The Commodore's Daughter
Chapter Thirteen
That is, Anna was thrilled until she heard the doorknob turn. Instantly, with the adrenaline rush that comes only to the very desperate, she pulled away from Jack and sat down hard on the bed. Luckily, Jack was very skilled at adapting to inauspicious circumstances, and he had himself in the desk chair only a moment after Commodore Norrington had stepped into the room. Anna was intensely grateful for her father's dislike of Jack, because he looked at the pirate first, giving his daughter a few moments to collect her thoughts. "If you're finished talking," Norrington said, while Anna took deep breaths to regain control of herself, "I would like to speak with my daughter."
"Of course," Jack answered easily. "Will you be wanting privacy, then?"
"Quite," confirmed Norrington coolly. "Please excuse us, Mr. Sparrow."
Anna had to choke back a giggle at the tragic look on Jack's face. "Is it that bloody hard to remember the 'Captain'?" he groaned on his way to the door. "Is it really that hard..." His voice faded after he shut the door, and Anna turned her laugh into a cough when her father's eyes fell on her.
Norrington looked away when she looked back. Instead, he turned his eyes to the window, staring out at the bay and saying nothing. Finally Anna broke the silence. "Father, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, standing up.
With a sigh, Norrington looked back at her. "I'm – not sure, anymore," he admitted. "You are not the daughter I know. In such a short time, I don't even know what to say to you, and I don't like that."
"You mean, you don't like that I like the pirates," Anna whispered.
Norrington flinched as she put it in such bald terms, but he nodded. "That too. Anna, I have spent my entire career trying to put an end to them. They are a plague to any kind of sea travel – you name it, pirates have made it their purpose to hinder it. I thought that my children were safe from any possible fondness for such creatures, and now you laugh with them, joke with them, invite them like childhood friends into the house – can you understand what I'm trying to say, Anna?"
She nodded too. "You feel like I've betrayed you," she finished for him, and her throat tightened as Norrington nodded for the second time. "Believe me, Father, it's not any fault of yours! And if it's any comfort to you, I hated them at first – hated them! But Jack could have killed us, and instead he let us all live. It's thanks to him that Thomas and I are alive today. For that, I owe him my gratitude, if nothing else. But I like them for more than that. I like them because they are –"
"Anna, please." Norrington held up his hand to silence her. "I respect your feelings, if not the people who receive them, but do not praise them to me." He fell silent for a painful moment, and then added, very softly, "I lost someone who was – very dear to me – to pirates, once. I never wanted that to happen again."
"Father, you haven't lost me!" Anna protested. "You're just – sharing me, in a way. You're still my father. You're still the one who read me stories and taught me to play chess. Nothing changes that. Even though I've grown to honestly like the pirates, I still love you!" She threw her arms around Norrington and hugged him. "You haven't lost me, Father," she whispered into his coat shoulder, and hugged him tighter when she felt him hug her back. "This is something we're all going to have to live with," she added, more loudly.
"Yes," Norrington agreed. He released her and looked down at her. "I am sorry, Anna, that I can't accept them as you wish – truly sorry."
"I know," Anna replied. "I'm sorry too – but I understand. I do." She grinned wryly. "How could I not, growing up on tales of the vile pirate crews that used to plunder the Caribbean coast?" That drew a laugh from Norrington, and when he stepped out of the door, Anna did not feel like a complete betrayer of her father. Granted, she felt as though there were few things she could have done to hurt him more, but not as if she might as well kill him now.
And somehow, the last person in the world she wanted to see at the moment was Jack, who, with his perfect sense of the worst timing in the world, came back into her room after Norrington had left. Anna sat back down on her bed and didn't look at Jack as she said, "Jack, could you – could I be alone for a little while?"
Now she slanted a cautious glance at him through her eyelashes, and saw him tilt his head to one side. "You all right?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine! I would just like to be alone." Something had gone horribly wrong between them. A minute ago, Anna could have said anything to him and not felt stupid. Now the simplest request in the world would have sounded to her like she was demanding the moon on a silver platter. She stared down at her hands, clenched tightly together in her lap. She saw Jack shrug, saw his booted feet turn and walk out of her room, saw the door close behind him.
But it was only then, after he was gone, that Anna let herself bury her face in a pillow and cry.
