Chapter 04: 1739 – Prudence Stevens
When Jack wanted to go ashore with the approaching dusk the next evening, he ran straight into both of them - Gibbs and van Dijk.
He was sure they were already waiting for him and neither his first mate nor the Dutchman seemed happy with the decision he did make. Concern for him was evident on their faces, along with an unspoken fear that he was about to do something incredibly stupid.
It amused him because that was actually what he had thought about everything Will Turner had done during their adventure on Isla de Muerta. Apparently he too was still able to do something that only got others to shake their heads in amazement.
"I never thought I'd have to say that, my lad, but have you lost your mind?" Van Dijk looked him straight in the face and continued: "How can you put yourself in such danger so carelessly?"
"I'll try to answer that question for you, my friend, if you tell me what danger you mean."
"Oh, the bonny young lad is trying to act the naive again! All right, Jack Sparrow, let's talk plain! Do you really believe Brasiliano embarks on a raid not even a week after you showed up uninvited at his door, just to leave you alone with the woman he seems obsessed with? You can't tell me that, and if you did, I wouldn't believe it!"
"Tell me one thing, van Dijk, what dreadful and dishonourable things do you think I intend to do with Prudence Stevens once I'm alone with her, that it puts such worry lines on your forehead, eh?"
"Oh, you better ask yourself that, Jack! I'm sure you know the answer to that question, don't you? Tell me lad, what is it you're looking for? A pair of delicate arms wrapped around your neck and a tender cheek nestled against yours? I haven't forgotten what you told me about your girl just a few weeks ago, but if you think you'll find your beloved Caithleen within her cousin's arms, you're lying to yourself! Your girl passed away, Jack, don't try so desperately to follow her to where she is now! Do you really think she would approve if you would end up at the flood stakes? Or is this the way you want to die when it comes to leaving us for good? Then it must be so! But trust me, I would wish for a more peaceful ending for you..."
"He's right, Jack," Gibbs now mingled in as well: "Did you really hunt Barbossa for ten years, just so that a hard-nosed scoundrel like that Captain Roc will, at best, have you hanged? Listen to us at least once when we tell you that the fellow will sail around the island to give you and the girl an unpleasant surprise!"
"Mister Gibbs, do you really think I wouldn't know that?"
"That's how it seems at the moment!"
"Very well, gentlemen! Neither do I intend to be hanged by anyone, nor do I intend to end up at the flood stakes. Savvy? All I want is to talk to Prudence and convince her to turn her back on Madagascar. She doesn't belong here..."
Van Dijk gave him a knowing grin before he replied: "And what if she doesn't want to turn her back on Brasiliano or the coast captains? Maybe she loves her life here as much as you love your life at sea. Don't forget, she's a coast captain herself, she owns two ships, she is a skilled gunsmith who has her own workshop, and she has a fine estate of some size, which she has a good number of slaves tend. Are you sure she's willing to give up all of that for a life aboard a ship?"
Jack couldn't deny that the Dutchman was right. They were both right! And he too, had pondered the possibility long before their arrival that Prue could enjoy her life here.
She was held in high esteem by the coast captains and the crews of the ships, and if even a daredevil like Brasiliano had been debating whether or not to conquer her for so long, she certainly knew how to defend her charms—not to mention her rights.
Heaving a sigh, he finally gave in - for the moment: "All right, gentlemen, I promise we'll get off this mousetrap as soon as I get back aboard. With or without Madam Stevens. Agreed?" Both Gibbs and van Dijk signalled that no opposition was to be expected from their side in this case, and he added: "Prue didn't invite me over for a new moon night for nothing. She doesn't want everyone to know what she has to discuss with me. And to anticipate your so far unasked questions: You can use my absence to get the 'Pearl' ready to sail. Loosen the sails, but don't drop them until I give you the orders. Haul the anchor, but please as inconspicuously as possible, and let the 'Pearl' tack. Slowly, as if circling the anchor. When that's done, make sure the cannons behind the hatches are ready to fire - and don't open them until I tell you. Same orders as when we arrived!"
"Aye, Cap'n!" No doubt Gibbs was relieved at these orders - and at having something to do. Waiting patiently wasn't really one of his greatest virtues.
"And you, van Dijk, will be in charge during my absence. You know how to get out of here if necessary, and you will get out of here if anything seems odd to you."
The Dutchman grinned broadly: "If it were up to that lad, we'd already be gone!"
Madam Stevens' magnificent mansion with the corresponding gunsmith's workshop and its spacious gardens, couldn't be missed and was easy to find.
