Usual disclaimers... blah!
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Chapter 7 - Port Royal
In the morning Bessie woke, frightened to find the pirate still there, his arms still wrapped around her and one of his hands possessively cupping her left breast. It was before dawn but she quietly lit the candle and started to prepare a bath. She had needed one the night before but his touch had left her feeling soiled. Once it was ready she scrubbed herself thoroughly in the cold water, unable to spare the time to heat it. He was still asleep when she had finished, but she realised that if she delayed for breakfast then she would be late for work. It was not as if she was unused to going hungry - she always seemed to be hungry recently and often the basic meal she received at work was her only food. Quickly she dressed, quietly picking up the key from the floor beside the bed and letting herself out of the room. She locked the door and slipped the key back underneath it before hurrying towards the Governor's Mansion. The last thing she wanted was to be late.
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Jack woke slowly, surprised to find it was already light and that Bessie had gone. He pulled on his clothes, smiling at how clean they were. He looked around the kitchen for some breakfast, only finding a stale loaf of bread which he finished off hungrily. He would have to leave carefully - he had meant to be gone before the dawn, but now it was light he would have to be careful not to bump into any of the watch. Frowning he guiltily realised that there was nothing else to eat and left a quick note with some shillings on the table, telling Bessie to get some more food in, before slipping out the door. He looked at his coat, hanging beside the door, but decided against it. It was going to be hot in Will's forge and he could always pick it up later.
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"Norrington! Why did it have to be bloody Norrington!" Jack cursed to himself as he scurried down yet another alleyway to avoid his pursuers. He had been hoping to see Will but had been spotted long before he could reach the smithy and had been running around Port Royal for most of the morning trying to give the watch the slip. Eventually his feet found the path to the edge of town and, checking that no pursuers were yet in sight, he sped along the narrow trail towards the cove where the Black Pearl was safely hidden. He would have to return to his ship and come back another day - Port Royal was far too dangerous at the moment!
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Bessie had gone pale when she had heard the scandalous gossip that the pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, had been seen in Port Royal and that the watch were chasing him all over town. She had not known his full name, but surely there could not be many pirate Captains called Jack in Port Royal at the same time. The Governor, Weatherby Swann had gone apoplectic with rage when he had escaped, but she breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that her secret would remain so a while longer.
As soon as her days work was done she hurried down the hill towards her small home, surprised to find the door unlocked. "Silly," she chided herself, "how could he leave and you get back in otherwise!" For indeed, the pirate Captain was nowhere to be seen - although his coat still hung behind her door. Her eyes fell on a pile of shillings on the table with a scrap of paper. For a moment her hand hovered over the money, but then she left it. Perhaps his note was warning her not to touch it - she did not know, for she could not read. She went to bed hungry that night, never realising that he had wanted her to buy food. At least she would be paid in a few days so that she could buy some - she would just have to wait until then.
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Jack returned two nights later. It was dark, but she knew it would have been asking too much to hope that he would not return. He smiled when she let him in, sauntering into the room but stopped in surprise when he saw the stack of shillings still on the table. "Bessie, didn't yer see m' note?" he frowned. "I asked yer t' get more food in..."
Bessie looked at him horrified, her wet dress still in her hands. "I'm sorry Captain... I... I..." She burst into tears, two days of scant food and hard work had pushed her to breaking point.
"Didn't yer read m' note?" Jack's voice raised angrily. He had been looking forward to a home-cooked meal tonight. Ned Cotton, the ships doctor, doubled as cook but unfortunately his lack of a tongue made the matter of seasoning a very hit and miss affair.
"I... I can't read..." she confessed, tears pouring down her face as she stood ashamedly before him, her body tensed as if she expected to be hit.
"What?" he gasped. "Didn't yer mother teach yer?"
Bessie shook her head. "We were always too busy running from pirates," she whispered. "And then she died..."
Jack felt ashamed that he had eaten her last bit of food. "When did yer last eat?" he asked worriedly for she looked quite pale despite her tan - and thinner than usual if that were possible.
"Apart from at work?" He nodded. "The other night..." she admitted. "When you were here..."
