A/N: Another Tuesday, another chapter :D. Thanks once again to everyone who took the time to write a review!
This chapter is mostly looking back at events, hopefully I've made it clear enough. Anyway...enjoy!
Chapter 18: The bad wife
Sylvia left the prison feeling numb despite the warmth of the early afternoon air. She had tried to prepare herself for seeing Jack hurt, she had seen him hurt before, but never like this. All her plans had evaporated from her and left her feeling completely at a loss. She had planned to ask Jack what she should do, how she should help but the moment she had laid eyes on him she had known the questions would never leave her mouth. Jack could not help her, she was on her own. Seeing Jack hurt and afraid had done one thing though, it had told Sylvia that she had to get him out that night whatever the consequences.
The most sensible thing to do was to find help, unfortunately this proved to be a very difficult task. After three hours searching for the Black Pearl, which Sylvia knew had to be close by, she gave up. There had been no sign of the ship and even less sign of its crew. Sylvia wondered whether any of them knew what had happened to Jack, whether any of them were forming rescue plans of their own. She would have given anything to run into Gibbs but it did not happen and Sylvia was forced to return to the Pride of the Sea.
"I have a terrible headache," Sylvia said the moment she saw Nathan, "You wouldn't mind leaving me alone, would you?"
"Of course not," said Nathan who had been about to ask where she had been, "I'll see to it that you are not disturbed." This was the opportunity Sylvia had been waiting for. Alone, with only her notebooks for company, she began to formulate a plan which would turn out to be the most dangerous thing she had ever attempted.
Nathan was sleeping; his breathing had already reached that noisy stage which signalled it was safe for Sylvia to slip noiselessly out of bed. She crossed the room on her toes and pulled a box from the back of the wardrobe. Until earlier in the day she had not looked in this box since she had stashed it underneath her other belongings upon entering the ship for the first time, from it she pulled a familiar pair of trousers and shirt. They were cold to touch, but Sylvia wasted no time slipping them on. If she was really going to do this she had to do it now. The strangest feeling was the pistol she had stolen from Nathan's bedside drawer which was now inside her pocket and thumping her thigh gently with every movement. With one last look at her sleeping husband Sylvia slipped from the room.
It seemed hard at the time but by the time the night was over Sylvia could safely say that getting from the ship to the town was the easiest part of her plan. Although she did have a few close shaves when people appeared right in front of her, she made it to the prison without incident. Now came the hard part. Sylvia slipped her hand into her pocket and felt the cool metal of the gun. She wished she had been taught how to shoot. She knew the theory, Jack had taught her but she had never actually fired a gun before. She was hoping she would not have to. Checking that her hat was securely on her head and hiding her face, Sylvia advanced. At first it all seemed ridiculously easy, she had entered the prison building and there had been no one in sight. She saw the door which she knew Jack was behind and immediately began searching for a key but she froze when she heard footsteps coming closer.
"What the…?" said the shocked voice of the prison guard but they were the last words he ever said. She could only suppose that the fact she was female had stopped the guard from shooting her outright. Hands trembling with the weight of what she was about to do Sylvia raised her own pistol and squeezed the trigger. The resulting effect was the most dramatic and shocking experience of Sylvia's life. The force of the bullet leaving the gun reverberated up her arms at the same time as the noise deafened her. The bullet hit the prison guard square in the shoulder and his gun fell to the floor with a loud clatter as he screamed in pain. It was instinct rather than conscious thought that made Sylvia load the gun again and fire a second shot. This time the man fell silent and Sylvia saw him fall down dead. Unable to comprehend what she had done Sylvia just stood and stared, her whole body repulsed. She was rocking between two very powerful voices inside her head; one told her that she had to kill to save Jack, and the other was screaming at her and crying. She was a murderer now, and there was no getting around it.
It was the thought of Jack that made Sylvia kill the guard and it was the thought of him that propelled her forwards to search for the door key on the dead man's body. Sylvia's hands travelled around the motionless man's waist and she fought the urge to retch. She screwed up her eyes so she would not have to look upon the man's face where his eyes were still open, wide with shock and pain. Finally her fingers found what they were looking for; a bunch of keys.
