Disclaimers: I own only the characters that have come from my own mind. All others are property of the Mouse…
Chapter 7: Jealous Thoughts
Jack swirled the wine in his glass. He had been watching Adelaide for an hour now. She and that Captain were sitting at a side table sipping champagne, and engaging in, from what he could see was a deep conversation. His eyes narrowed as Adelaide's hand settled softly on Kennedy's arm for a brief second. Jack wondered what they were talking about. He couldn't hear the conversation because of the music but Adelaide was obviously arguing passionately for her cause. Her whole body was animated while she talked. Her hands moved quickly, her gaze was steady and intense. Even from across the room Jack was affected by her spirit. Jack had no doubt Kennedy was having similar thoughts to his since Kennedy was receiving a direct assault of Adelaide's attention.
Will was trying to pull him into a conversation but Jack kept getting distracted by something Adelaide would do out of the corner of his eye. He could almost swear that she was watching for his reaction before she did anything encouraging toward Kennedy. He glared in her direction when they made eye contact. Will caught his attention again.
"Why are you acting like this, Jack?"
"Like what, my man?" Jack said absently as he leaned back in his chair trying to see around the chit that was trying to weasel her way into Adelaide's good graces.
"Distracted, actually you seem to be paying an awful lot of attention to Elizabeth's cousin Adelaide. Unusual for you to be so enthralled with only one woman."
"I am not enthralled, young William," Jacks tone was sharp as he twisted his ring around on his finger. Adelaide's hand was still on Kennedy's arm. "I am merely protecting my investment."
"Your investment? What, do you plan to kidnap the duchess and hold her for ransom?"
"Are you insane, Will?" Jack choked on his wine. "Kidnapping Adelaide would be the stupidest move of my career. More of a headache than she is worth. That woman would prove to be the largest pain in the arse that I have yet to encounter…even more the Anamaria…ah, Anamaria."
Jack smiled wistfully. "Too bad she decided to run her own ship. I could use her in the coming month."
Will's eyes narrowed. "What are you cooking up, Jack?"
"Cooking? I am not cooking anything, boy." Jack picked up a peach and bit into it. He smiled and talked around his mouth full of fruit, "I think you might want to talk to your darling wife, Will. There are some key facts about her lovely cousin that you seem to have missed."
"Why do you always talk in riddles, Jack?"
"Cause, if I didn't you wouldn't feel that sense of satisfaction when you finally figure out what topic I happen to be articulating about."
"Not to mention that he gets to use big fancy words like 'articulating'," Elizabeth's voice came from behind Jack making him jolt. His hands fluttered a bit and his dropped his peach in his lap. He jumped up, hissing his annoyance, grabbing for one of the pristine cloth napkins. He wiped ardently as the smear of fruit on his velvet coat.
"Damn it, Elizabeth, why do you have to do that? This coat is new and it might come in handy later. I am no wash woman. If this gets stained it stays stained and then how could I mingle with all the lovely women here?" He grinned when Elizabeth just kissed him on the cheek and settled herself into the chair next to Will. Will reached over and scooted her chair closer to his side. Jack smirked. "You know, Elizabeth, it is never too late for us. We could be on the Pearl within the hour. I can assure you that you would have more of an adventure with me than you ever would with this little scrap of a pup."
Elizabeth chucked and snuggled into Will's side. "Jack, you could never compare to Will." She slid a look in Adelaide's direction. "I have a feeling that our life will be full of unseen adventures."
"Why do I feel like there is some important piece of information that I have missed?" Will raised an eyebrow at Jack. "Why do I believe that I need to be on my guard in the coming months?"
"You're the one who decided to marry some one like Elizabeth, here. Always getting herself into trouble, she is. You would have been better off leaving her in the hands of Norrington. It would have pleased me greatly to think of him with such a headache." Jack laughed heartily when Elizabeth merely stuck her tongue out at him and laid her head on Will's shoulder.
Jack realized that at least with Elizabeth here she would distract Will and he could get back to keeping tabs on Adelaide. When he looked back towards Adelaide and Kennedy, he noticed Norrington had joined them. Now Adelaide was in an easy conversation with both navy men. It amazed Jack how calm she was talking to the very men who could have her hung for what was her chosen profession. It was something he had never been totally comfortable with. Even now he had a suspicion that Norrington knew exactly who he was but was ignoring it out of respect for Elizabeth. As for Adelaide…Jack wished he would be present to see Norrington's reaction if he ever found out just how far her 'obsession' with piracy had taken her. He smiled slightly when Adelaide laughed fully at something the captain said. She was so much like her mother. How is it that Captain Connor and Lady Bridget's daughter had become a pirate? Why would she choose to risk her life when she had been born into a position in life that didn't require it of her? Jack shook himself out of that line of thought. It would only give him a headache to try to analyze Adelaide. It would be easier to just deal with her as the situations came.