***
Supper that night was a stilted affair, with Anna red-eyed, Norrington silent, and the Turners trying to maintain conversation. In fact, it was a downright miserable experience for all concerned, and they all made polite excuses to end the meal as soon as was decently possible. For the brief duration of supper, Anna picked at her food, fighting back more tears, and stared down at her plate. The one time her mother tried to coax her to eat more, Anna tried to smile – Elizabeth Turner thought it looked more like a grimace.
She made it a point to be waiting for Anna when the girl went into her room after supper. "Anna, what's wrong?" she asked as soon as Anna stepped over the threshold.
"Nothing," Anna lied, biting her lip and heading for the desk.
Elizabeth sighed. "Anna, you're doing no one any favors if you keep it inside you and let it fester. Tell me! Is there – might there be something I could do to help?"
"I doubt it." Anna sat down, her back to Elizabeth, and nearly choked with the effort to talk calmly through a threatening sob.
"Well, why not tell me and let me be the judge of that?"
It took Anna a long moment to bring herself to turn around and face Elizabeth. "I – Father doesn't like that I'm – friendly – with the pirates," she said finally.
Elizabeth pulled Anna into an embrace. "I'm sorry," she soothed, stroking the girl's hair. Anna put her arms around Elizabeth and stifled the sob in her sleeve. "But that's not all, is it?"
"Ye – no." Anna rested her chin on Elizabeth's shoulder. "I – I kissed Jack, this afternoon."
She felt Elizabeth give a small start of surprise. "Well, Anna, you just don't believe in doing things halfway, do you?" she laughed weakly. Anna laughed weakly back and looked up at Elizabeth. "Well." The older woman sighed, trying to come up with an answer, a solution, for her friend. "Well, Anna," she said at last, "I can certainly see how that would upset you. But if you'd let me give you some advice, I would say to do what feels right to you. I know that that's often hard to do." Elizabeth smiled wryly. "But it is what will bring you the most happiness, in the end, doing what is right. Not 'best,' Anna, not 'correct.' 'Right.' You'll know what's right and what's best, and sometimes they aren't the same thing. But that's what I'd tell you."
Anna nodded and sniffed. "Thank you." She hugged Elizabeth again.
"And another piece of advice. Your father loves you very much, but if you live the way you think will please him most, you may not be pleasing yourself. And that's what I've come to understand – that you have to live in what way suits you. Does that help at all?"
"Yes," Anna whispered. "Yes. It does."
"Good." Elizabeth let go of Anna. "Do you want to be alone?"
"Yes – I think so." Elizabeth nodded and quietly withdrew, leaving Anna to her thoughts.
Anna drew a deep breath and lay down, curled up in a fetal position, on her bed. Somehow she felt better after talking to Elizabeth – she could breathe again, for one thing. And she felt less of a betrayer to Norrington than before. Anna kicked off her shoes and tugged impatiently at the lacing of her dress. Elizabeth knew what she was talking about – she had, after all, followed her own advice, and she was perfectly happy and content. Anna sighed and pulled the dress over her head, tugging loose a few hairpins in the process, and lay back down in her underclothes.
"I should change into my nightgown," she muttered to herself. "Oh, hang it all, I can sleep just fine in a chemise!" Burrowing her head into her soft pillow, Anna relaxed beneath her covers and closed her eyes. Her last waking thought before she drifted off to sleep was of Jack, and of their kiss.
She didn't feel guilty for thinking of him.
***
Her guilt stayed absolved the next morning, when she got up early to the perfect silence of the house. For a while Anna lay in bed, slowly waking herself up and listening to the quiet. When she decided that she could open her eyes, she did so, and went to the window in the bargain. The sun was bright golden on the thatched roofs of Port Royal. It looked like a storybook morning, all gold and blue and diamonds on the water. On impulse, Anna pushed the window open, climbed up onto the window ledge, and leaned out, basking in the warmth of the sun on her face. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
Then the door opened, and someone gave the masculine version of a yelp. "Bloody hell, Anna, what do you think you're doing?" I know that voice, Anna thought dreamily, her eyes still closed. That's Jack. Footsteps came swiftly over to the window, and Anna opened her eyes as Jack took her hands and pulled her down. Then reality kicked in with a vengeance. That is Jack, she thought, suddenly blushing very red, and he kissed me yesterday, and I am in my chemise! She tried to pull her hands away and reach for her bed robe, but he held them. "What possessed you, you crazy girl?" he demanded. "What on earth did you think you were doing? You could've fallen out the window!"
