The Oldest Story in the Book
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: Love to all reviewers, as all. You've been my life's blood this week. Since Pendragginink asked, I'll tell you where the title comes from. I took it from a line I see Pearl saying later to Norrington, and (odd as it sounds) I think she says it better than I could, so let me give you the line Pearl would give Norrington. "Our relationship is the oldest story in the book, Edward. Shakespeare himself wrote it. And I don't know about you, but I'd prefer just letting you go now to stabbing myself in the gut." If any of you don't understand this you are not allowed to read another chapter until you read Romeo and Juliet. Or at least the balcony scene (that's my favorite part). And while you're at it read The Taming of the Shrew. And ignore the part after she's tamed. And watch 10 Things I Hate About You (mmm, Heath Ledger). And the story's good too. Anyway, I need to stop. On with the show!
Pearl whistled, half-skipping down the street beside Norrington. "You're rather happy for a woman about to make a confession of sorts," he remarked.
Pearl shrugged as she twirled her way past him. "She isn't my wife, and you weren't married back then. I haven't done anything wrong and I don't have to live with her. Plus I doubt the high-minded noble could manage to do me any serious damage. Strictly speaking, I haven't a thing to worry about."
"Lucky you," he remarked. As he watched her twirling dislodged a shiny gold glint from her cloak. "You still wear it?" he asked, nodding toward his necklace.
She stopped twirling to curl her hand around the bangle. "Aye. Haven't taken it off since you gave it to me. I figure I'll give it to Emmie soon as she's old enough. She likes it."
"So tell me about Emmie," Norrington requested.
Pearl shrugged. "You saw her. Strong and healthy and happy. Smart as the day is long. Scarily smart, I can tell you. You'd expect a two-year-old could be tricked easily enough, but she even catches Jack on her good days. It's a bit frightening, to be honest."
She became calmer as he approached the steps of the house, following him easily inside.
Maggie ran across the marble floor as soon as her husband was in the door, throwing herself into his arms to kiss his cheek. "Oh, Edward, I was worried sick! What on earth kept you so long?"
He shook his head, pulling back to kiss his wife's forehead. "It's the wrong season for that sort of thing. I'm not sailing out, and you have no reason to worry over me. How many times must I tell you that?"
"More than you have thus far, obviously."
The comment drew Maggie's attention to their visitor for the first time. "Oh, apologies. My husband didn't mention we would have guests. Could I--" She paused as she moved forward, studying the grinning girl. She drew back suddenly, hand to her chest. "Pearl?"
"I'm impressed," Pearl remarked. "I didn't figure you'd remember me."
"Of course I do," she answered, drawing forward awkwardly to hug the woman. "What are you doing back?"
"Dropping off my daughter," Pearl answered flippantly. "The Turners have volunteered to take her on so I can return to the high seas, seeing as how they don't have children of their own."
"Your daughter?" Maggie asked.
Pearl nodded with a knowing grin. Reaching out the patted the woman's arm. "Maggie, it's all right."
Maggie sighed deeply with relief. "You mean she isn't my husband's daughter?"
Pearl shook her head. "Oh, no, she is. But that's okay."
Maggie's eyes bulged wide as she looked from the smiling pirate to her husband and back. Then fainted clean away.
Moving quickly Pearl managed to catch the woman before she hit the marble floor. "Bloody nobles," Pearl muttered, lowering the woman enough to catch a better grip on her and lift her fully into her arms. "Where can I put her down?"
"Let me," Norrington offered.
"Bugger off," Pearl ordered, turning away from his outstretched arms. "I'm a bloody pirate, not some weak girlling that can't carry some silly fainting noblewoman about. Where do you want me to put her?"
Sighing heavily Norrington muttered, "You're impossible."
"No, I'm intolerable," she answered.
He shook his head at the old joke as he led her to the parlor and indicated a couch with a wave of his hand. "Three years and a daughter later and you still haven't changed a bit," he remarked as he settled next to her to help arrange his wife comfortably on the couch.
"Disappointed?" Pearl asked.
"Not in the least," he assured her.
Maggie began to stir then. They both hovered over her as she came around. Her eyes fastened immediately on Pearl. "You had best not be teasing me."
"I've never yet lied to you," Pearl pointed out. "And I never will."
"All right." She sat up, confusion lingering in her eyes. "All right. What do you want? Money? A title? Immunity?"
