Usual Disclaimers. I own nothing...plans to take over the world and buy the rights to both Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp…on schedule.
Okay this should get posted within a day of the last chapter as it is almost finished when I post Chapter 12….
Chapter 13: A Compromising Situation
The day dawned clear and bright, and for the third day in a row Adelaide wondered at the fact that she was alive. She sat wrapped in a thick cotton blanket she had taken from her bed in the suite in the governor's mansion. Her fever had broken in the middle of her first night back in Port Royal. After being confined to her bed for the following days, Adelaide had slipped out of bed early. She sat watching the sun come up because she knew it was too early for any of the rest of the household to be stirring. Well any of the household that would be giving her problems for being out of bed.
She was sitting on the same balcony she had pushed Jack off of barely a month ago. God, had it been only a month? So much had changed. The Midnight's Dove was gone and a whole section of her life was over.
Adelaide turned her head to rest it on her shoulder and look out over the harbor. The Black Pearl sat next to the dock, her black sails waving in the slight breeze. She was no worse for the wear. The damage from the fight with the Hunter had been repaired and she was in pristine condition once more. It was ironic, Adelaide thought. It was almost as if nothing could destroy that ship. Ten years of being under a curse, and almost two years of fighting French and Spanish merchants and running from the English Navy, and she looked as though she had just come out of the shipwright's yard.
Adelaide watched as the gold and red bled across the sky. Quickly the cool of night was burning off into that promised to be another sweltering day. Soon it wouldn't even be cool for the nights. Adelaide had been looking forward to sleeping on the deck of the Midnight's Dove, taking advantage of the winds on the sea after a hot summer's day. Now she was confined to sitting on a balcony watching the sea. Adelaide used the corners of the blanket to wipe away tears that began to course down her cheeks. It was like her whole world was changing and she could do nothing to stop it.
Adelaide jumped at the sound of the vines on the trellis shifting. She started to laugh at herself for being jumpy but then a hand reached up to grab the edge of the balcony. She recoiled, her hand instinctively going to her waist for her sword. But her sword wasn't there. For one panic filled moment she had visions of Edgeworth sneaking into port, getting through the security surrounding the governor's mansion and climbing the trellis to her balcony just to finish what he tried to do on the deck of the Midnight's Dove. A boot swung up to join the two hands that were gripping the stone edge. Adelaide looked around franticly for some sort of weapon to defend herself with. Then she saw the top of the person's head begin to rise up into view. Jack.
Adelaide stood slowly and walked to the edge of the balcony. She leaned causally on the railing. "I should just step on your fingers and save myself the energy of throwing you off the balcony again."
Jack's head shot up at her voice. "Now, Addy, why would you be wanting to do that?" he said with a grunt as he pulled himself up further. He reached up with one hand and grabbed the railing. Adelaide sighed in defeat. There was no getting rid of him now. They both knew that she did not have the strength to throw him off the balcony like she did last time. He would be here until he decided to leave. Adelaide just hoped that whatever he had to say would be over with quickly. She was in no mood for company, least of all Jack's. Resigned, Adelaide turned back to her chair and carefully lowered her self back into a comfortable position. She had a feeling it would take a while to get rid of Jack.
Jack pulled himself the rest of the way over the railing with an exaggerated grunt. He made a production of patting the dust off of his clothing as well. As intended this exploit made Adelaide laugh. So did Jack's chosen garments for the day. He had on a blood red silk shirt, a canary yellow sash around his waist and coal black pants and boots. He had a matching yellow bandana holding back his braids. Over all he made a very dashing picture of the pirate captain.
"It must be killing poor James not to be able to hang you." Adelaide grinned at Jack.
"Poor James? Poor James? I haven't seen you in almost three days and the first things you have to say to me is to threaten to step on my fingers and bemoan the fact that I do not have a hangman's noose around my neck." Jack leaned back against the railing and huffed indignantly. "Poor James, indeed."
"Come, now Jack you must admit that you are dressing in that fashion to rub more salt into the Commodore's wounded pride that you are not only allowed in port but now being hallowed a hero by the townsfolk for 'rescuing' the niece of the governor, a relative of the king as well. By dressing so flamboyantly you are obviously just trying to annoy Norrington further." Adelaide's grin widened. "And for the rest of us it is highly amusing. Elizabeth and I were laughing about it yesterday afternoon as a matter a fact."
"How would you know how I have been dressing as I have not been permitted to see you in the last few days?" Jack asked. "Could it be that you have developed an obsession with my body? That you must know how it is clothed?"
"Don't flatter yourself, Sparrow," Adelaide said dryly as she readjusted the fold of her wrapper and settled the blanket securely around her shoulders. It was better to give Jack no temptation. "Your choice of wardrobe is only and will only ever be a source of amusement."
"Be still my beating heart." Jack placed a hand over his heart dramatically clutching it as if he had been dealt a fatal blow. Then he grinned at Adelaide. "One of these days I am going to take your sarcastic barbs seriously and leave. Then where will that leave our relationship? It would be rather hard to carry out if we are hundreds of miles apart."
