The merchant ship Dominica loomed up overhead, her crew taking on final provisions from the dusty little harbor town she would soon pull away from. Most of her passengers were already aboard; they now waited only for the captain and the young woman standing at the gangway, looking at it with some trepidation.
Elizabeth regarded the cog. In her opinion, the vessel was rather... overlarge for a simple island transport. "I'd rather the Dauntless."
"Being simple folk, we barely know what a Dauntless is, much less that there's a ship called that," a smooth voice informed her. Jack regarded the ship with mild disdain, sweeping over her ample curves much like a man sizing up a lady of the evening. "Well, she'll not be outrunning anything in the area, but she should get us there intact."
"Why should we need to outrun anything?"
"A man in my line of work outruns many things. Just not in ships like these." A lock of raven hair slipped free from the queue he'd stuffed it into, and Elizabeth took another second to once again take in the new face. He batted his eyes at her, tilting his head to show off his best side. "Can't take your eyes off me, love?"
"Your mustache is crooked," she said.
"So kind of you to notice. Shall we go aboard?" Jack offered his arm, and after a moment's contemplation, Elizabeth accepted it.
***
Jack let the lass settle into a routine over the first three days of the voyage, just long enough to let word of their destination seep down below decks. Elizabeth's placid demeanor had lasted quite nicely for those three days, and as Dominica put the Caribbean to her rudder, Jack knew the time had come to inform her of their true destination.
He'd thought it would be ugly. He'd thought he would get slapped.
He had dreadfully underestimated the vocal power of the governor's daughter.
"The boat's going where?!"
The shriek carried out over the fat cog's decks, and crew members looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Apparently the lady-passenger had quite a voice on her.
"You - you're kidnapping me! You're a bloody, wretched, malformed--"
"Malformed?!"
"--bastard from Tortuga and I hate you!"
That did more than raise eyebrows.
Jack cringed and held up his hands to placate her. "Now, now, Miss Swann, you promised you'd trust me--"
"I trusted you to take me to Isla de Muerta! I trusted you to take me home! I did not trust you to take me to - where the bloody hell are we - ENGLAND! What the bloody hell are we going to do in ENGLAND?!"
"Please, love, stop the screaming..." He looked over his shoulder, half-expecting to see the captain come barging down demanding explanations. "They'll hear..."
She drew herself up, planting her hands on her slim hips. "This is kidnapping."
"In some lights, I suppose--"
"You are a wretched, slimy, despicable, wretched--"
"You already said wretched," he kindly pointed out, ducking the slap he knew was coming. "Miss Swann!" She scanned the room, and he realized with a sinking feeling in his stomach that she was looking for something to hurl at him. He reached the water basin an instant before she did, snatching it out of her reach. "I'll have you know, darling, I'm of absolutely no use to you dead, and if you do manage to dash my brains out with this, who will protect you from the crew?"
Confusion clouded her features. "Ah, hadn't thought of that, had you? They're men, dear, and you're an attractive women... and you know what vile, despicable scalawags men turn into once they've had, say, rum, don't you?" He set the basin behind him, keeping both his hands between them. "They'll be on you before you can so much as squeak 'Wake up, Jack!'" His high-pitched imitation of her voice did nothing but make the budding scowl intensify. "Trust me on this one, love. And come now, don't kill me before you've heard my reasoning."
"Out with it."
Oh, this was not good. This was not good at all. One wrong move and she'd rip him apart with her bare hands. "There is a little item I need to pick up in County Kent. It's rather far inland so we may need to stay for a time. Upon my achievement of this object, we will depart and return home to Papa dearest and your lovely boring life."
She glared at him, and Jack threw down his last card.
***
Jack yanked the pistol from its pack and began marching out the door. Elizabeth flung herself in front of him. "What are you doing?"
"Commandeering the ship, darling, please move aside." When she refused to stand down, he rolled his eyes. "Dear, make up your mind. The only way we're going to get this ship headed back to your charming Port Royal will be a drastic act of piracy. Fortunately, I happen to be a pirate. Move aside."
"With one pistol. Are you bloody mad?" When he raised his eyebrows at her, she placed a hand on the hand that held the gun. "Madder than I thought? Jack, they are armed to defeat pirates and there is one of you. One." The hand wavered. "And even if you did... the word would spread faster than your men could get to us. We would be done for."
Jack nodded slightly to her, though the gun did not lower. "You will accompany me to England, then, and not complain about it? Well... not complain terribly much?"
"No." When he lifted the gun threateningly, she stood her ground. "I will accompany you to England, but there is something I must do as well. If we're traveling all these miles, we might as well enjoy the sights." She cupped her hand around Jack's, applied gentle pressure. "I choose to bide my time..." She put her other hand over the first, pressing down with all her strength. "Put the damn thing down before someone sees you!"
"Don't even want to try it, love?" He seemed more puzzled by her than anything else. He set the gun back into its proper place, turning back to her before she could sneak away. Planting one hand on either side of her head, he leaned in close. Too close. Thoroughly invading her space. He seemed to do that once daily. Not that she was entirely sure she minded.
"Captain, just what is it you plan on doing in England, if you do not mind my asking?" The sway of the ship emboldened her to lean toward him, to nearly press her body against his as she had once before. "County Kent? Why?"
"Sometimes..." Jack paused to take a deep breath, and her hair rustled when he exhaled. "Sometimes... one must act in a manner most peculiar to do the right thing." Before she could ask about doing the right thing, he pulled away, taking his warmth with him. "Gerrarrd, dear, it's about Gerrarrd."
"Gerrarrd this, Gerrarrd that. If you won't tell me anything, how can you expect me to help you?"
"I don't," he said bluntly. "I expect you to sit primly and nod and smile and do as I ask and not get yourself killed."