It was set a little off the main road, closer to the jungle than to the sea, and the view from there did not immediately fall on the harbour, but on the dense green of the forest as well as on the hills and mountains all around. Through the workshop one had access to the main house, and also to the gardens, where there existed a back entrance, through which the owner of these lands could come and go unseen whenever he or she chose.
The gardens were a sea of blossoms and colours, and dense shrubs and bushes prevented same as several tall trees and a man-high wall, that unwelcomed strangers could cast curious glances in.
A small gazebo stood in the middle of that sea of flowers, and countless candles and oil lamps illuminated the scene. Bottles of rum and brandy sat on the table, along with a steaming pot of tea and something that looked a lot like delicious confectionery from the Orient - something Jack had never been able to resist.
And so he filled one of the glasses on the table in front of him with rum, and enjoyed some of the sweet delights, while he waited for Prudence Stevens.
As he waited, he reflected on something she had said during dinner at Brasiliano's villa:
"I hope you'll sleep a little easier in the future, Sparrow, for the 'HMS Dauntless' has sunk and now lies at the bottom of the sea, after a certain Commodore Norrington tried to sail her straight through a hurricane."
Jack didn't know why that had saddened him for a moment before he had to focus on Brasiliano again, but he knew that without the help of Norrington, Groves, and those two soldiers, Mullroy and Murtogg, who hungered so much for the stories he had told them, he would either have been dead by now, or handed over to Beckett...
'To you, my friends,' he thought, before he emptied his glass in one draft.
Only a soft rustling behind him, tore him out of his thoughts and brought him back to the here and now - and as he turned to trace the source of the whispering sound, he almost dropped his glass.
Jack knew he was staring openly at her but as Prudence Stevens stood before him at that moment, she truly looked like something straight out of a dream - and he remembered that night aboard the "Eagle's Wing" when Professor Prudencia had turned Caithleen into a princess in black brocade for him.
"I know, she pleases you the most as the one she is: A young and pretty pirate-lass," the professor had told him: "But every man dreams about kissing a princess every once in a while and you are lucky, Jack Sparrow, as you own both in one and because you know you do..."
Just as Caith had stood in front of him all in black, Prue now stood in front of him in a dark green brocade dress, which was decorated with gold embroidery and was held by gold cords in the back - and which revealed enough of her feminine charms to drive a man out of his mind.
Jack was no exception: he couldn't take his eyes off her.
The fiery red hair was artfully pinned up, her deep green eyes sparkled like emeralds in the candlelight, and filigree earrings, and an elaborately worked necklace did the rest, to accentuate her already extraordinary beauty a little more.
"You look stunning, love," Jack cleared his throat, not sure if he was embarrassed or just smitten: "But surely you didn't put that on just for me, right? Because, if you did, I mean, if you put that on just for me," he cleared his throat again: "I'm not sure, if I could fight back the urge to get you out of this enormous amount of fabric..."
He knew he was talking himself out of his head, but the longer he stared at her, the more he realised that he desired her.
Maybe it was just due to the fact that he hadn't slept with a pretty girl in a while, or maybe it was just because Prudence Stevens was a woman who overwhelmed all of his senses.
The thought of possibly seeing her without the dress and jewellery that night received a sudden blow, though, when she asked him: "I have to say, you really have nerve! I wouldn't have believed you would actually dare to come here tonight. I hope you know what Brasiliano would do to you if he found you here, right?"
"I couldn't resist, darling!" Jack smiled as he looked at her lovingly and at the same time a little shamelessly: "And I wouldn't be a man if, at a sight like the one you're offering me right now, I wouldn't give at least a second thought to seducing you, would I? But don't you worry love, I'm not the same breed as Brasiliano. I prefer if the woman I sleep with enjoys it as much as I do..."
"Ah, I see! How does Caith feel about this philosophy of yours? Does she know you're here planning to sneak around me like a cat around the milk pot? Even though you're supposed to be so madly in love with her?" She thought about something for a moment and added: "By the way, where is she? I didn't think you'd come here without her. You didn't leave her on your little island of bliss, did you?"
"No, I didn't leave Caith on our little island of bliss," Jack replied, not really able to hide the tension in his voice: "I thought you heard about what happened to us and the 'Wench' after our encounter in the Caribbean?"
"I heard the 'Wench' burst into flames. Strange that your 'Pearl' seems to be her exact replica, except for the colour."
"Caith was on board when Beckett burned the ship, Prue. I tried to free her, but the attempt cost us both our lives..."
"And yet you are here and she is not. How do you explain that to me?"
