The Commodore's Daughter
Chapter Six
The gruel that Gibbs brought for Anna was plain fare, but filling and warm. Anna ate it gladly, and felt perfectly healed as she put the last spoonful in her mouth – in fact, she felt well enough to try to stand. Setting the bowl on the floor, Anna carefully swung her legs over the side of the hammock she was in. She paused to take deep breaths, relaxing herself, and then put her feet onto the floor, gritted her teeth, and stood.
She actually managed to stay upright for a full minute before a blinding return of the headache drove her back to the hammock. When it did, Anna stumbled back to the hammock, threw herself on it, and lay quiet, holding the sheet tight around her and trying to stop her legs from shaking.
It took her a full week before she was able to stand and stay standing, and another half-week before she trusted herself to walk around. Once she did, Anna made her first visit next door, where the Turners and Thomas were. They had not yet been allowed out of the hold, despite the fact that Jack knew them. They had come in to see her, but this was the first time she was able to go to them.
Elizabeth had calmed down somewhat about being a prisoner. Thomas had regaled Anna with the story of Elizabeth's greeting of Jack, and Anna was glad to see her sitting calmly with Kate next to her. Elizabeth looked up and smiled as Anna walked in. "Glad to see you on your feet again," Will said, and Anna grinned at him.
"Are you all right?" she asked Will quietly – she knew better than to ask Elizabeth and possibly set her off again. "Thomas keeps telling me that you are, but – really?"
"Aside from the obvious handicap of being prisoners, we actually are fine," Will assured Anna. "I wish we knew where Jack plans to go, though."
Anna sat down. She hadn't thought of that – hadn't thought of anything, in fact, except headaches and walking for the past two weeks. "Probably back to Jamaica," she mused, thinking aloud. "He wouldn't go anywhere away from the island – he's known there, and that's mostly where he plies his trade – right?"
Will nodded. "That's true," he agreed. "We were a week away from Port Royal when the Pearl attacked, and I'd say we've traveled twice the distance back to Jamaica – so we ought to be docking soon."
A thought occurred to Anna. "Let me ask him!" she suggested. "I'll just throw a temper tantrum when someone brings me my next bowl of gruel and demand to be taken to the captain." She smiled mischievously. "It worked the first time I tried it, after all."
Will shook his head in mock dismay. "It's truly a pity how quickly pirates can corrupt the innocent," he sighed, but he was grinning back. "Try it, then. Please. And tell us if you can find anything out." Anna nodded. "And Anna? Probably best to just ask straight out. Jack's not too fond of people beating around the bush. Be straightforward with him."
"I'll remember that. And of course I'll tell you!"
"Grandfather?" asked Kate's voice across the cabin. "Can I have one of the feathers in your hat? Susan needs one for the ball she's going to." Anna looked at Governor Swann, who froze in indecision for a few moments. Then he reached up and reluctantly snapped one of the feathers off his tricorn. Anna's esteem of him went up when he artfully hid his reluctance and presented the feather to his granddaughter with a flourish.
Elizabeth looked across at Anna and beckoned her over. Obligingly Anna got up and sat down next to Elizabeth. "Will says you've been all right," she said quietly.
"We have, I suppose," Elizabeth conceded. "But still –"
"No! Stop right there. Do not get yourself angry again." Anna quickly put a hand over Elizabeth's mouth. "It does nobody any good."
Elizabeth sighed heavily and nodded to say she'd behave. Anna removed her hand. "I'm going to see if I can find out where we're going. I'll tell you if I find anything out." She noticed that Elizabeth's eyes were on her daughter, and they had gone from being flashing with anger to sad. "Elizabeth? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," Elizabeth answered automatically. Anna raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I don't even mind being a prisoner so much!" she exploded suddenly, managing to keep her voice quiet. "I'm not worried for myself, or for Will, or for your brother and you – we can all take care of ourselves, and my father will be fine – but..." She dropped her head into her hands. "But I wish that this hadn't happened to Kate," she muttered. Anna had to strain her ears to hear.
She took Elizabeth's hand and squeezed it gently. "Elizabeth, look at her," Anna whispered. "She's only six – she doesn't even fully understand what's going on. I think she believes that you and Will are in complete control of the situation. You have to be calm, or else she won't know what to think." Elizabeth lifted her head and looked at Anna. "With any luck at all, she'll remember this as a not-so-clear adventure that happened to her when she was very young. Don't lose control and leave her to think all kinds of horrible things could happen!"
Elizabeth swallowed. "All right," she said shakily. "All right. Thank you. I needed to hear that." She smiled ruefully. "I hope someone tells you that when you're a mother!" Anna laughed with her. At the sound, Kate turned around and trotted back to Elizabeth. "Play?" she asked, cradling her doll with its new feather hat against her chest.
