Usual disclaimers :(
With thanks to Mrs Depp, JHG, angelofdeadlydarkness (no affnet does not cost money), RosePearl, EgyptMau, A Depp Girl, Miss Sophia, and of course, Hils.
Sorry about the delay in posting - there have been a few problems!
…
Chapter Twenty-four: 'There will always be a next time, won't there?'
'Sail ho!'
Shay Connelly swung around to face the direction that Ben Watson was pointing from the crow's nest and brought his spyglass to his eye, moving it until he found the ship.
'Can't see if it's Price or not yet,' he lamented. 'Keep yer eyes on it, Ben.'
'Aye, Cap'n,' came the unthinking reply.
'What is it?' Jack enquired as he emerged from the hatch and walked towards Shay.
'Too far out ter see clearly, but it could be Price.'
'I bloody well hope so,' Jack sighed crossly. They had been waiting for their fellow pirate to meet up with them off south coast of Dominica for two days and everyone on board both ships were getting decidedly jumpy.
'It's Price!' came a cry from Voyager to their starboard side.
'Ye sure?' Shay called back, praying that they were correct.
'Aye, it's definitely him.'
'Be late for his own funeral,' Jack muttered as he turned to give the order to fire a cannon as a signal, until he remembered that Shay had command and bit his tongue just in time.
'Let them know it's us, David,' the acting captain ordered the master gunner, David Penhaligan.
'Aye, aye, Sir,' he acknowledged before ordering his own men to ready a port cannon for firing.
The air reverberated as the boom from the gun rang out and several sea birds flew crying from a nearby clifftop. Those fortunate enough to have spyglasses watched as the distant ship tacked and turned in their direction, the pirate flag of Thomas Price becoming clearer the closer she got.
'Now we can finally go ter Port Royal,' Jack growled, having hoped to already be on the way back to Tortola by now.
'Let's just hope all goes well,' Pete Symmonds added, lowering his glass.
'Aye,' Jack agreed. 'Let's hope…'
…
Jack crouched down at the sound of a noise to his right, and motioned for Shay to stop. He breathed a sigh of relief as a parrot took off from the undergrowth he and Shay were fighting their way through as they headed for Port Royal.
'I don't remember th'track being this long when we rescued Jenny,' Shay grumbled as the two men started on their way once more.
'We were on horses then, remember?'
'A horse, a horse! My kingdom fer a horse!' Shay lamented with a grin.
'Bloody hell!' Jack exclaimed. 'Jen's teachin' ya Shakespeare?'
'Aye. Mine an' Patience's readin' has come on a treat, an' we sit an' read ter each other at night.'
'Ah, that's how yer make babies these days, eh?' Jack teased, ducking a friendly swipe from Shay.
'I hope th'ships don't get started too early,' the younger man worried. 'It'll take us forever to get there at this rate.'
'They'll know when ter start,' Jack assured his friend. 'Now come on before th'light fades.'
The two men pushed on, reaching the outskirts of the naval town just as the sun sank below the horizon. Jack stood in a doorway of a shop, brushing mud and bracken from his coat, his eyes never still as he watched for trouble.
'It's too early to be movin' yet,' he told Shay. 'So we'll stay here fer a while, then wait fer trouble to start.'
'I almost wish I was on board,' Shay grinned. 'There's nothin' I like more than givin' th'Navy th'run around.'
'A man after my own heart,' Jack chuckled. 'Come on, let's go round th'back where we'll be less conspicuous.'
'An' hope that th'watch doesn't come this way,' Shay added.
'We'll hear them long before they see us,' Jack reasoned as he lead the way to the back of the building and sat with his back to it, pushing his hat over his eyes and dozing.
'I don't know how ye can do that.'
'Comes with years of practice, young Mr. Connelly,' Jack assured him. 'What's th'point in gettin' worked up with worryin' what might go wrong? Save yer energy fer when it's most needed.'
'I suppose so,' the Irishman agreed uncertainly, sitting beside Jack but not relaxing.
'No wonder you were a useless footpad,' Jack chuckled from beneath his hat.
'Not that useless,' Shay pouted. 'I stole enough ter keep body an' soul together.'
'You were half starved when I met ya. No – when yer pulled a knife on me…'
'Aye, well…' Shay shrugged, a rueful smile on his face.
