Disclaimer: Mostly Disney's.
Harry & the Pirate: Norrington's Choice
VII. A High-toned and Fancy To-do
The Governor's Mansion at Port Royal, Jamaica, lay picture perfect amid its manicured grounds as the sun sank slowly toward the ocean one beautiful evening, a month after the storm. The residence had taken little damage: a few trees had lost branches, and other debris had blown onto the grounds, but these had been swiftly attended to by the large staff of gardeners, and the household had resumed its peaceful, ordered existence once more, an atmosphere of which Beck, the Governor's butler, greatly approved. Therefore, on this particular evening, when there came a rather peremptory pounding of the knocker on the front door, the Butler allowed a very slight look of annoyance to pass over his features, for he and his underlings had just been preparing to sit down to a quiet supper in the kitchen at the back of the house. He excused himself, nodding to the Cook and the Housekeeper (the other Young Persons being beneath his notice), and walked sedately down the long hallways toward the foyer.
The pounding was repeated as he neared his destination, and he assumed his most forbidding manner, for who could be making such a noise other than persons of Low Breeding? However, when he finally did open the door he found he had been mistaken in this assumption.
"Hello, Beck! Not dead yet? Where is my brother?"
"He is dining with friends, madam…" Beck began, faintly, then moved aside, perforce, as Henrietta Sparrow, nee Swann, formerly Lady Fanshawe, Dowager Duchess of Wyndham, swept past him into the house. She was closely followed by a startling number of companions, including an elegant, fair-haired lady, a most superior-looking nursemaid, a great many lively but well-groomed children, and her new husband, the notorious pirate turned privateer, Captain Jack Sparrow, who, as Beck had reason to know, was the (natural) offspring of a peer of the realm. The Captain gave the butler a look of amused sympathy as the Governor's sister began to turn the household on its ear.
"Beck, this is my old friend, Lady Margaret Holliday, and her children, Charles, Suzanna, and Julietta and their nurse, Miss Maria. And this is Lilian Lightfoot—you know her father, Giles, I think. And this is Michael Owens, who is a member of my husband's crew. We shall all be staying some few weeks. I'm going to be giving a ball!"
"A ball, madam?" said Beck, more than a little taken aback. "Here?"
"Yes, of course here! Don't worry. Alphonse and Anatole are coming in a bit: they are helping Mr. Gibbs with the luggage. The children will stay in the old nursery wing, along with Miss Maria. Suzanna! You had better keep those kittens confined to the nursery as well: my brother has dreadful sneezing fits when he is exposed to cats—so tiresome of him!"
"Yes, ma'am!" said Miss Suzanna. The pretty little girl smiled up at Beck, keeping a firm hand on the lid of the basket she was carrying.
Lady Harry went on. "Lady Margaret will take the green room, and Captain Sparrow and I will take the blue. We will need guest quarters for Anatole and Alphonse as well. Is the maid, Estrella, still here with you?"
"She is, madam…"
"Good. I still have not acquired a dresser to replace Jeanette—rather absurd, when one considers my husband's increasing reliance on his valet!" Here she threw a fondly teasing look at the Captain, who gave her a threatening grimace in return. She smirked and continued, "But it cannot be helped: experienced lady's maids are a bit thin on the ground in the Caribbean."
"But madam…we had no word from Governor Swann of your coming!"
"Well, of course not! He doesn't know!"
"Doesn't know?" Beck stared at her, and at all the other…guests.
Lady Harry smiled. "No. But what possible objection could he have, after all? I daresay he will make a bit of a fuss—for show, you understand—but depend upon it, he will be most entertained by our presence, and will miss us excessively when we are all gone again. I can only stay a month, for I am approaching my confinement."
Beck, eyeing her beautifully dressed but obviously very pregnant person, said in an admirably controlled tone, "A month?"
Lady Harry shook her head. "You keep repeating what I say! A sure sign of senility, believe me, Beck. Now do go let the other servants know what is toward while I show Lady Margaret and the others where they will be staying. Come children! The nursery is upstairs, and such delightful rooms they are, too!"
Beck watched Lady Harry ascend the stairs, the pack of children, Lady Margaret and Nurse Maria trailing in her wake. Then he jumped, startled, as Captain Sparrow clapped a comforting hand to his shoulder.
"Once more into the breach, eh, Beck?" said the Captain, favoring him with a grin of pearl and gold.
Beck nodded. "Apparently so, sir."
------------------------------
"Good God! What the devil is all this? BECK!"
As predicted, Governor Swann began to 'fuss' as soon as he opened the door of his house later that evening. The luggage, which had arrived some time before, was in the process of being delivered to the proper rooms, but there were still a number of trunks, bandboxes, and various loose items scattered about in the foyer.