The door opened, and the female pirate – whose name, Anna had learned, was Annamaria – came in, skillfully balancing a tray of gruel bowls on one hand as she opened the door with the other. She seemed surprised to see Anna on her feet and with the other prisoners, but she made no comment, simply handing Anna a bowl along with everyone else.
"Annamaria," Anna asked easily, scooping up a spoonful of gruel, "where are we going?"
"That's the captain's business." Annamaria gave Governor Swann the last bowl and turned to go. Anna let her put her hand on the knob before she spoke again.
"Could I talk to him?" she asked casually, as though an audience with Captain Jack Sparrow was something that ordinary mortals could obtain by merely asking for it.
Annamaria snorted. "What business could he have with you?" she asked. It was not a snide question, just a question.
"I need to speak to the captain!" Anna told her. Somehow, she had the feeling that temper tantrums might work on Gibbs, but that they would earn her absolutely nothing with Annamaria. "I need to!" she repeated.
"If Captain Sparrow wants you to know where we're docking, trust me – he will let you know," Annamaria answered.
"But what if he doesn't and I do?" Anna cried in exasperation. Was there no possible way to talk this woman around? Apparently there was not.
"Then that's your headache." A smile touched Annamaria's mouth as she added, "Literally, in your case." She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, not noticing Anna's fierce scowl aimed at her back.
Anna was very aware that she was sulking, and hated herself for it. She made herself sit up and eat her gruel, trying not to listen to the gloomy silence that had descended on everyone after her failed attempt to find out where they were going. She had finished half the bowl when, on an impulse born of thwarted wishes, anger, and plain curiosity, deliberately smacked her bowl down on the bench where she sat and got to her feet. "Excuse me," she said, stepping carefully across the room. "I'll be back in a short while." Anna grabbed the doorknob and tested it.
As she'd expected, it was locked. Biting back a frustrated snarl, Anna turned back to face the other prisoners. "Elizabeth? Do you have a hairpin?"
"Yes." A knowing grin on her face, Elizabeth pulled the pin from her hair and gave it to Anna. "Be delicate," she advised. "Do you know how to pick locks? We tried as soon as we could, but we weren't very successful. Not even Will." She smiled sweetly at her husband, who mock-scowled at her for alluding to his less-than-honorable parentage.
Thomas got up and hurried to his sister. "Here, let me try. I think I learned something from the last time I tried." Anna surrendered the pin, and Thomas inserted it carefully into the lock, wiggling it minutely around. The room was utterly silent, except for the scratching of the pin on the metal lock. Suddenly Thomas sucked in his breath. "What?" Anna demanded. "What is it?"
"I've almost got it." His voice was no more than a whisper, as though a loudly-spoken word would throw the pin away from its position. "I just need – one more pin." He looked hopefully at Elizabeth, but her hair had come loose and was falling around her shoulders – she had no more. Anna's hair, too, was loose. "Anything, then!" Thomas whispered. "Anything small and sharp."
"Kate!" Anna cried. The little girl looked placidly at Anna. "Kate, we need to borrow Susan's hat. Just for a minute. Then she'll get it back, I promise!" Kate considered for a moment, and then removed the feather from the doll's head and handed it gravely to Anna. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, and turned, feather in hand, to Thomas. "Here. I'll hold the pin in place – you maneuver the feather." She surrendered the feather and carefully put her hand over Thomas' on the pin, matching his grip and fingers exactly. When her brother was satisfied that Anna had it, he slid his hand out from under hers, poked the sharp tip of the feather into the lock, and pressed it carefully upward.
Anna felt the tumblers click into place. With one hand still on the pin, she reached out with the other one, which was trembling with nerves and hope, and tried the doorknob. The door swung open, and she let out an explosive gasp. "You got it!" she told Thomas, struggling to breathe again. "You got it." She took the pin from the lock and handed it back to Elizabeth, who slipped it into her pocket. Kate took the feather from Thomas and stuck it back into her doll's hair, and Anna pulled the door open a little farther to peer out into the hall. No one was there.
She turned back to face everyone. "I'll be back soon," she promised, "and I'll know where we're going." No one commented on the grim set of her face, which was oddly disconcerting. Anna slipped out of the door, closing it softly behind her.
As the door slid shut, Will let out his breath in as sudden a gasp as Anna's a moment before, and laughed tightly when Elizabeth, Thomas, and Governor Swann all did the same thing at the same time – he was clearly not the only one with a bad case of nervousness. Kate, unconcerned, sat down and held her doll on her lap in the silent hold.