'Settle back an' relax. We'll see some action soon enough.'
'Maybe you're right,' he agreed, leaning his back against the wall of the building. 'I still think it would have been fun ter dress as ye again,' Shay chuckled.
'Bloody hell! Yer not still on about that?' Jack snorted, recalling how his friend had tried for the past day to persuade him that having two 'Jack Sparrows' wreaking havoc around Port Royal would be a good idea.
'It would have been fun.'
'Aye, that it would have. Next time, eh?'
'There will always be a next time, won't there?'
'Aye, Shay. There always is.'
…
Jack looked at his friend, dozing against the wall and smiled to himself. 'Can't relax, eh?' he chuckled, giving the sleeping figure a nudge with his elbow.
'Eh? Wha…?'
'Time ter go, sleepyhead,' Jack teased. 'Th'ships should be about ready ter blow.'
'Not literally, I hope,' Shay grinned as he stood gingerly. 'Gawd, I'm stiff.'
'Aye, that's how babies are made,' Jack laughed as they rounded the shop and headed for the centre of Port Royal, keeping to the shadows at all times until they reached the garden wall of the Commodore's mansion.
'Up ye get,' Shay said, clasping his hands together to give Jack a leg up.
'Why me first?'
'I'm taller than ye.'
'No yer not!'
'I am - just! Now get up.'
'Aye, aye, Cap'n,' Jack retorted, placing a foot in Shay's cupped hands and reaching for the top of the wall as he was hoisted in the air.
'Nice ter know ye respect authority,' Shay grinned as he reached for Jack's outstretched hand and climbed up the wall.
'I'll give you authority in a minute,' Jack hissed, scanning the garden and rear of the house for guards and feeling relieved when he saw only a couple making their way around the side of the mansion.
The two men dropped silently down to the ground and crept around the edge of the garden, stopping every now and then to listen out for signs of someone being around, but they heard none and so continued on their way.
Shay carefully tried the pantry window, nodding to himself as he found it open, as they so often were, to keep the food cool in the heat of the Caribbean night. He levered himself up and into the small room and waited for Jack to join him before creeping out of the door.
'Oi!' a male servant cried as he spotted the intruder, but before he could sound the alarm, Jack hit him over the head with an earthenware pitcher, knocking him out cold.
'I have an idea,' Shay gasped as they dragged the prone man into the pantry.
'Me too,' Jack replied. 'You or me?'
'Me, I know how ter act like a servant.'
'All right,' Jack agreed. 'Go to a top room an' throw me a line down.'
'I'll fetch a rope from th'butler's pantry.'
'Get yourself changed then,' Jack urged, stripping the servant of his waistcoat, shirt and breeches as Shay stripped his own breeches off, replacing them with the striken man's before pulling on the shirt and waistcoat.
'How do I look?' he chuckled, attempting to twirl around in the cramped space.
'Like a bloody nonce!' Jack grinned. 'Now get a move on…'
'Wait outside,' Shay instructed. 'I won't be long.'
'Keep a lookout fer escape routes – just in case.'
'Aye, I intend to,' the young Irishman replied as he disappeared from the pantry.
Jack waited in the small room for a time, reasoning that it would be safer than outside, where he might be spotted by guards. 'I hope you don't wake any time soon,' he thought, looking at the still unconcious man. 'Should've brought somethin' ter tie you with,' he lamented. 'Ah well,' he shrugged. 'Time ter go.' He climbed carefully out of the window, after checking that the guards were nowhere in sight, and looked along the wall, praying that Shay would find a rope.
'Jack!' Shay hissed. 'Here…' He threw the rope down so it landed some three feet away and held fast as Jack climbed up with expert ease.
'Any problems?' he asked as he climbed into a bathroom.
'No,' Shay replied. 'They've mostly all retired ter bed. Come on, this is Beauchamp's room.' The two men glaced at each other as they heard the distinctive boom from one of the guns of the Black Pearl and hastened into the chambers of the Commodore as more cannonfire sounded.
Jack hurried over to the bed, drawing his dagger and holding it towards the slumbering man, ready for when he woke. 'Elias…' he purred softly. 'Time ter wake up…'
The Commodore opened his eyes quickly, looking around in fear as the realisation that there were strangers in his room and cannon fire in the distance, registered in his sleep addled mind.