Pearl looked at her in confusion, then burst out laughing. "Maggie!" Norrington gasped.
"Oh, leave her be," Pearl ordered. "It's the first thing I'd expect of a pirate. I want nothing, from either of you. I don't imagine it would be a bad idea for my daughter to get to know her brother, but I'm hardly about to start making demands."
"Then why are you here?" Maggie asked in apparent confusion.
"Because it wasn't right for me to send Edward in here to tell you himself. He deserved a little backup, and you deserved to hear the truth from me."
"Thank you," she remarked, standing. "I should check on our son. He must nearly be ready to eat again."
"May I come?" Pearl asked. "I've developed an affinity for babies, or so it seems."
Maggie, for her part, only hesitated a moment before nodding and leading them up the stairs. "Is he very fussy?" Pearl asked conversationally.
"Oh, no. He's such a dear heart. He hardly troubles me at all," she said quickly, a smile settling over her face.
"You're very fortunate," Pearl remarked. "Emmie was a terrible hassle. Her stomach wasn't right just at first, poor thing. I didn't have servants to help out either, although my mother took her duties rather seriously."
"You're very fortunate to have her," Maggie replied.
"Is your mother no longer with us?" Pearl guessed.
Maggie nodded. "I believe I would benefit from her knowledge now more than ever."
"Well, it may be an interesting bit of irony, but I would be glad to offer you any advice that I could. After all, Emmie seems healthy enough. I don't think I managed to have anything go too horribly wrong, and with Jack's blood in her veins that's a very nice compliment if I do say so myself."
Maggie chuckled at that. "I would have to agree. Here we are," she said, leading them into a very comfortable looking room, a feel that was accented by the gentle cooing of a baby.
"He's beautiful," Pearl remarked as his mother held him up for the pirate to see. "Naturally she would be, with such lovely parents."
Brown hair curled around his chubby cheeks, blue eyes staring up at the women above him. He cooed as Pearl leaned close to babble at him, tickling him with a short-chopped strand of hair, making the beads in it clank. He giggled and gripped the strand, tugging at it as Pearl chuckled.
Norrington couldn't help but laugh. "What?" his wife and Pearl demanded in unison.
"You," he answered. "Pearl Sparrow, scourge of the high seas, ruthless daughter of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, cooing over my baby."
"I've been cooing over your baby for two years. She's my baby too," Pearl put in, tickling at the little boy. "I'm a woman, Edward. Never lose sight of that. We're put together this way. Trained from birth, perhaps before, to coo over babies and protect them with our lives. There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who believes her child is in danger. It really isn't so surprising when you think of it that way. Am I right, Maggie?" Pearl asked.
"You are indeed," Maggie agreed. "I've learned a little about fighting, with a sword. Can handle a pistol if I must. You know, in case anyone came after Edward's child, or wife."
"Good for you! Maggie, I'm so proud of you! It'll take you stuffy nobles to tech these men how helpless we womenfolk are. They'll never listen to us silly pirates." The baby cooed again, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "This little boy is beautiful."
"Don't you mean handsome?" Norrington asked.
"No, Edward. Will is handsome. He's pretty to look at and all, but beautiful is better. It's truer, somehow. Does that make any sense?"
"Perfect sense," Maggie answered, looking incredibly pleased.
"Listen, I should get back. My darling daughter won't sleep until I go visit her again. You should both come by for tea tomorrow. All three of you, rather."
"Are you going to be here?" Norrington asked.
"In a manner of speaking. Bethany Maltrey will. You'll like her considerably better than you like me, Maggie, I promise," Pearl informed her.
"Can you get away tomorrow, darling?" Maggie asked as she looked to her husband.
"I would imagine."
A grin split Pearl's face. "Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow then."
Author's note: I have come to the uncomfortable conclusion that I am in trouble. I have Pearl fans and I have Maggie fans. Well, Norrington can't be with both of them, so some of you are obviously going to be upset. No, I'm not getting close to that part yet, but I do have the plot in my head. So I want a tally. How many Maggie fans do I have here, and how many are willing to chuck her out the window in favor of Pearl? How many are in the middle and are forming a lynch mob right now because they aren't going to be happy either way? At least I can be prepared.
Oh, and to Pendragginink, I sent you an e-mail giving you the go-ahead but I haven't heard back from you. Let me know what's up. I want to read this!