The door opened and the light from where Sylvia was standing barely made an impression on the darkness within. A shadow scuttled away but Sylvia forced herself to ignore it as she strode into the room.
"Jack?" she had called into the gloom but her own voice merely echoed back to her from a long way away. The impossibility of finding Jack before someone else found her struck Sylvia like she had just taken a bullet herself. But before she could even begin to start looking however, the shadow that Sylvia had ignored came into view. Sylvia aimed her pistol at it, her eyes wide with fear, but she lowered it when she saw it was an old man dressed in rags. He opened his mouth a few times but no sound came out. Finally he cleared his throat and words became discernable.
"Madam pirate?" he asked in a voice which was hoarse from years of not being used. Sylvia was about to shake her head but then she looked down at herself. Madam pirate was what she was at the moment. The rumour that the prison had been broken into by a pirate, female or otherwise, would do no harm anyway.
"Yes?" she replied wondering if the old man could help her.
"You looking pirate man?" the old man asked shuffling forwards a fraction more. Sylvia saw that his skin was paper white. The only thing that coloured it was the occasional red or purple vein.
"Yes," she said eagerly, "I'm looking for a pirate man, have you seen him? Can you take me to him?" The man nodded and pointed, one bony finger stretched out. Sylvia made to go in the direction he had indicated but suddenly the old man's thin, pale hand clung to her wrist. The cold from his touch travelled straight up Sylvia's arm and right into her heart.
"We escape?" he asked hope making his eyes large and shiny.
"Yes," said Sylvia as she loosened the man's grip, "Yes, you escape." The man's delight almost made Sylvia cry and the terrible guilt that shooting the prison guard had caused loosened just a little.
Jack had not wanted to get up. He had not even wanted to wake but Sylvia had not given up. At last she had him on his feet and they were leaving the prison behind. Sylvia actually believed they might get away with it as they stepped out into the moonlight but that was before Jack's legs gave way from beneath him a mere ten metres from the place they had just escaped from. Sylvia would never know how she got Jack up again. She would never know where the strength came from to get Jack moving. Her plan only had one ending and she found she could not improvise under these conditions which meant getting Jack to the cave in the rocks she had found. Unfortunately, as much as Jack would have liked to cooperate he was barely able to stay conscious for anything longer than a few minutes at a time and even then moving was something he really did not want to be doing. Sylvia cajoled him, she cursed and she wept, whether that helped or not was uncertain but somehow they did it. The moment they reached the cave they both collapsed. Sylvia knew Jack had lost his fight with consciousness but that did not matter so much now. She leaned on him, her chest heaving with the effort the past hour had taken. It was a long time before she was able to breathe normally again.
Jack's eyes remained closed as Sylvia covered him in blankets and removed a stray piece of hair from his pale face. She kissed him gently and offered a silent prayer of thanks to whatever had got them this far. Her heart was full to bursting, she had always believed that she would do anything for Jack but now she knew it was true. Killing a man was just about as big as something could get and Sylvia would never be able to forgive herself for it. She turned her mind to practical things to stop it from replaying the feeling of the gun in her hands.
"Fire," she said presumably to the unconscious Jack, "That's what you need." Sylvia had prepared dry sticks and she knew that you were supposed to rub two together but actually doing it proved to be a lot harder than she had anticipated. All she had achieved after an hour was several splinters and a lot of frustration. The slight lightening of the sky was what prompted her to abandon her endeavour.
"I'm sorry," Sylvia said to Jack as she kissed his forehead. She did not want to leave him, she never wanted to leave him, but if she didn't then a search party would be called for her and then where would they be? Life had to continue as normal no matter how much it hurt. Sylvia was determined not to endanger Jack any more than she had done already.