'Who are you?' he demanded, wondering whether to call for help, but the sight of Jack's dagger stayed his tongue.
'I'm hurt, dear Elias,' Jack pouted. 'That you don't recognise Captain Jack Sparrow.'
'Sp-Sparrow…?' he spluttered. 'W-what do you want?'
'Ah, I think we both know th'answer to that, eh?'
'You think that coming here and threatening me will stop our campaign to rid these waters of scum like you?' he snorted, indignation giving him courage. 'Even if you kill me, Captain Farrier will continue the work until each and every one of you filth are dead.'
'Ah…' Jack nodded, sagely. 'There might be a little problem with that.' He held his finger and thumb close together to indicate just how small he meant. 'You see, dear George is dead…'
'What?' Beauchamp gasped, cold shock coursing through his body. 'You're lying. You're lying!' he shouted.
'Quiet!' Jack hissed, jabbing his dagger against Beauchamp's neck and making him cower against his pillows. 'Shay, guard him.'
Shay moved and stood over the Commodore with his own dagger drawn, whilst Jack retrieved the letter from his pocket.
'This is a copy,' Jack informed the hapless man. 'The original is in safekeeping. Shall I read it to you?'
'My dearest George,' he began, not able to see the words in the darkness, but knowing them off by heart. 'I am writing to beg you to reconsider your decision that you spoke of the other evening…'
'No,' Beauchamp whispered hoarsely. 'He can't be…?'
'Afraid he is,' the pirate captain shrugged. 'Now… th'way I see it, you have two choices. You can either stop this war against th'pirates or I can send a copy of this letter to th'Admiralty in London. What did Luke say th'penalty fer buggery was?' he asked Shay, pretending not to know.
'Death, I believe it was,' came Shay's brogue.
'You bastards,' Beauchamp hissed. 'You think you can browbeat me with a bit of paper. I'll say it's a forgery.'
'Very well, we'll send th'original letter ter London then, let them check yer handwritin'. I'm sure they have a few examples of yer handwritin' in the offices, eh? Requests fer more ships, troops, money et cetera, et cetera.'
'How do I explain to the Govenor why I'm not still attacking?' he sighed, talking more to himself than the pirates holding him hostage.
'I'm sure after th'losses you've suffered just lately, he'll be very reassured that you won't be attacking. I'm surprised he hasn't relieved you of command yet - he did th'last incumbent an' he hadn't been as careless as you an' Farrier where ships an' men are concerned.'
'Sir!' a voice outside the door cried. 'Pirates are attacking!'
'Don't you dare,' Jack warned, flashing his blade once more.
Commodore Beauchamp looked at the two blades aimed at him and decided discretion was, for now, the better part of valour. 'I'll be right there,' he called. 'I will dress myself.'
'Sir?'
'Get the valuables to safety,' he ordered. 'Just in case.'
'Very good, Sir,' the servant deferred, hurrying to give the order to the others.
'You'll call off th'attacks?'
'I don't have a lot of choice, do I?' Beauchamp sighed heavily. 'Just tell me one thing, did George die painlessly?'
'Do you care whether a man hangin' from th'gallows is in pain or not?' Jack snapped. 'No, he didn't. He was torn apart, limb from limb an' his guts thrown around th'town square…'
'Dear God, no…!' the Commodore gasped. 'You vermin!' he spat. 'Get out – go! Or I shall shout for the guards and hang the consequences.'
'Shay,' Jack nodded. 'Your turn…' He moved as the younger man approached Beauchamp, knocking him cold with a single blow to the head.
'Time ter go,' the Irishman said, heading for the bathroom.
'Let's hope there's no-one in th'garden.'
'Pistols, just in case?'
'Aye, good idea,' Jack agreed, drawing his pistol from its holster and half cocking it as Shay did the same to his, replacing it back in the holster whilst they climbed down the rope. The two men ran for all they were worth across the manicured lawn and hurled themselves at the wall, scrambling up it and dropping to the other side, hitting the ground running.
'Thank gawd th'ships are keepin' them busy,' Shay panted as they sped through the town towards the cove where they would meet up with the Black Pearl in the morning. 'Guards!' he hissed, ducking into a doorway as he heard the heavy footfalls of a patrol of marines running nearby. He shrank back to allow room for Jack and the two men held their breath as the troops trotted past them, waiting for long minutes before venturing out again.