***
Every time that the wooden boards creaked softly under her feet, Anna jumped. Each sound made her glance quickly behind her, in case Annamaria was waiting around the corner, and her nervous mind turned every sound she didn't make into the unfriendly footsteps of the crew, coming to throw her back into the hold and put more locks on the door.
But the workings of her fevered mind remained only imagined fears, and at last Anna stood before the carved door of what she guessed – and fervently hoped – was the captain's cabin. Standing in front of the door, she leaned close to it and listened to what was going on in there.
Was that – snoring? Anna listened closer and was forced to admit to herself that whoever was in that cabin was sound asleep. A fine time for him to go to sleep, she thought. Still, she was not going to be put off by a snoozing pirate! She gritted her teeth, curled her hand around the doorknob, and opened the door. Her eyes took in the scene – a finely furnished cabin with all manner of stolen plunder adorning walls and ceiling, and lying in the hammock – Anna, embarrassed, averted her eyes and shut the door quickly behind her. Lying in the hammock was Jack Sparrow, bottle in hand, fast asleep, snoring, and as naked as the day he was born.
Avoiding the sprawled-out form of the pirate, Anna made her way to the side of the hammock. The windows, she thought studiously. Think of the windows. Think of the clock on the fireplace. Think of anything but the fact that this man is naked in front of you. She quickly banished the thought from her mind. Focusing her eyes on Jack's forehead – a safe subject for her eyes, as she had seen that naked before – Anna coughed loudly and pushed at the hammock self-consciously.
Jack's only movement was to mumble something Anna couldn't hear.
She bit her lip, clenched her hands into fists, and tried again, pitching her cough to carry and giving the hammock a good shove. Jack rolled over. The half-full bottle slipped from his hand and rolled across the floor, sloshing some of its contents onto the wood planks. Anna got a lungful of the smell, coughed again – this time involuntarily – and stumbled back as the ship rolled on the waves. It was some kind of liquor – some kind of strong liquor.
Turning her mind back to waking Jack, Anna could think of only one thing left. Oh, no, protested part of her. Oh, no. You can't ask me to touch him! That's – that's not fair! It – it just isn't! But her common sense, which mercifully had not fled at the sight of Jack in the nude, snapped, Who cares if it's fair? Just get it over with and stop whining!
Anna squeezed her eyes shut for a second. When she reopened them, she marched purposefully to the hammock. Even keeping her eyes confined to Jack's upper body wasn't quite enough to stop her embarrassing mind from thinking that he really looked quite splendid without his shirt on... Anna slapped herself on the hand to call her mind back to the task at hand. Reaching out, she grasped Jack's shoulder and shook it firmly.
She yanked her hand back as though it had been burned when Jack shifted around in the hammock and began to breathe audibly. He shifted position, and she saw his hand reach for the bottle he'd been holding. It was only when he realized that it wasn't in his hand that Jack sat up, his black hair flying around in wild disarray as he looked around the cabin for it.
Then he saw Anna, and through his confused haze, a very knowing and very uncomfortable smile came to his lips.
Of course, it hurt too much to smile at the moment, so he let it fade off his face. "What are you doing?" he muttered, slurring his words slightly as he sat up.
Anna retreated to the wall. He couldn't get up; he absolutely must not get out of the hammock! The smile he'd given her had made her sure of that. It had also made her feel both queasy and wonderful, and she wished she could understand it.
For heaven's sake, Anna! railed some part of her that she thought must be incredibly cold to not be affected by Jack's smile. Keep...your mind...on your job! She straightened and took a step forward. "I came to ask where we're going," she said loudly.
Jack fell back into the hammock, clutching his head. "Not so loud," he protested weakly.
"Sorry." Anna bit her lip. "But where are we –"
"First things first, love," Jack cut her off. "First I need to find me rum."
So that's what that horrible-smelling thing was! "I think it's over there," Anna pointed out, indicating the spot where the bottle had rolled. Jack followed her pointing finger with his eyes until he saw the bottle. He swung his legs over the side of the hammock and was nearly on his feet when the ship lurched. Jack lost his balance and toppled back into the hammock, which began to swing, the ceiling creaking. "No, wait," Anna said quickly. "I'll get it." Her face red, she ran to the corner, scooped up the bottle, and brought it over to Jack. She fixed her eyes on his face as she gave it back to him. Jack tossed back a long drink. When he looked back at her, Anna could see clearly that he was going to have a monster hangover when the effects wore off. From the faint lines forming around his eyes, she even guessed that he might be starting to experience some of that hangover now.
He was also smiling that wonderful, horrible smile again. Anna felt herself flush as red as a lobster and clasped her hands together in front of her, twisting her fingers around each other. Please don't let him say anything, she pleaded silently.
Her luck was not in at all. "Mind telling me what you were looking at, love?" he asked, his voice teasing. "Or would you rather not?"