"Bloody hell woman!" he cursed, grabbing the money from the table and stomping angrily out of the door. He realised he could not be angry with her but was more angry with himself for his assumption. Just because he could read and write he often took it for granted, but he reasoned that Bessie could not have shown the note to anyone and asked them to read it for her because she had probably been too frightened of what it might have said. He sneaked around the town and stopped by the bakery, banging on the door until the owner grumpily opened up. Several minutes later Jack was on his way to his next port of call, the butchers. He would get her food himself if it was going to be the only way she would eat.
Few shops were open that late, but with a little bit of begging, a lot more shillings than usual and the added spice of dodging the watch, he returned nearly an hour later with a sackful of food. "'Ere," he said, throwing the sack on the table. "Find somethin' t' do with this..."
"What is the catch?" she asked warily.
"Eh?" he puzzled.
"The catch - what you want from me in return..." she explained.
Jack grinned - she was learning that you got nothing for nothing from a pirate. "Well, apart from yer body - an' we're still negotiatin' on that luv, yer are no good t' me if yer die of hunger. I'll never find th' map then!"
"But I don't know where the map is!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.
Jack shook his head sagely. "Nah, yer simply don't remember that yer know where it is," he reasoned. "In time it'll come t' yer..."
She walked towards the table cautiously, opening the sack, finding several large chickens, cheeses, bread, milk, oats, vegetables, fruit... more food than she had seen for a very long time - well, food that had been intended for her at least. There were also several bottles of wine and a large bottle of rum.
"D' yer think yer can cook somethin' with that?" Jack asked hopefully, rescuing the bottle of rum and opening it with his teeth.
"I... I... yes Captain," she gasped, looking up at him in shock.
"In future I expect yer t' keep th' larder well stocked. I'll leave yer money t' cover it..." he offered.
"Thank you Captain," she whispered, eyes wide with delight as she scooped the food up and carried it over to the kitchen area, devouring a large apple as she walked. Perhaps he was a good man despite being a pirate... she glanced across at him, trying to decide and ending up more confused than she had been to begin with. She did not understand this pirate.
Jack took off his boots and lay down on the bed, smiling contentedly. He realised that the way to gain her trust was with food for she was clearly underfed and very hungry. "Wake me when it's done," he slurred.
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Chapter 7 - Port Royal
In the morning Bessie woke, frightened to find the pirate still there, his arms still wrapped around her and one of his hands possessively cupping her left breast. It was before dawn but she quietly lit the candle and started to prepare a bath. She had needed one the night before but his touch had left her feeling soiled. Once it was ready she scrubbed herself thoroughly in the cold water, unable to spare the time to heat it. He was still asleep when she had finished, but she realised that if she delayed for breakfast then she would be late for work. It was not as if she was unused to going hungry - she always seemed to be hungry recently and often the basic meal she received at work was her only food. Quickly she dressed, quietly picking up the key from the floor beside the bed and letting herself out of the room. She locked the door and slipped the key back underneath it before hurrying towards the Governor's Mansion. The last thing she wanted was to be late.
###
Jack woke slowly, surprised to find it was already light and that Bessie had gone. He pulled on his clothes, smiling at how clean they were. He looked around the kitchen for some breakfast, only finding a stale loaf of bread which he finished off hungrily. He would have to leave carefully - he had meant to be gone before the dawn, but now it was light he would have to be careful not to bump into any of the watch. Frowning he guiltily realised that there was nothing else to eat and left a quick note with some shillings on the table, telling Bessie to get some more food in, before slipping out the door. He looked at his coat, hanging beside the door, but decided against it. It was going to be hot in Will's forge and he could always pick it up later.
###
"Norrington! Why did it have to be bloody Norrington!" Jack cursed to himself as he scurried down yet another alleyway to avoid his pursuers. He had been hoping to see Will but had been spotted long before he could reach the smithy and had been running around Port Royal for most of the morning trying to give the watch the slip. Eventually his feet found the path to the edge of town and, checking that no pursuers were yet in sight, he sped along the narrow trail towards the cove where the Black Pearl was safely hidden. He would have to return to his ship and come back another day - Port Royal was far too dangerous at the moment!
###
Bessie had gone pale when she had heard the scandalous gossip that the pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow, had been seen in Port Royal and that the watch were chasing him all over town. She had not known his full name, but surely there could not be many pirate Captains called Jack in Port Royal at the same time. The Governor, Weatherby Swann had gone apoplectic with rage when he had escaped, but she breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that her secret would remain so a while longer.
