A/N: I am SO SO SO SO Sorry for not updating until now. I can't tell you how the last few weeks have been...well maybe I can...they've just been awful. I lost a roommate, had to move, started Fall classes, started a new job and got ill all at nearly the same time. So again I am so sorry, I really intended to update before now and since things have returned to something like normal I should be back to posting a chapter every few days or so. Thanks for reading you guys and please keep the reviews coming, everything that has been posted about the last chapters kept me going so that I posted this one. So now that I've begged your forgiveness (sniffles) and whined about my terrible couple of weeks here's chapter five for your reading pleasure. More one on one Norrie/Danielle time and a slight bit of humor, or at least something to lighten what has been a fairly serious mood so far. I hope you all enjoy it and again, please please review. - Oh, I also dont own anyone that I didn't make up...yeah...like all the POTC characters...Norrie included...not that I'm beyond heisting him if anyone knows his whereabouts evil grin Ok, enough of that..on with the story...

The next two weeks passed both quickly at times and then at others so slow that Danielle thought the world might be coming to a halt. The book she'd picked out to read on her first night lay on her bedside table and she wondered if it would soon begin to gather dust. She hadn't even looked at the thing since she'd brought it up. Her intention that night to even the score a bit with her comment at dinner hadn't really worked out all that well, instead of feeling a since of pride over the matter she'd felt ill. Watching the anger at her audacity seep into Norrington's face had all but frightened her from the room. He'd remained cordial enough yes, but the tension radiating from him by the time she left his study had been so great she thought she'd choke on it. Fortunately she had continued to find solace and a bit of joy in Anne, who had proven to be a worthy and amusing companion. Norrington on the other hand steered clear of her and she of him. Save the evening meal which they took together in silence and all too quickly for the food to be enjoyable. Unfortunately, the semi peace she had enjoyed in avoiding the Admiral's company was about to come to a momentary end. The Governor, in true Port Royal fashion, was throwing a large banquet in several weeks time, a reason for which she had not been given and decided was probably much too important for her to know about. She had merely received a missive one day from Norrington which informed her that she would be attending with him and that she was to promptly, with accompaniment of course, make her way to the local modeste to procure a new gown. There was a sufficient sum enclosed and no signature. Instead of brightening her day at the thought of an outing into society, Danielle only felt the worse for all of it. "Anne, come here, don't I look pale to you? Ill perhaps?" She commented, hands wandering over her face in the mirror. "Why would he even consider taking me to this thing… the man is obviously disgusted with my very presence…?"

"You have to go, there's no getting out of it. You won't be able to lie to him anyhow" Anne remarked, a certainty in her tone. She was right, Danielle knew, but that didn't mean she had to like it any more, or try to wish her way out of it any less. "Come on now, we've an appointment to make for your new dress… you don't want to miss that…"

"No, she certainly doesn't." His voice broke through the room and both women froze immediately. "Anne… if you please" James gestured to the door and the girl hurried past him without another word, closing the door behind her.

Danielle was furious in a way and completely embarrassed in another. How completely ill mannered of him to not alert them to his presence before listening in on their conversation and how completely silly of her to not have noticed him. "We weren't expecting you home until the evening Admiral." Really Danielle is that all you can think of to say? Isn't that much obvious, other wise you wouldn't have been speaking so freely.

"Apparently not, though it seems I have come not a moment too soon. You are, just as I expected, not being very cooperative with Anne, I'll be accompanying you myself to the modeste. You have two minutes to be downstairs." He replied turning, opening, exiting and closing the door all in one fluid motion.

"Two minutes" She echoed in her most childlike voice, not caring a bit at the moment if the man heard or not. She half hoped he would and march back up to tell her to just stay home, though as her luck was running lately, she wasn't at all surprised when she heard him finish taking the stairs down. She wasted no time then in following suit, slipping out of the room and down the stairs behind him, eager to get the trip over with. "At your leisure Admiral, I am ready." She commented and he gave a snort, stalking towards the door, Danielle in tow and outward to the waiting carriage. The footman, standing at the carriage door extended a hand as did Norrington, never faltering in his façade of ceremony she noted, and she purposefully and quite blatantly took the footman's hand, thanking him for the help as she situated herself on the seat, fighting off a smile as Norrington entered behind her and angrily jerked his head to stare out of the window.