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author's Note: Love to all reviewers, as all. You've been my life's blood this week. Since Pendragginink asked, I'll tell you where the title comes from. I took it from a line I see Pearl saying later to Norrington, and (odd as it sounds) I think she says it better than I could, so let me give you the line Pearl would give Norrington. "Our relationship is the oldest story in the book, Edward. Shakespeare himself wrote it. And I don't know about you, but I'd prefer just letting you go now to stabbing myself in the gut." If any of you don't understand this you are not allowed to read another chapter until you read Romeo and Juliet. Or at least the balcony scene (that's my favorite part). And while you're at it read The Taming of the Shrew. And ignore the part after she's tamed. And watch 10 Things I Hate About You (mmm, Heath Ledger). And the story's good too. Anyway, I need to stop. On with the show!
Pearl whistled, half-skipping down the street beside Norrington. "You're rather happy for a woman about to make a confession of sorts," he remarked.
Pearl shrugged as she twirled her way past him. "She isn't my wife, and you weren't married back then. I haven't done anything wrong and I don't have to live with her. Plus I doubt the high-minded noble could manage to do me any serious damage. Strictly speaking, I haven't a thing to worry about."
"Lucky you," he remarked. As he watched her twirling dislodged a shiny gold glint from her cloak. "You still wear it?" he asked, nodding toward his necklace.
She stopped twirling to curl her hand around the bangle. "Aye. Haven't taken it off since you gave it to me. I figure I'll give it to Emmie soon as she's old enough. She likes it."
"So tell me about Emmie," Norrington requested.
Pearl shrugged. "You saw her. Strong and healthy and happy. Smart as the day is long. Scarily smart, I can tell you. You'd expect a two-year-old could be tricked easily enough, but she even catches Jack on her good days. It's a bit frightening, to be honest."
She became calmer as he approached the steps of the house, following him easily inside.
Maggie ran across the marble floor as soon as her husband was in the door, throwing herself into his arms to kiss his cheek. "Oh, Edward, I was worried sick! What on earth kept you so long?"
He shook his head, pulling back to kiss his wife's forehead. "It's the wrong season for that sort of thing. I'm not sailing out, and you have no reason to worry over me. How many times must I tell you that?"
"More than you have thus far, obviously."
The comment drew Maggie's attention to their visitor for the first time. "Oh, apologies. My husband didn't mention we would have guests. Could I--" She paused as she moved forward, studying the grinning girl. She drew back suddenly, hand to her chest. "Pearl?"
"I'm impressed," Pearl remarked. "I didn't figure you'd remember me."
"Of course I do," she answered, drawing forward awkwardly to hug the woman. "What are you doing back?"
"Dropping off my daughter," Pearl answered flippantly. "The Turners have volunteered to take her on so I can return to the high seas, seeing as how they don't have children of their own."
"Your daughter?" Maggie asked.
Pearl nodded with a knowing grin. Reaching out the patted the woman's arm. "Maggie, it's all right."
Maggie sighed deeply with relief. "You mean she isn't my husband's daughter?"
Pearl shook her head. "Oh, no, she is. But that's okay."
Maggie's eyes bulged wide as she looked from the smiling pirate to her husband and back. Then fainted clean away.
Moving quickly Pearl managed to catch the woman before she hit the marble floor. "Bloody nobles," Pearl muttered, lowering the woman enough to catch a better grip on her and lift her fully into her arms. "Where can I put her down?"
"Let me," Norrington offered.
"Bugger off," Pearl ordered, turning away from his outstretched arms. "I'm a bloody pirate, not some weak girlling that can't carry some silly fainting noblewoman about. Where do you want me to put her?"
Sighing heavily Norrington muttered, "You're impossible."
"No, I'm intolerable," she answered.
He shook his head at the old joke as he led her to the parlor and indicated a couch with a wave of his hand. "Three years and a daughter later and you still haven't changed a bit," he remarked as he settled next to her to help arrange his wife comfortably on the couch.
"Disappointed?" Pearl asked.
"Not in the least," he assured her.
Maggie began to stir then. They both hovered over her as she came around. Her eyes fastened immediately on Pearl. "You had best not be teasing me."
"I've never yet lied to you," Pearl pointed out. "And I never will."
"All right." She sat up, confusion lingering in her eyes. "All right. What do you want? Money? A title? Immunity?"