And, unfortunately, Charles Holliday and Michael Owens, who had been helping with the deliveries, had chosen this rather inopportune moment to return to the foyer by way of the slick and very steep banister railing.
"Whoa-ohhhhhhhahhhhhhowwwWWW!"
Becoming aware of the Governor's presence just too late, they nevertheless tried to halt their swift decent, and ended up falling in an ungraceful heap practically at his feet. They weren't much hurt, but they goggled up at him, and he goggled right back, momentarily bereft of speech.
And then, Lady Harry was there, standing in the doorway to the drawing room, and the boys breathed a sigh of relief.
Weatherby Swann had quite a different reaction, however.
"Harry! I might have known! What on earth is going on? What are you doing here?"
"But Weatherby!" she exclaimed, coming forward, "Are you not glad to see me? Your little sister, come particularly to visit you before her first confinement! For who can predict the future, and if we should ever meet again? I might die, you know!" She rolled her eyes dramatically and held out her hands.
Swann's own eyes narrowed, but his lips quivered too. "Gammon, you minx," he said, gruffly, and took her hands, and kissed her cheek. "You would never succumb to something so ordinary. And of course I am glad to see you. At least…how long are you staying? And who are these young rascals?"
Harry addressed the rascals. "Up lads, and make your bows! Weatherby, you must remember Michael Owens, our Cabin Boy? He was at our wedding, you know. And this sprig of the nobility is Charles Holliday, eldest child of Lady Margaret Holliday! My old friend, Maggie! You used to treat us to carriage rides and high tea at that beautiful inn near the school!"
"Ah, yes. Maggie. So this is her son!" He stifled a smile as Charles bowed formally, Owens following suit a little more awkwardly. "I am pleased to meet you, young Charles, and to see you again, Owens. But please refrain from further banister-sliding!"
"Yes sir," the boys said together.
Harry said, "Be off with you now, and finish your tasks while I coerce and cajole my brother. Come into the drawing room, Weatherby! You must see what else Jack brought me from the Pearl's last raid!"
Swann followed his sister into his drawing room. "What do you mean, what else? You cannot mean the Hollidays! And where is your husband, by the way?"
"He is gone back to the Pearl for a bit with Will, and yes, I do mean the Hollidays: they were traveling on a French ship and it took such damage in the fight that it sank! It must have been vastly exciting. I am sure he will tell you all about it. But look at this! A harpsichord!"
Weatherby's brows lifted at the sight of the gorgeous and very substantial instrument that now graced his drawing room. "So it is! And a very pretty one at that!" The governor looked at his sister suspiciously. "Just how long are you planning to stay with me, sister? And why do you feel the need to 'coerce and cajole' me?"
She lowered her voice conspiratorially, glancing toward the open doors through which they'd come, and said "A month or so, and I wish to give a ball, to introduce Maggie to Port Royal society, and to bring her to the notice of James Norrington!"
"A…a ball! Here?"
Harry said, impatiently, "You are as bad as Beck! Of course here! This house is eminently suited to such an entertainment!"
"That may be true, but whether I allow you to use it for such is the question."
"But what possible objection could you have? I shall pay for everything, and augment your staff sufficiently so that no one will be unduly inconvenienced. It will be an excellent social occasion for you to host. I doubt you entertain sufficiently, and as governor here you should!"
Swann frowned, knowing she had a point there. But still… "The house will be in turmoil for weeks! I cannot bring myself to contemplate allowing such an upheaval!"
Harry smiled, knowing from his petulant tone that she had won. "Nonsense. The ball will be in two weeks, and you will have nothing to do but choose what you will wear! Elizabeth and Maggie are to help me with the invitations tomorrow. And if the activity required to prepare the house becomes too much for you, you can always retire to the library with Jack and Will and have a drink of that lovely French brandy. Jack has brought you a case of it, as a gift."
"A bribe, more like!" her brother said, but looked pleased, nonetheless.
"Yes, of course it is a bribe, but it is still excellent stuff, even so. I have had Beck put out a bottle and some glasses and they are waiting for you in the library. Jack and Will shall return presently, and will no doubt be happy to join you."
Swann shook his head, a crooked smile on his face. "You have thought of everything, I take it."
"Of course!"
"But what's this about Norrington? He's at sea, you know. Took the Dauntless out a week ago."
"I know! Elizabeth and Will told me, and that he is to return a few days before the ball! It is perfect! He will be so surprised to see Maggie—they knew each other when they were youngsters back in England, and Maggie is now a widow!"
"Playing matchmaker, Harry? I don't see Norrington offering for the mother of a half-grown lad!"
"And two adorable little girls! Wait until you meet them!"
"Three children! Good God! Are they all here? And with Owens, that makes four!"
"There are five, for we have Lilian Lightfoot staying here too—she and little Suzanna Holliday have become fast friends."
