The Matchmaker

Katherine woke up the following morning with a start.  She paused for a moment as she glanced over to her clock and took note of the time.  Bloody hell! she thought to herself as she sat up abruptly.  It is nearly nine o'clock and no one woke me?  I am meeting Matthieu at 10!  Katherine leapt out of bed and quickly summoned Margaret to assist her in getting dressed.  As soon as she deemed herself satisfactory, Katherine flew down the stairs and made her way toward the sitting room.

"Did anyone ever tell you not to run in the house?" a sarcastic voice asked as she passed by an open door.  Katherine halted in mid step as gracefully turned and peered in the door.  There she found James seated officially behind his desk, a mass of papers strewn about the fine wooden desktop.  He rested his elbows on the desk and folded his hands as he allowed a sly grin to cross his face.  "Where is the fire?" he inquired.

Katherine drew a breath as she stood up to her full height.  "I am off to see Matthieu before our gathering at the Governor's this afternoon," she declared with a confident tone.  She smiled at her brother in an innocent manner before placing her hands behind her back.  Katherine then studied James's desk and frowned slightly.  "Do you always work on Saturdays?" she demanded, pointing at the various manifests sitting in front of the Commodore.

"I work until my duties have been accomplished, not a second before," James said coolly.  He flashed a smile before taking up his pen and returning to his paperwork.  "Are you visiting him at the Fort?" he asked without looking up.

Katherine leaned against the doorframe and crossed her arms.  "Yes, actually.  We were going to go on a stroll, perhaps take lunch someplace before tea."

James looked up suspiciously.  "And maintain a strict sense of propriety?" he asked, his tone dead serious. 

Katherine sighed and had to refrain from rolling her eyes at her brother.  "James Norrington," she began sternly.  "Need I remind you that I am 22 years old, quite capable of considering my own actions, and - "

"And will act appropriately at all times," finished James decidedly.  His smile returned as he watched his sister's cheeks grow red.  James placed his pen back in its bottle as he rested his elbows back on the desk.  "But then again both you and Matthieu are respectable individuals and I'm sure you will both conduct yourselves accordingly.  Go…" James said as he returned to his work.  "You have a message on the table…"

Katherine watched as James absently waved his hand in the direction of the sitting room.  She then turned and made her way down the hall and turned into the bright space of the sitting room and gathered her note.  She smiled to herself as she read through it – Melissa had sent word to her that she would be the only one attending tea this afternoon from her household.  Unfortunately her uncle, Joshua Meyerson, was feeling ill and her younger brother Marcus was staying home to tend to him.  Splendid, Katherine thought as she turned on her heel and headed back toward her brother's office.  James had been lost in thought as he scribbled furiously on one of the documents, when he suddenly noticed Katherine standing directly in front of him.  He slowly drew a breath before looking up at her with a pleasant smile.

"I have a personal question to ask of you, dear brother," she started. 

"Oh no," James said as he placed his pen back on the desk and raked his fingers through his hair.

"I'm not asking you if you surrendered the Fort to the bloody Spanish, James!" clarified Katherine.  An expectant grin slowly invaded her expression.  "It is of no consequence, really.  I should simply like to know your thoughts on a subject, that is all."

"Of course you do," he sighed.

Katherine bit her lip, but could contain herself no longer.  "So what do you think of Miss Reynolds?" she blurted as he spread her arms out along the edge of the desk and stared her brother down.

"Katherine!" exclaimed James as he leaned back in his chair and looked up at her.  He was quite taken aback by her forward comments.  Katherine only leaned toward him, the grin on her face widening with every tense second.

"Well?  Do you fancy her or not?" she asked impatiently.

"That is absolutely non of your concern," asserted James, his tone cool and face expressionless.  That mask worked well enough to hide his thoughts from others, but not from Katherine.  She narrowed her eyes in displeasure as he rose to show her the door.  "Go now, I'm sure Gillette is waiting," he said softly.  "And if you do walk around the fort, mind the eastern side of the wall.   We're having a terrible time with some deterioration of the stone there."

Katherine turned to look him square on.  "Do you mean to tell me that my brother's affairs are none of my concern, James?" she asked softly.  Her expression softened some, but remained firm.  "You're right.  I shan't spend my time meddling with your affairs.  But," Katherine paused as she glanced down at the floor, then back up to James's eyes.  "Perhaps you would afford me the same courtesy."  She smiled pleasantly before turning and making her way to the door to meet the carriage outside, leaving James standing in his office doorway.  He stared after her for a moment as he pondered those last words of hers.

"Bloody hell," he muttered as he turned back to his desk.

Katherine and Matthieu had spent a pleasant few hours together as they casually strolled about Fort Charles and dodged the unrelenting Doctor Aiden Quinlan.  Katherine was actually thrilled to see the quirky little Irishman, but Gillette was less than pleased, mainly due to the fact that Quinlan fussed over him so. 

