AN: this is a ridiculously short chapter, for which I apologise. However, I am currently writing chapter 30….so all in all its quite a lengthy affair. Hope that pleases ye…enjoy, and come back soon, because I love to feel appreciated…dd xx this bit's especially for Rosalyn Lavoisier, whose reviews make me grin from ear to ear…

5

Despite his best efforts, news of Lt. Groves' newfound fortune soon found its way around the bored midshipmen stationed in sticky Port Royal, and he found himself the subject of much teasing in subsequent weeks.

Still slightly at a loss, he continued to work as hard as ever on board the Dauntless and on shore, where Norrington watched his unswerving devotion to His Majesty with pride and fait regret. He would miss him greatly.

Groves temporarily took a suite of rooms in a modest inn, the Royal Oak, a little way out of the ordinary bustle of the port, but Norrington knew that he would soon be looking for a much larger residence in the lush hills surrounding Port Royal. The young Lt. seemed to have cottoned on to the idea of a plantation with great enthusiasm, and had been seen on several occasions riding out with his wife into the countryside to look at suitable properties.

His sister and daughters were never seen on these reconnaissance trips, and indeed were rarely seen outside the inn at all. This was understandable in the young girls, who were happy, as Groves reported over several glasses of whisky one evening, to play with their coloured bricks and listen to their father's tales of brigands and rum-smugglers until the cows came home. However, his sister, as he explained with a long-suffering sigh, was being decidedly stubborn.

'It's most unlike her, Commodore,' he said with an air of hopeless despair. 'She was so vivacious in England…a most well-thought of young woman in our social circles.'

The officers gathered in their customary haunt, the King's Arms, nodded in sympathy. They, too, were anxious to see the young Miss Groves out in society.

'Well, Groves.' Norrington sipped his whisky thoughtfully. 'You must admit it is a dreadful strain on your poor sister. Losing her father…travelling so far away from home…I must say, I admire her greatly.'

Groves pulled a face. 'It's downright embarrassing, that's what it is, sir. You'd think a young woman of twenty-one, in a new country, would be happy to accompany her brother around town, to see the sights and so on. But she won't hear a word of it.'

A round-faced Lt., Richard Driscoll, had his offer to take the young lady in question sight-seeing himself thoroughly squashed amid howls of derision and outrage.

'I'm quite inclined to agree with Miss Groves, Theodore,' Gillette chimed in. 'Were I a stranger to Port Royal, I can think of far better ways to entertain myself than to wander through the brothels and markets of this squalid town. I'm sure her rooms are far more suitable surroundings for a delicate young lady used to balls and high-class gatherings.'

'You know, Gillette,' Norrington said with a hint of amusement in his voice, 'much as your confounded snobbishness perplexes me, I must concur. I do not blame Miss Groves for her reluctance to venture onto our streets.'

Groves looked rather miserable.

'Perhaps a picnic, Groves! To welcome your dear sister into our company…or better still, we can stretch the Dauntless' legs a little – what say you to a trip to Santa Maria Friday next? We can show your sister what a wonderful place the Caribbean is!'

There was a murmur of excitement among the younger officers. The carefree days of excursions to the nearby island were the stuff of distant memory, since the arrival of smugglers and pirates in the waters. More than one of their number, however, were somewhat perplexed by the renewed enthusiasm which seemed to have gripped their stoic commanding officer, having witnessed his despondent pessimism in recent weeks.

'A marvellous idea, Commodore Norrington!' Gillette exclaimed excitedly.

Norrington smiled indulgently.

And so it was settled. The crew of the Dauntless were offered a rare holiday, an excursion to the lush, unspoiled paradise of Santa Maria, and Norrington swiftly found his thoughts occupied by nothing else. In truth, he could not remember the last time he had taken a holiday. He supposed, had things worked out differently with Elizabeth, that he might well have treated himself to a long weekend somewhere…even warmer, with his new wife.

But, as we know, he thought with a quick frown, events turned out to the contrary.

However, he was perfectly content to lay aside his sextants and compasses and maps and compile idle lists of sandwich fillings and teams for beach bowls during the long, bright days. Perhaps strawberries and cream afterwards, he wondered. And then he was back in the usual reminiscences of garden parties at the Governor's house and Elizabeth's achingly sweet smile as he wiped a little smudge of cream from her lip, with his sleeve. He scowled again.

The rest of the company were far less preoccupied with recent romantic failures, and much more concerned with the highly anticipated excursion. There had been wild rumours of barbecues and swimming competitions in the turquoise lagoons, and even the straight-laced Gillette purported to be looking forward to the break.

AN: that's all, folks! Next chapter is a rather heated exchange between Mr and Mrs Groves, whose views are divided over the merits of the picnic. All good wholesome fun, I assure you! dd xx