"My dear Commodore, you look quite charming when you blush!" teased Victoria as the other two officers chuckled. Blushing even redder, Norrington cleared his throat and said,
"Pray. Continue."
"Suffice it to say, it was a very interesting evening. As a matter of fact, I didn't wake up till mid-afternoon…"
Victoria awoke and smiled pleasantly at the thought of what had taken place last night. She bit her lip when suddenly a tanned limb snaked under the covers and around her bare waist. Kissing her bare shoulders, Jack said,
"That was interesting!"
"Very!" replied Victoria waggling her eyebrows. She turned over to rest her head against Jack's scarred bare chest as he sat up propped up by pillows. Smiling contently, she cooed,
"Good morning Captain Sparrow!"
"Good afternoon, Mrs. Sparrow!" replied Jack. Listening to his beating heart she sighed and said,
"Mrs. Jack Sparrow. Why does that just sound heavenly?"
"Perhaps 'cause an angel said it?" whispered Jack kissing the top of her head. Then he took her hand and rubbed it again,
"How is it possible that you've been on this boat for months and your hands still feel like silk?"
"Must be the lotion I use." He kissed her palm and said,
"Remind me to buy you a whole crate of that stuff."
"Buy? Couldn't we just take a case?" teased Victoria raising a brow. He smirked down at her cocking his head to the left.
"My dear Mrs. Sparrow. I do believe I have turned you into a proper pirate!" he joked back.
"Did you ever think you'd be happy with one woman Jack? Or were you left to think true love had forgotten you like I thought it had me?" asked Victoria.
"You're the first woman to treat me like you do Luv. Not even me own mother treated me as good as you do. Who'd of thought almost seven months ago, I thought I'd rather tie the knot with the noose than some mousy little git!" said Jack.
"So that's what you first thought of me?" asked Victoria sounding a little hurt. But by the playful smile of her lips he continued,
"Well after all Luv. I'd never met you. I assumed that since you were a schoolteacher and an unmarried girl, you were an old maid based on what the major told me."
"Never make assumptions based on people you don't know, Love. Tis bad luck!" said Victoria.
"Now who said that I wonder?" mused Jack stroking her hair.
"Oh just a daft pirate captain."
"Ay!" said Jack as Victoria giggled a little.
"Too bad you promised never to return to St. Paul…I'd love to see the look on the major's face when he sees the troublesome schoolteacher the loving and devoted wife of the great Captain Jack Sparrow! And he'd be the cause of it! That old maid Miss Devon would turn her nose down on me by she'd be green with envy knowing I had a handsome husband and she had none. And my students would adore you. Well, once they got to know you. Sigh!" she said. Jack looked down at her and saw her absentmindedly watching the sun make her wedding ring sparkle in the light.
"What's bothering you Luv?" he asked with concern.
"I miss my students. They were such dears. And they don't even know I'm not only safe, but that I'm happy! And Margarite! Oh Margarite was like a second mother to me! I just wish they knew how I was doing." she said. Smiling to himself, Jack said,
"That can be arranged." Victoria lifted up her head to look at him.
Three months later in St. Paul, the sun shown brightly, the waves were beckoning to be explored and the children of St. Paul were board out their skulls. Miss Devon, had taken over the school until a proper replacement could be found. Margarite sat dozing in a corner. With her back turned, her voice monotonous, and her subject on proper grammar dull, the students drew a collective sigh.
"We should'a let them pirates raid us!" Billy Kelly muttered. Suddenly a tapping could be heard at the door. Without turning around, Miss Devon said crisply,
"Margarite!" Margarite jerked awake.
"Miss?"
"Answer the door."
"Yes Miss." said Margarite getting up and walking over to the door. But upon opening it, a bright colorful parrot flew in squawking,
"LOAD THE GUNS! LOAD THE GUNS! FIRE ALL!" The children gasped as they watched the bird attack their substitute teacher who ran out the door screeching like a banshee. The bird landed on the desk and sang,
"AND THAT IS HOW MATH CAN BE FUN! AWK!" Lucy gasped,
"That's one of Miss Baker's songs!" Margarite cautiously approached the bird. Petting it, she saw clutched in his claw a letter. She took the letter and read the handwriting addressed to the students.