Unbeknownst to Sylvia, or Jack for that matter, there was a second attempt at breaking into the prison that night although that one was much less successful, the principle reason being that the task had already been done. A small party of pirates, led by the ever loyal Gibbs, had been planning to rescue their captain after hearing some rumours of the events that had happened in a pub on the other side of town. Finding the prison already empty, and a guard shot dead was not something they had been expecting. They had no choice but to melt once again back into the shadows. They were not keen to be caught at the scene of the crime they had wanted to commit.
"Good morning dear," said Nathan cheerfully when Sylvia finally opened her eyes. She blinked in the bright light and her heart skipped a beat. How long had she been asleep? An image of how she had left Jack flashed before her and she jumped out of bed.
"What's wrong dear?" asked Nathan with a puzzled look on his face.
"I didn't mean to sleep so late," Sylvia said looking wildly about her in panic. Nathan crossed the space between them and put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's not a crime," he said with a slight smile, "Besides, it's not even that late. It's just past nine." Getting out of bed so fast had made Sylvia feel light headed, so Sylvia allowed the pressure of Nathan's hand on her shoulder to push her gently back down to the bed.
"Was there something you wanted to get done today?" Nathan asked wondering whether his wife had made an appointment of some kind.
"Yes," lied Sylvia quickly, "Yes, I…I have booked a dress fitting." It was the first thing she could think of.
"I've been wondering when you were going to spruce up your wardrobe," said Nathan brightly, "Have you seen anything you like?" Sylvia had discovered that lying was an art when she had first got married and she was still not particularly good at it, she thought perhaps that she just lacked confidence. Fortunately for her Nathan had never been too good at picking up even her most obvious deceptions.
"A few things," she said vaguely.
"Great," Nathan said enthusiastically, "I remember hearing Captain Clarke's wife saying something about blue being in fashion at the moment. I don't think you have anything in blue, do you? I suppose you have…" Sylvia switched off knowing that he would continue in this vein for some time. Getting to Jack day after day was going to be a problem, a big problem, but Sylvia reminded her to take each day as it came. Nathan had finished speaking and was looking at her.
"Oh yes, Mrs Clarke has always had impeccable taste," said Sylvia mechanically. Nathan smiled.
"I really must get out on deck dear, do tell me when you are ready to leave, won't you? I'll accompany you across town." As Nathan left the room Sylvia said very quietly to herself. "I'm sure that won't be necessary."
Sylvia had just got dressed when Nathan burst into the room quite suddenly.
"My dear!" he exclaimed, "Have you heard the news?"
"No," said Sylvia her heart fluttering, "What's happened?"
"The prison has been broken into," said Nathan looking shocked, "Almost all the prisoners have escaped!"
"Heavens!" cried Sylvia and this time she was pleased with her response, "How did that happen? Weren't there guards?" Nathan looked at his terrified wife.
"I'm afraid I just don't know Sylvia," he said, "But I really don't think you need to worry, if you stay here we'll…"
"But my appointment," said Sylvia cutting Nathan off.
"I'm sure that can wait, dear. At least until…" Sylvia pouted most uncharacteristically.
"The one time I want to do something for myself and something has to come along and ruin it," she said and to Nathan's dismay it looked almost as if she might cry. His stance on the matter abruptly changed.
"Well, of course you can keep your appointment," he said, "I'll take you over to the boutique and wait for you outside."
"Oh, thank you," said Sylvia sweetly, "But I might be some time. Wouldn't it be better if you just came to collect me after a few hours?" Nathan considered this.
"Yes," he said, "I expect that would suit us both very well, I might be needed this afternoon in light of the breakout."
Nathan dropped Sylvia off outside an expensive dressmaker shop which Sylvia had noticed on her first look around town. She went in and pretended to look at the dresses inside while really keeping an eye on Nathan and his progress down the street. As soon as he was out of sight Sylvia slipped out of the shop and headed as quickly as she could back to where she had left Jack.
Jack apparently had not moved. He was still lying in exactly the same position as Sylvia had left him and this was worrying. When Sylvia placed her palm on his forehead though she felt a definite temperature improvement and there was something about the way he was sleeping that suggested peace, although Sylvia was ready to admit that she might have just been being optimistic.