Anna's face felt as though it was on fire, it was so red. "Nothing," she muttered, her fingers twisting agitatedly around. It was true. She had looked at nothing inappropriate. The fact that a part of her she hadn't known existed had wanted to look at inappropriate things did not need to be brought up. "I wasn't looking at anything," she repeated, then on a flash of inspiration added, "because I was too busy gagging at the rum." She coughed to emphasize her point.
For once in his life, Jack Sparrow dropped a point he would have enjoyed pursuing. He shrugged and raised the bottle to his lips to take another drink. He brought it down, though, with a sudden movement and looked closely at Anna. "Wait – you're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in the hold."
Anna thought a very obscene oath she'd picked up from one of the Mermaid's sailors. "I am," she admitted, speaking slowly but thinking as fast as she could. What could she say?
"Probably best to just ask straight out. Jack's not too fond of people beating around the bush. Be straightforward with him." Will's voice echoed in her mind, and Anna groaned. He would know best, having dealt with Jack before. She would have to tell the truth. "I picked the lock," she said, deciding not to mention Thomas in case Jack got angry. "Where exactly are we going?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer.
Jack blinked at her. Another smile was slowly creeping onto his face. "You picked the lock, came all the way here, and braved the sight of me in me birthday suit to ask where we're heading, am I right?" Anna nodded curtly. Jack looked for a minute as though he was going to laugh, but instead he just shook his head. An instant later, he clutched it in pain as more of the hangover kicked in. "Go away," he muttered, sinking back into the hammock.
"Not until I find out –"
"Not so loud!" Jack protested.
Anna toned her voice level down, but lost none of the indignation in it. "Not until I find out where we're going!"
A groan emitted from the depths of the hammock. "We're about a day away from St. Catherine's Bay. Now leave me be, or I'll have to get angry." A tousled black head appeared over the hammock's edge. "And me when I'm angry is not a good thing to inflict on yourself, savvy?"
Anna nodded again. She gratefully backed out of the room, closing the door behind her – and ran straight into one of the crew. He was an older man, with a brightly colored parrot perched on his shoulder. "Anchors away!" squawked the parrot. "Anchors away!"
"Shut up!" Anna hissed to it. The man, oddly enough, said nothing. "Um – sir, I can explain –"
"Anchors away!"
"Please, just make your parrot be quiet, I –"
"Anchors away!"
"Cotton? That you, man?" came Jack's voice, muffled by the door but audible nonetheless. "Take her back down to the hold – and lock the door." Still without speaking, Cotton took hold of Anna's arm and propelled her forward. She stumbled along, trying to keep up with him. It didn't help that the parrot, at random times, would squawk out some strange phrase, most of which were directed at her. "Anchors away" seemed to be his favorite, but Anna heard a few "Dead men tell no tales," spoken with a beady glare focused on her, and once the parrot had the effrontery to suggest that Cotton "Keelhaul the swabby!" At that, Anna rounded on the parrot with a glare to match its own, and the bird shut up.
When they came to the door of the hold, Cotton seemed surprised to find it unlocked. Nevertheless, he opened it, gave Anna a push inside, and shut it. She heard a key turn in the lock, and faced the others, all of whom were fixing her with eager, desperate stares.
"St. Catherine's Bay," Anna reported. "We're about a day away."
"St. Catherine's Bay?" repeated Will, his eyebrows shooting up. "Jack seems to have found a new favorite rest spot."
"Unless, of course, we're closer to St. Catherine's than Tortuga," Elizabeth suggested. "Which, come to think of it, we are, aren't we?"
"The Black Pearl took us in the middle of the Caribbean," Will said, chewing his lip thoughtfully. "So – yes, we are closer to St. Catherine's. It's on the very tip of the Southeast Point."
Thomas spoke quietly. "And once we land, the pirates will all disembark – and we'll be left alone on the ship." There was some type of suggestion in his voice, but Anna couldn't quite think what it was.
It was little Kate who said it. "Then can we sail home?" she asked, looking at Elizabeth and Will expectantly.
Anna gasped. "Yes!" she whispered. "Couldn't we take the ship and sail back?"
Will glanced doubtfully at Elizabeth. "Could we?" he asked. "Do any of us know how to sail a ship, especially a ship like the Black Pearl?"
"We know how some things work, right?" Anna asked. She was too excited to see how slowly Will nodded. "And maybe we can figure out the rest from there! The Southeast Point isn't even that far from Port Royal! I'm sure we can make it!"
"It is worth a try," the governor said. "I'd be – happy – to help," he added bravely.
"All right," Will said. "When we pull in to port and the pirates leave, we'll give it a try."