"Merciful heavens! It's from Miss Victoria!" she exclaimed as the children rushed forward and cried,
"Read it! Read it!" Margarite tore open the letter and began to read,
"'Dear Margarite and Children,
Where to begin! First of all, I am safe. It turns out my marriage to Captain Sparrow was a plot to get rid of me without a repeat of 'the incident' by the Major, Miss Devon, and Mrs. Murphy!"
"Filthy dogs!" cried Tommy.
"'At first, Captain Sparrow, who as is turns out would never hurt a woman or child in his life, agreed to take me to Port Royal once he was in no danger from the law. But time passed, circumstances changed and grew, and the Captain and I really did fall in love.'"…
"How romantic!" sighed Bessie.
"'Now I am his wife in every way. He is a kind man who treats me like a queen. Just the other day, he began to teach me swordplay and how to pick locks!'"…
"Lucky!' cried Billy Kelly.
"'I've learned how pirates really raid ships. Without a lot of violence, bloodshed and fear. In fact I've sort of become the ship's navigator. I've learned a lot of things in the last few month's children. The most important of which is not to judge someone for what they are but for who they are. Like my husband, Jack for instance. A pirate is what he is. But a good man is who he is.
I'm safe, happy, and in love. If you all wish to write back to me, just tie the letter's to the parrot and he will take them back. To let them know he can go, just pat his head and say, "Jack loves Victoria. Victoria loves Jack." We'll be waiting by the outer edge of the cliffs for the bird to return by midnight, so please send him back. He's trained to speak for a lovely old man Mr. Cotton who had his tongue cut out. So he's sort of needed.
I love you all and I will miss you very much. Never stop exploring, learning and enjoying life and all it has to offer. That is what God put us on this earth to do. We're be on our way to visit Port Royal. Jack has friends there he wishes for me to meet. So until we meet again I remain your loving teacher.
Respectfully Yours,
Mrs. Victoria Sparrow
P.S. Margarite--did I mention Jack has beautiful brown eyes?'"
"What does she mean by that last part, Margarite?" asked Ralph. Margarite smiled as she folded the letter.
"That their children will have beautiful brown eyes!"
"How romantic!" sighed Bessie again.
A little later, Miss Devon was dragging the Major by his sleeve while Mrs. Murphy tried to calm her frantic behavior.
"Miss Devon please!" pleaded Mrs. Murphy.
"Mr. Major you must help me destroy that fowl creature! It might have hurt the brats!" she cried as they came up to the schoolhouse. The Major sighed before beginning to open the door,
"Miss Devon, will you please stop…AHHH!" The parrot flew around their heads with a bundle of letters tied around his legs squawking,
"JACK LOVES VICTORIA! VICTORIA LOVES JACK!" Then he flew off into the sky with the children cheering and waving goodbye. The bird flew and flew until it came upon the Black Pearl anchored by the cliffs. It flew up to the quarterdeck where Jack laid his head on Victoria's lap, hat over his eyes as they enjoyed the moment's peace on the ship, sunbathing and reading Voltaire. The bird dropped down and squawked,
"JACK LOVES VICTORIA! VICTORIA LOVES JACK!" Jack jumped at this before looking around confused. Finally he lifted his hat from his eyes and spied the bird. Dryly he said,
"One of these days I'm going to shoot that bloody bird!" Patting the parrot's head and stroking his feathers, Victoria took the bundle from him and said,
"You'll do no such thing. Now, let's see. Margarite sends her blessing. Bessie drew a picture of us, and …why am I not surprised Billy Kelly asks a million questions about what it's like to be a pirate?" Then her face fell.
"What wrong?" asked Jack sitting up.
"Tommy, he's the oldest. His mother died. He said his father found some extra help so he can still go to school, but it has been a rough year. And the pub hasn't been doing so well lately." she told him sadly.
"That's a shame Luv."
"I just wish I could do something to help him!" she cried as Jack took the letter. Reading it over, he said,
"Lad's fourteen ay?"
"Aye."
"Maybe I can convince a certain pirate blacksmith to take a young apprentice." Jack mused. Victoria looked up,
"Could you Jack?"
"Blacksmiths make good money. And since Will started making custom swords he's making a small fortune. And Elizabeth can be the missing maternal figure in his life and help him grieve." said Jack.
"Of course, we'd need both parties approval first." Jack smiled at her and wiggled his eyebrows,
"Of course." She kissed his cheek and said laying her head on his shoulder,
"You're always looking for a way to make me happy aren't you?"
"You're me queen love. Me bonnie pirate queen!" he said.