"I'm here Jack," she said softly, "I'll look after you." To her surprise Jack's eyelids flickered and his eyes opened. He looked up at her in an almost puzzled way. She smiled and ran one finger down his face. Jack continued to look at her for a few more seconds, then gave a small sigh and closed his eyes once more. Sylvia knew she should examine his injuries but she could not make herself do it, instead she stayed silently with him for two more hours and although Jack did not wake again she was filled with a strange sort of happiness. She was sure he was going to be alright.
The next day Nathan noticed that his pistol was missing and Sylvia cursed herself for not returning it but apparently she was above suspicion. After he finished listing possible suspects she told him the dressmaker needed to give her a further appointment and he believed her without question. Before she entered the building Sylvia flashed him a brilliant smile that took him completely by surprise. He stood like a dumb thing for almost a whole minute before realising that people were starting to give him strange looks. He turned and began to walk back to the dock with a lightness in his heart that he was not used to. It made him ashamed to think it but sometimes he regretted marrying Sylvia Ryecroft. He looked around as if to check that no one was reading his thoughts. The truth was she had seemed too good to be true; stunningly beautiful, well respected family and absolutely no man to speak of. It was an opportunity Nathan Spencer had not been able to pass up. Nathan had dismissed people when they had tried to tell him about her, what did they know? So what if she was a little quiet? He did not like shouting about either. The more he was told about her, the more he became convinced that he might have found someone to love.
They had not hit it off at first. Sylvia was pleasant but cool, the same way she was with everyone else but Nathan, who did not mind being patient, was not put off. He was not usually lucky with woman and had started to avoid them but Sylvia had really captured his heart. Sylvia's mother had certainly been very keen for the match up to proceed and although Nathan could see Lord Ryecroft was not quite so eager he presumed this was because Sylvia was still very much his little girl. When Sylvia warmed up to Nathan it happened almost overnight and he was so overjoyed he did not stop to consider what had brought about this change. His confidence grew, and although he was still terrified when he got down on one knee, there was at least a part of him that believed she would say yes.
Having a wife was like completing the equation for Nathan, he knew he looked better with a woman by his side and he could not think of a better woman than Sylvia. She had refused his offers of expensive wedding gifts; she had not even wanted a honeymoon.
"I miss the sea," she had said to him, "I miss it so much it hurts. The greatest gift you could ever give me is to take me out on your great ship as soon as we get married." And that is exactly what Nathan had done. He could remember very little of his wedding day, save for a few details. He remembered Sylvia, pretty as an angel in her white dress, and he remembered Lord Ryecroft approaching him.
"You will look after my daughter, won't you?" he had said with deep worry lines prominent on his face. Lady Vanessa's sharp laugh had sounded nearby making Lord Ryecroft wince ever so slightly.
"Of course I will," said Nathan. Lord Ryecroft nodded his eyes looking directly into Nathan's with startling intensity.
"My daughter suffers from a great sadness, you must take extra special care of her," he had said and Nathan remembered how baffled he had been by those words. He had been about to ask Lord Ryecroft what he meant when Lady Ryecroft had arrived rendering her husband silent.
This great sadness certainly had not been evident in their first few months of marriage. Sylvia had seemed happier than Nathan had ever seen her. It had not taken long for things to change however. Slowly Sylvia began to smile less and less and she stopped talking to him about things. When this state continued for months on end Nathan grew further and further apart from his wife. Sylvia became even harder to understand, impossible to predict and everything that Nathan found alarming and confusing. Yet she still had her moments, moments when she was still the lovely woman he had married but even these began to decrease in regularity. Now a smile was enough to make Nathan's heart beat wildly and wonder what he had done to deserve it. Marriage was definitely not all it was cracked up to be.
A/N: So now you know how Sylvia got Jack out...tut tut tut. ;)
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, there'll be another one same time next week. :D