He shifted his gaze back to Elizabeth for a moment. He watched Will softly trace the pearls at her throat. Jack sat up a little straighter. That necklace was familiar. He couldn't place where he'd seen it but he had definitely seen it before. "Elizabeth, my dear, how did you come by that trinket you wear around your throat?"
Elizabeth's eyes clouded a bit as she reached to place her fingers over Will's at her throat. "From Adelaide, they belonged to my aunt, Adelaide's mother. My Uncle Connor gave them to her on their wedding day."
"Lady Adelaide's parents? I am curious as to what type of people would produce a woman like Adelaide. She is hardly what I would assume a noble woman would be."
"Adelaide is a product of her own making. Uncle Connor and Aunt Adelaide died when their ship was attacked by pirates traveling here in the Caribbean. Adelaide was eight. She was left in the care of Uncle Connor's younger brother. Father petitioned the courts to have her become his ward but her uncle Franklin won the suit. She was the only heir to the family fortune and the king thought it best for control of the fortune to stay within that branch of the family, fat lot of good that was."
"Meaning what exactly?" Jack was fishing for information. He knew that Elizabeth realized this. She would only tell him what she thought he should know and what he would be able to find out anyway. Any information that had passed from Adelaide to Elizabeth in confidence would be privileged and be held sacrosanct.
"Franklin had managed to run through the bulk of the money by the time Adelaide turned fifteen. His solution was to try to sell her in marriage to the highest bidder who wanted to marry noble blood. Thankfully the bastard died before he could accomplish his goal. This left Adelaide responsible for the wellbeing of many of the family members, Franklin's wife and children, for example. With barely any funds left to invest, Adelaide put them into re-outfitting her father's former ship, the Midnight's Dove. The family believes that she used the Midnight's Dove to found a shipping dynasty. In a way she did but the goods that she first brought back were pirated, not bought out right. Now she does manage a large shipping business but still keeps the Dove as her personal adventure."
"Are there no men in the family left who would take control from Adelaide?"
"Franklin's son, Aidan, is now old enough to assume control but he would not dare. Adelaide has made it perfectly obvious that she would with hold the title from him if he tried to take control before the event of her death. Right now she has named him as her heir, as she has no children of her own. He would not risk her anger. Not to mention from all accounts they get along with each other well enough. He was just a child when Franklin died. Adelaide should have made sure that he was removed from the poisonous influence of his witch of a mother. Lady Jessica is certifiable beyond all doubts. If Adelaide had not taken over Aidan's education Lady Jessica would have turned him into the same sort of man his father is reputed to be. A gamester and an over all rake." Elizabeth sighed and picked up her wine glass.
She sipped it while contemplating Jack over the rim. She wondered how much information she should reveal. Jack did not need to know everything but she wanted to tempt him into wanting to know more. Elizabeth was sure that Adelaide and Jack were a perfect match. And she intended for them to keep bumping into one another even after this foolish wager was done with. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Jack. Maybe it was better for Jack to know a bit more. If he was informed then he would be better prepared for what was bound to happen.
"Aidan is now one and twenty and enjoys the fruits of Adelaide's labors to the greatest effects. As a child I thought him to be quite agreeable. Papa actually contemplated a match between us at one point. That was until Adelaide forbade it. She has always had both Aidan's and mine happiness in the forethought. She was no doubt right. He is much too timid to suit me. He is quite content to spend his time in the never ending social swirl of the ton. Now since Adelaide is well past the marriageable age he is satisfied to wait for his title. I believe that he would rather that Adelaide continue to hold the weight of head of the family for the foreseeable future. He is still very much the young boy and has no want for the responsibilities it takes to run a successful business venture."
"It is not Aidan that I would worry about, Lizzy." Will broke his silence. He wanted as much as Elizabeth to warn Jack of what complications he would find if Jack decided to embark on a partnership with Adelaide. Elizabeth had informed him of the interesting attraction her cousin and Jack. She had also informed him of Adelaide's preferred vocation in life. While he had been annoyed at being kept in the dark, he had not been surprised with Adelaide's activities. Someone had to have fueled Elizabeth's addiction to adventure and Adelaide was her own private heroine. Because he was indebted to Adelaide for dissuading Governor Swann from an allegiance between Elizabeth and Aidan, he decided to help Elizabeth with her plan to throw Adelaide and Jack together as often as possible. "It is Lady Jessica who has made it her life's mission to ruin Adelaide's. She took great pleasure in demeaning Addy in favor of her own daughters. Dead bores those girls are. Not a half a brain to share between the two of them."