"I would like to state for the record once more that we do not have a relationship, Jack." Adelaide stood slowly and walked very carefully to the edge of the balcony. She braced herself against the railing. Her eyes scanned the harbor. "We had what could loosely be described as a business arrangement and more accurately called a bet. Neither fall into what current dictionary define the word 'relationship' to be."
Adelaide swayed against the railing as her strength started to fade. Arguing with Jack took all of her concentration and she had to admit that she had yet to recover from her injury. That fact alone frustrated her almost as much as Jack did. Adelaide had never been weak in her life and she had no idea how to handle this situation. She needed to get out of Port Royal, off of Jamaica, and the hell out of Caribbean waters. Neither she nor her crewmen would be safe as long as Edgeworth was in the region and actively searching for her. But the problem remained, how was she supposed to take care of a ship full of men when she was as weak as a kitten and she no longer had a ship?
Adelaide shook herself out of her thoughts. What she needed to do immediately was go back into bed because her strength was almost completely drained. If she didn't sit or lie down she was going to fall down. That was the last thing she was going to allow Jack to witness. She could not remember much of her time on the Pearl but from simple deductions she knew Jack had been the one to care for her when she was raging with fever. That she did not know what had transpired between them made her uncomfortable.
Adelaide turned and started slowly toward the French doors that lead back into her room. Jack rose from his chair and took her arm, assisting her into the room and into the bed. So much for not letting him know how drained she was. Adelaide thought dejectedly.
After Adelaide was situated comfortably in the bed, Jack sat down on the edge and looked at her. "Adelaide," he started and then seemed to think better of it. He stood, walked to the doors and then turned back around to look at her. "Why have I been barred from your room these last three days?"
"Barred? You would have been as welcome as any other visitor, Jack. I am bored out of my wits cooped up in this room. You are the one who chose not to come." Adelaide was shocked by his question. She had wondered why he had chosen to climb his way into her room but attributed it to the randomness that was Jack's personality.
"Adelaide, have you not tried to leave this room? There are two marines posted at the door." Jack paced back to the bed. "They are only allowing Elizabeth, Will if he is accompanying her, Norrington, your uncle, and of course the doctor into your chambers. They do not even allow a maid to bring you your meals. Think back. It has been Elizabeth, accompanied often by your uncle or young William, who has brought you all of your meals since you left the Pearl. Why do you think that Timothy has not been to see you?"
"I don't understand. Why would Norrington keep me under surveillance?"
"Not Norrington, luv, your uncle ordered the guard. I do believe he worries that either I will try and kidnap you or Edgeworth will try to come after you here." Jack sat back down at the edge of the bed. When he spoke again, it was contemplative. "Not that guarding your room from the hallway would do any good. As we both can see you can be accessed from the balcony easily enough."
"Or more likely, my loving but naïve uncle did not think that you would be that adamant about seeing me against his wishes after you called me…what was it? Oh yes…a burden you wished to rid yourself of as quickly as possible?" Adelaide grinned when Jack had the decency to look uncomfortable.
He rubbed a hand over his face and mumbled, "Elizabeth needs to learn to keep her lovely little mouth shut once in a while. One would think that in the throes of newly wedded bliss she would have more pressing matters on her mind then to be repeating to you every word I say verbatim."
"Again I must state that I have been in the throes of boredom in the past few days. Your comments amused me to no end…especially I know to what ends you went to ensure I would remain on your ship if I lost our wager." Adelaide lapsed into silence after that comment. She mulled what she had said. Why was she going out of her way to assure Jack that his comments had not offended her in the least? What did it matter if he thought her offended? And why did if feel as though a weight had been lifted from her chest when he gave her a relieved expression? Why was she talking to herself? Was she that bored?
Adelaide cleared her throat delicately. "Was there a particularly pressing matter you needed to speak with me about Jack? One that would induce you to climb the side of the house?"
Jack looked away from Adelaide and cleared his own throat. He was acting like a shy teenage boy trying to talk to a girl for the first time and was starting to annoy himself. He was over thirty years old for God's sake and a pirate to boot. There was no reason this small woman should be giving him a moment's pause other than how to get her into his bed. He should not be worrying over her feelings. Why should he care if she misconstrued what he had said on the deck of the Black Pearl?
Jack shook himself out of his thoughts and met Adelaide's gaze once more. "I wanted to make sure the governor's reports on your health were true and not just wishful thinking. You spent the better part of three days in a delirious fever aboard the Pearl. Forgive me if I don't believe that you made a miraculous recovery when I am being refused to see you. Timothy and I both had worries that we were being lied to about your condition. He was of a mind to push through your guards. I thought it would be better for me to sneak in then for your first mate to get thrown into jail."
"So you are here for Timothy's sake? Funny but I wasn't aware you two were all that fond of each other." Adelaide suppressed a giggle. It was reassuring that she was not the only one feeling ridiculous. Something about this conversation, how they both were circling around saying anything concrete, made her feel sixteen again. They were acting like idiots. But she was not going to be the first to bring it up, on the off chance that she was reading his reactions wrong. Oh Lord, Adelaide thought, if that wasn't an asinine thought if there ever was one.
