Chapter 05: 1739 - The Escape
"I know," he whispered: "I should probably deal with lots of other thoughts within this moment, but if I look at you, sitting on my lap just wearing this annoying piece of cloth keeping me away from your delicate breasts, I couldn't care less about Rose, the ship or even the end of the world."
Caithleen smiled, and she remarked cheekily, before she sealed his lips with a kiss: "I can already feel, how less you care about the end of the world..."
Jack's eyes widened in surprise while he blushed up to his ears. The moment passed by, and he buried one hand within her hairline to drag her closer and to respond to her kiss. Her lips were soft and tasted sweet upon his, and he closed his eyes when she opened them to grant him the pleasure of deepening the kiss. She pressed herself against him and while he started to get rid of the bandage she used to wear the silent sighs escaping her slightly opened lips told him that not only he enjoyed his try to seduce her - up to that moment when the chair overbalanced, turned over and let them hit the floor ungallantly and hard...
Jack and Caith beheld each other, puzzled, confused and surprised; then, they burst out laughing until they ran out of breath.
Ever since Patrick's death, since the loss of the "Stream" and since Rosalind's change of behaviour, they had avoided each other, had only kissed and touched each other secretly as if it was a crime to feel joy and love while all the others felt nothing else but pain and grief.
The whole strain which had kept them in its claws for weeks vanished from one moment to the other, and they forgot about the place, about the point in time, and about the chaos they were surrounded by. Jack pushed the chair aside, wrapped his arms round Caithleen, and rolled her round onto her back, so that he came to lie upon her tender body. Rested on his elbows, he beheld her:
Oh yes, he desired her, here and now, not wasting one thought on the idea that someone might see or hear them. Caithleen buried her fingers within his dark strands, freed him from his bandana, and let his long curls wrap her in like a soft, flowing cascade of hair. They melted into a hungered, longing kiss, and Jack's hand slid over her warm skin and slipped under the bandage, fiddling around with it until he succeeded in getting it loose. His smile, while doing so, was telling and seductive in the most unashamed way Caithleen was able to remember. She wrapped her arms around him, buried her feet into the ground as comfortably as possible, and pulled him down on her. She closed her eyes when he started to caress her skin and when his lips followed his skilful hands.
Her body longed for his, and she wound her fingers round his hips to drag him closer...
Jack felt himself waking up, but he had no desire to open his eyes, nor to move anywhere but from one side of the wide, comfortable bed to the other. Head buried in the pillows, he pulled the blankets back up over his shoulders with one hand while, still half asleep, he let the other gently caress the warm skin of the woman lying next to him. Her even breathing told him that she, too, was still in the realm of dreams, and he smiled in his sleep at the memory of the previous night.
He hadn't felt so pleasantly exhausted and comfortably spent for a long time, and the knowledge that not only he had been at her service during their night of love and pleasure, but that she also had robbed him of his senses more than once, made this amorous experience all the more precious to him. And so he reached for her hand, pulled it to his lips and covered its palm with tender kisses.
He slowly opened his eyes as she rolled over to him with a sigh, but it wasn't black curls that spilled over her pillow, but a flood of thick fiery red strands.
And it wasn't the look from a pair of bright grey eyes that now fixed on him from under half-open lids, but the gaze of a pair of shimmering emerald green ones...
"Jack," she smiled when she recognised him, and for whatever reason, he felt the warmth of his cheeks as he blushed under her gaze. Her smile deepened at the sight of him, and she brushed a strand of his thick, dark hair out of his face, before breathing a kiss on his temple.
"Prue," he whispered, slowly becoming aware that it wasn't Caith who was lovingly caressing him at that moment, but her hot-headed cousin, and that he hadn't spent the night on board his ship, but in Prue's bedchamber.
But neither Jack nor Prue got around to saying anything to the other because at the same moment someone violently banged on the front door of the mansion. It was Brasiliano's voice, reaching up to them in the bedroom now: "Spitfire! I know you're there! If you're awake, open the door or I'll come in unasked."
Jack frowned and whispered: "What is he doing here? And why is he back already?"
"No idea!" Prue jumped up, quickly slipped into a shirt and her pants, and admonished him: "Stay here. He doesn't necessarily have to find you in my bed at this early hour!"
"Oh don't worry love I'm not interested either in him finding me within your bed. Look that you get rid of him quickly."
Prue nodded, slammed the door behind her and hurried down the stairs - while Jack was left alone with himself and his thoughts.
In a way he was even grateful to Brasiliano for having disturbed them in their intimate togetherness, because the moment he opened his eyes and looked into Prue's, he got to understand that this night, beautiful, fulfilling, and passionate as it had been, turned out to have been a big mistake.
That very mistake from which Gibbs and van Dijk had wanted to save him.
It wasn't long before Prue stormed back into the chamber. She had argued loudly with Brasiliano, but Jack had understood nothing of what this argument was about - too lost had he been in his own thoughts.
However, Prue's scowl told him something was wrong, and he realised he was right when she threw his clothes on the bed next to him and asked him in a rather cold tone: "It's better you get dressed. Brasiliano is back, and he brought with him a little surprise. One that might also be of interest to you, and maybe you even have an explanation for it as you're supposed to have them for everything, right? Let's see how you'll pull yourself out of trouble this time, Jack Sparrow!"