"Adelaide has assured me that Lady Jessica is harmless, Will. She would not want to threaten her position in society. A position she only has because of Adelaide." Will picked up his own drink and drained it. He waned to get the bitter taste out of his mouth that came when ever he had to speak of Lady Jessica. The woman was truly dangerous in his mind. He wished Adelaide had put her in Bedlam years ago when she had had the chance. "Elizabeth and Adelaide refuse to write her off as the crackbrain she is."
"Not all snakes have to be poisonous to be deadly, Elizabeth," Jack said this looking back towards were Adelaide was seated. Now at least he understood what her initial motives had been.
"Those are my sentiments but Adelaide guarantees that if her death comes under questionable circumstances Aidan will inherit only the title and none of the money. That is significant threat I think to keep Lady Jessica from trying to hurry things along." Will glanced meaningfully at Jack.
"What if her…activities, let's call them, are exposed? What then?"
"She would never want such a stain on the family name. She thinks way too highly of the blood line to want any kind of mark against them become public knowledge."
Still, Jack thought, what was the reason behind her sudden decision to move her base of operations from England to the Caribbean? Was she running from something? Someone? Adelaide distracted him from these thought be standing up from her table with Kennedy. Kennedy stood as well. She offered him her hand and he kissed it very friendlily, much too familiarly for Jack's comfort. With that and a small bow, he walked smoothly away with a content smile on his face. He stopped briefly to wish health and happiness to Elizabeth and Will. He might have lingered longer but he kept checking his watch as if he needed to meet someone. It was almost perfectly timed that as soon as Kennedy left Adelaide approached their table.
Ignoring Jack completely she settled herself next to Elizabeth and whispered into her ear. Elizabeth burst into giggles and shook her head. She whispered back into Adelaide's ear. Adelaide chuckled huskily. Jack felt her laugh like a caress. And he didn't care for his reaction to it. One woman should not have this affect on him. He was Captain Jack Sparrow, after all, renown for his ability to seduce even the most virtuous women into his bed. One small woman should not be able to keep his attention for this long. He caught a bit of Elizabeth's next comment to Adelaide. Kennedy's name burned into his ears.
Damnation. If he was obliged to continue his craving for Adelaide she could at least reciprocate the feeling. He was not about to loose a woman to a navy captain, of all people. He smiled into his drink. She would be his before this affair was over and her ship would be under his command. That was more than enough to compensate for the annoyance of having to deal with Kennedy's competition this evening. Kennedy would not be a factor once the wager was under way. Hell, Kennedy would not be a factor in the remainder of the night. Jack wondered how Adelaide would cope with a midnight visit in her suite in the governor's mansion. Jack had to swallow his private laugh so that Adelaide did not notice his pleasure. It would be better that she did not suspect him of any plots in the near future. The pleasure of her surprised indignation would be all the more satisfying. For now he intended to make her as uncomfortable as possible.
"Milady, how was the Season this year? It was in full swing when you were required to leave to attend Elizabeth and Will's little event here in the Caribbean, was it not? I am sure you could entertain us for hours with the new gossip circulating the ton." Jack almost grinned when Adelaide's expression soured. Apparently she did not care to regale them with the new fashions and dramas of the high class circles in London. Jack could not picture there even to for her to just uphold appearances. She had to short of a temper he thought watching her eyes flash angrily.
"The Season was exceedingly boring this year, Mr. Milford. I was eager to accept Elizabeth's invitation to her little event. It broke the monotony of what promised to be an unremarkably dull winter this year." Adelaide took pleasure in quickly squashing jack's attempt to poke at her. He could not actually ask her any thing of importance of her. He knew nothing of the elevated social circles of the ton after all.
"I was wondering if you were of acquaintance with the Earl and Countess of Exbridge?"
Adelaide narrowed her eyes at the name of a highly placed noble family. What could Jack have to do with that impeccable family? "Of course I and fast friends with their oldest daughter. Lady Emily just announced her engagement to the heir to the Colchester earldom weeks before I left."
This information seemed to throw Jack off step. He blinked at her and took a long swallow from his wine glass. "Emma's engaged? Surely she is not nearly old enough."
Adelaide raised an eyebrow at Jack's use of the nickname given to Emily by her close friends and family members…Maybe she had underestimated his connections in London. Was it possible that he actually was acquainted with the Exbridge family? That would prove to be most interesting. A memory tugged at the back of her mind.
