Jack knocked loudly on the door of room twenty. He heard something fall over and break, and then some scrambling around. Finally, a voice reached his ears.

"Who is it? What do you want?"

"Why, Eve, dearest, don't you recognize my voice? Or has five years been too long?" Jack called sweetly through the door.

There was a pause. A latch on the door was lifted and the woman opened the door a crack and peered out. "Jack," she breathed, fear filling her voice.

"Aye, it's me," he replied, scowling. "And I've come to find out the truth."

"Jack, leave. Someone might see you!"

"Like I care. I came to talk to my wife. We're going to sort everything out." He shoved past her and entered the room. Eve shut the door with a soft click and turned to her husband.

"You look…. well Jack," she muttered, moving around the room and wringing her hands together.

Jack watched her, his heart softening slightly. She was exactly as he remembered her, though she looked more tired. Her hair was still as shiny and gold as it used to be, though Eve now wore it piled on top of her head. Her figure sure hadn't changed any. But she carried herself with a more subdued attitude. Her eyes were the same bluish-gray color, though the brightness within them was gone.

"Do I, Eve?" he asked sarcastically. "I've been told twice today that I look horrible."

She shrugged. "I don't know who you've been talking to. You look fine to me."

Jack laughed and picked up a small, ornamental vase. He turned it around, examining every inch of it. Then he looked up into Eve's watchful eyes. "Where have you been all these years, dear wife?"

She couldn't meet his hard stare. Eve looked down to the floor and twisted her hands once again. "Around," she told him vaguely.

Jack threw the vase across the room. It shattered against the door. "Damn it, Eve! Don't lie to me!"

Eve's temper flared at once. "What am I supposed to say, Jack?"

"I want the truth."

She let out an astonished laugh. "The truth? The truth is stupid. You wouldn't believe me anyways."

"Let me be the judge of that. Was it another man? A rich man? A respectable man?"

"Jack," Eve snapped, "would you let me tell you the story? There was no man! You should know I wanted nobody but you. I love you Jack. I've always loved you."

"Ha! Why'd you leave me then, if you loved me so much?"

"I was afraid, Jack!" Eve shouted.

Silence descended on the room. Jack stared nonplussed at his wife. "Afraid? Afraid of what?"

"I was afraid of being tied down forevermore. I didn't know what to expect. It hit me that I wasn't going to be free any longer."

"What!" Jack yelled angrily. "You could have told me that before we got married! You could have said something before you broke my heart and made me out to be a fool."

Eve sat quietly down on the bed and said calmly, "Look Jack, I know I hurt you."

"Damn right you did."

"Would you let me finish? I hurt you, badly. But I was scared out of my mind. I couldn't think straight. Besides, I was a girl. I was only sixteen! What did you expect out of me? Too many nights I would lie awake in bed, waiting for you to come home. And when you did, you smelled of rum and cheap perfume. Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Knowing you didn't care enough about me to keep the whores away and stop getting drunk?" A tear dropped from Eve's eye and Jack humbled at her words.

"Why didn't you say anything? I would've stopped…"

"Would you, Jack? Would you have broken your habits? Perhaps my leaving was best for the both of us."

Jack didn't say anything. She was right, of course. He wouldn't have been able to stop his habits. But that didn't give her the right not to say anything and just leave with no explanation.

"I loved and trusted you, Eve. I thought you'd be there forever for me…. So where were you all these years?"

"In the colonies. I was living in Virginia with a family friend. When I finally realized I was no longer afraid and I was ready to marry you again, it was too late. So I didn't come back. I stayed where I was."

"And when was this?"

"About a year after I left."

"Humph," Jack grunted. He paced around the room, his hands balled into fists of fury. How could she? How could she make a fool of Captain Jack Sparrow? Thankfully their marriage had been secret. Not many people had found out, except his old crew.

"Jack?"

He whirled around and came very close to his wife's face. He pointed a threatening finger in her face. "You humiliated me. No one humiliates Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"So what do you plan to do, hm? Lock me away? Divorce me?"

"That wouldn't be such a bad idea."

"Good luck with that. I have a second half to what I was going to tell you." She stood and walked calmly to the window. "I am currently being courted by a young captain in the infantry." She turned and smiled at Jack. "I think he has marriage on his mind."

Jack's eyes grew wide. "What? Wait. We're still married."

"Are we? The way you made it sound, we're not."

"Well…" he sputtered. "We are."

"I thought you were going to divorce me."

"No. I'm going to win you back, and you'll be mine permanently."

Eve let out a tiny laugh. "Well, you do that. But I don't mind being separate from you. Go ahead. Try to win my heart completely back."

"I will."

"Good luck Jack!" Eve called after him as he stormed out the door. Behind him, he could hear her sweet laugh.

"I will win," Jack muttered. "Just wait."

He walked briskly out the tavern door to Will's house to try and figure out a plan to win his Eve back. Besides, he wanted to rub his victory in the young man's face.