"Jack," she interrupted, "at least let me get a robe on before you keep interrogating me!"
He raised his eyebrows. "Not bloody likely, after seeing you do a fool stunt like that."
"Then lower your voice," suggested Anna, "or else Father will wake up and come in and see you with me in my underclothes, and that would not be good for either of us."
Her words created silence for a moment, before Jack allowed himself to smile. "I know exactly what you mean, love," he said, letting go of her hands. "Get your robe."
Extremely grateful for the dignity-preserving silk garment, Anna practically dived for it and tied it tight in front, wishing she'd been able to talk her sister and mother into making her chemises with a higher neckline. She'd never thought she was well-endowed around her chest as it was, and there was really no point in showing off what was barely there... And I'm babbling, she scolded, I'm mind-babbling! She turned back to face Jack. "Now why did you come into my room early in the morning?"
"I thought we should talk," he said, sitting easily down in the desk chair.
"About what?" asked Anna, sitting on her bed and pulling her knees up to her chest.
"About what happened yesterday," Jack answered, surprised that she hadn't guessed.
In fact, she had guessed. She just didn't want to discuss it. "Jack, there really isn't anything to talk about –"
"Oh, of course not," he rejoined. "We only kissed, after all. Nothing important."
Anna ran her hand distractedly through her tousled hair. "Jack, please –"
"Please what? Go away and don't darken your respectable doorstep again?" He grinned. "I'd be much obliged to, only you invited me in, so it's on your head, whatever happens."
"Do you pirates always do this sort of thing?" Anna demanded. "Can all of you twist things around so you're never at fault, and everyone else is always to blame?"
"Tricks of the trade, love," he said calmly.
"Well, Captain Sparrow, I'd appreciate it if for once you could stop being a pirate and be a person!"
Jack looked amazed at her outburst. Anna felt amazed as well – she had not expected to come so close to shouting, and she lowered her voice, mindful of her own advice a minute ago. "It is not easy at all, being made to feel as though everything were 'on my head,' as you so aptly put it. I don't know if you've ever felt that way, but you do bring it on nearly everyone you talk to, Jack. And if you care enough about me to kiss me – twice – I'd hope you cared enough about me to put that impulse on hold for just a little while and really talk to me."
Jack leaned back and took a deep breath. Anna took one too, but quietly, waiting for him to reply. When he said nothing, she prompted, "What did you want to talk about?"
"About yesterday," he reminded her. "Just wondering a few things."
"Such as...?"
He finally looked back at her. "Such as, what the point of it was, and if it is or isn't likely to happen again." At her face, fighting against dismay, Jack laughed. "Don't worry, love, you're not that bad a kisser. You just need practice." Anna blushed, embarrassed. Why had Mother never told her about these kinds of conversations? Why? "I hope you realize that as a pirate my intentions toward you could never be more than dishonorable" – Anna didn't try to stop her smile – "but even honorable intentions would be difficult to carry out with your dear daddy breathing down all our necks and no doubt measuring them for nooses. So really what I want to know, Anna, is what the upshot of those kisses will be. What happens now that we've come this far?"
"First," she said shakily, "what happens is that you tell me what, if anything, you feel for me, and I do the same. You first."
He grinned again. It was a beautiful grin. "About you? I'm interested in going farther with you, Anna – but I wouldn't, if you didn't want to. I suppose your honor is safe as long as you're under your father's eagle eyes, though." He tilted the chair back on two legs. "Your turn."
Anna coughed. "I – the same thing, I think." She looked up cautiously – he was watching her with teasing interest. "I – I did like the kissing, yesterday – I just don't know quite what else could happen. I don't even know exactly how I feel about you. But I think I am interested."
"Good." Jack smiled lazily. "Come here, then."
"What?" Anna's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"You need a few lessons in kissing," he grinned, putting his head on one side. "But I'm fairly confident of your potential, once you have them. Come here."
Her legs trembling, Anna slid off the bed and made the few steps between it and the desk to stand in front of Jack. Without standing, he reached up and brushed a hand lazily up behind her neck, pulling her face down to his.