Chapter Six
The gruel that Gibbs brought for Anna was plain fare, but filling and warm. Anna ate it gladly, and felt perfectly healed as she put the last spoonful in her mouth – in fact, she felt well enough to try to stand. Setting the bowl on the floor, Anna carefully swung her legs over the side of the hammock she was in. She paused to take deep breaths, relaxing herself, and then put her feet onto the floor, gritted her teeth, and stood.
She actually managed to stay upright for a full minute before a blinding return of the headache drove her back to the hammock. When it did, Anna stumbled back to the hammock, threw herself on it, and lay quiet, holding the sheet tight around her and trying to stop her legs from shaking.
It took her a full week before she was able to stand and stay standing, and another half-week before she trusted herself to walk around. Once she did, Anna made her first visit next door, where the Turners and Thomas were. They had not yet been allowed out of the hold, despite the fact that Jack knew them. They had come in to see her, but this was the first time she was able to go to them.
Elizabeth had calmed down somewhat about being a prisoner. Thomas had regaled Anna with the story of Elizabeth's greeting of Jack, and Anna was glad to see her sitting calmly with Kate next to her. Elizabeth looked up and smiled as Anna walked in. "Glad to see you on your feet again," Will said, and Anna grinned at him.
"Are you all right?" she asked Will quietly – she knew better than to ask Elizabeth and possibly set her off again. "Thomas keeps telling me that you are, but – really?"
"Aside from the obvious handicap of being prisoners, we actually are fine," Will assured Anna. "I wish we knew where Jack plans to go, though."
Anna sat down. She hadn't thought of that – hadn't thought of anything, in fact, except headaches and walking for the past two weeks. "Probably back to Jamaica," she mused, thinking aloud. "He wouldn't go anywhere away from the island – he's known there, and that's mostly where he plies his trade – right?"
Will nodded. "That's true," he agreed. "We were a week away from Port Royal when the Pearl attacked, and I'd say we've traveled twice the distance back to Jamaica – so we ought to be docking soon."
A thought occurred to Anna. "Let me ask him!" she suggested. "I'll just throw a temper tantrum when someone brings me my next bowl of gruel and demand to be taken to the captain." She smiled mischievously. "It worked the first time I tried it, after all."
Will shook his head in mock dismay. "It's truly a pity how quickly pirates can corrupt the innocent," he sighed, but he was grinning back. "Try it, then. Please. And tell us if you can find anything out." Anna nodded. "And Anna? Probably best to just ask straight out. Jack's not too fond of people beating around the bush. Be straightforward with him."
"I'll remember that. And of course I'll tell you!"
"Grandfather?" asked Kate's voice across the cabin. "Can I have one of the feathers in your hat? Susan needs one for the ball she's going to." Anna looked at Governor Swann, who froze in indecision for a few moments. Then he reached up and reluctantly snapped one of the feathers off his tricorn. Anna's esteem of him went up when he artfully hid his reluctance and presented the feather to his granddaughter with a flourish.
Elizabeth looked across at Anna and beckoned her over. Obligingly Anna got up and sat down next to Elizabeth. "Will says you've been all right," she said quietly.
"We have, I suppose," Elizabeth conceded. "But still –"
"No! Stop right there. Do not get yourself angry again." Anna quickly put a hand over Elizabeth's mouth. "It does nobody any good."
Elizabeth sighed heavily and nodded to say she'd behave. Anna removed her hand. "I'm going to see if I can find out where we're going. I'll tell you if I find anything out." She noticed that Elizabeth's eyes were on her daughter, and they had gone from being flashing with anger to sad. "Elizabeth? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," Elizabeth answered automatically. Anna raised her eyebrows in disbelief. "I don't even mind being a prisoner so much!" she exploded suddenly, managing to keep her voice quiet. "I'm not worried for myself, or for Will, or for your brother and you – we can all take care of ourselves, and my father will be fine – but..." She dropped her head into her hands. "But I wish that this hadn't happened to Kate," she muttered. Anna had to strain her ears to hear.
She took Elizabeth's hand and squeezed it gently. "Elizabeth, look at her," Anna whispered. "She's only six – she doesn't even fully understand what's going on. I think she believes that you and Will are in complete control of the situation. You have to be calm, or else she won't know what to think." Elizabeth lifted her head and looked at Anna. "With any luck at all, she'll remember this as a not-so-clear adventure that happened to her when she was very young. Don't lose control and leave her to think all kinds of horrible things could happen!"
Elizabeth swallowed. "All right," she said shakily. "All right. Thank you. I needed to hear that." She smiled ruefully. "I hope someone tells you that when you're a mother!" Anna laughed with her. At the sound, Kate turned around and trotted back to Elizabeth. "Play?" she asked, cradling her doll with its new feather hat against her chest.