"I was able to strike a bargain!"
"What bargain? Her life for yours?"
"No, Prue! My soul for my ship to make those who did this to us pay for it..."
"Your soul for a ship and the slight hope for revenge? Isn't that a very high price to pay for something you may never achieve?"
"I owe it to Caith, love, and I owe it to you, because believe me or not, the same man who destroyed our lives will not hesitate to destroy yours - with even greater zeal when he learns your name is Stevens!"
"Do you really think this Beckett will try to sail his ships into our bay, Jack? Those would not be the first English warships we would sink with our cannons."
"Ah, yes! The cannons! Right! I almost forgot that your brilliant father created this brilliant way of defending this hideout, but even your father's ingenious invention will not prevent spies from sneaking into this bay one day, and I'm sure the English will send men undeterred by your macabre flood-stakes out there. Savvy?"
"Why are you telling me all this? Is it about me or is it about me being a Stevens?"
"Maybe both! But why should I bother so much racking your brain, 'Spitfire'? Rosalind was also convinced she would always escape, until Beckett and his deadly shadow, Mercer, had her hanged in Port Royal!"
"Rosalind was a fool, Jack! She could have had everything but she had to convince Jeremy and Jeffrey to leave Shipwreck Island, though she knew Caith's father was the Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea..."
As soon as the sentence passed her lips, Prudence Stevens knew she had said something that apparently not even Jack Sparrow knew. And his reaction proved to her that he really didn't know: "You err, love! As far as I know, Villanueva is the Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea..."
"If Jeremy would have stayed alive, he would not..."
"What do you want to tell me?"
"Jeremy didn't have a chance to pass his 'Piece of Eight' on to a successor when Vargas captured his ship and burned him and his crew alive - and since neither Rose nor Caith had it, there's only one way Eduardo Villanueva got hold of it!" Prue looked at him for a moment, then she asked: "Rose really never told you, right?"
He shook his head. Confused. Taken by surprise. Speechless.
At some point he replied: "I just know, that Rose kept telling me she had only come to Shipwreck Island for short visits and didn't know much about the Council of the Brethren."
"Most likely she wanted to protect you and Caith. Unlike you, she knew who you were when Patrick brought you to his island, and had she known that you would become the Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, one day, she would certainly have prevented for you and Caith to grow closer. Rose hated all those things, Jack. The council, the brotherhood, the rules - and it got worse after Jeremy got sold out and betrayed..."
"So was there more than one reason for Jeremy and Jeffrey to go their separate ways?"
"Yes, their arguments over the booty, the ships sunk, and the captives were the main reason, but there was so much more that stood between them in the end..."
She looked deep into his eyes and added: "My father came to Madagascar to give us a life away from betrayal and deceit. He taught me everything he knew, although in some eyes I was only his daughter and not a son. It took a lot of strength for me to attain and receive what I have here, Jack. I know you don't want anything to happen to me but believe me I'm safe here and I love the life I lead here."
"So you actually want to give in to Brasiliano's wish one day?"
"He's not the worst man even if you won't believe me, and I know he won't force me to do anything I do not want to do. I'm sorry Jack, but I belong here. I'm not a dreamer like Caith was. My need for unfulfilled dreams and illusions has been covered for years and unlike you, I can no longer imagine to live aboard a ship."
"I understand, love," Jack smiled: "But I don't think you no longer have dreams. One day you will remember them - and then you should not hesitate to give in to your longing and desire to see them come true..."
Prue returned his smile: "Is that why Caith fell in love with you? Because you rush into a random person's life with your dreams and your longing for freedom, turning this person's life completely upside down forever?"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her over to him: "Would you like to find out?"
His gaze sank deep into hers and she didn't avert hers. Instead, she whispered as his fingers gently brushed her cheek and finally tangled in her hair: "I may regret what I'm going to do now, but I'll probably regret it even more if I'm not going to do it..."
"Trust me love, you won't regret anything..."
With that, he breathed a first tender kiss on her lips while he freed her, one by one, from her hairpins until a wave of fiery red strands spilled over her back and shoulders.
"Much better," he whispered, his lips close to her ear, before kissing her again, more passionately, more daringly, this time, and deepening it as he felt her body's reaction...
Her eyes held his the whole time, even as his fingers began to untie the laces of her dress on her back until the heavy fabric rustled to the floor. At that moment it was she who pulled him into her arms, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, her body pressed close to his as she first began to untie his belt and sash, and finally grabbed his hand to make him follow her: "Come with me, I know a better place for what we are about to do now..."
