Usual disclaimers – sob!
With thanks to Rowenablue, ducky, Marzbar, Chelsey, JHG, A Depp Girl, Mrs. Depp, Miss Sophia, TGAP Oz and Hils, of course.
…
Chapter Sixteen: 'What's the use of pirating if you don't enjoy the fruits of it?'
Jenny opened a bleary eye, wondering what had woken her when she realised that Jack was scrambling about for his breeches, almost overbalancing in his haste to put them on.
'Is there a problem?' she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
'No, luv. We've reached Tortola and are on th'approach to Road Town.'
'Thank goodness for that,' she smiled, kissing him as he bent down to her. 'I'm glad it's only taken a couple of days to get here.'
'We'll stay a week or more, get ya sorted an' settled, eh?'
'But there's a meeting next week, isn't there?'
'Aye, but we'll only be gone a day or so.'
'All right then. Now go on and be captain.'
'Yes, M'am,' Jack grinned as he went barechested and barefooted from his cabin. 'I'll send Patience or Sive ter come an' help ya dress,' he called back as he climbed the steps to the main deck.
Jenny lay back on the bunk, enjoying listening to the sounds of the ship and of the men working to bring her into port until a soft knocking at the cabin door interrupted her daydreaming.
'Come in,' she called, smiling as both Patience and Sive arrived in view. 'I think you'll need a pulley to get me up,' she grinned.
'I'll go an' see what th'men can rig up,' Patience laughed as she scrambled onto the bunk to help Jenny right herself. 'It's bloody hard on a ship when yer pregnant.'
'I've found that out the hard way,' Jenny agreed. 'I don't know how you got on going all the way to Ireland.'
'Me neither. I wouldn't have bloody gone if I'd known just how far it was!'
'I'm glad you did though,' Sive smiled. 'Although it's been hard since we arrived here, I've noticed a difference in Muiris already.'
'Aye,' Patience nodded. 'He's not half so sickly now, is he?'
'No,' the young Irishwoman smiled. 'I just hope we settle in Tortola.'
'So say all of us!' Jenny exclaimed, taking Sive's hand and shuffling to the edge of the bunk then sliding off, her nightgown riding up around her hips. 'This is so undignified,' she complained with a grin. 'Jack would be doubled up laughing by now!'
'Aye, an' I'd clobber him with a broom!' Patience replied, winking at her friends.
'You'll give him nightmares about brooms, you will,' Jenny teased. 'A new, tough Commodore? Pah! Child's play. Patience Connelly with a broom? The most frightening thing in the world!' she laughed.
'Jack isn't what I expected,' Sive admitted. 'He's not…'
'He's not bad fer a pirate,' Patience put in. 'An' if either of ya tell him that I'll bash yer both with a broom…!' she threatened, wagging her finger at the two laughing women.
'An' if they don't need ter tell me?' came Jack's drawl from the doorway.
'You were eavesdroppin', ya sneaky bastard!' Patience exclaimed.
'Me? Never,' Jack grinned, walking across to his chest of drawers and taking a clean shirt from one of the drawers. 'Although I did suspect somethin' when ya kissed me,' he winked, pulling the shirt on and doing up the customary two buttons halfway down.
'You kissed my husband?' Jenny asked, arching an amused eyebrow.
'No! Well, yes… but it wasn't like that!' Patience retorted, glowering at Jack who was obviously enjoying having her at his mercy for once. 'I gave him a peck on th'cheek when they rescued us from Tortuga. There - happy?' she sniped at the pirate captain.
'Ecstatic,' he laughed as he sat on a chair and pulled his boots on.
'If ya keep this up, yer'll never get another,' the Tortugan woman threatened. 'Ever!'
'Ya know how ter break a man's heart,' Jack chuckled. 'Ya might want ter dress up a bit, luv,' he told Jenny. 'Condent will probably invite us to his place as soon as we make berth.'
'All right,' his wife nodded, still smiling at the banter. 'There's a nice cotton dress that still fits me - I'll wear that. And I'm sure there's plenty of dresses in the hold that will do Patience and Sive.'
'Should be,' he nodded. 'See ya later,' he smiled as he gave Patience a quick peck on the cheek, winking at Jenny as he did.
'Get off me, ya pervert!' Patience warned, shaking her fist at his retreating figure. 'I'll set me husband on ya!'