That said, she rushed out again furious like a tropical storm, and slammed the door behind her...
Despite the early hour, an amazing crowd had already gathered when Prudence Stevens shoved him roughly into the middle of the place.
Jack blinked as he looked around, and he tried to find in her face an answer to his unspoken questions - but in vain. Prue hadn't said a word to him about what was going on and what caused her sudden change of heart, but he did not doubt that he would soon learn this from another quarter.
Brasiliano was already waiting for them, and something in his eyes told Jack that it was better to first listen to what was at stake and then counter with common sense and cleverness. For the moment he decided that it was better to endure Brasiliano's appraising look and his unuttered 'I knew from day one you were a traitor and a spy, Sparrow' and not reply to it.
Busy ignoring the self-proclaimed pirate lord of Madagascar, Jack finally discovered the reason for the morning excitement and Brasiliano's obvious upset:
Surrounded by his crew, three shabby and bedraggled-looking figures stood in the centre of the square, which were obviously destined for the next auction at the slave market. Judging by their ragged clothes, they must have been at sea for several days, before the pirates found them and brought them aboard the "Scorpion".
Apparently all three were seamen and had served in the Royal Navy, before having been abandoned in a longboat on the open ocean - seemingly as punishment for some severe offence. A punishment almost worse than being left to die on a small island amid the Caribbean - at least as long as there was fish, coconuts and a secret stash of rum on this island...
However, when Jack looked at the faces of the three men, his breath caught for a moment. He knew them, better, he had met them before.
Half an eternity ago!
They had served aboard the English warship that had taken him and Caithleen back to London after having lost the "Eagle's Wing" in a sea-fight with Rosalind Stevens: An ambitious young naval officer named Brian Hawke and seamen Harris and Jones.
Jack didn't like the thought of them showing up here in Madagascar just now, with the English looking for every possible way to spy on the fortress and its defences, and he wondered whether or not they really were deserters or whether or not they really had been abandoned.
Hawke hadn't struck him as a potential mutineer or deserter - all the contrary!
He had been dutiful and diligent, and not the kind of man who would thoughtlessly jeopardize a promising naval career. So could it be that these three had voluntarily embarked on the daring adventure of spying on the pirates of Madagascar?
Jack wasn't willing to wait for the answer and take the risk that he and his "Pearl" got caught between the firelines.
His aim had been to see Prue. He had succeeded in doing so, and what he learned from her the night before was more than he had dared hope for. Sure, her answers had not been the answers to the questions he had actually wanted to ask her, but what he now knew, thanks to Prudence Stevens, about the Council of the Brethren of Shipwreck Island, more than made up for the fact that another part of his questions still remained unanswered.
It was therefore time for him and his "Pearl" to leave Madagascar, and he wouldn't wait for Brasiliano to give him permission to do so.
So, without hesitation, he turned directly to Brian Hawke, looked him straight in the eye, and asked: "So you are the one who told good Captain Brasiliano he knew me? What makes you think that, mate?"
"Whoever sails for the Royal Navy or the Royal Merchant Fleet has heard of you, Captain Sparrow! At least since you captured the 'HMS Interceptor' from Port Royal, and at least since Commodore Norrington lost the 'HMS Dauntless' while chasing you. How else do you explain to yourself that every garrison and every port under English command has orders to send you to London at once, should one get hold of you?"
"I would explain this overzealousness as someone taking advantage of the fact that he is in command of both the merchant fleet and some of the warships, to wage his personal vendetta against a certain pirate, forgetting where his place is. Savvy?"
Hawke didn't get a chance to reply as Brasiliano intervened - and he made no secret of the fact that he didn't like anything about what was going on before his eyes right now: "What are you spouting off about, Sparrow? Do you want to deny what these three say about you? That you too once sailed under English colours? Vested with letters of marque and permission to sink every ship getting in your way?"
"Oh yes of course! That really makes sense. Any garrison that gets hold of me has orders to send me to London at once. And why the effort if I were still sailing under the protection of letters of marque? In a case like that, I don't think I'd need to be taken back to London, mate. I would go back there once a year anyway to lay down all my stolen treasures at the king's feet, wouldn't I? But what about these three figures? Don't you want to tell us first where you found them, Captain Brasiliano?"
"I would be interested in that as well," Prue agreed, her arms loosely crossed in front of her chest and her challenging gaze directed at Brasiliano.
"We spotted them in their longboat not far from the island. They claim, they belonged to the crew of the 'Monsoon'. An English merchant vessel as they told us. Those two water rats have been fined for stealing rum."
"And the chap in the middle? The one with the loose gap?" Prue nodded at Hawke.
"Says he got in trouble over a passenger."
"Female I guess!" Prue grinned and now turned directly to the Englishman: "What have you done to the lady that you were abandoned at sea for it?"
"Nothing, madam," Hawke replied: "I never get into a fight with a lady. All the contrary! I didn't get into a fight with her, I got into a fight because of her. Unfortunately, the person in question was my superior officer and took it personally."
