his house, astonished at the transformation Elizabeth had engineered in so short a time. True to her word, she had not touched his library. But the rest of the home now contained a warmth that James hadn't truly realized it was missing. And, to his delight, there were no lace curtains or frilly knick knacks. He smiled at his friend.
"It's wonderful, Elizabeth. I don't know how I can ever repay you for all the work you've done."
"Nonsense. It isn't as if I did it all myself. Will helped quite a bit and you were very patient when I bothered you with all those questions. Now, since the house itself seems to be in order, I brought you this."
She handed James a stack of papers. He eyed them with a little distaste and quite a bit of confusion.
"What are these?"
"Those, my friend, are the reports I did on all the maids and cooks I interviewed. Not to mention the butlers."
"I don't think I need a manservant, Elizabeth. Just two or three ladies' maids and a cook should do."
"No, they will not. Not if you want to impress your sisters. And I know you do. You'll need a manservant, two or three ladies' maids, at least two housemaids, and a cook. Now, you just look through those papers, let me know what you decide, and I'll do the hiring. But I must get home now. I've been gone far too long as it is and Will worries too much about me these days."
James walked Elizabeth to the door and helped her into her wrap. Just before she left, he put a hand on her arm. Elizabeth turned and looked at him.
"I just wanted to say thank you again, Elizabeth. And congratulations."
"Congratulations?"
"Yes. But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
Elizabeth blushed a delicate shade of pink as she realized that James had figured out the little secret she and Will had.
"Thank you, James. And thank you for not speaking of it to anyone. We wanted my father to be the first to know and we're having dinner with him tonight for that very purpose. So you needn't keep it secret much longer."
James smiled in reply and then Elizabeth was gone. He shut the door and headed for his library. Collapsing into his favorite chair, he began to skim over the papers Elizabeth had given him. But he quickly tired of this activity and soon tossed the papers onto a nearby table. Folding his arms over his chest, he let himself be absorbed in the silence.
As he drifted into his own daydreams, however, the silence did not last. He remained in his library, but he was not alone. There was a young boy, playing on the floor with a small puppy. A little girl sat in his lap as he read aloud to her, listening to his words and playing with his hand at the same time. At one point, James glanced up from the book and saw a woman framed in the doorway. He smiled at her and she smiled back, pure, unadulterated love showing in her eyes.
James caught his breath suddenly and he was alone again. The only sound was that of the waves hitting the shore outside. It had all been so real, though, that he caught himself looking about as he stood up and crossed to the window. He opened the shutters and once again let the sea air rush in around him.
The pounding of the surf seemed to mirror his own heartbeat. The sea. The sea had been his first love. James smiled as he remembered the first time he had ever seen the ocean. It was over for him from that point on. The sea had called his name from the very beginning. Yes, it was his first love. James just wished that he could be sure it would not be his only love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Oh, I know. That was rather depressing. But, next chapter, the sisters arrive! Yay!
SHOUT-OUTS:
Whiffet: Thanks ever so much for the review. I'm glad you're enjoying it. Hope you like this chappie.
Disco Lil: I always did think Norrington got the short end of the stick. He deserves to be happy and I intend to make that happen for him. Not without a little bit of misery along the way, though. *cackles maniacally*
Mercury Gray: Wow! You followed me here from the LoTR section! Thank you for reviewing! Yes, Norrington does seem a bit bland, but I plan on giving him a sense of humor. Much as I would like to take credit for the name of Norrington's pursuer, I must admit that I wasn't thinking of Queen Mary when I decided on her name. I'm a bit ashamed of that now. How could I have missed it? And when Elizabeth is writing at the end, it's to a friend of hers. She'll probably pop up in this chapter, although not in person.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The Next Day
"First of all, James, you'll need to get some new furnishings in here," Elizabeth said as she glanced around the rather sparse parlor. James stood by the doorway, looking rather sheepish.
"I don't have a need for very many things, Elizabeth," he reminded her. Elizabeth smiled at him.
"I know you don't, James. Really, your house is furnished like ours was when I first moved in after Will and I were married. It took me nearly a month to make it look the way it should," she informed him, shooting a mock glare at her husband. He responded by scowling right back at her.
"A month! But I only have a week, Elizabeth!"
His two friends were surprised by the rather emotional outburst and Elizabeth immediately sought to calm him.
"And a week will be all I need, James. But you must let me have complete freedom. I need to know how much you can spend."
"You need to know my finances?" questioned James. This thought had never occurred to him before and he was rather uncomfortable with it.
"Yes, I do. How else can I get things for your home?"
