Usual disclaimers

Thanks as always for reading and reviewing, although I would like some more reviewing (hint, hint).

Special thanks to my editors, Hilary and Linthilde XX

Some of you are wondering when Jenny is going to start liking Jack.  Why should she?  She is a respectable lady, working as governess to the children of a powerful man whom she is starting to become close to.  This pirate kidnaps her, throws her in the brig twice and forces her to sleep with him.  If I was in her shoes there would have been a couple of serious attempts on Jack's life by now… well, maybe not! ;)  she does however, begin to soften towards him from these two chapters onwards.

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Chapter nine:  'My fate was decided long before the dinner party?'

'Well now, what do we 'ave here lads?'  Jenny looked in fright at her assailant, and turned her head away from his rancid breath. A dirty hand stroked her face and neck then slid inside her shirt, cupping a breast and squeezing.  Suddenly he started grasping, pulling and tearing at her clothes.  She struggled helplessly, trying to break free and screamed for help which earned her a slap across the face.  A hard, ugly mouth covered hers, its tongue probing inside.  She gagged and fought against her attacker for all she was worth but the man suddenly made a strange noise and slumped against her before sliding down to the ground, a surprised look on his face.  Jenny looked around wildly as the rest of the men scattered in all directions, her eyes widening in shock as she saw Davy, Pete and a few other members of The Black Pearl seeing off her attackers.  She watched in horrified fascination as blood dripped from Mad Pete's dagger and she looked down at the dead man at her feet feeling the nausea well up.  Before she had chance to do or say anything, Davy grabbed her arm and marched her down the street.

'You've done it now Jenny.  The Cap'n's angry… really, really angry.'  The men took her down an alley that led to the top of the main street then walked quickly down to the docks where Jack was waiting, his face a hard mask.  He glared at her then jumped into the boat, ignoring her completely.  Jenny climbed in and clung to the side of the boat as it rocked when the others boarded and as soon as all were accounted for, they cast off and rowed back to The Black Pearl.

She felt a strange sense of relief at the sight of the ship, considering her to be the most beautiful vessel she had ever seen, her darkness adding to the beauty not subtracting from it.  She stole a glance at Jack, dreading what he would say to her.  'It is probably straight down to the brig for me for the rest of the voyage.  Oh why did I do that?' She asked herself, making a mental note not to be so impulsive in future.  That is if she ever had a chance to be impulsive again.

Jack climbed the rope first, barking orders as soon as he boarded, and The Pearl lurched as the anchors were raised, already on its way out of the port as the last man climbed aboard and the boats were hauled to the ship's side.  Jenny hovered, not sure what she should do or where she should go until Mr. Gibbs took her arm and propelled her towards the rigging, looking up as the sails were unfurled. 

'I'd stay up there a while if I were you pet.  Best not get in Jack's way.'

Jenny needed no further encouragement, her fear of Jack's anger overcoming her fear of heights and she shot up the netting to the crows nest where she kept watch until the change of shift at second dog watch.  It was only then that she made her way tentatively down to the main deck, slipping a couple of times as she lost her footing, unaware of deep brown eyes watching her carefully from below.  She breathed a sigh of relief when her feet hit the deck then looked at Jack who turned away from her, staring pointedly out to sea.  Gathering all her courage, Jenny walked over to him at the helm, trying to stop herself from trembling.

'Jack, I am sorry.  I don't know what I was thinking.'  His eyes narrowed to slits as he regarded her for what seemed like an age before he pushed past her calling for Paul Rochester to take over the helm and he disappeared down the steps to his cabin, slamming the door shut.

Jenny winced at the sound of the door then took a deep breath and made her way to the mess.  She had barely eaten for two days and was ravenous.  The silence that fell over the mess when she entered was deafening, which added to her feeling of disquiet.  She got her food and sat on a bench alone, forcing the food down until Mr. Gibbs caught her eye and gave her a little smile, beckoning her to go and sit with him.  Jenny got her dish and mug and sat opposite the quartermaster, smiling gratefully at him.

'I-I'm sorry.'  Gibbs barely heard the whisper.  'I'm sorry.'  Jenny addressed the whole mess.  'I should never have run off.  I'm sorry for the trouble I caused for you all.'  Her heart was hammering, she was sure they were as angry as the captain was.

'Ah that's alright sweetheart,' Davy smiled, 'It would not be a trip ashore without some incident or other.'  The mess broke into raucous laughter, breaking the tension in the room and making her feel a lot better.  She spent the rest of the evening there, listening in wonder and sometimes shock at the tales of adventure the men told.  As they wandered off one by one, she wondered where she would sleep that night, so she asked the quartemaster where there might be some blankets.  She followed him by torchlight down to the dark bowels of the ship until they came to the hold and helped him rummage through various chests until they found some.  Joshamee Gibbs kindly offered her his cabin but she declined, saying she would prefer to sleep on the deck.  She would not admit it, but Jenny did not feel altogether comfortable at being below on her own.

'Why am I here Mr. Gibbs?'  The unexpected question brought him up short.  'Why does he keep me here?  I'm no use to him.  Or is it that he has a plaything on every voyage he undertakes?'

Gibbs coughed, running a finger along the collar of his shirt.  'Well, I don't see that it's my place to say pet.'  He started to back away, not liking where the conversation was leading.

Jenny sighed, catching the older man's arm in order to prevent his escape.  'Does he have a tart on every voyage?'  Her voice was sharp and her grip on him tightened.

'No, no, o' course he doesn't.  Jack's usually content with whores whenever we dock.  He has never brought a woman on board before, well not since I've been wi'him anyways.'

'That brings me back to my original question then, why am I here?  Have you ever needed someone who can speak and read Spanish before?'

'N-no.  Look, as I say, it is not my place. The Cap'n's the one you want to ask.  I will say this though, your fate was decided long before that dinner party.'  With that, Gibbs pulled his arm away and disappeared to his cabin before Jenny could ask him anything else.

She stood frowning for a long time.  'My fate was decided long before the dinner party?  What the hell does that mean?'  With that thought, Jenny folded some blankets up and lay on them, watching the stars and mulling over what Gibbs had said.

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Author's notes:

The change of shift at second dog watch would have been 6:00pm (1800)