"Honestly, Aiden, I am feeling quite well today.  I think the fresh air is doing me good," insisted Matthieu as he attempted to shoo the surgeon away. 

"Aye, but ye shoulder needs a bit more time, lad.  Besides," Aiden paused as a sarcastic little grin crossed his mouth.  "Is it the fresh air, or that fine lady that be doin' ye so much good, Matthieu?"

"Go away, Quinlan!" sighed Gillette through gritted teeth.  The surgeon then gathered his things and exited the room, chuckling down the length of the corridor.  Katherine laughed outright as she took Matthieu's arm and led him outside to the waiting carriage.  The carriage stopped momentarily at Norrington's estate to pick up James, before finally heading off to the Governor's mansion for afternoon tea.  Katherine had departed her plan for James and Melissa to Gillette, who thought it brilliant.  The two now sat opposite the Commodore and attempted to hide their impending laughter.  James stared at them before letting out a weary sigh.

"What are you two grinning at?" he demanded.  Matthieu simply looked down and Katherine shook her head.  James rolled his eyes and returned his gaze out the window.

"Nothing at all, sir," Gillette finally stammered, having gained his composure.  "I…just told Katherine something today that I had heard from Mr. Murtogg.  Completely useless but charmingly funny," he said, hoping to change the subject and quell his superior's suspicion. 

"If it is that blasted Giggle Loop nonsense, I want to hear nothing of it, Matthieu," James declared. 

Gillette snapped his head up to look at Norrington.  "You've heard about it then?" he asked curiously.

"Private Murtogg was laughing uncontrollably in the middle of a bloody interrogation, so I questioned him on it.  He blamed it on the Giggle Loop.  So, when I inquired after that, he simply stated that I was 'not ready' for the Giggle Loop, and so I thankfully left it at that," stated James as he began to shake his head.  "He then went on about puppies trapped in carriages, or something completely incoherent like that.  That man never ceases to amaze me."  Gillette nodded as Katherine looked on.  Within moments the carriage came to a stop in front of the Governor's mansion. 

Governor Swann enthusiastically greeted his latest guests with his usual generous flair.  After exchanging pleasantries, Governor Swann, Elizabeth, Melissa Reynolds, Katherine, Matthieu, and James finally sat down for tea and began to catch up on the Port Royale gossip.  First topic, of course, was James's head.

"How are you feeling this afternoon, Commodore?" Elizabeth asked innocently as she sipped her tea.

James looked over to her and paused a moment before responding.  "Quite well, actually.  Thank you for inquiring, Miss Swann."  Gillette seemed to pick up on the awkwardness as he glanced over to James.

"One would think that you were attacked or some damn thing," Matthieu said as he tried to suppress his amusement.  His smile faded as he looked about the room and noticed the solemn expressions.  "You didn't, did you?"  Gillette's hard gaze rested solely on Norrington now, who was fingering his teacup.  "You did…"

Elizabeth dutifully filled the group in on the previous night's events with the help of her father.  Though he was not there, Weatherby Swann soaked up stories like a dry sponge and honestly enjoyed regurgitating the information.  James turned and made to defend himself when Gillette took action.  Matthieu placed his cup down before his arms started going in all different directions during his tirade.  "You were attacked in the street and didn't tell me?!  Good God man, you could have been seriously injured.  What were you thinking riding through town alone at that time of night?  You are not still concussed from the stairs incident, are you?  I would say you are!  Where's Quinlan…" 

"What stairs?" demanded Elizabeth.

"A bullet grazed his scalp two weeks ago during the attack on the Dauntless and sent him crashing down a flight of stairs," explained Gillette.

"You never told me about the stairs!" Elizabeth turned with great disappointment to James, who merely sighed as he leaned forward to rub his forehead.

Gillette's rant continued for what seemed like eternity, throughout which James sat stock-still and stared at his teacup, with the occasional glance up to Elizabeth, Katherine, and Melissa, who seemed to be quite amused at the situation.  James allowed a small grin to cross his face as he took in her expression and watched her as she chuckled at Matthieu's flailing tirade.  Eventually the room grew quiet and James casually looked over his shoulder to his second.  "Are you quite finished, Gillette?" he asked.  Matthieu nodded, his cheeks still flushed.

"Am I correct in assuming you're French, Lievtenant?" inquired Elizabeth through an amused smile.  "And how are those mermaids of yours?"

"Absolument," Gillette declared with all the civility he could muster.  His aversion of Elizabeth was well known to both James and Katherine.  "And I am sure you will find the mermaids to be in excellent spirits, Miss Swann."