As soon as her days work was done she hurried down the hill towards her small home, surprised to find the door unlocked. "Silly," she chided herself, "how could he leave and you get back in otherwise!" For indeed, the pirate Captain was nowhere to be seen - although his coat still hung behind her door. Her eyes fell on a pile of shillings on the table with a scrap of paper. For a moment her hand hovered over the money, but then she left it. Perhaps his note was warning her not to touch it - she did not know, for she could not read. She went to bed hungry that night, never realising that he had wanted her to buy food. At least she would be paid in a few days so that she could buy some - she would just have to wait until then.
###
Jack returned two nights later. It was dark, but she knew it would have been asking too much to hope that he would not return. He smiled when she let him in, sauntering into the room but stopped in surprise when he saw the stack of shillings still on the table. "Bessie, didn't yer see m' note?" he frowned. "I asked yer t' get more food in..."
Bessie looked at him horrified, her wet dress still in her hands. "I'm sorry Captain... I... I..." She burst into tears, two days of scant food and hard work had pushed her to breaking point.
"Didn't yer read m' note?" Jack's voice raised angrily. He had been looking forward to a home-cooked meal tonight. Ned Cotton, the ships doctor, doubled as cook but unfortunately his lack of a tongue made the matter of seasoning a very hit and miss affair.
"I... I can't read..." she confessed, tears pouring down her face as she stood ashamedly before him, her body tensed as if she expected to be hit.
"What?" he gasped. "Didn't yer mother teach yer?"
Bessie shook her head. "We were always too busy running from pirates," she whispered. "And then she died..."
Jack felt ashamed that he had eaten her last bit of food. "When did yer last eat?" he asked worriedly for she looked quite pale despite her tan - and thinner than usual if that were possible.
"Apart from at work?" He nodded. "The other night..." she admitted. "When you were here..."
"Bloody hell woman!" he cursed, grabbing the money from the table and stomping angrily out of the door. He realised he could not be angry with her but was more angry with himself for his assumption. Just because he could read and write he often took it for granted, but he reasoned that Bessie could not have shown the note to anyone and asked them to read it for her because she had probably been too frightened of what it might have said. He sneaked around the town and stopped by the bakery, banging on the door until the owner grumpily opened up. Several minutes later Jack was on his way to his next port of call, the butchers. He would get her food himself if it was going to be the only way she would eat.
Few shops were open that late, but with a little bit of begging, a lot more shillings than usual and the added spice of dodging the watch, he returned nearly an hour later with a sackful of food. "'Ere," he said, throwing the sack on the table. "Find somethin' t' do with this..."
"What is the catch?" she asked warily.
"Eh?" he puzzled.
"The catch - what you want from me in return..." she explained.
Jack grinned - she was learning that you got nothing for nothing from a pirate. "Well, apart from yer body - an' we're still negotiatin' on that luv, yer are no good t' me if yer die of hunger. I'll never find th' map then!"
"But I don't know where the map is!" she cried, throwing her hands in the air in exasperation.
Jack shook his head sagely. "Nah, yer simply don't remember that yer know where it is," he reasoned. "In time it'll come t' yer..."
She walked towards the table cautiously, opening the sack, finding several large chickens, cheeses, bread, milk, oats, vegetables, fruit... more food than she had seen for a very long time - well, food that had been intended for her at least. There were also several bottles of wine and a large bottle of rum.
"D' yer think yer can cook somethin' with that?" Jack asked hopefully, rescuing the bottle of rum and opening it with his teeth.
"I... I... yes Captain," she gasped, looking up at him in shock.
"In future I expect yer t' keep th' larder well stocked. I'll leave yer money t' cover it..." he offered.
"Thank you Captain," she whispered, eyes wide with delight as she scooped the food up and carried it over to the kitchen area, devouring a large apple as she walked. Perhaps he was a good man despite being a pirate... she glanced across at him, trying to decide and ending up more confused than she had been to begin with. She did not understand this pirate.
Jack took off his boots and lay down on the bed, smiling contentedly. He realised that the way to gain her trust was with food for she was clearly underfed and very hungry. "Wake me when it's done," he slurred.
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