"We have declared a temporary truce in order to engage in a mutual dislike of Norrington, or Poor James as you so eloquently put it." Jack contemplated Adelaide's face for a moment, hoping to get some idea of her feelings on the subject. "As to Edgeworth…" Jack trailed off when Adelaide's eyes sharpened. "Do you think that his sneaking into port is a threat we need to consider?"
Her voice was frosty when she answered, "I would doubt the man would have the guts to try something that required any amount of fortitude. He attacked the Dove after we had already engaged another ship in battle and he doubled the number of his crew so that we would be out numbered."
Jack waited. Since she did not continue Jack cleared his throat. He laid his hand over hers. "You know it was deliberate Addy, don't you?"
"I am beginning to think it was." Adelaide took a deep breath. "But that makes no sense Jack. Why would he follow me across an ocean to attack my ship? How was he to know where to look for me or that the Midnight's Dove would still be in Caribbean waters? How would he finance a quest like this? From my acquaintance with Edgeworth, I know he barely has two shillings to rub together. He lives off of those he knows socially. Off of the rich widows and married women who get sucked in by his good looks and oily charm. There is no way he could finance a ship and crew to follow me here. And I highly doubt that he bought a commission in the navy. That would require work."
"So that leaves us with, who do you both know that hates you and would be willing to finance an expedition with the sole purpose of your death?" Jack waited as understanding dawned in Adelaide's eyes. "From conversations I have had with Elizabeth, Will, Timothy, and your uncle I narrowed the suspects down to your Aunt Jessica or her son, Aidan."
"Aidan would not kill me. Nor would he lower himself to consort with Edgeworth. He hates him almost as much as I do." Adelaide said quietly.
"You are not as quick to defend your aunt."
"That is because I can easily see that happening. She hates that I control every pound that goes through her fingers or that I could change who my heir is from Aidan at any time. She has this great fear that I will get married even now and have a child of my own and then Aidan would be out of luck and she would be out of funds."
"How is that possible? That the title passes through your children and not down through your Uncle Franklin to Aidan to begin with?" Jack turned her fist over, pried her fingers apart and ran his thumb over the palm of her hand.
"Franklin was my father's step-brother through my grandfather's second wife. He was not, nor is Aidan, connected to the title by blood. Franklin was a viscount through his father but Jessica wants the duchy for Aidan. She was the daughter of a country squire." Adelaide let her head fall back. "I think she has always resented the fact that Franklin was only related through marriage. According to an old family friend she had designs on my father before he married my mother and that she only agreed to marry Franklin after my parents married. I think she was willing to settle for the second son but did not realize that he was not second in line for the title."
"Surely, she would have known that Franklin was a step-child."
"I would not put it past Franklin to have lied about it to secure her agreement in marriage. He was always selfish in that way." Adelaide closed her eyes. "Most of the family friends had forgotten that Franklin was not my grandfather's son. He was so young when his mother married my grandfather. And neither Franklin nor his mother wanted to disabuse anyone of that notion."
"Lady Emily took great pride in her second marriage. She was a country sqire's daughter. I remember hearing her tell my cousins that if she could become a duchess then there was nothing to stop them from doing the same. She helped Lady Jessica foster their resent me simply because I had been born into the position to control the title. She hated me up until the day she died."
"Is every woman in your family fated to be a venomous witch?" Jack asked as he started to massage Adelaide's hand.
"Well, technically, neither of them are really my family. We are loosely related through marriage. Legally if I disinherited Aidan that would cut all ties they have to the title, the lands, and the family coffers."
"Why haven't you done that?"
"Who else would I choose as my heir? No one. There is literally no one left on my father's side of the family. Not even a long lost nephew."
"Why not Will, then?" Jack grinned mischievously
Adelaide laughed, "Oh yes, I can see Will loving to be tied down with the responsibilities of running estates and having that many lives depending on him. You really want to torture him in such a way?"
"So the only answer is for you to do exactly what Lady Jessica wants and have Aidan remain your heir? How does Aidan feel about all of this?"
"I honestly believe that Aidan could careless if he ever gained the title. He is content to be a viscount and to enjoy the pleasures of being a young nobleman in London. He has never had the ambitions of his parents or of his grandmother to climb the status ladder."
"Where does this leave us?"
"It leaves me laying here with a hole in my chest, a greedy sadistic bastard trying to kill me and pirate-turned-privateer sitting on my bed massaging my hand." Adelaide opened her eyes and flexed her fingers. "Not all that bad of a place to be from my point of view"
Jack leaned down and placed his lips over hers. Adelaide brought her other hand up to hold his head there when a discreet cough sounded in the room. Both Jack and Adelaide looked over to see Will, Elizabeth, Governor Swann, and Norrington standing in the door way of Adelaide's room. Elizabeth looked about to burst with laughter. Will looked slightly uncomfortable. The Governor looked about to explode and Norrington just looked amused.
"Sparrow," the Governor bellowed. "Would you care to explain how you came to be in my niece's bedchamber?"
okay… the first time I posted this I assumed that it was a given that you would review….apparently that was too much…I would like to thank TriGemini and Skystrike26 (on my hands and knees) for being the only two who actually have admitted that they read my swill.