'That was far too close,' Jack commented dryly as they hastened on their way once more, hiding for the night in an old barn on the outskirts of town.
…
Jenny, Patience and Sive sat around a table in Patience's garden, watching Sive's boys playing in the dirt and gossiping whilst the babies, Erin and Joshua, slept in cribs. Patience sighed heavily, looking at to sea, wondering if the men had finished their business yet.
'I wonder if that letter really will change anything?' Jenny pondered as she sipped her drink.
'As long as they get back safe, I don't care,' Patience remarked. 'But it'll be different now Farrier's dead, th'bastard.'
'Yes, it will,' Jenny agreed. 'I just hope Jack and Shay are all right in Port Royal. I'm always afraid that one day Jack's infamous luck will run out.'
Patience smiled reassurringly. 'I'm sure they'll be fine,' she insisted. 'He can't be expectin' ter be rescued - he didn't leave us no brooms!'
The other women laughed along with Patience. 'I can just see us turning up in Port Royal to rescue them with a child in one hand and a broom in the other!' Jenny grinned.
'They should be back soon,' Sive smiled. 'Then you'll both be complainin' of them getting' under yer feet.'
'An' elsewhere,' Patience chortled, putting on her best innocent expression as she heard Luke talking with Finan nearby.
'I think they already know about elsewhere,' Jenny remarked dryly, recalling all the times on board ship when she and Jack would sneak off to the cabin.
'True... but Fin is th'delicate sort – don't want ter cause him ter blush, do we?' Patience teased.
'Fin?' Sive snorted. 'Delicate? If that were th'case, how come I have two nippers an' one more on th'way?' she laughed.
'Aye, well it must be a family trait then,' Patience sniped. 'But I can't stay here all day. I ought ter go chase that bloody goat around the paddock again fer some milk.'
'Ye mind ye don't slip,' Sive warned. 'Especially...'
'I'll make sure I fall on me arse then,' Patience laughed, rising to go indoors to get the pail.
'Especially what?' Jenny asked, looking at her two friends.
'Erm...' Sive blushed, glancing at Patience.
'Especially as I'm goin' ter be fat again,' Patience remarked, winking at Jenny. 'An' as th'cat's out of th' bag,' she said, her voice rising with each word so the nearby men could hear clearly. 'That Luke had better go no further than th'tavern fer the next six months!'
'You're having another one?' Jenny exclaimed, standing and hugging her friend. 'That's wonderful,' she beamed.
'I'll let yer know afterwards,' Patience said dryly, remembering how she would have died in Ireland had it not been for Luke's assistance in delivering Erin.
'You'll be fine this time,' Luke called across to her.
'Big ears!' she shouted back.
'Comes from living on board ships,' he shrugged with a rueful grin.
'Luke Martin, eavesdropper an' deliverer of pirate babes!' she snorted as she disappeared into the house to fetch the pail.
'They should name a ship after ye!' Fin joked. 'Seen as ye'll safeguard th'future of piracy due ter deliverin' their bairns.'
'Good Lord, no!' Luke grimaced. 'Besides, all ships are female…'
'They could call one Lucy…' Jenny replied innocently.
Patience laughed out loud as she re-appeared, poking her tongue out at Luke as she passed him on the way to the paddock. 'P'raps bribery will work,' she said wryly holding a juicy carrot.
'It hasn't before,' Sive chuckled as she watched her sister-in-law head towards the paddock.
'I'll kick it off the bleedin' cliff then!' Patience retorted. 'An' cook it fer dinner - ya hear that goat? I'm goin' ter cook ya!'
'You'd have to jump in and rescue it first, in that case,' Luke teased. 'And we all know how much you love the water...'
'Jump? Nah! I'll bat me eyelashes an' smile sweetly an' get one of you idiots ter fetch it fer me.'
'Not bloody likely,' Fin snorted. 'Not fer th'meat ye'd get from that thing.'
'Well if yer useless sods won't fetch it fer me, ya can shift yer fat arses from me wall an' find yerself something useful ter do.'
'Aye, aye, Cap'n,' Luke deferred, saluting smartly and winking at Fin as the men got down from the wall and went on their way.
…