"And don't forget the kittens!"
This remark was made by Jack, as he and Will came into the drawing room. Swann turned.
"Kittens!" said the Governor. "What are you talking about?"
Harry frowned at Jack. "I wasn't going to tell him about those! They are to stay in the nursery, after all!"
Jack shook his head. "Best give it to him all at once. It's his house. How are you, Governor? Harry driven you against the ropes yet?"
"She is certainly trying. Five children! And kittens! Harry, you know I am highly sensitive to cats!"
"Yes, I know!" said Harry with exaggerated patience. "That is why the kittens will be confined to the nursery for the duration of our stay."
"Unless they escape," put in Will, unhelpfully.
"Which kittens are wont to do," added Jack.
"Precisely!" agreed Swann.
"They will not escape!" Harry glared at the three men. "The children will take care of the kittens, and will be on their best behavior, all the preparations for the ball will go smoothly, everything will go according to plan, and you three will take yourselves off to the library! Now! " She made a visible effort to compose herself, and added, "I will play my piece on my harpsichord. It will calm my shattered nerves."
"Oh, Lord!" said Jack, and elbowed his brother-in-law gently, "We'd best go. She's quite out o' practice on that thing. Talk about shattered nerves!"
Watching Harry look about for something to throw at Jack, Weatherby gave a slight snort of laughter, and said, "Very well. I'll concede the first round. But if the kittens cross my path during your stay, I'll drown 'em, and so you may tell those children! Come lads. I want to sample some of that brandy you brought me!"
Harry, somewhat mollified, watched her brother leave the room, followed by Will, and then by Jack, who turned to blow her a kiss before pointedly shutting the doors.
--------------------------------
The preparations for the ball did indeed throw the house into turmoil, but it was a well-controlled sort, thanks to the organizational abilities of the former Dowager Duchess who, if she had done little else to please the Duke, had learned to be the perfect hostess when he was still above ground and able to participate in the social whirl of the haute ton. After he had 'cocked up his heels' and her year of mourning had expired, she had resumed entertaining with unabated enthusiasm, regularly giving all manner of small parties, and helping the new Duchess with larger affairs as well. Harry was therefore well versed in the tasks associated with holding such events, and once her brother had reconciled himself to the presence of the many unexpected guests ("Children! And cats, for God's sake, Harry!") and to enduring the upheaval necessitated by his sister's plans, he shrugged philosophically and simply retired to the library, as she had suggested, whenever it all became too much to bear with equanimity.
He was seated there a week later, with Will, Giles Lightfoot, and Jack, eyeing the latter with some amusement.
"My advice is: don't worry about her! She's in her element, Sparrow—loves this sort of thing, just as our Mother did. She's very like her you know. Mother looked a delicate little flower, but she was tough as nails, give you my word."
"Tough as nails?" Jack said, cynically, "She left Harry motherless before she'd left the nursery, didn't she?"
"Didn't Harry tell you how she died?" asked Swann, surprised. "Our father gave mother a light gig for her birthday and she was racing it and the thing overturned. Could've happened to anyone!"
"Racing it!"
"Aye ! Against father himself, no less. Broke his heart. Didn't hang on above two years after she passed. Blamed himself, rather, but just being without her did him in, I think. They'd known and loved each other from childhood! Quite a romance. And, as I said, Harry's just like her: a pretty creature, but hardy, and devilish headstrong."
"Runs in the family," said Will, sounding morose but with a telltale glint in his eye.
Jack groaned and shook his head in half-serious dismay.
"Aye, lad," said Giles, with exaggerated sympathy in his voice, " You're thinking fondly of your carefree bachelor days, when all you had to think about was fightin' the undead to get your ship back!"
"And escaping Norrington's clutches," put in Will, grinning.
"Ah, yes. Norrington." Jack smiled grimly at his three companions. "It'll be worth all this, I think, if Harry's plans for the lad come to pass."
Swann chuckled. "I don't know. Can't see it myself, but then…well, it's Harry, you know. And Lady Margaret does have many virtues that might compensate for the three children."
"That she does," agreed Jack. "She's getting near as pretty as Harry, now that she's on dry land again. Anatole's been tryin' to fatten her up a bit, to the benefit of all of us as you've likely noticed."
"Your cook is amazing!" the Governor exclaimed. "And the menu he has devised for the ball! That alone makes all this bother worthwhile. I've a mind to make him an offer to stay here!"
"God's teeth, don't be doin' that: I already pay 'im a bloody fortune. The counteroffer would break me!"
Swann chuckled. "Well, in the interest of family harmony, I'll refrain. My own cook has been with the family since Elizabeth was a baby. I just hope she absorbs some of Anatole's genius while he is here."
Just then, the library door opened and Elizabeth came in.