Pearl looked at her in confusion, then burst out laughing. "Maggie!" Norrington gasped.
"Oh, leave her be," Pearl ordered. "It's the first thing I'd expect of a pirate. I want nothing, from either of you. I don't imagine it would be a bad idea for my daughter to get to know her brother, but I'm hardly about to start making demands."
"Then why are you here?" Maggie asked in apparent confusion.
"Because it wasn't right for me to send Edward in here to tell you himself. He deserved a little backup, and you deserved to hear the truth from me."
"Thank you," she remarked, standing. "I should check on our son. He must nearly be ready to eat again."
"May I come?" Pearl asked. "I've developed an affinity for babies, or so it seems."
Maggie, for her part, only hesitated a moment before nodding and leading them up the stairs. "Is he very fussy?" Pearl asked conversationally.
"Oh, no. He's such a dear heart. He hardly troubles me at all," she said quickly, a smile settling over her face.
"You're very fortunate," Pearl remarked. "Emmie was a terrible hassle. Her stomach wasn't right just at first, poor thing. I didn't have servants to help out either, although my mother took her duties rather seriously."
"You're very fortunate to have her," Maggie replied.
"Is your mother no longer with us?" Pearl guessed.
Maggie nodded. "I believe I would benefit from her knowledge now more than ever."
"Well, it may be an interesting bit of irony, but I would be glad to offer you any advice that I could. After all, Emmie seems healthy enough. I don't think I managed to have anything go too horribly wrong, and with Jack's blood in her veins that's a very nice compliment if I do say so myself."
Maggie chuckled at that. "I would have to agree. Here we are," she said, leading them into a very comfortable looking room, a feel that was accented by the gentle cooing of a baby.
"He's beautiful," Pearl remarked as his mother held him up for the pirate to see. "Naturally she would be, with such lovely parents."
Brown hair curled around his chubby cheeks, blue eyes staring up at the women above him. He cooed as Pearl leaned close to babble at him, tickling him with a short-chopped strand of hair, making the beads in it clank. He giggled and gripped the strand, tugging at it as Pearl chuckled.
Norrington couldn't help but laugh. "What?" his wife and Pearl demanded in unison.
"You," he answered. "Pearl Sparrow, scourge of the high seas, ruthless daughter of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow, cooing over my baby."
"I've been cooing over your baby for two years. She's my baby too," Pearl put in, tickling at the little boy. "I'm a woman, Edward. Never lose sight of that. We're put together this way. Trained from birth, perhaps before, to coo over babies and protect them with our lives. There is nothing more dangerous than a woman who believes her child is in danger. It really isn't so surprising when you think of it that way. Am I right, Maggie?" Pearl asked.
"You are indeed," Maggie agreed. "I've learned a little about fighting, with a sword. Can handle a pistol if I must. You know, in case anyone came after Edward's child, or wife."
"Good for you! Maggie, I'm so proud of you! It'll take you stuffy nobles to tech these men how helpless we womenfolk are. They'll never listen to us silly pirates." The baby cooed again, drawing everyone's attention back to him. "This little boy is beautiful."
"Don't you mean handsome?" Norrington asked.
"No, Edward. Will is handsome. He's pretty to look at and all, but beautiful is better. It's truer, somehow. Does that make any sense?"
"Perfect sense," Maggie answered, looking incredibly pleased.
"Listen, I should get back. My darling daughter won't sleep until I go visit her again. You should both come by for tea tomorrow. All three of you, rather."
"Are you going to be here?" Norrington asked.
"In a manner of speaking. Bethany Maltrey will. You'll like her considerably better than you like me, Maggie, I promise," Pearl informed her.
"Can you get away tomorrow, darling?" Maggie asked as she looked to her husband.
"I would imagine."
A grin split Pearl's face. "Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow then."
Author's note: I have come to the uncomfortable conclusion that I am in trouble. I have Pearl fans and I have Maggie fans. Well, Norrington can't be with both of them, so some of you are obviously going to be upset. No, I'm not getting close to that part yet, but I do have the plot in my head. So I want a tally. How many Maggie fans do I have here, and how many are willing to chuck her out the window in favor of Pearl? How many are in the middle and are forming a lynch mob right now because they aren't going to be happy either way? At least I can be prepared.
Oh, and to Pendragginink, I sent you an e-mail giving you the go-ahead but I haven't heard back from you. Let me know what's up. I want to read this!