Usual disclaimers... drat!

Chapter 52 - At The Captain's House

Bessie followed the Captain to his home, a two-storied newly built property in the prosperous part of town. She walked up the steps and through the doorway into an imposing lobby. A grand staircase wound to the upper level on her left, leading to a galleried landing.

"Annie?" he called out, unsurprised to hear her answer from the kitchen. "Come and meet her," he said quietly to Bessie, leading her through a doorway opposite which led to a short corridor. A door to the left led to the kitchen. Theodore Groves walked through the door.

An elderly woman looked up at him, smiling. It was already late afternoon and she was preparing vegetables for the evening meal. "You are back early Captain," she queried, blinking as she saw Bessie behind him. "Goodness!" she exclaimed. "What happened to you my dear?"

"Robert," Theodore answered dryly. "Bessie will be working here for a while though... to help you. She will be staying here..."

"Oh..." For a moment her eyes went from Bessie's stomach to her employer and back again.

"No, the child is not mine," he chuckled, "but she is not permitted to leave this house without an escort of marines..."

"In trouble are you my dear?" she worried.

"Kind of..." Bessie evaded. "They want to hang my husband... but they'll never catch him!"

"Are you so sure?" Theodore cautioned. He knew the Commodore would throw every man he had into the effort to catch Jack Sparrow.

Bessie nodded. "I am," she smiled. "I have to be."

"Well, regardless of your belief in him, we need to get you cleaned up." His gaze took in her dress. "There is a bathroom upstairs... if you will follow me..." He paused at the door. "Annie, could you start to heat up some water for a bath?"

"Of course Captain," she said. "I'm sure Mistress..." She paused, frowning. "What did you say your name was again?"

"Bessie," she replied. "Bessie Sparrow."

"The pirate!" Annie squeaked in shock.

"He's a good man!" Bessie countered.

Theodore smiled, remembering another woman defending the same pirate against all comers - Elizabeth Turner. "Whatever he is or is not, let me show you upstairs," he prompted. Bessie followed him up the grand staircase to the middle of three doorways along the straight part of the landing. "I have my own bathroom attached to my bedroom, so you may treat this room as your own whilst you are here."

"Thank you Captain," she murmured, looking around the room. She walked across to the window, looking down on a small courtyard garden, shaded by trees.

"You may sleep in the room next door..." He turned, leading her back towards the top of the staircase to one of his guest rooms. Tastefully furnished with a large double bed and a settee near to the fireplace, the room had a definite nautical feel which was completed with a large sailor's trunk at the base of the bed.

"If I am unable to live at my home, may I collect a few things?" she asked. "I have a dress there that may still fit me..."

"I will escort you in the morning," Theodore offered. "You are not allowed out alone..."

"I'll need to collect my key..." she began awkwardly.

"You have left it with someone?" Theodore smiled. "Let me guess - the Turners?" He started to chuckle at the look of shock on her face. "Oh, do not worry... their association with your husband is well known even if the Commodore cannot catch them together!" For a moment his expression turned serious. "I cannot allow you to visit the Turners - I am sorry."

"But how will I..." she protested.

"The risk of you trying to warn your husband is too great..." he cautioned. "And it would do you no good to warn them as I am sure the Commodore will be having them watched as well..."

"But I only wanted to get my dress..." she begged.

"I will send a marine to collect the key, and the dress, in the morning..." He held up his hand, stalling further protest. "And that is my final word on it."

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Theodore looked up as Bessie walked down the stairs at dinner time. Scrubbed clean, her dress nearly dry, he was surprised to admit that she was pretty. Her hair, now that it was not covered in grime was an unusual shade of blonde, nearly white. Annie had just returned to her small home for the night in the lower part of the town- he did not like to keep her too late - leaving the two of them, probably improperly, alone in the house together. He laughed to himself - why should he worry about proper or not when the woman in question was not only heavily pregnant but the wife of a notorious pirate. Annie had laid the table for them before leaving so he quickly carried the meal across from the kitchen to the small dining room before holding her chair for her as she sat.

"Thank you," she murmured, staring in confusion at the amount of cutlery before her.

"Dig in," Theodore encouraged, "before it gets cold." He smiled, picking up his own knife and fork but paused - somewhat shamefaced - when he heard her say Grace. Only when she had finished did she look up, glancing across to him before reaching for the same cutlery as he had. "Wine?" he offered, reaching for a bottle.

"No, thank you," Bessie declined. "May I have water?"

"You don't drink?" he puzzled, surprised for tales of her husband's drinking sprees were legendary.

"Rarely," she admitted.

"Let me get you some then," he offered, rising and taking her glass through to the kitchen. He returned a few moments later, placing the glass before her.

"Thank you," she smiled, taking a sip. She waited for him to sit before continuing her meal, eating in silence. Theodore wished she would speak, he would love to know why a woman would not only marry Jack Sparrow, but even defend him against the Commodore.

"Have you been married long?" he ventured.

"Two months," she smiled sadly, her thoughts clearly elsewhere.

"Oh..." Theodore realised she would have been visibly pregnant for the ceremony.

"It wasn't like that!" she retorted angrily. "It was me that would not accept his proposal!"

"I'm sorry," he apologised. "I did not mean to infer anything..."

"So quick to condemn," she accused. "You know nothing of my husband!" She looked down at her wedding ring, tears filling her eyes. "He is a good man..."

"Please... I did not mean..." Theodore stuttered, but she kept her eyes downcast, only continuing to eat when she stopped weeping. She did not look up, eating in awkward silence until the meal was finished and then she rose and started to clear the table. "Leave that," he offered. "You've had a tiring day and it can wait until the morning..."

"I said I would help Annie - I gave my word and I will not break it," she said quietly.

"It can wait," Theodore repeated. "Annie is used to finding my dishes in the morning - you can help her then."

Reluctantly she nodded, heading for the door, but she stopped just short and turned to face him. "May I have a candle?" she asked.

"Of course," he puzzled, "although the stairs are lit..."

"I meant all night," she explained. Theodore frowned. He knew candles were expensive, and clearly so did she. "I cannot sleep in the dark - not since on Hughes' ship..."

"What happened?" he asked cautiously.

"I nearly died," she whispered, her eyes recalling the horror before she shut them, remembering. She looked up at him hopefully. "Please... I will work extra hard to pay for them. I have some money at my house too... if it hasn't been stolen."

"Don't worry about it," he smiled graciously. "I am sure I can afford a few candles. Just make sure they are safe in a storm lantern though," he cautioned. "I'll find you some and bring them up."

"Thank you," she smiled gratefully before slowly walking up the stairs.

Theodore watched her go, realising that although he would have to inform the Commodore, it was something he would try to keep from Robert Gillette, fearing that he would attempt to use it against her despite her being declared innocent. He wondered what could have been so bad to have affected her so, why Bessie Sparrow was afraid of the dark?