"And do we rule the seas, my king?" said Victoria. Shrugging he said,
"Of course! And we're free Luv. That's what a ship is you know. It's not just a keel and a haul, a deck and a lot of sails; that's what a ship needs. But what a ship, what the Black Pearl, REALLY is…is freedom." Sighing she said,
"I love being free with you Jack!" Then they closed the gap between them and kissed sweetly.
The next day, a small dingy with Jack, Victoria, Gibbs and Anamaria pulled up next to the shadowed docks of Port Royal. Helping Victoria onto the docks, Jack looked down at Gibbs and Ana and said,
"We'll try to be back by nightfall. Just 'commandeer" an extra boat and leave it for us tied to this dock, Savvy?"
"Aye, Cap'n!" said Gibbs.
"Give our best wishes to the Turners for us!" said Anamaria. Saluting to the pair, Jack turned and escorted his wife into the bustling city of Port Royal.
"Will they like me Jack?"
"Are you kidding? They'll adore you!" he said ducking them into an alley for a moment dodging the patrolling marines. Once the coast was clear, Jack led them to a smithy with a new sign that read, 'W. Turner', under the symbol for a blacksmith. He knocked on the door and waited patiently for a polite young English accent say from within,
"It's open!" Jack opened the door and let Victoria go in first. Victoria saw a clean old smithy with tools and swords everywhere and a braying donkey attached to a wheel. A handsome young man with long straight brown hair and amber colored eyes and a trim little mustache and leather apron looked up at her and said,
"Good Day Miss! How may I…" He stopped when Jack walked into the shop behind Victoria.
"Jack! What the devil are you doing here!" Will said. Jack frowned,
"Well that's a fine hello whelp! Keep that up and I may have to beat you again at swordplay!" Will smiled wickedly,
"You didn't beat me! You broke the rules of engagement. In a fair fight, I'd kill you!" Jack smiled back as he and Victoria walked down the ramp to the middle of the room.
"Well then that don't give me reason to fight fairly then is it?" Will walked up to Jack and shook his hand.
"It is good to see you again Jack!"
"Aw to heck with it Eunuch! " said Jack pulling him into a hug. Surprised Will put on a confused look and said,
"What's gotten into you Jack?" Jack pulled away and put an arm around Victoria's shoulder.
"Me wife. Savvy?" he said wiggling his eyebrows. Looking at Victoria and looking at Jack he said in a confused manner,
"Wife?" Just then a tall slender woman with honey colored hair and dusty brown eyes elegantly dressed, stepped in with a picnic basket saying,
"Will! I've brought you lunch! The maid's father hired for us packed too much again!" Will looked to Jack and Victoria and said,
"I think that is a blessing in disguise." Elizabeth looked up and said,
"JACK?"
"Mrs. Turner. Marriage does suit you!" said Jack charmingly. She walked over to them and noticing Victoria said,
"Who's this then?" Will shrugged,
"Apparently…Jack's wife." Elizabeth narrowed her eyes at Will and said,
"Wife? Jack? Jack Sparrow?"
"Well it ain't that bloody hard to believe!" said Jack annoyed. Victoria shook her head a little and extended her hand,
"Forgive Jack's rudeness. I'm Mrs. Victoria Sparrow. And it's nice to meet you both. Jack has told me so much about you." The Turners shook her hand in a daze until Elizabeth said,
"How in the world did someone marry Jack Sparrow off?" Jack put his arm back around Victoria and said,
"It's a long story. So ye best be breaking out that picnic basket, Savvy?"
"We had a lovely lunch. Jack told them in exaggerated detail (with me whispering the correct version in Elizabeth's ear) the account of how we met, married and fell in love. We laughed very much as I got to know the Turners and I looked forward to seeing them again. Elizabeth was a kind, cultured woman, who had a fiery spirit. Will struck me as the voice of reason with an impulsive streak which Jack claims is the pirate blood in him. Finally, as I helped Elizabeth reload the picnic basket, Jack stood and draped his arm around Will's shoulder's and said,"…
"Well Mr. Turner. It seems I have proven you and Mrs. Turner wrong wouldn't you say?"