The lessons began.
Chapter Thirteen
That is, Anna was thrilled until she heard the doorknob turn. Instantly, with the adrenaline rush that comes only to the very desperate, she pulled away from Jack and sat down hard on the bed. Luckily, Jack was very skilled at adapting to inauspicious circumstances, and he had himself in the desk chair only a moment after Commodore Norrington had stepped into the room. Anna was intensely grateful for her father's dislike of Jack, because he looked at the pirate first, giving his daughter a few moments to collect her thoughts. "If you're finished talking," Norrington said, while Anna took deep breaths to regain control of herself, "I would like to speak with my daughter."
"Of course," Jack answered easily. "Will you be wanting privacy, then?"
"Quite," confirmed Norrington coolly. "Please excuse us, Mr. Sparrow."
Anna had to choke back a giggle at the tragic look on Jack's face. "Is it that bloody hard to remember the 'Captain'?" he groaned on his way to the door. "Is it really that hard..." His voice faded after he shut the door, and Anna turned her laugh into a cough when her father's eyes fell on her.
Norrington looked away when she looked back. Instead, he turned his eyes to the window, staring out at the bay and saying nothing. Finally Anna broke the silence. "Father, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, standing up.
With a sigh, Norrington looked back at her. "I'm – not sure, anymore," he admitted. "You are not the daughter I know. In such a short time, I don't even know what to say to you, and I don't like that."
"You mean, you don't like that I like the pirates," Anna whispered.
Norrington flinched as she put it in such bald terms, but he nodded. "That too. Anna, I have spent my entire career trying to put an end to them. They are a plague to any kind of sea travel – you name it, pirates have made it their purpose to hinder it. I thought that my children were safe from any possible fondness for such creatures, and now you laugh with them, joke with them, invite them like childhood friends into the house – can you understand what I'm trying to say, Anna?"
She nodded too. "You feel like I've betrayed you," she finished for him, and her throat tightened as Norrington nodded for the second time. "Believe me, Father, it's not any fault of yours! And if it's any comfort to you, I hated them at first – hated them! But Jack could have killed us, and instead he let us all live. It's thanks to him that Thomas and I are alive today. For that, I owe him my gratitude, if nothing else. But I like them for more than that. I like them because they are –"
"Anna, please." Norrington held up his hand to silence her. "I respect your feelings, if not the people who receive them, but do not praise them to me." He fell silent for a painful moment, and then added, very softly, "I lost someone who was – very dear to me – to pirates, once. I never wanted that to happen again."
"Father, you haven't lost me!" Anna protested. "You're just – sharing me, in a way. You're still my father. You're still the one who read me stories and taught me to play chess. Nothing changes that. Even though I've grown to honestly like the pirates, I still love you!" She threw her arms around Norrington and hugged him. "You haven't lost me, Father," she whispered into his coat shoulder, and hugged him tighter when she felt him hug her back. "This is something we're all going to have to live with," she added, more loudly.
"Yes," Norrington agreed. He released her and looked down at her. "I am sorry, Anna, that I can't accept them as you wish – truly sorry."
"I know," Anna replied. "I'm sorry too – but I understand. I do." She grinned wryly. "How could I not, growing up on tales of the vile pirate crews that used to plunder the Caribbean coast?" That drew a laugh from Norrington, and when he stepped out of the door, Anna did not feel like a complete betrayer of her father. Granted, she felt as though there were few things she could have done to hurt him more, but not as if she might as well kill him now.
And somehow, the last person in the world she wanted to see at the moment was Jack, who, with his perfect sense of the worst timing in the world, came back into her room after Norrington had left. Anna sat back down on her bed and didn't look at Jack as she said, "Jack, could you – could I be alone for a little while?"
Now she slanted a cautious glance at him through her eyelashes, and saw him tilt his head to one side. "You all right?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm fine! I would just like to be alone." Something had gone horribly wrong between them. A minute ago, Anna could have said anything to him and not felt stupid. Now the simplest request in the world would have sounded to her like she was demanding the moon on a silver platter. She stared down at her hands, clenched tightly together in her lap. She saw Jack shrug, saw his booted feet turn and walk out of her room, saw the door close behind him.
But it was only then, after he was gone, that Anna let herself bury her face in a pillow and cry.