The door opened, and the female pirate – whose name, Anna had learned, was Annamaria – came in, skillfully balancing a tray of gruel bowls on one hand as she opened the door with the other. She seemed surprised to see Anna on her feet and with the other prisoners, but she made no comment, simply handing Anna a bowl along with everyone else.
"Annamaria," Anna asked easily, scooping up a spoonful of gruel, "where are we going?"
"That's the captain's business." Annamaria gave Governor Swann the last bowl and turned to go. Anna let her put her hand on the knob before she spoke again.
"Could I talk to him?" she asked casually, as though an audience with Captain Jack Sparrow was something that ordinary mortals could obtain by merely asking for it.
Annamaria snorted. "What business could he have with you?" she asked. It was not a snide question, just a question.
"I need to speak to the captain!" Anna told her. Somehow, she had the feeling that temper tantrums might work on Gibbs, but that they would earn her absolutely nothing with Annamaria. "I need to!" she repeated.
"If Captain Sparrow wants you to know where we're docking, trust me – he will let you know," Annamaria answered.
"But what if he doesn't and I do?" Anna cried in exasperation. Was there no possible way to talk this woman around? Apparently there was not.
"Then that's your headache." A smile touched Annamaria's mouth as she added, "Literally, in your case." She stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, not noticing Anna's fierce scowl aimed at her back.
Anna was very aware that she was sulking, and hated herself for it. She made herself sit up and eat her gruel, trying not to listen to the gloomy silence that had descended on everyone after her failed attempt to find out where they were going. She had finished half the bowl when, on an impulse born of thwarted wishes, anger, and plain curiosity, deliberately smacked her bowl down on the bench where she sat and got to her feet. "Excuse me," she said, stepping carefully across the room. "I'll be back in a short while." Anna grabbed the doorknob and tested it.
As she'd expected, it was locked. Biting back a frustrated snarl, Anna turned back to face the other prisoners. "Elizabeth? Do you have a hairpin?"
"Yes." A knowing grin on her face, Elizabeth pulled the pin from her hair and gave it to Anna. "Be delicate," she advised. "Do you know how to pick locks? We tried as soon as we could, but we weren't very successful. Not even Will." She smiled sweetly at her husband, who mock-scowled at her for alluding to his less-than-honorable parentage.
Thomas got up and hurried to his sister. "Here, let me try. I think I learned something from the last time I tried." Anna surrendered the pin, and Thomas inserted it carefully into the lock, wiggling it minutely around. The room was utterly silent, except for the scratching of the pin on the metal lock. Suddenly Thomas sucked in his breath. "What?" Anna demanded. "What is it?"
"I've almost got it." His voice was no more than a whisper, as though a loudly-spoken word would throw the pin away from its position. "I just need – one more pin." He looked hopefully at Elizabeth, but her hair had come loose and was falling around her shoulders – she had no more. Anna's hair, too, was loose. "Anything, then!" Thomas whispered. "Anything small and sharp."
"Kate!" Anna cried. The little girl looked placidly at Anna. "Kate, we need to borrow Susan's hat. Just for a minute. Then she'll get it back, I promise!" Kate considered for a moment, and then removed the feather from the doll's head and handed it gravely to Anna. "Thank you!" she exclaimed, and turned, feather in hand, to Thomas. "Here. I'll hold the pin in place – you maneuver the feather." She surrendered the feather and carefully put her hand over Thomas' on the pin, matching his grip and fingers exactly. When her brother was satisfied that Anna had it, he slid his hand out from under hers, poked the sharp tip of the feather into the lock, and pressed it carefully upward.
Anna felt the tumblers click into place. With one hand still on the pin, she reached out with the other one, which was trembling with nerves and hope, and tried the doorknob. The door swung open, and she let out an explosive gasp. "You got it!" she told Thomas, struggling to breathe again. "You got it." She took the pin from the lock and handed it back to Elizabeth, who slipped it into her pocket. Kate took the feather from Thomas and stuck it back into her doll's hair, and Anna pulled the door open a little farther to peer out into the hall. No one was there.
She turned back to face everyone. "I'll be back soon," she promised, "and I'll know where we're going." No one commented on the grim set of her face, which was oddly disconcerting. Anna slipped out of the door, closing it softly behind her.
As the door slid shut, Will let out his breath in as sudden a gasp as Anna's a moment before, and laughed tightly when Elizabeth, Thomas, and Governor Swann all did the same thing at the same time – he was clearly not the only one with a bad case of nervousness. Kate, unconcerned, sat down and held her doll on her lap in the silent hold.