Melissa brushed a stray blonde hair from her face before she spoke up.  "Mermaids?  Surely we are not writing children's stories now, are we?" she teased as she glanced over to Katherine.  The two friends immediately broke out in smiles. 

"No, of course not Miss Reynolds," James said.  He, too, was nearly smiling at her remark.  "I am afraid it has to do with an incident some time ago aboard the Dauntless regarding a pirate hunt we happened to be involved in," he declared, shooting a warning glance to both Elizabeth and Gillette.  The last thing James desired was another insightful look into the Black Pearl incident and the intricacies of curses, compliments of Elizabeth Swann and Lievtenant Matthieu Gillette.  It was too late for that, however. 

"I told you they couldn't be killed," said Elizabeth triumphantly.

Gillette's face suddenly became a fine shade of red for the second time during the tea session.  "And was I supposed to believe you?"

"I was threatened by them, Lievtenant!  I should think that I would know!" asserted Elizabeth as she held up her left hand.

"You were frantically screaming and making no sense!  Of course I was not going to believe you!  And masochists are…"

"Lievtenant!" interrupted Norrington with a commanding tone.

"Never mind, Miss Swann," said Gillette as he finally regained some vague sense of propriety.  Matthieu merely sat back and folded his hands in his lap in an obvious attempt to hold his tongue.  Katherine leaned over and gently took his left arm.   

James straightened up and looked across the table to Elizabeth and the Governor.  "I apologize to you both," he began.  James was promptly cut off by a wave of the Governor's hand.

"No need to apologize, James.  I daresay this is one of the more exciting afternoon gatherings I've had in quite some time," Weatherby said with his usual, kind air.  "Though I am afraid our subject matter is confusing Miss Reynolds over there."  The Governor smirked some as he glanced down toward Melissa.

"Quite!" she said.  "Though I noticed Katherine looks vaguely lost as well, so at least I shan't sink alone."  The group chuckled over Melissa's quiet candor.  Eventually the subject changed from undead skeleton pirates – or hints of them anyway – to Melissa's past and hopeful future.  She had moved to Portsmouth, England, three years ago upon the death of her dear father, and in doing so left behind all of her close acquaintances in London.  Melissa admitted to being the shy one, but at the same time had little trouble recalling her school day exploits with Katherine.

"I did not burn it.  It was just a bit overdone, that is all," insisted Katherine.

"It was blackened the entire way through," Melissa said with a smirk.

"Well, I heard some people enjoy them that way," Katherine stated desperately.

"No one likes their tarts black, Katherine!" Melissa asserted before laughing.  She slowly regained her composure and turned to James.  "Is it safe to assume that she does not do any cooking, Commodore?"  James chuckled and quickly explained that no, Katherine most certainly did not go near the kitchen.

"I try to limit my talents to where they are useful," Katherine said and she mustered up her remaining dignity. 

"And far away from the kitchen?" teased James.

"Exactly," Katherine said as she took a sip of her tea. 

The conversation continued between the six individuals, touching on everything from the repairs aboard the Dauntless and Hambleton, to that magnificent grey troublemaker known as Darby, to the gossipmonger of Port Royale herself, Lady Anderton, and her upcoming ball.  Throughout it all James found himself transfixed on Melissa.  Quite often she glanced over to him and gave him a smile.  She was captivating, but not in the same way Katherine was.  Melissa seemed much more subtle in her manner.  Either way, James found himself nearly enamored with her, though he was hesitant to admit it.

"Commodore…James!"

Elizabeth's voice snapped Norrington back to attention like he did to most Marines.  He glanced over to his right at Elizabeth, trying to hide his growing embarrassment.  She looked at him expectantly before realizing he had completely missed what she had just said.  Smiling slightly, Elizabeth repeated herself.  "I was just asking if you thought the battlements was a good place to hold the wedding."

James paused in thought before responding.  "Oh, well, I suppose that would depend on the size of the reception.  I regret there is not a great deal of space up there on the actual…battlements.  Perhaps within the actual courtyard itself?"

"Actually, that was what we were thinking," Elizabeth said.  "Are you alright?" she asked, a slight chuckle in her voice.

James smiled.  He had missed the entire conversation because he was too busy staring stupidly at Melissa.  "Quite, thank you Miss Swann.  I must have…drifted off," he said in a valiant attempt to cover his blunder.  However, a quick glance sideways to the skeptical faces of Katherine and Gillette told him that they knew the real reason for his mental absence.  Katherine was now beaming ridiculously from ear to ear, whilst Gillette sat there with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Trailed off indeed," Matthieu jested.  "You looked like a barracuda surrounded by shiny objects."  The group had a quick laugh over Gillette's comment.  James merely flashed a smile and looked down to study his cup.  Splendid…My sister, the matchmaker, and he's not helping, Norrington thought to himself.