***
Supper that night was a stilted affair, with Anna red-eyed, Norrington silent, and the Turners trying to maintain conversation. In fact, it was a downright miserable experience for all concerned, and they all made polite excuses to end the meal as soon as was decently possible. For the brief duration of supper, Anna picked at her food, fighting back more tears, and stared down at her plate. The one time her mother tried to coax her to eat more, Anna tried to smile – Elizabeth Turner thought it looked more like a grimace.
She made it a point to be waiting for Anna when the girl went into her room after supper. "Anna, what's wrong?" she asked as soon as Anna stepped over the threshold.
"Nothing," Anna lied, biting her lip and heading for the desk.
Elizabeth sighed. "Anna, you're doing no one any favors if you keep it inside you and let it fester. Tell me! Is there – might there be something I could do to help?"
"I doubt it." Anna sat down, her back to Elizabeth, and nearly choked with the effort to talk calmly through a threatening sob.
"Well, why not tell me and let me be the judge of that?"
It took Anna a long moment to bring herself to turn around and face Elizabeth. "I – Father doesn't like that I'm – friendly – with the pirates," she said finally.
Elizabeth pulled Anna into an embrace. "I'm sorry," she soothed, stroking the girl's hair. Anna put her arms around Elizabeth and stifled the sob in her sleeve. "But that's not all, is it?"
"Ye – no." Anna rested her chin on Elizabeth's shoulder. "I – I kissed Jack, this afternoon."
She felt Elizabeth give a small start of surprise. "Well, Anna, you just don't believe in doing things halfway, do you?" she laughed weakly. Anna laughed weakly back and looked up at Elizabeth. "Well." The older woman sighed, trying to come up with an answer, a solution, for her friend. "Well, Anna," she said at last, "I can certainly see how that would upset you. But if you'd let me give you some advice, I would say to do what feels right to you. I know that that's often hard to do." Elizabeth smiled wryly. "But it is what will bring you the most happiness, in the end, doing what is right. Not 'best,' Anna, not 'correct.' 'Right.' You'll know what's right and what's best, and sometimes they aren't the same thing. But that's what I'd tell you."
Anna nodded and sniffed. "Thank you." She hugged Elizabeth again.
"And another piece of advice. Your father loves you very much, but if you live the way you think will please him most, you may not be pleasing yourself. And that's what I've come to understand – that you have to live in what way suits you. Does that help at all?"
"Yes," Anna whispered. "Yes. It does."
"Good." Elizabeth let go of Anna. "Do you want to be alone?"
"Yes – I think so." Elizabeth nodded and quietly withdrew, leaving Anna to her thoughts.
Anna drew a deep breath and lay down, curled up in a fetal position, on her bed. Somehow she felt better after talking to Elizabeth – she could breathe again, for one thing. And she felt less of a betrayer to Norrington than before. Anna kicked off her shoes and tugged impatiently at the lacing of her dress. Elizabeth knew what she was talking about – she had, after all, followed her own advice, and she was perfectly happy and content. Anna sighed and pulled the dress over her head, tugging loose a few hairpins in the process, and lay back down in her underclothes.
"I should change into my nightgown," she muttered to herself. "Oh, hang it all, I can sleep just fine in a chemise!" Burrowing her head into her soft pillow, Anna relaxed beneath her covers and closed her eyes. Her last waking thought before she drifted off to sleep was of Jack, and of their kiss.
She didn't feel guilty for thinking of him.
***
Her guilt stayed absolved the next morning, when she got up early to the perfect silence of the house. For a while Anna lay in bed, slowly waking herself up and listening to the quiet. When she decided that she could open her eyes, she did so, and went to the window in the bargain. The sun was bright golden on the thatched roofs of Port Royal. It looked like a storybook morning, all gold and blue and diamonds on the water. On impulse, Anna pushed the window open, climbed up onto the window ledge, and leaned out, basking in the warmth of the sun on her face. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back.
Then the door opened, and someone gave the masculine version of a yelp. "Bloody hell, Anna, what do you think you're doing?" I know that voice, Anna thought dreamily, her eyes still closed. That's Jack. Footsteps came swiftly over to the window, and Anna opened her eyes as Jack took her hands and pulled her down. Then reality kicked in with a vengeance. That is Jack, she thought, suddenly blushing very red, and he kissed me yesterday, and I am in my chemise! She tried to pull her hands away and reach for her bed robe, but he held them. "What possessed you, you crazy girl?" he demanded. "What on earth did you think you were doing? You could've fallen out the window!"
