Part 6
Both Jack and Will halted abruptly, Jack going cross eyed as he looked at the tip of the weapon, hardly daring to breathe in case he got the end of his nose swiped off. The blade bobbed in the candlelight as it indicated for them to move backwards so as to allow the person holding it to walk into the entrance hall.
As they did so, Will's eyes followed the sword back to its fine, gilded hilt which the blacksmith in him immediately appreciated for the ornate and difficult carvings. It was held with ease by a relatively small yet assured hand, which belonged to a slightly tanned arm which in turn was the property of a aggressively poised woman. By quick assessment he considered her to be around thirty years of age, for she no longer held the soft, sweet beauty of youth but was erring towards a grace and elegance which seemingly could only come with time and maturity. She wore a white nightgown and open robe, both intricately embroidered and trimmed with lace, clearly expensive. Both too were tight enough to show an athletic figure that suggested she was not a simple lady of leisure. The way she confidently held her sword certainly supported that fact.
The look on her face was not that of a young girl either. Will had never felt such a thing himself, but he was certain that hatred so burning must take many years to form and embed itself so deeply. Her dark eyes raged with it and her chestnut hair flicked angrily over her shoulders as she looked from one of them to the other.
After giving Will a quick, mostly disinterested and distinctly unimpressed perusal, her gaze locked on Jack and there was such malice in her eyes that Will was instantly convinced that she knew more of the captain of the Black Pearl than as a simple intruder.
"Ah, Isabelle," Jack said with a smile that was entirely inappropriate for the tenseness of the situation, punctuating it with a flamboyant bow, "It's been too long. A pleasure to see ye again, Milady."
"It's Governor Marley to you, Sparrow," she warned with more venom than a hundred vipers.
Will's eyes widened in surprise. This was the Governor of Tortuga? A woman? Jack hadn't said anything. But, there again, Will hadn't thought to ask either. After all, how could a woman be Governor of a pirate island of all places?
Governor Marley took a few balanced steps towards Jack, her sword still held out firmly as she eyed at him with a mixture of anger and distain.
"I seem to remember I sentenced you to rot to hell, covered in your own filth, in our foulest jail cell," she pointed out with no little spite.
Jack shrugged easily, "I didn't like the verdict much. Thought the prosecutor might've been a bit biased if ye know what I mean."
She bristled angrily but he continued on none the less, smiling that familiar cocky half smile.
"And ye forget. There's never been a prison built that can hold Captain Jack Sparrow."
His attitude only apparently served to incense her further - something Will considered very unwise given the situation. He was proved right when she suddenly thrust her sword forward at his throat, the blade pressing just hard enough to pierce the skin.
"An escaped convict breaking into the Governor's Mansion?" she said dangerously, "I'd be quite within my right to run you through. Let's see Captain Jack Sparrow escape from that one."
Will understood that; she clearly had a great dislike for him and he had escaped prison and broken into her home. By all rights she should have killed him already and it made Will wonder what had prevented her from doing so.
Jack seemed to have confidence in the reason, whatever it was, because he stepped sideways from the blade without further comment, blood trickling slightly from the small nick on his neck. He closed the gap between himself and the angry woman and she slowly lowered her sword in a manner that suggested she was quite ready to lift it up again and lop his head off if he gave her reason.
Stopping just short of bodily contact, Jack smiled at her, "You know, just between you and me, yer a lot better lookin' when you aren't snarling 'n hollering like a banshee. All this to do, it does nothin' for you luv. It's givin' you a terrible complexion. And that scowling? Gonna get wrinkles round the eyes, darlin', if you keep that up."
"And you'd be a lot more attractive if you'd actually ever learnt what a bath was for," she said caustically, "Although it does allow me to train my dogs to your stench."
Jack's smile didn't waiver, "Ah, but you didn't always find me quite so unappealing though, did ye luv? If I was a betting man - which I ain't of course - I'd wager you found me very alluring at one time."
"Something I'd sooner forget," she said, her voice tightening.
"We don't 'ave to be enemies, ye know, Isabelle," Jack coaxed.
"You made your bed, Sparrow," she spat, "Now, you lie in it".
"What?" he asked innocently, "While you lie in someone else's?"
Will knew what was coming even before she moved. He'd seen that look on a number of women who had been faced with Jack Sparrow.
The sound of the slap reverberated around the expansive hall, and Jack's head snapped back so hard Will thought she might've knocked it clean off his shoulders.
At that moment Will felt a sharp point dig into his back and he froze, knowing what it was.
"It's about time you got here," Governor Marley snapped.
Her men winced slightly at the tone.
A viciously pleased smile played across her face as she locked gaze with Jack, "Escort Captain Sparrow and his friend here down to the cells. I want them in chains until I decide I'd like to see him hang."
She took a moment to take in Jack's reaction to this news. While it was unreadable to Will, she turned away looking entirely satisfied with herself.
"And if he should escape again," she said in warning to the men that were now taking charge of the two struggling pirates, "I'll have all your heads."
They clearly took this threat seriously because their grips suddenly tightened and Will's resistance became even more futile.
As they were being forcibly but slowly dragged away, Jack called out to the retreating form of the Governor.
"The boy 'ere," he said, in between trying to push away the arms clawing at him, "'E's Will Turner. Son of old Bootstrap Bill!"
Governor Marley paused a moment, seemingly deciding if this news was worth anything to her. Will sincerely hoped it was because whatever plan Jack had had in mind it didn't seem to be working.
She looked over her shoulder briefly.
"That's nice for him," she said with soft, calculated disinterest before continuing on her way.
The Governor's men had finally got a good grip on them both and were making steady progress in dragging them along, while the Governor herself was just short of disappearing at the top of the stairs. Jack hollered out one last attempt.
"'E received a letter!" he explained, "'e's got word – 'e knows where Bootstrap is!"
'Was that it?' Will wondered, was that what Jack had which the Governor wanted? Information about the whereabouts of his father? Why would that matter to her? What could she possibly want with him?'
It looked like he would have to wait for his answers however as this time the Governor didn't stop.