James saw the sense in this statement and led Elizabeth and Will into the room he used for his library. He pulled a particularly thick book off a shelf and handed it to them. Elizabeth sat in a chair and began leafing through the contents, while Will looked through some of the other books. Uncomfortable, James crossed the room to one of the windows and looked out on the seemingly endless expanse of ocean. James' house was not large, but it was nice and, to his secret delight, most of the windows faced his beloved sea. He couldn't begin to count the number of times he had stood for hours on end at his bedroom window, watching the waves roll in, hearing them hit the shore. His love for the sea had led him to join the Navy in the first place. Forgetting himself, he opened the window and closed his eyes, letting the salty air rush in around him. It was only when Elizabeth made a small noise that he remembered he had guests. He turned around and saw that she looked rather surprised.
"James," she began, "are you sure this is entirely correct? I mean, do you keep your own books or does your housekeeper do it for you?"
"I keep my own books, Elizabeth. I always have. I don't have a housekeeper and, even if I did, I certainly wouldn't let anyone else touch my finances."
"There is quite a bit of money here, James," Elizabeth continued as she kept turning the pages. She was too polite to ask where it all came from, but James knew her curious nature and didn't see the harm in letting her know.
"I have very little use for money. Some of what you see in there is what is left of the money I inherited when my father died. Most of it, though, is the money I've earned in the Navy. I'm somewhat frugal and I tend to save rather than spend."
"An admirable trait," Will said with a rather pointed look at his wife. Elizabeth ignored him.
"This is very helpful, James. Truly it is. Now, if you tell me what you think you'll need, I will see what I can find."
"But I haven't the slightest idea what I'll need, Elizabeth. You decide."
Will did not miss the glint in his wife's eyes as she realized she was being given complete and total free reign. He quickly stepped in.
"You must have some idea of what you don't want, though. Is there anything that you don't want, James?"
James saw the hidden meaning in Will's eyes and silently telegraphed a thank you to his friend.
"Absolutely no pink," he began. Elizabeth nodded.
"That is fine. I despise pink," she said.
"And I don't want to come home to lace curtains in my library, either. In fact, don't do anything to my library. At all."
Elizabeth looked somewhat disappointed at this, but agreed to it nonetheless.
"I don't want ridiculous looking knick-knacks and furniture, either, Elizabeth. You must remember that this is still my home. I shall have to live in it long after my sisters and niece return to London."
"Why ask for my help at all?" Elizabeth asked jokingly. Will grinned.
"Because the Commodore is a busy man, my love. He can't spare the time to furnish this home in the space of a week. Whereas you, my dear wife, seem to have quite a lot of spare time on your hands these days."
She stuck her tongue out at him and James suppressed a laugh. He was glad he had friends to see him through this.
**************************Later that afternoon
Elizabeth sighed as she and Will walked home. It shouldn't be difficult at all to help James furnish his home and hire the proper help. She was confident that she could do it before his family arrived. What she had seen in his home, however, only proved something she had long suspected. James was lonely.
Will noticed the sigh and drew his wife closer to him. He, too, had seen that the commodore was very much alone. It made him even more grateful that he had Elizabeth in his life.
"Something must be done," Elizabeth said suddenly. Will looked at her curiously.
"About what, love?" he asked.
"About James. He's so lonely, Will. But I think I have something that will help."
"Oh?"
Will's voice was cautious. Even before they were adults, he had learned that Elizabeth's 'plans' did not always bring about the desired result.
"Yes. Do you remember that letter I had you send off for me this morning?"
"Yes. What about it?"
"That was a letter to my friend, Evelyn. I know you've heard me talk about her."
"Is this the friend that you left behind in England?"
"My best friend. Yes, it is. She lives in America now, you know. Do you remember me telling you about her husband?"
"Vaguely. Didn't he die a couple of years ago?"
Elizabeth nodded her head.
"Yes, and it's a wonder she didn't too. She was expecting her third child at the time, you know."
"Third child? How old was she when she got married?"
"Sixteen. And her parents were violently opposed to it, too. No well-bred British girl should marry a lowly Irish farmer, they said. But that's what she did. And they disowned her for it, too. But at least she had three happy years."
"How did they manage to have three children in three years?" Will asked. Elizabeth smiled.
"It is possible, darling. But their first two are twins. Don't you remember me telling you about that?"
"Oh, yes. What were their names again?"
"Aislinn is the only girl. She's five minutes older than her brother Quinlan. And Torin is the youngest. He's named after his father."
"Strange names," Will commented.
"Yes, but beautiful. Evelyn never was one for doing things other people considered 'normal'. I suppose the same thing goes when it comes to naming her children."
Will shook his head, realizing that Elizabeth had successfully managed to keep him from asking the one question he had wanted to ask since she first brought Evelyn up. Determined not to be sidetracked again, he jumped in with both feet.