"I wouldn't dream of it," she snapped, too furious to bother disagreeing with him anymore. "Meanwhile, I will expect you to act courteously in England. Do not go doing anything... rash."
"It's called stupid, my dear." He surveyed the room, hands planted on his hips. "Your father and his pet will pop an eye once he realizes who you're with in England." The thought seemed to please him.
"Can you do it, Jack?"
He looked at her.
"Can you do it? Can you be something... can you... act... something... can you step off this ship in England, and be as a man ought?"
Jack Sparrow brushed his hand against her cheek, and the familiar spark in his eye turned devious. "Aye, my lady, I believe that I can manage such a fete..." His slur smoothed into a pleasant, lilting accent. "...for a time, at least."
And then he was gone.
***
Up on deck, Jack rubbed his hands together and permitted himself a most ungentlemanly cackle. The last card had been his finest, and Elizabeth Swann had played right into it. She'd even tried to play it back against him... the girl had a plan. Of course; she'd been keeping company with him, she was bound to start scheming on her own. He'd have to watch out for that.
But by Poseidon's staff, why the devil would she want to stay in England for any length of time?
***
The last islands of the Caribbean slipped away as day gave way to dusk.
He stood at the stern every day, just behind the wheelman, and watched.
During one of their suppers together, Elizabeth at last tired of the infallible grin that always seemed to be lurking just beneath his newly-somber countenance. "How can you smile at this? How can you smile at anything right now? Your world, your ship, your--"
He placed a hand over her mouth. "I'm choosing to see this as an adventure, Miss Swann, as you undoubtedly will at some point. I'm choosing to view this in light, rather than darkness." He raised his eyebrows at her over the glass of wine he held. "No, don't bother denying anything, Elizabeth... it hinges on my proposal."
She stared at him. "You're... proposing?"
Jack choked on his wine. "By the spirits, girl, nothing like that."
"I'm not a girl," she snapped. "You and your rum made certain of that."
His smile tightened. "Keep blaming the rum, darling, denial is really quite attractive. Being that we will undoubtedly be living together - ah, yes, look away in distress - may I suggest posing as a married couple so not to attract any more attention than my dashing good looks will undoubtedly bring?"
No, absolutely not, I will never... no, he expected these retorts. It would make sense to keep a low profile. Instead, she downed the last of her wine. "Very well."
If the lack of response disappointed him, he did not show it. "Very good. As soon as we get there, I want you to inform your father that we're alive."
"God no." He would never let her stay in England - he'd send the bloody fleet after her. "What if the letter falls into the wrong hands? They'll be looking. You need to give it time, Jack. Opportune moments and all."
He studied her. "Why do I get the feeling there's an underlying motive here?"
"Because you're you." Because there is, she wanted to say - but busied herself in wiping at her lips with her napkin.
After supper, he paced: another new development.
She watched him tread back and forth until she grew dizzy, dropping her head back against the pillow. "You've shut the door, who knows what the rest of the ship will think?"
"I'm rather beyond caring what the rest of the ship thinks." Jack picked up an apple and tossed it back and forth between his hands. "And as I understand it, you'll be getting off this tub with me, correct? I wonder what they'll think then."
"Why are we going to England?"
He started for the door, and Elizabeth tottered across the cabin and placed herself against the frame before she realized what she was doing. "Stop this! You're carting me off to England - the least you can do is tell me why we are bound there, and what you intend to do about Will."
Jack regarded her with the thoughtful stare he'd been developing as of late, and she bore up under his scrutiny. "Ephraim Gerrarrd is a product of His Majesty's Royal Navy," he said quietly. "And there are things, Miss Swann, that go back very far yet retain their value. Do you understand that?"
"Why must you be so cryptic?"
"Why must you be so feisty?"
Elizabeth permitted herself a very unladylike scowl. "Do I not even deserve to know why?"
"Why? Oh, of course. Well, you see, m'lady... certain papers will not be validated until such a time as you are returned to the ambient warmth of your father's arms. Being that I trust no one else in the immediate vicinity to see to your safe arrival, I had no choice but to 'cart you off to England' and keep an eye on you while Gerrarrd does his nasty business back home."
"What the devil do you care about Gerrarrd and what he has up his sleeve? You've got the Pearl. You can go sailing off into the sunset and never have to worry about a thing again." She folded her arms.
"You're quite right. I don't care about Gerrarrd, or anything he does - until it affects me." Jack's smile came back in full force. "And unfortunately, what he's thinking about does indeed affect my livelihood and general happiness on the high seas. That, dear, is the only reason I'm getting involved in this at all - so don't be getting your hopes up."
The anger that had been simmering shot into her hand, but Jack had caught it and pinned it above her head before she could reach his cheek. "Getting good at that, aren't I," he said.
"I'm not a child that needs looking after!"
"No... not a child. Certainly not. Perhaps... perhaps I had a devious intent after all, Miss Swann. Indeed... what would the stories say about the pirate who carted off the governor's daughter and had his way with her in England, much to her... distressed delight?"
Her breath caught. "You wouldn't dare."
"Pirate," he said pointedly.
"And a good man," she shot back. "Or was that a lie as well? Have you ever spoken a truth in your life, Captain Sparrow?"
He flashed another smile, releasing her hand. "When the mood takes me."
(Next: Another peek into The Life & Times of The Turners! Jack and Elizabeth get to England! More silliness!)
(To the readers: I would like to apologize for the lateness of this chapter. I'm back in school and at work, and basically stopped writing for about three weeks. Getting the character voices and the tone of the story back took some doing. I apologize if this seems a little rough around the edges, because I acknowledge that it is - but I wanted to get something up for you. The next chapter should be sooner in coming, and much better. This is, essentially, a transition chapter - those are rarely fun. Ciao for now.)