Greetings, friends! I apologize for the shortness of this chapter, but I have been fiddling with the plotline of this story and am just now getting back into the swing of things writing-wise. I am publishing this chapter now and if all goes well will have the next one ready to go by tomorrow, so please bear with me--I think you are going to like how this story goes!

As always, if you recognize any characters in this story as being from POTC, be aware that I don't own them---I just like to borrow them from time to time!

Chapter 14: Conflict

Once she had accepted Leighton's proposal and the wedding date for late April was selected, Linnet's days were less and less her own. Word of Bartholomew and Linnet's impending nuptials quickly spread throughout Port Royal, and with that announcement came a bevy of invitations for parties held in honor of the newly engaged couple. It seemed that everyone who was anyone on the island wanted to meet the young woman who had finally managed to snare the town's most eligible bachelor.

It was shortly after she had accepted his proposal that she began to feel a slight sense of unease regarding her decision. Despite her protests that she had her entire wardrobe that Jack had transferred from The Goliath, Bartholomew had insisted on providing his fiancée with fashionable new gowns suitable for a woman of her station. While this normally would not be considered all that strange, what bothered her was the fact that he selected the fashion plates, fabrics and trims personally without consulting her. It was not unusual for Linnet to arrive home from her work at the Governor's mansion to find a new gown waiting, along with instructions that he wished her to wear it to a particular upcoming event they would be attending.

After the fourth gown arrived in a similar manner, Linnet gathered her courage and decided to broach the matter on one of her future husband's thrice-weekly visits. It was a decision, that upon later retrospect, that allowed her the first glimpse of her future husband's true nature.

She had begun by expressing her sincere appreciation for his generous gifts, followed by a request to be allowed to accompany him on his future visits to the talented modiste. The sudden tension brought about by what she felt was a reasonable request was thick enough to be cutlass-worthy. Bartholomew's smile didn't fade but became hard, and the fierce gaze that he favored her with along with his sudden stillness made her feel rather like a fieldmouse frozen beneath a hungry hawk's eye.

"One would think by your suggestion that you don't have confidence in my judgement, Linnet." Linnet flushed at his statement, feeling suddenly embarrassed and uncertain. Perhaps she was overreacting, or had been a bit hasty in her judgement of his actions.

"Forgive me if I am being too forward, Bart…I am accustomed to.."

"I wasn't finished." His harsh, sharp comment caught Linnet completely off guard, and all she could do was look at him with a dumbfounded expression as he continued to lecture her, his tone the same as one would use in speaking to a disobedient child.

"As the intended bride of one of the highest ranking members of this island's peerage, you are expected to maintain a certain level of dress and decorum. As your fiancée, it is my duty and desire to ease your ascension into your new, higher social circle. Your tendency toward forthright speaking notwithstanding, your manners are impeccable, for which I am most grateful. However, your current wardrobe, while modest and tasteful, is more suited for romping in the English countryside, not the fetes of Island high society. Tell me, have you found fault with any of the gowns I've provided you thus far?"

"Not at all—they're quite lovely….it's just that I would prefer.."

Once more Leighton rudely interrupted her, expelling his breath in an irritated huff. "Then were I in your position, madam, it would behoove me to accept my more than generous additions to your wardrobe with grace rather than acting like a petulant child!"

Linnet murmured her apologies, her eyes lowered demurely to her lap, but inwardly she was fuming. How DARE her future husband berate her for wanting to help select her own clothing----if he were this controlling before the wedding, perhaps she was making a mistake….

Her fiancée seemed to realize that his outburst had upset her, and his manner was cool as he took his leave of her a short while later. Another new gown arrived the next morning, and nothing more was said on the subject when he arrived to escort her to a musicale planned for the evening. Bartholomew was his normal smiling, charming self, and it was if their harsh exchange the day before had never occurred.

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When Linnet broached the subject with Elizabeth, at first her hostess seemed to feel that she might be reading too much into the situation, and that she should view Bartholomew's offerings as practical gifts of affection in lieu of traditional tokens such as candy or flowers. Elizabeth in fact admitted that she was a tad bit envious of her new friend.

"His business practices may be suspect at times, but you can't deny that without question, the man has excellent taste." She murmured as she gently fingered the delicate lace that adorned Linnet's newest gown.

The gown's recipient sighed and plopped down grumpily beside the recently opened box. "That's not what bothers me, Liz----it isn't that I don't appreciate what he is doing. What drives me mad is the fact that he gives me no credit for having any sense of style of my own. Not to mention that it is infuriating being told what to wear as if I were a child rather than a grown woman of six and twenty."

Elizabeth grimaced in agreement, then tilted her head to look at Linnet, a thoughtful expression on her face. Linnet smirked---she could almost see the wheels turning in her friend's head, and knew that her hostess was planning something.

"Hmmmm…..you do have a point. Tell me….Leighton hasn't exactly….demanded…that you wear this gown to tomorrow night's gala at the Nelson's, has he?"

Linnet caught the speculative gaze and returned it with one of her own. "No, he hasn't commanded me to wear it per se…more like a strong suggestion." She pulled the card from inside the box and read it aloud. " This gown would look well on you in the Nelson's ballroom"---hmmph! He writes as if it wouldn't look good on me anywhere else! Indeed, the nerve of that man…" She tossed the card down in disgust, and looked up to find Elizabeth grinning as she grasped her houseguest by the hand and pulled her to her feet.

"Well then, I think I have come up with the perfect solution! You and I are going to come up with a suitably elegant alternative, and we'll use this opportunity to show Bartholomew Leighton that you are a fashion force to be reckoned with! Come along—we haven't much time!"

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When Will Turner arrived home a short while later, the house was quiet….too quiet. He called out to his wife as he wandered through the lower floor, becoming more concerned by the moment. He heard noises coming from above and stealthily climbed the staircase, approaching his bedroom with suspicion—his wife couldn't possibly be sharing her favors with another man, especially not in her expectant condition----could she?

Pushing the unlatched door open with the toe of his boot, he edged it open just a few inches, and then nudged it completely open, a look of amusement upon his face. Linnet stood on a stool in front of Elizabeth's beveled dresser, trying on one of her friend's dresses, while his wife was in the process of hauling out another armload of dresses from the back of her wall length armoire. Miranda sat on the floor, dressed in one of Elizabeth's castoffs and hats, teasing her kitten with a discarded corset string. Relieved at finding his wife not engaged in an act of adultery, he smirked at the women and didn't quite realize the danger he was putting himself in by uttering the first words that came to his mind.

"Pardon my intrusion, ladies, but don't you think you're a mite old to be playing dress up?"

Will managed to duck the first slipper that came flying his way and scrambled to catch the second, but was completely unprepared for the sudden, excruciating pain of his nose coming into direct contact with the solid oak door as it was slammed in his face by his irate spouse.

Will cursed and dug in his pocket for a handkerchief to stem the flow from his assaulted nostrils. "Guess that will teach me to run my bloody big mouth around a woman when she's increasing." He grumbled as he headed downstairs to the kitchen in search of a cool wet rag and sympathy from the cook. "Maggie…have we any ice left?"

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What will Leighton's reaction be to Linnet's defiance? Will she finally come to her senses and see her intended husband for what he really is...or will realization come too late? Be watching for the next exciting chapter, coming your way soon!