"Did you write to her and ask her to come for a visit just so you could play matchmaker with her and Norrington?"
Elizabeth smiled at Will disarmingly and was dismayed to find that it did not have the desired effect.
"Did you Elizabeth?"
"Yes, I did. James is far too lonely for his own good. It is my opinion that, if left to his own devices, he might never marry."
"Well, what's wrong with that?" Will asked, unable to see the hole he had just fallen into. When he met Elizabeth's gaze, though, he quickly tried to get himself out of it.
"I didn't mean it that way. Honestly, I didn't. What I meant was that plenty of men remain bachelors their entire life and seem very happy. Not as happy as I am, of course," he hastily added. Elizabeth hid a smile. She loved it when Will tried to get himself out of trouble.
"That's the problem, though, Will. James isn't happy. You saw that as clearly as I did. Eventually, he might do something he'll regret later on."
"Such as?"
"His unhappiness could drive him to propose to a woman who doesn't really love him. Then he would have a lifetime of misery."
"And what if Evelyn is not the right person for him, either?"
"Then she isn't. Either way, I'll at least get to see my best friend again. Besides, she's a midwife."
Will's expression changed dramatically.
"Well, why didn't you say so in the first place? I'll get to work making room for her and her children first thing tomorrow morning."
Another smile was hidden as Elizabeth congratulated herself on hitting Will's current weak spot. Her pregnancy. In all honesty, Evelyn wasn't actually a midwife. But she had written that she assisted one and, besides, she had three children of her own. For Elizabeth, that seemed like more than enough experience. She kissed Will as he opened the front door of their home.
"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away.
"That was a thank you, William Turner, for being such an understanding husband," she replied, her eyes shining. Will merely grinned and led his wife inside.
***********************************Four Days Later
"Well, James? What do you think?"
James walked around his house, astonished at the transformation Elizabeth had engineered in so short a time. True to her word, she had not touched his library. But the rest of the home now contained a warmth that James hadn't truly realized it was missing. And, to his delight, there were no lace curtains or frilly knick knacks. He smiled at his friend.
"It's wonderful, Elizabeth. I don't know how I can ever repay you for all the work you've done."
"Nonsense. It isn't as if I did it all myself. Will helped quite a bit and you were very patient when I bothered you with all those questions. Now, since the house itself seems to be in order, I brought you this."
She handed James a stack of papers. He eyed them with a little distaste and quite a bit of confusion.
"What are these?"
"Those, my friend, are the reports I did on all the maids and cooks I interviewed. Not to mention the butlers."
"I don't think I need a manservant, Elizabeth. Just two or three ladies' maids and a cook should do."
"No, they will not. Not if you want to impress your sisters. And I know you do. You'll need a manservant, two or three ladies' maids, at least two housemaids, and a cook. Now, you just look through those papers, let me know what you decide, and I'll do the hiring. But I must get home now. I've been gone far too long as it is and Will worries too much about me these days."
James walked Elizabeth to the door and helped her into her wrap. Just before she left, he put a hand on her arm. Elizabeth turned and looked at him.
"I just wanted to say thank you again, Elizabeth. And congratulations."
"Congratulations?"
"Yes. But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."
Elizabeth blushed a delicate shade of pink as she realized that James had figured out the little secret she and Will had.
"Thank you, James. And thank you for not speaking of it to anyone. We wanted my father to be the first to know and we're having dinner with him tonight for that very purpose. So you needn't keep it secret much longer."
James smiled in reply and then Elizabeth was gone. He shut the door and headed for his library. Collapsing into his favorite chair, he began to skim over the papers Elizabeth had given him. But he quickly tired of this activity and soon tossed the papers onto a nearby table. Folding his arms over his chest, he let himself be absorbed in the silence.
As he drifted into his own daydreams, however, the silence did not last. He remained in his library, but he was not alone. There was a young boy, playing on the floor with a small puppy. A little girl sat in his lap as he read aloud to her, listening to his words and playing with his hand at the same time. At one point, James glanced up from the book and saw a woman framed in the doorway. He smiled at her and she smiled back, pure, unadulterated love showing in her eyes.
James caught his breath suddenly and he was alone again. The only sound was that of the waves hitting the shore outside. It had all been so real, though, that he caught himself looking about as he stood up and crossed to the window. He opened the shutters and once again let the sea air rush in around him.
The pounding of the surf seemed to mirror his own heartbeat. The sea. The sea had been his first love. James smiled as he remembered the first time he had ever seen the ocean. It was over for him from that point on. The sea had called his name from the very beginning. Yes, it was his first love. James just wished that he could be sure it would not be his only love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Oh, I know. That was rather depressing. But, next chapter, the sisters arrive! Yay!