"Jack," she interrupted, "at least let me get a robe on before you keep interrogating me!"
He raised his eyebrows. "Not bloody likely, after seeing you do a fool stunt like that."
"Then lower your voice," suggested Anna, "or else Father will wake up and come in and see you with me in my underclothes, and that would not be good for either of us."
Her words created silence for a moment, before Jack allowed himself to smile. "I know exactly what you mean, love," he said, letting go of her hands. "Get your robe."
Extremely grateful for the dignity-preserving silk garment, Anna practically dived for it and tied it tight in front, wishing she'd been able to talk her sister and mother into making her chemises with a higher neckline. She'd never thought she was well-endowed around her chest as it was, and there was really no point in showing off what was barely there... And I'm babbling, she scolded, I'm mind-babbling! She turned back to face Jack. "Now why did you come into my room early in the morning?"
"I thought we should talk," he said, sitting easily down in the desk chair.
"About what?" asked Anna, sitting on her bed and pulling her knees up to her chest.
"About what happened yesterday," Jack answered, surprised that she hadn't guessed.
In fact, she had guessed. She just didn't want to discuss it. "Jack, there really isn't anything to talk about –"
"Oh, of course not," he rejoined. "We only kissed, after all. Nothing important."
Anna ran her hand distractedly through her tousled hair. "Jack, please –"
"Please what? Go away and don't darken your respectable doorstep again?" He grinned. "I'd be much obliged to, only you invited me in, so it's on your head, whatever happens."
"Do you pirates always do this sort of thing?" Anna demanded. "Can all of you twist things around so you're never at fault, and everyone else is always to blame?"
"Tricks of the trade, love," he said calmly.
"Well, Captain Sparrow, I'd appreciate it if for once you could stop being a pirate and be a person!"
Jack looked amazed at her outburst. Anna felt amazed as well – she had not expected to come so close to shouting, and she lowered her voice, mindful of her own advice a minute ago. "It is not easy at all, being made to feel as though everything were 'on my head,' as you so aptly put it. I don't know if you've ever felt that way, but you do bring it on nearly everyone you talk to, Jack. And if you care enough about me to kiss me – twice – I'd hope you cared enough about me to put that impulse on hold for just a little while and really talk to me."
Jack leaned back and took a deep breath. Anna took one too, but quietly, waiting for him to reply. When he said nothing, she prompted, "What did you want to talk about?"
"About yesterday," he reminded her. "Just wondering a few things."
"Such as...?"
He finally looked back at her. "Such as, what the point of it was, and if it is or isn't likely to happen again." At her face, fighting against dismay, Jack laughed. "Don't worry, love, you're not that bad a kisser. You just need practice." Anna blushed, embarrassed. Why had Mother never told her about these kinds of conversations? Why? "I hope you realize that as a pirate my intentions toward you could never be more than dishonorable" – Anna didn't try to stop her smile – "but even honorable intentions would be difficult to carry out with your dear daddy breathing down all our necks and no doubt measuring them for nooses. So really what I want to know, Anna, is what the upshot of those kisses will be. What happens now that we've come this far?"
"First," she said shakily, "what happens is that you tell me what, if anything, you feel for me, and I do the same. You first."
He grinned again. It was a beautiful grin. "About you? I'm interested in going farther with you, Anna – but I wouldn't, if you didn't want to. I suppose your honor is safe as long as you're under your father's eagle eyes, though." He tilted the chair back on two legs. "Your turn."
Anna coughed. "I – the same thing, I think." She looked up cautiously – he was watching her with teasing interest. "I – I did like the kissing, yesterday – I just don't know quite what else could happen. I don't even know exactly how I feel about you. But I think I am interested."
"Good." Jack smiled lazily. "Come here, then."
"What?" Anna's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"
"You need a few lessons in kissing," he grinned, putting his head on one side. "But I'm fairly confident of your potential, once you have them. Come here."
Her legs trembling, Anna slid off the bed and made the few steps between it and the desk to stand in front of Jack. Without standing, he reached up and brushed a hand lazily up behind her neck, pulling her face down to his.
The lessons began.