Damnable woman! Still sore obviously about the reading comment, I would have let it drop but she obviously can't let it go. That and she's behaving like a child for getting caught speaking to Anne in such a fashion. James snorted slightly, shifting in the seat, careful that his leg didn't brush her skirts, and taking a great deal of effort to maintain such a position. He let them sit for a moment longer in silence before he cleared his throat with enough force to cause her to look at him and spoke. "Tonight, you will be dressed fashionably, you will smile and you will greet the society of Port Royal. You are to tell anyone of curiosity that you are a distant relation to the Wells whose family met misfortune. Edward was kind enough to take you in and he has left in you my care as you await a suitable match for marriage upon his return to England. Am I understood?"

Danielle thought over that statement a moment before replying and choosing to ignore his question. "Why are you taking me in the first place Admiral, it is not a hard thing to see that you take on an ill manner whenever in my presence. I cannot imagine that this will be profitable or pleasant for either of us, so please what is the reason?"

An incredulous look threatened to come over James' face as she spoke but he checked himself and turned a steely glare on her, shifting in the seat to face her completely. Few women, if any ever spoke so boldly to men, most especially in such a situation as this. "It is profitable actually. The whole of Port Royal knows that I have a female guest in my home and they want to know why. It would be better to bring you, feed them a story and let them talk than to deny their curiosity and have them speculate about a woman they've never seen and only heard what are surely less than wholesome stories about. So yes, it is profitable to both my reputation and whatever reputation you claim or hope to have here." God knows if I don't do something I'll be having illegitimate children by the woman next. It hadn't taken very long for the news to spread around Port Royal, and James, for the most part had done a good job of ignoring. Unfortunately, the looming banquet could not be ignored and he shuttered to think of the social repercussions of attending without his guest. In a town where he already teetered on the fringe of society for various reasons he liked nothing better now than to give them what they wanted and otherwise stay out of their way.

"Well when you put it that way Admiral." Danielle could hardly believe him. He was taking her to a banquet where she would pretend to be a lady of society it seemed to keep gossip from surrounding his name. "Though it does seem a bit improper to participate in such a charade" She commented, rather uninterestedly, James noticed. "But, I would certainly hate to damage your good name so I suppose it has to be done." She finished and turned away from him, pointedly ending the conversation.

James groaned inaudibly and looked back out the window. He had wanted to add that he would very likely never marry her off if she didn't get out sometime but had thought that a bit too much, especially considering that he expected her to attract little attention if any among the eligible suitors. He couldn't really find anything remarkable about her himself, except perhaps her infuriating attitude. "I'd hate to damage your good name…" Why does she do that… he wondered, the carriage slowing as it neared the modeste shop, another small pang of guilt caught him off guard. As irritating as her remarks were how he must have sounded with his… "my reputation and whatever reputation you claim or hope to have." I make her sound like a common whore…he thought briefly, and grimaced, glancing at her uneasily out of the corner of his eye. Very few women in his life had been able to unnerve him so, in fact very few men or women had accomplished such a thing. His mother and father, though in different ways had always had the ability, the first officer he served under in the Navy, that bloody Jack Sparrow and now this woman.

"Admiral?" Danielle called, the carriage having stopped and the footman having opened the door where he waited patiently. "Shall we simply sit in the carriage or are actually going to go inside and purchase a gown? I was sure I heard you say that we had an appointment with the modeste…" She stopped mid sentence when James broke from his small reverie, glanced to the opened door beside her and turned a look to her that was enough to stop her from further elaborating.

Stepping down James gave a glance to the footman and a 'wait here' before taking a few steps towards the door of the shop. He had no intention of even offering her his help from the carriage this time. She would just refuse again and he would much rather appear rude for not offering than like an idiot for not being accepted.

A few moments later they were both inside a fair sized modeste's shop, racks of fabrics and edgings hanging round them. A stout woman who looked far too short for the width of her body sat behind a counter embroidering the sleeve of a gown. She didn't seem to notice them immediately but finished the stitch she'd been working on before looking up. "Admiral…." She called, quickly laying aside the piece and moving around from behind the counter faster than one would have thought she could have moved. "So pleasant to see you, have you come for a new waistcoat? I'll have to fit you again you know, I don't think I've kept your measurements, you hardly come in anymore." She went on, her face lighting up as she spoke, taking what seemed little or no notice of Danielle at all. "You know my Catherine is seventeen this year she is. A fine young woman now, I'll have her out to help with your measurements. She fancies you military lads you know" The woman gave a chuckle before she disappeared around the counter and through a door.

"No, no Madame. I made …" He had hardly spoken the words before she was out of sight. "An appointment for a gown." He finished, having forgotten Danielle's presence beside him for the moment. James had forgotten how much he really hated this particular shop, really how much he hated doing anything in Port Royal that wasn't at the Fort. If they were gossiping about his past exploits they were trying to flirt with him or marry off their daughters. Slowly, the memory of his last fitting here came to mind, both mother and her spindly, cheeky daughter fitting a tape around his waist and chest with all too eager grins upon their faces. Part of him knew he had been making a face, but having momentarily forgotten about his companion he hadn't thought to mask his displeasure.