'I'd like ter see him try,' Jack laughed as he shut the cabin door behind him.
'Are you two always like this?' Sive wondered as she helped Jenny out of the nightgown.
'No, sometimes they're worse!' Jenny chuckled, running her hands down her extended belly and smiling as the baby kicked in response. 'Does the birth hurt? I know I had John,' she said quietly, he smile fading. 'But he wasn't very big when he was born.'
'Depends if ya've got th'mother-in-law from hell tryin' ter deliver it,' Patience sniped, remembering when Shay's mother accused her of not pushing when Erin was actually turned the wrong way round inside her.
'It can do,' Sive nodded. 'It hurt when Muiris was born, but I had no trouble with Evin.'
'I can't wait for this one to be born,' Jenny smiled once more, rubbing her tummy. 'And I know Jack is excited as well.'
'He's just a big child himself,' Patience grinned as she fetched Jenny's undergarments and helped her on with them, catching her friend as the ship lurched in the water, throwing them all off balance. 'Watch what yer doin', ya stupid eejits!' she yelled, glaring up towards the main deck.
'Where's this dress?' Sive asked, secretly wanting an opportunity to look inside the drawers of the chest out of curiosity.
'It should be in the third drawer down,' Jenny informed her. 'It's dark green.'
'That should suit you,' the young Irishwoman smiled as she pulled open the drawer, shifting through dresses of various colours until she came to the one Jenny had said.
'It does, even though it's a little low cut,' Jenny grimaced.
'At least ya've got somethin' ter show off in a low dress,' Patience complained. 'Make th'most of it, once th'nipper comes along, it soon goes.'
'I will,' Jenny laughed as she wriggled as best she could into the dress. 'There, all decent,' she smiled. 'Now you two go and get someone to take you to the hold and find something for yourselves.'
'All right,' Patience grinned, hoping that there would be as good a choice as usual of fine dresses.
…
'Jack!' Edmund Condent beamed as the boat from the Black Pearl approached the quayside. 'Good ter see you again.'
'Edmond,' Jack smiled, climbing from the boat as it was moored by one of Condent's men, and shaking his friend's hand. 'Thanks fer th'wecome.' He turned and helped Jenny from the boat. 'This is my wife, Jenny.'
'A pleasure to meet you,' Condent smiled. 'Jack always did have good taste in women.'
'Thank you,' she smiled as he kissed her hand. 'It's very kind of you to offer protection.'
'Ah, Jack has paid me handsomely for it,' he grinned.
'Yes, and I expect value for my money,' Jack replied darkly.
'You'll get it, you'll get it.' the pirate captain assured him. 'Shay!' he grinned, moving to shake the Irishman's hand. 'I see you've started already,' he laughed, looking at Erin asleep in his arms.
'Aye,' Shay nodded. 'This is Patience, my wife, an' Finan and Sive, my brother an' his wife.'
'So many of you to house,' Edmund Condent mused. 'Good job I have just the place in mind.'
'You do?' Jack enquired. 'Where?'
'Let's go back to my house and talk about it there. Less ears to hear…'
'Good idea,' Jack agreed, taking Jenny's hand and leading his group as Condent and his lacky's took them through the streets of Tortola to his house on the outskirts. Two of his men pushed open the wrought iron gates and the self-styled king of Tortola escorted them up the path to his front door, which was immediately opened by a butler.
'You live as well as Governor Norrington,' Jenny mused, as they entered the building, although she didn't say that she thought Valentine's mansion had been far more opulent before its destruction.
'What's the use of pirating if you don't enjoy the fruits of it?' Condent chuckled.
'Exactly,' Jack agreed, eyeing up the paintings on the walls, the elaborate ornaments on tables and mantles and the silk rugs on the floor of the sitting room that Condent had taken them into.
'I'll arrange refreshments for you all, then we can discuss where I have in mind.' Edmund Condent left the room, leaving his guests alone.
'It's incredible!' Sive breathed as she looked, wide eyed, around her. 'He lives better than th'King.'
'Valentine's was more lavish,' Patience shrugged.
'Yes, I thought that myself,' Jenny agreed. 'Too lavish. I prefer this place.'
'I prefer any place where that bastard hasn't been,' the young Tortugan sniped.
'Don't we all,' Jack muttered darkly, putting on a smile as his friend and a maid entered the room.
