As a child, Jack Sparrow had been afraid of very little. His stepfather's swift temper had done well enough to knock the fear out of him. He'd learned through the years now that trust was something not to give easily as well, nor did he waste hate on many a man. The man he saw when he entered the sitting room the next day was one of the few men he did hate.
"Jack, you've grown."
"Tha' tends to 'appen." The pirate's dark eyes shifted from one person to another. Marie looked very uncomfortable as she grasped Richard's hand tightly, turning her own knuckles white with the pressure. He grimaced for a moment, then met his stepson's eyes. His own said he swore that he had no idea this was going to happen. Jack believed this when he saw Harry Johnston's cocky smirk. "Wha' are ya doin' 'ere, anyway?"
"Harry Johnston here let me know that you had come back with Marie and Richard. With a girl, as he said. Are you corrupting a poor, innocent thing as your father did?"
Jack's temper, as little as it showed, flared. He clenched his fists at his side, his mind telling him that of all the times that he has warned Will not to "do something stupid" and to wait for the "opportune moment" this was not the time to go headfirst into trouble.
"Jack?"
The pirate captain turned to see Ana stepping into the room. He'd let her sleep after the night they'd had together. It was a rarity that he'd show his fears to anyone, even to her, but she had been there. Just as she had been, just as she would be in years to come. There she stood then, his Ana Maria. She was dressed in her breeches and loose shirt with a vest over it. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders as it did while at sea. "I'll be there in a moment, luv. Turns out there's... company."
"This is the girl? She looks like nothing more than a whore from one of the low life bars from the Caribbean."
"Father!" Marie gasped.
Jack's restraint snapped as he stepped forward. "Ye've no right to be sayin' things as such, old man."
Matthew Edington continued to sit where he was. Jack was not sure if it was to spite him or if his age kept him from standing in haste. Though he sat, it was not in silence. "Miss... Ana Maria, isn't it?"
"It is."
"Did your dear Jack Sparrow tell you anything about his father?"
"You're Marie's father, eh? He told me that you killed him."
"I did nothing of the sort," Matthew Edington stated gruffly. "He raped my daughter and brainwashed her into thinking she loved him. He ruined her."
"Lyin' bastard," Jack growled. "Ye don' even know what yer sayin so shut yer lyin' trap!"
Ana lay a careful hand on her captain's shoulder. "Jack, it doesn't matter anymore. He's not going to know nor is it your place to rile these people up. You do it enough everywhere else." She sighed. "Maybe we should go."
"We've talked to the authorities, Jack," Harry stated. "Does that frighten you?"
"No. I'd say 'm sorry to disappoint, but 'm not."
"I shall give you a chance to walk away from this, Miss Ana Maria."
Harry nodded in agreement. "Yes, Ana, do think it over."
Ana smiled sweetly and stepped over to Harry, whispering something in his ear that made him pale considerably. "An' ye can both go strait to the lowest circle of hell for what I care. Please do," she hissed, giving the two men a chilling glare. She turned back to Jack. "When do we leave, Cap'n?"
"Soon as the first mate pleases."
"I please for now, thank you. I'll pack me things."
Jack watched as she walked out of the room and turned his eyes back to Richard and Marie. Richard stood from his place and put a hand on the pirate's shoulder, leading him out. They stopped in the next room. "I had nothing to do with that."
"I know."
"And I am sorry, Jack, for what it's worth. I thought... I thought we could clear it all up now and for good. I'm sorry."
Jack ran a hand through his midnight dark hair and sighed. "'e's not gonna let this drop, is 'e?"
"Harry wants Ana and Matthew doesn't want the liability."
"Thought not."
"We'll think of something."
"You'll 'elp?"
"I'll try."
A/N: As I said before, I'm trying to redeem Richard even if just a little. I'm sorry for the short chapter, but this story was meant to be short. I'll probably only have one more chapter in this particular story, but fear not my faithful reviewers (and even those that are new/just read)! I've got a couple one shots I'm planning on writing. :)
Flute Damioh: Resorting to name calling... would be more along Harry's lines. And what is there to make fun of? It's a perfectly normal British name, isn't it? Glad you like it!
LynxRyder: I'm glad you liked that line, b/c that's the only line I really liked out of the whole chapter. Lol. I wasn't my own biggest fan on the last chapter, but I do like to end the chapters with something that catches people's eyes. So it helps to know that it really did do that. Thanks! Haha! Genius... hmm... hope the publishers think the same when I try to get my novels published! More like "nutcase" but hey, genius and madness "amazing how often those two so often coincide."
Taurus-Sparrow-0506: Only problem with writing at those times is that I like all but one class and I'm very busy in that one class. Stupid Computer Lit one... who takes CL1 as a senior?! Bah... Saiko does apparently. Oh well... Hehe, but I will end up writing more in class as time goes on.
Kungfuchick: yeah, I'm having to update much less regularly than normal. I sat myself down to write and it came so so today. I hope it was okay. I'm not fitting in all the ideas I had for this story, but the ideas were so scattered with no real connection except for the setting that it's hard to piece it all together. Oh well, it's working out apparently since people are liking it! Yay!
JackFan2: Yeah, poor Jack... He would hate me after all the stuff I put him through. Happens when you like angst and torture I suppose... Hey, thanks for the grammatical correction. My fingers get to typing and I kinda loose myself in writing so I don't pay much attention to spellings/grammar and the sort. Well, I sort of have a cat. She comes around late afternoon and into the evening and meows at my door until I walk out and pet her for a while (not that that takes long haha) She's really cute. Probably a neighbor's cat, but ah well. Still adorable. :)