"What are you babbling about now?" asked Elizabeth dryly not bothering to look up from the picnic basket. And going on to explain, Jack said,
"Well I seem to recall that you two said I would never understand what it's like to love only one person since I'm such a skirt chasing cad!" Then boring his eyes deep into Victoria he said,
"I hope this afternoon has proven otherwise." Victoria looked down blushing under his gaze. Will and Elizabeth exchanged a look that said,
"The fool's in love." and smiled. Will said breaking the silence,
"So it would appear." Looking back at Will, Jack joked,
"What is it about us Mr. Turner, that two lovely, respectable ladies of the community would fall for two pirates like us ay?" Grinning mischievously, Will said,
"I am not a pirate. I am a blacksmith." Releasing Will and stepping out into the open floor, Jack pulled out his sword and said,
"Well then Blacksmith, do you still practice the art of sword fighting three hours a day or…" Jack paused looking over to Elizabeth. "perhaps you have your hands busy…elsewhere?" With the rising of Jack's eyebrows, Will pulled one of the swords off the wall and said raising it,
"Would you care to find out?" Jack ran his sword up and down Will's,
"Only a little." Victoria and Elizabeth looked dryly at each other, sighed, rolled their eyes and stepped back to give their husbands more room. The clashing of swords began. Jack parried, Will thrust, both trying to gain the advantage. Metallic sounds filled the smithy. Both men stepped fancifully, both sure in their step. They wove their way all over the smithy, sweat forming on their brows, clinging to their homespun cotton shirts. They dodged around beams and workbenches, never seeming to tire. Finally, Jack advanced and knocked the sword out of Will's hand. Looking dazed as Jack pointed his sword to his neck, Will said,
"You didn't cheat!" Jack lowered his sword and bowed,
"Told ye I'd beat ye again!" Suddenly the two men broke out in loud laughter as their wives applauded them and stepped forward. Victoria stood on her tiptoes and kissed Jack's cheek.
"Well done, Captain. But we had best be going, it's starting to get dark and it's going to take a while to walk back to the docks." she said brushing some dirt off his shoulder.
"Aw yes, the Pearl awaits." Wrapping an arm around his wife, Will said,
"I hope we see you both again."
"Yes, we don't have any friends who are married. Now it's nice to know there is at least one couple we can relate to." said Elizabeth. Jack stepped forward and raised Elizabeth's hand to his lips and said,
"Till we meet again, Mrs. Turner." As Will and Jack stepped over to retrieve their effects, Elizabeth took Victoria's hands in hers and said,
"I'm so happy for you both. Jack is a good man. He deserves a good woman."
"Thank you Mrs. Turner." On the other side of the room, Will shook Jack's hand and said,
"Every happiness my friend. You be sure to take care of her." Jack looked over at Victoria and said,
"Till the day I die." Jack then retrieved Victoria's cloak and draped it over her shoulders. As Jack and Victoria walked up to the ramp, Will put his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and called back,
"Jack!" Jack turned from opening the door.
"Don't do anything stupid." Jack gave him a smug smile and then making sure the streets were devoid of redcoats, hurried Victoria out. A little later, the stars began to twinkle and the night sky became darker. They had not spoken since they left the smithy. Finally, Victoria said,
"You really like Will Turner don't you?"
"I can't help it. His father was very special to me. Treated me like a son. When I first came aboard a ship, he taught me the ropes. Then when we had gotten the Pearl in a raid, he nominated me, a seventeen year old kid to be her captain. Even when Barbossa took the Pearl two years later, I knew he had no part of it. Good man. Good pirate." finished Jack fixing his eyes on the road ahead.
"So…Will is like the brother you never had?" asked Victoria.
"That…would be the understatement of the year." said Jack. Finally, they came to the harbor. Dragging behind Jack as they ducked in the shadows, Victoria said,
"Everything looks clear of the law to me." Finally, ducking them behind some crates on the dock where their boat lay bobbing in the water below, Jack said,
"I don't know. I've got a bad feeling. Wait here." He was about to run off but then he paused and looked back at Victoria as if he had forgotten something, he pulled her towards him by the neck and kissed her passionately. Pulling away he whispered huskily,
"I'll always love you Mrs. Jack Sparrow. What you are is a pirate's wife. But who you are is the woman I love, Savvy?" Gulping she said as her knees melted,
"Savvy." Rushing out of his hiding place and sticking to the shadows, he tripped once, cursed his toe, and continued. Victoria watched him through the space between the shipping crates as he untied the boat looking over his left shoulder. But a mass of royal blue crept up on his right, causing Victoria's heart to quicken. Then her heart stopped when she heard a pistol trigger click and a cultured young voice say crisply,
"Jack Sparrow."