Giles said, appreciatively, "Ah! The beautiful Mrs. Turner! Come to join us in a brandy, my dear?"
Elizabeth smiled at the compliment, and went to her husband. "Just a sip of Will's!" she said, and took the glass that he offered with a smile and a lingering touch of his fingers on hers. She took a sip of the amber liquid, and sighed with satisfaction. "Oh, that is good! So sad that it is illegal now and must be smuggled in."
"Nonsense!" said her father. "Spoils of war! Eh, Sparrow?"
"Aye. Although I hadn't my Letter of Marque yet when I took this stuff. It was before your wedding, Niece!"
"So it was, Uncle Jack!" teased Elizabeth. "I still can't believe we are related! My Uncle, the Pirate. Do you know, we have already had over a hundred people accept our invitation to the ball? And I've no doubt it's just as Aunt says: they all want to come and meet you!"
Jack grimaced slightly. "I'll have to put on quite the performance then, won't I?"
Will chuckled. "That shouldn't be difficult for you. After all, you're…"
"Captain Jack Sparrow!" they all chorused, laughing.
Jack grinned, and sipped his brandy.
----------------------------
Ultimately, there were nearly two hundred guests, from Port Royal and from all over the rest of Jamaica, making the event "a shocking squeeze!" – a great accolade, Harry assured her husband. And Jack did put on a most excellent performance the evening of the ball. Alphonse had groomed him with excruciating thoroughness, and the picture he made, standing with his beautiful wife as they greeted the guests, would not soon be forgotten by any of the attendees. After everyone had arrived, the two of them began the ball with a Minuet (which Alphonse had painstaking taught Jack at Harry's insistence), and then Jack was free for the evening, for his wife said it would be unseemly for her to dance more than these few stately measures, as pregnant as she was. Rejoicing in this reprieve, Jack proceeded to flirt outrageously with nearly every female that crossed his path before finally repairing to the card room to make inroads on the French brandy, and fleece his eager opponents (but with such skill that they were nearly knocking their heads together in a low-voiced debate over the likelihood of him cheating in the Governor's own house).
Harry, in the meantime, was truly "in her element", playing hostess with great and seemingly tireless aplomb. She took care of everything: finding partners for neglected young ladies; very subtly taking the wind out of any matron foolish enough to display disapproval or condescension toward herself or her family; indulging in lively and sharp-witted conversation with various plantation owners, politicos, and naval officers; and even remembering to send plates of delicacies from Anatole's spectacular midnight buffet supper up to the children, for, except for Julietta, they were so excited they could not sleep at all, and spent a great deal of time sneaking out to peek through the stair railings at all the guests in their finery, and to listen to the music that wafted from the ballroom.
In fact there was only one aspect of the proceedings that marred Harry's complete enjoyment of the evening: the failure of Maggie and Norrington to cooperate with her Plan. Every element was in place: Maggie was in good health and spirits, and was stunningly beautiful in a gown of pale green silk with emeralds at her throat, her pale hair done up very prettily by Estrella; and Norrington, returned from his voyage just two days prior to the ball, was looking his best in his most formal uniform, the very picture of what a Commodore should be. Maggie's presence would be a complete surprise to him, and, though Maggie knew the Commodore was coming, Harry felt sure her friend would be quite amazed at what a fine man the rather awkward, gangly youth had become over the many years since they'd last met.
To be sure, Maggie had not seemed very anxious to meet Norrington again. Harry had discounted this apparent reluctance, for she had no doubt that when the two finally met, sparks would fly. And they did. But they were the wrong kind.
"Commodore!" said Harry, firmly suppressing the urge to jump up and down like a schoolgirl, "It is so good to see you! I trust your voyage went as expected? May I reintroduce you to a mutual friend: Lady Margaret Holliday."
"How do you…do." The pleasant smile on Norrington's face faded, and Harry was startled to see that he was growing a little pale as he finally recognized Maggie. He reverted to his usual bland expression, although there was a faintly grim look about his mouth
As for Maggie, to Harry's surprise her friend's smile had also disappeared, and she straightened her shoulders a little, tilted her chin very slightly, and blushed hotly as she held out her hand. "Very well, I'm sure, James. I am happy to see you again."
Norrington took her hand, and held it just the fraction of a moment too long as he replied, "And I you, Margaret."
But they were not happy. Norrington let the hand drop, bowed to Harry and Jack and the Governor, and moved off into the crowd to make way for the next guests.
The tension of Speculation was palpable amid the three, but they carried on without missing a beat until the last of the guests had been greeted. Then Maggie's hand was claimed, and Jack drew Harry onto the dance floor to open the proceedings.
Governor Swann observed that Lady Margaret had a great many distinguished dancing partners during the evening, but none of those partners was James Norrington. She did not lack company at supper either, but Norrington was not among the chosen, for he had already taken his leave.