"Is she always this…?" Danielle didn't have the right word to finish the sentence, so she ended it in a shrug, her hands gesturing palm up as if to help her find the appropriate term. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, as she had watched the seamstress' display and Norrington's reaction she had wanted to make a comment that would have further wounded his pride. Unfortunately, after seeing the very genuine look of what she interpreted as terror, and rightly so she thought, upon his face, she hadn't the heart to say anything. Despite the fact that she had been angrier with him earlier and he really wasn't an amiable man she could sympathize at least here. The woman had frightened Danielle, she couldn't imagine what that might have been like for him and for a moment she wondered how often women like this threw themselves or their children at him.

"Unfortunately. My last fitting here was a rather displeasing event, to put it lightly." He remarked, keeping his voice low. Funny how quickly Danielle, who had earlier been the target of his disdain so suddenly became tolerable in lieu of this new and, as James considered, far worse enemy. At least she's not tried to marry herself off to me…And come to think of it, so far, even in the face of their, 'hardships' she had behaved with more decorum than he would have thought possible from a woman of her station, as was so clearly evident by the woman who was now rounding the corner again with a strange looking young woman behind her. "Madame Jacobs" He began, before she could speak. "I am here because this young woman," He gestured to Danielle who gave a polite smile and curtsey, "Is a guest of mine and is in need of a gown for a banquet in two weeks time. I trust you can do the job?"

"Of course Admiral anything for you." The woman began, giving Danielle an appraising look and then turning to the sickly looking creature at her side, with a face that clearly said she thought her daughter to be a superior being. The girl, while not completely unpleasant to look at was willowy and too thin. Her hair was untidy as was her clothing and she had an awkward manner about her, probably her mother to thank for that, her face was also strange; nose just a little too big, eyes just a little too far apart, that and she was grinning at James with unbridled awe. At this point, Danielle wasn't sure she wanted them measuring her and she was certainly glad she hadn't had to come watch them fuss over Norrington. Good Lord she looks like she might simply jump at him any moment… she mused, fighting to keep a frown at bay, she had the distinct feeling she didn't want to be here long at all.

"Perhaps we can get along with the fitting then. I'm sure you're very busy and I know the Admiral has many important things to attend to at the Fort." Danielle prompted, stepping forward and around James some, blocking any clear line of sight that the grinning daughter and her mother had before. Irritated by this move both Mrs. and Miss Jacobs went to work, hauling Danielle over to a cleared area with a little raised platform so that they could get at her from all sides. After they had measured and turned her and held fabrics against her to check her color for nearly half an hour Madame Jacobs stood back and gave a curt nod while her daughter noted the measurements on an overused piece of paper. While still slow and not pleasant, things had gone surprisingly quickly and well after Danielle had taken the focus off of James. The two women seemed to work well together and had come up with what she thought sounded like an idea for a lovely gown. Happy with the outcome and glad that the experience was coming to an end Danielle moved over to stand beside James who had been doing his best to pretend to look at fabrics and be in general as unobtrusive as possible.

"Finished then?" He questioned, chancing a glance at the mother-daughter team who were now leaned behind their counter again. When Danielle nodded to the affirmative he approached the counter and thanked both women hurriedly and with his best put-on manners before taking Danielle by the elbow and moving her none too quickly to the door. The carriage was waiting as appointed and this time Norrington offered Danielle his help and she accepted it with no hint of animosity. The ride home was spend mostly in silence, though James had inquired as to the particulars of the dress which he had failed to pay attention to in the shop, however, the silence was quite less strained than before and almost amiable.

The ride home seemed quicker to Danielle than the ride to the shop had been. Funny how even though I've been quite miserable there I've just thought of it as home…She took Norrington's hand again as she stepped down from the carriage and once inside she couldn't resist a parting shot about the day's activities. "Admiral?" She called slightly, one foot on the bottom stair, watching him as he turned to make for his study she assumed. "Perhaps when the next banquet comes up I shall just suddenly fall ill." Sarcasm blatant in her tone, I'd much rather have a good lecture from him than go through that ordeal again. She added to herself as she gave him a final nod and started up the staircase.

"Indeed," James muttered, watching her ascend the stairs and finally turning to make his way to the study, the smallest hint of a small riding at the corner of his lips. I would much rather deal with her constant annoyance than those women, he thought and wondered, unexpectedly, if perhaps her stay here might be tolerable after all.