'Please, sit down, won't you?' Condent implored. 'No need to stand on ceremony.'
'Thank you,' Jenny smiled, sighing with relief as Jack helped her sit, then taking a china cup from the maid and sipping the bitter coffee.
'Where do you have in mind?' Jack enquired, eager to find out.
'There's a natural bulwark out Wickhams Cay – just a lump of rock really, with a few trees. But there are five houses built on it, more than enough for your needs.'
'Bit close to th'sea, isn't it?' Jack pondered, stroking his beard braids. 'Be a bit rough during a storm, not to mention th'fact they'd be sittin' ducks if someone would want to attack.'
'It's quite sheltered at Wickhams Cay, you get a swell but nothing serious, thanks to the reefs that surround this town,' Edmund Condent grinned. 'It was the home of my predecessor and served him all right… until I came along,' he chuckled.
'How far out do th'reefs stretch?' Shay asked. 'A ship could still get close enough ter fire.'
'Around th'Cay, they stretch for about a quarter of a mile or so,' Condent informed him. 'It's as safe as anywhere on this island.'
'An' how big are th'houses?' Shay enquired, determined to find out as much as he could. 'As ye can see, a small place is no use ter us.'
'The house at the top is the largest, then there is a smaller one a bit further down and the remaining three are much the same size – two rooms a piece, with space in the roofs.'
'Sounds ideal,' Jenny smiled, excitement shining in her eyes. 'Fin could fish from there as well.'
'Aye,' Jack nodded thoughtfully. 'Do you mind if we take a look by ourselves?' he asked of his cohort. 'Just to get a feel of th'place.'
'Of course,' Condent agreed. 'You know where it is, don't you?'
'Aye, I know th'general direction.' He turned to Jenny. 'Are you up to walking, luv? It's not far.'
'If we take it slowly, I'll be fine,' she assured him, taking his hand as he helped her from the settee. 'Thank you,' she smiled at her host.
'It is a pleasure, Mrs. Sparrow,' he nodded, taking her free hand and kissing it again. 'I shall look forward to seeing you all about town.'
…
The group, consisting of Jack, Jenny, Shay, Patience, Finan and Sive stood at the foot of the man-made causeway, which lead to the large mound in the sea, contemplating it.
'It's certainly big enough,' Shay commented. 'I can just see all th'nippers runnin' riot around here,' he grinned.
'Would it be safe with the sea?' Sive worried.
'They'd have ter learn to swim before they could walk,' Jack told her. 'An' that includes you, minx,' he teased. 'Let's go up an' have a look.'
'Not bloody likely,' Patience snorted as she started to follow.
They walked along the path that zigzagged upwards, passing two of the smaller houses, which were in need of some repair, and came to what had obviously been a garden laid out around the slope but which was now overgrown.
'I could live here,' Jenny smiled, imagining in her mind how the garden would look after it had been cleared and re-planted.
'You could?' Jack exclaimed. 'I thought you wouldn't like it.'
'Ya sure we don't get storms around here. It's a bit exposed,' Patience fretted, looking worriedly out to sea.
'We wouldn't be safe from storms anywhere in Tortola – it's very flat,' Jenny reasoned, her heart already set on the embankment as a home. She went and peered in through a broken shutter of the third smaller house, pleased to see that it wasn't in quite such bad repair as the others. 'These will do for Fin and Sive, if they want one, and for the crew,' she grinned excitedly.
'Ya really like it, don't you?' Jack smiled benignly, taking her hand and squeezing it.
'Yes,' Jenny replied. 'Please can we live here?'
'All right,' he grinned, kissing her head. 'I'll make arrangements.'
'Will it be ours? Not his?' Patience nodded her head back towards Condent's home. 'Yer ain't just borrowin' it?'
'Aye,' Jack nodded. 'Whever we live, I shall own, don't worry. I don't intend being beholden ter anyone.'
Patience nodded, looking slightly more relieved. 'An' our house will belong ter Shay?' she pressed.
Jack arched an eyebrow at her. 'Don't ya trust me ter keep my word?' he drawled. 'Your's an' Shay's house will be yours. Fin an' Sive will lease theirs from me, fer a small rent.'
'I trust ya, but I just wanted ter hear ya say it,' she said, his words about being beholden ringing true to her as well.