Adelaide dismissed it. There was no way Jack Sparrow could be on personal terms with any of the Exbridge horde. Countess Exbridge watched her children with a hawk's eye. None of them made a move without her knowledge, of that Adelaide was sure. But there was something…No. She shook her head slightly to get back to the current conversation. She needed her wits about her to deal with Jack. His reference Emily must be pure chance. After all it was not all that big of a jump from Emily to Emma. It was a very unlikely chance that he actually knew that she was called by that name. Adelaide decided to turn the conversation back to her advantage. "What part of America did you say you came from, Mr. Milford?"
"I didn't, milady." Jack answered shortly. He was determined not to loose control of this exchange. Adelaide needed to learn that she was not queen supreme in his company,
Adelaide smiled serenely. She was going to make this as awkward as possible for Jack. It helped that the young Taylor siblings that she had been trying to avoid earlier had insinuated themselves into the group at the table. They would require Jack to keep up his role as an American merchant and would help her avoid any leading comments toward her activities in the region. "Your accent is a little bit off if you ask me. Georgia is what you seem to be trying for but there seems to be a trace of Boston in your words. Which is it, Mr. Milford?"
"Both and neither, milady," Jack drawled her title, obviously giving it no respect. Joshua Taylor looked outraged at the slight. Adelaide decided to quell the situation before the stupid boy did something stupid.
She laughed lightly. "That is a very noncommittal answer, Mr. Milford. But that is a common thing among men don't you agree Will?"
"Of course Adelaide, We men avoid committing ourselves to anything lest we be required to back up out statements with proof." Will was more than willing to defuse the situation before it became volatile. It was amusing to watch Adelaide and Jack snipe at one another but it would be too uncomfortable to try to explain if Jack did something stupid like strike the brainless Taylor boy. "On that note, do you think it is time that you took me up on my commitment, Elizabeth dear?"
"Yes, I believe it is past time for us to retire, Will." Elizabeth quickly grabbed Adelaide's hand. "You'll come with me won't you Addy?"
"I would consider it an honor, Lizzy, but I have a feeling Will would prefer me not to accompany you to your marital bed." Adelaide teased hoping to lighten the mood.
"He would not be the only one protesting," Elizabeth laughed. "I merely meant will you accompany me to my dressing room and help me out of this contraption."
"I suspected as much."
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Adelaide walked in her rooms nearly an hour and a half later. She had been obliged to return to the party after seeing Elizabeth off to her wedding night. As maid-of-honor, the task fell to her to see all of the remaining guests off. It had taken her nearly an hour to push the rest of the well wishers out the door and sneak back to her rooms.
She stretched her arms high and rotated her shoulders. Hours of maintaining her 'proper' attitude had caused a ball of tension to settle between her shoulder blades. She absently wished she had not sent her maid to bed so quickly. She could do with a hot bath to help ease her tight muscles. She placed one hand at that small of her back and the other on her neck and started to massage the tightness as she made her way into her bedchamber. With no care to the open balcony doors she began to peal herself out of the bridesmaid dress. Her maid had laid her night clothes out on the chair near the window. Adelaide ignored them. In this heat she was not going to bother with heavy night clothes, she would sleep in her shift. It was made of thin silk and would be, without a doubt, much cooler then the layers of nightclothes that were considered to be 'acceptable' for ladies of station.
Adelaide's finger's paused as they tugged at the ties of her corset. Something was wrong. There was something off about the way the room felt. She stilled when she realized that she was not alone. Sparrow.
"Would you like some help with those strings, luv?" Jacks voice slid out of the shadows behind her. Before she could react she felt his hands at her waist and his breath on her throat as he leaned in close to her ear. "I happen to have some experience in the area of women's apparel."
Adelaide drew in a ragged breath when she felt his mouth on her throat. She was so exhausted that she did not want to fight off the urge to melt into him. "Jack…?"
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Okay I know it has been a long while but the close of the semester is coming and I have to do well this term. Sooo…it probably will be a week or two before you can find out how this night ends. Not to mention Adelaide's family is giving me fits…I really wanted Aidan to be slimy but he just didn't fit that way.
BIG THANKS to my reviewers Rebel-Ravenclaw, Freak in Corner, Immortal Captain Young, Mean Girl, Nova Viper, tvmademma, Elonna, Hils, (thank you thank you thank you…I think I have groveled enough but I love your stories and am eternally grateful for your opinions of my writing), Down2MarsGirl, and of course my first and faithful reviewer jennifer123…I have my own posse!