***
Every time that the wooden boards creaked softly under her feet, Anna jumped. Each sound made her glance quickly behind her, in case Annamaria was waiting around the corner, and her nervous mind turned every sound she didn't make into the unfriendly footsteps of the crew, coming to throw her back into the hold and put more locks on the door.
But the workings of her fevered mind remained only imagined fears, and at last Anna stood before the carved door of what she guessed – and fervently hoped – was the captain's cabin. Standing in front of the door, she leaned close to it and listened to what was going on in there.
Was that – snoring? Anna listened closer and was forced to admit to herself that whoever was in that cabin was sound asleep. A fine time for him to go to sleep, she thought. Still, she was not going to be put off by a snoozing pirate! She gritted her teeth, curled her hand around the doorknob, and opened the door. Her eyes took in the scene – a finely furnished cabin with all manner of stolen plunder adorning walls and ceiling, and lying in the hammock – Anna, embarrassed, averted her eyes and shut the door quickly behind her. Lying in the hammock was Jack Sparrow, bottle in hand, fast asleep, snoring, and as naked as the day he was born.
Avoiding the sprawled-out form of the pirate, Anna made her way to the side of the hammock. The windows, she thought studiously. Think of the windows. Think of the clock on the fireplace. Think of anything but the fact that this man is naked in front of you. She quickly banished the thought from her mind. Focusing her eyes on Jack's forehead – a safe subject for her eyes, as she had seen that naked before – Anna coughed loudly and pushed at the hammock self-consciously.
Jack's only movement was to mumble something Anna couldn't hear.
She bit her lip, clenched her hands into fists, and tried again, pitching her cough to carry and giving the hammock a good shove. Jack rolled over. The half-full bottle slipped from his hand and rolled across the floor, sloshing some of its contents onto the wood planks. Anna got a lungful of the smell, coughed again – this time involuntarily – and stumbled back as the ship rolled on the waves. It was some kind of liquor – some kind of strong liquor.
Turning her mind back to waking Jack, Anna could think of only one thing left. Oh, no, protested part of her. Oh, no. You can't ask me to touch him! That's – that's not fair! It – it just isn't! But her common sense, which mercifully had not fled at the sight of Jack in the nude, snapped, Who cares if it's fair? Just get it over with and stop whining!
Anna squeezed her eyes shut for a second. When she reopened them, she marched purposefully to the hammock. Even keeping her eyes confined to Jack's upper body wasn't quite enough to stop her embarrassing mind from thinking that he really looked quite splendid without his shirt on... Anna slapped herself on the hand to call her mind back to the task at hand. Reaching out, she grasped Jack's shoulder and shook it firmly.
She yanked her hand back as though it had been burned when Jack shifted around in the hammock and began to breathe audibly. He shifted position, and she saw his hand reach for the bottle he'd been holding. It was only when he realized that it wasn't in his hand that Jack sat up, his black hair flying around in wild disarray as he looked around the cabin for it.
Then he saw Anna, and through his confused haze, a very knowing and very uncomfortable smile came to his lips.
Of course, it hurt too much to smile at the moment, so he let it fade off his face. "What are you doing?" he muttered, slurring his words slightly as he sat up.
Anna retreated to the wall. He couldn't get up; he absolutely must not get out of the hammock! The smile he'd given her had made her sure of that. It had also made her feel both queasy and wonderful, and she wished she could understand it.
For heaven's sake, Anna! railed some part of her that she thought must be incredibly cold to not be affected by Jack's smile. Keep...your mind...on your job! She straightened and took a step forward. "I came to ask where we're going," she said loudly.
Jack fell back into the hammock, clutching his head. "Not so loud," he protested weakly.
"Sorry." Anna bit her lip. "But where are we –"
"First things first, love," Jack cut her off. "First I need to find me rum."
So that's what that horrible-smelling thing was! "I think it's over there," Anna pointed out, indicating the spot where the bottle had rolled. Jack followed her pointing finger with his eyes until he saw the bottle. He swung his legs over the side of the hammock and was nearly on his feet when the ship lurched. Jack lost his balance and toppled back into the hammock, which began to swing, the ceiling creaking. "No, wait," Anna said quickly. "I'll get it." Her face red, she ran to the corner, scooped up the bottle, and brought it over to Jack. She fixed her eyes on his face as she gave it back to him. Jack tossed back a long drink. When he looked back at her, Anna could see clearly that he was going to have a monster hangover when the effects wore off. From the faint lines forming around his eyes, she even guessed that he might be starting to experience some of that hangover now.
He was also smiling that wonderful, horrible smile again. Anna felt herself flush as red as a lobster and clasped her hands together in front of her, twisting her fingers around each other. Please don't let him say anything, she pleaded silently.
Her luck was not in at all. "Mind telling me what you were looking at, love?" he asked, his voice teasing. "Or would you rather not?"