'She'll be wantin' it in blood next,' Jack winked at Shay as they all carried on up the slope.
'As long as it's yours,' Patience sniped without malice.
'So, d'ya like it, minx? Even though you'll have ter learn to swim?'
'Who says?' she retorted, looking worriedly at Shay. The idea of going in the water still terrified her.
'I'm sure ye can start by paddlin' in th'shallows,' her husband assured her. 'An' if ye really wanted ter learn, Fin'd teach ye.'
'Yes,' Sive put in. 'He taught me an' I never thought I'd learn.'
Patience shook her head vigorously. 'Ain't goin' near th'stuff!' she vowed.
'I'd offer to teach you, but I'd probably sink!' Jenny laughed, patting her belly.
'I thought whales floated?' Patience teased.
'Not this one,' Jenny remarked, still grinning with excitement.
'We could anchor th'boat down there,' Fin put in, pointing to the other side of the outcrop. 'It looks sheltered enough.'
'Aye,' Jack agreed. 'We'll have ter find out how shallow th'reefs are, though with a boat, ya should be all right.'
'Yes,' the older Irishman nodded. 'I'll perhaps wade so far out an' check.'
'I might come with ya an' draw a chart of it – just in case ya need to leave in a hurry.'
'All right,' Fin replied. 'Thank ye for all of this. I don't know how ter repay ye.'
'Just make sure ya look out fer Jen an' catch us plenty of fish,' Jack grinned, his joviality disguising the seriousness of his request.
'Don't ye worry about Jenny, we'll all make sure she an' yer child are safe.'
'Thank you,' Jack replied simply, stopping as they came to the smaller of the two large houses set high on the mound.
'It looks big enough fer us,' Shay smiled, trying to peer through a crack in the shutters.
'Can we go in?' Patience wondered, looking around the white building.
Shay tried the door, grinning as it opened. 'Aye, apparently we can,' he said, leading the way into a small hall.
Patience followed him, noting how dusty and dirty the place was, reasoning that it had not been lived in for quite a few years.
'We'll leave ya to it,' Jack called as they disappeared into what he hoped would become their home. 'Not far now,' he smiled at Jenny, nodding at Sive and Finan as they and their two small sons sat on a low wall outside the house.
'No. I just hope it's nice inside.'
'One way ter find out, come on,' Jack urged, pulling her by the hand up the last few hundred yards to the top. He tried the door, grinning at Jenny when it opened and he stepped inside, blinking in the relative gloom of the hallway. Jenny released his hand and opened a door to their left and peered into it.
'Oh!' she exclaimed. 'It's a study and library.' Her eyes wandered up and down the empty shelves that lined one wall of the room. 'It would take forever to fill these!'
'Aye,' Jack laughed. 'My few books by William Shakespeare'll look a bit lost on there. I could draw some replacement charts an' keep them here for safety,' he mused, wandering around the room and looking out of the window over the outcrop and town of Tortola.
'Come on, let's go and see the rest of it,' Jenny urged, disappearing out of the door.
'Wait fer me!' he chuckled, wondering where she had gone.
'There's a cloakroom here,' she squealed from within a room to Jack's right. 'And two store rooms.'
Jack wandered down the corridor, taking in the grand staircase and wood panelled walls. He entered the dining room, smiling at the view over the sea from the large windows on two walls.
'Oh,' Jenny gasped as she followed him in. 'This is beautiful!'
'Aye,' Jack agreed, taking her hand once more and bringing it to his lips. 'It feels like home.'
'Yes,' she nodded. 'As soon as I saw the embankment, I had a feeling we would like it. Let's try the next room.' She all but dragged her husband from the dining room in her eagerness to view the whole house as quickly as she could.
'Hey!' Jack protested. 'Yer not supposed to go this fast when yer that big!' he chuckled.
Jenny opened the door at the end of the passageway and stopped dead in astonishment.
'Bloody hell!' Jack swore as they stared at the hexagonal shaped windows at the end of the room, giving them majestic views of the ocean.
'I don't care if it takes all of what you have at the Isla de Muerta, we are living here,' Jenny declared, walking in a daze to the windows. 'It is…'
'Incredible,' Jack murmured. 'Ya can watch th'Pearl come in.'
'Yes,' she grinned. 'I hope the master bedroom is above this room.'
'If it isn't, it soon will be! Let's go an' find out…'
…