Anna's face felt as though it was on fire, it was so red. "Nothing," she muttered, her fingers twisting agitatedly around. It was true. She had looked at nothing inappropriate. The fact that a part of her she hadn't known existed had wanted to look at inappropriate things did not need to be brought up. "I wasn't looking at anything," she repeated, then on a flash of inspiration added, "because I was too busy gagging at the rum." She coughed to emphasize her point.
For once in his life, Jack Sparrow dropped a point he would have enjoyed pursuing. He shrugged and raised the bottle to his lips to take another drink. He brought it down, though, with a sudden movement and looked closely at Anna. "Wait – you're not supposed to be here. You're supposed to be in the hold."
Anna thought a very obscene oath she'd picked up from one of the Mermaid's sailors. "I am," she admitted, speaking slowly but thinking as fast as she could. What could she say?
"Probably best to just ask straight out. Jack's not too fond of people beating around the bush. Be straightforward with him." Will's voice echoed in her mind, and Anna groaned. He would know best, having dealt with Jack before. She would have to tell the truth. "I picked the lock," she said, deciding not to mention Thomas in case Jack got angry. "Where exactly are we going?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited for an answer.
Jack blinked at her. Another smile was slowly creeping onto his face. "You picked the lock, came all the way here, and braved the sight of me in me birthday suit to ask where we're heading, am I right?" Anna nodded curtly. Jack looked for a minute as though he was going to laugh, but instead he just shook his head. An instant later, he clutched it in pain as more of the hangover kicked in. "Go away," he muttered, sinking back into the hammock.
"Not until I find out –"
"Not so loud!" Jack protested.
Anna toned her voice level down, but lost none of the indignation in it. "Not until I find out where we're going!"
A groan emitted from the depths of the hammock. "We're about a day away from St. Catherine's Bay. Now leave me be, or I'll have to get angry." A tousled black head appeared over the hammock's edge. "And me when I'm angry is not a good thing to inflict on yourself, savvy?"
Anna nodded again. She gratefully backed out of the room, closing the door behind her – and ran straight into one of the crew. He was an older man, with a brightly colored parrot perched on his shoulder. "Anchors away!" squawked the parrot. "Anchors away!"
"Shut up!" Anna hissed to it. The man, oddly enough, said nothing. "Um – sir, I can explain –"
"Anchors away!"
"Please, just make your parrot be quiet, I –"
"Anchors away!"
"Cotton? That you, man?" came Jack's voice, muffled by the door but audible nonetheless. "Take her back down to the hold – and lock the door." Still without speaking, Cotton took hold of Anna's arm and propelled her forward. She stumbled along, trying to keep up with him. It didn't help that the parrot, at random times, would squawk out some strange phrase, most of which were directed at her. "Anchors away" seemed to be his favorite, but Anna heard a few "Dead men tell no tales," spoken with a beady glare focused on her, and once the parrot had the effrontery to suggest that Cotton "Keelhaul the swabby!" At that, Anna rounded on the parrot with a glare to match its own, and the bird shut up.
When they came to the door of the hold, Cotton seemed surprised to find it unlocked. Nevertheless, he opened it, gave Anna a push inside, and shut it. She heard a key turn in the lock, and faced the others, all of whom were fixing her with eager, desperate stares.
"St. Catherine's Bay," Anna reported. "We're about a day away."
"St. Catherine's Bay?" repeated Will, his eyebrows shooting up. "Jack seems to have found a new favorite rest spot."
"Unless, of course, we're closer to St. Catherine's than Tortuga," Elizabeth suggested. "Which, come to think of it, we are, aren't we?"
"The Black Pearl took us in the middle of the Caribbean," Will said, chewing his lip thoughtfully. "So – yes, we are closer to St. Catherine's. It's on the very tip of the Southeast Point."
Thomas spoke quietly. "And once we land, the pirates will all disembark – and we'll be left alone on the ship." There was some type of suggestion in his voice, but Anna couldn't quite think what it was.
It was little Kate who said it. "Then can we sail home?" she asked, looking at Elizabeth and Will expectantly.
Anna gasped. "Yes!" she whispered. "Couldn't we take the ship and sail back?"
Will glanced doubtfully at Elizabeth. "Could we?" he asked. "Do any of us know how to sail a ship, especially a ship like the Black Pearl?"
"We know how some things work, right?" Anna asked. She was too excited to see how slowly Will nodded. "And maybe we can figure out the rest from there! The Southeast Point isn't even that far from Port Royal! I'm sure we can make it!"
"It is worth a try," the governor said. "I'd be – happy – to help," he added bravely.
"All right," Will said. "When we pull in to port and the pirates leave, we'll give it a try."