"That's the truth," one of his companions now explained: "They gave him twenty with the lash and then abandoned him together with us."
"Ah, there we have the proof of the honesty of your three souvenirs," Jack grinned as he let his gaze wander from Hawke to Brasiliano and back to Hawke: "Trouble because of a woman, downgraded because of a woman and twenty lashes because of a woman. Honestly, mate, if you ask me, any traitor out to gain a pirate's trust would be brave enough to take twenty lashes in front of the assembled crew to appear credible. Isn't that true, Mister Hawke?"
"What makes you think that I would rather trust you than that gobby Englishman?" It could neither be overlooked nor overheard that Brasiliano was struggling to keep himself in check, and that he was on the verge of losing his temper: "Don't forget, Sparrow, after all, you are also one of those charmers who like to get in trouble over a woman, right? And you won't deny that it wasn't any of those three over there who spent a whole night at Madam Stevens' house, but you..."
"That will do," Prue snapped at him: "Whom I invite into my house, is none of your business, Captain Roc! And may I remind you: It's not Captain Sparrow, whose intentions we are discussing here, but the question what to do with the three of them over there!"
"Let's leave it at that, love! If Captain Brasiliano already knows that I spent a whole night in your house then he may also know that I not only spent that night in your house, but also with you...! You know, Brasiliano, at sea for weeks. Sleeping alone in a berth night after night. What kind of man would say no when a beautiful woman like 'Spitfire' Stevens invited him over, eh...?"
"That's enough now, Sparrow! You've tried my patience long enough! We'll deal with the English later. The coast captains will hear their case and decide what to do with them. Until then, lock them away!" Brasiliano motioned for his men to throw Hawke and his companions into the island's dungeon for the time being, before turning back to Jack: "And now back to you! Ever since you showed up here, I've had a feeling your presence here doesn't bode well. But unlike the English, you're no case for the coast captains. I'll settle accounts with you personally and I think it's time for you to learn about our most effective weapon against spies and unwanted visitors! Get him over to the flood stakes! We will see, if he still feels like chattering afterwards!"
"Are you mad, Captain Roc?" Prue blocked his way: "You have no proof that Jack came here to spy on us! After all, he's just as much a pirate as we are!"
"Get out of my way, 'Spitfire'! It's enough for me that every perfect stranger seems to feels anxious about telling me what to do and what to leave! If you have something to say, say it in front of the other coast captains! As for Sparrow: Perhaps the Council of the Brethren of Shipwreck Island will finally understand that we want nothing to do with them, if we send them back the remains of one of theirs. But we'll talk about that later, Captain Stevens!"
The flood stakes were a simple and effective method of dealing with those who believed they could spy on the island undetected or otherwise obtain information about the fortress and its secret defences.
Whoever was discovered in the process could be sure that no bloody example would be made of him - the pirates of Madagascar simply left the execution of the spies to the rising tide and the giant crabs that used to come ashore with the changing of the tide.
As the animals grew to a considerable size, even the boldest convict quickly realised that any attempt to escape became impossible the moment the shackles closed around their wrists and ankles - and who may have scoffed at the judgment and the crabs before, whose screams soon echoed off the cliffs around the bay, unless the pirates had gagged him first to spare themselves the sometimes day-long screaming.
Jack knew this method of execution held every conceivable advantage for the coast captains, for anyone sailing in or out of the bay inevitably had to pass those flood stakes. And if the grisly image of the human remains got not burned in one's mind, one would long remember the screams of the dying once the crabs set to work.
Those who were lucky died quickly, from shock or blood loss.
Those who weren't so lucky could only wish for that they quickly lost consciousness...
'You can't even blame those animals for that,' Jack thought, while it was already working behind his brow, as he searched for a way to avoid this not-too-edifying encounter with the crabs.
It was already dawn, and the tide was about to come, as Brasiliano dragged Jack down to the flat shore where the flood stakes were set, and a deep satisfaction reflected in his eyes and in his whole demeanour as the shackles closed around his prisoner's wrists with an audible click: "I admit I'd like to wait together with you for the tide to come in and for the crabs to crawl ashore, Sparrow, but unfortunately I have to take care of those three Englishmen who are locked up in our dungeons now. I hope you will forgive my rudeness..."
"There are worse things than that, Captain Brasiliano, but I'm sure you'll find that out for yourself in time, when you'll remember I warned you about the English! Mark my words, neither this fortress nor your highly praised hidden cannons will permanently prevent the English from razing your hiding place to the ground. And when the time comes, you better pray it's a warship that takes you to England for if not, you will wish you had thrown yourself to your little hungry pets before they'd drag you aboard one of their vessels. Savvy?"
Brasiliano snorted angrily: "Perhaps you should consider telling your stories to the crabs. Who knows, they might like what they hear and spare you from becoming their dinner. But I doubt that! I think it's more likely that in a day or two I'll turn your pitiful remains over to your crew - and then life will go on here within the bay, like you never showed up. So if you want to make one more attempt at begging for your life, now would be the time..."
"What makes you think I want to beg for my life, Brasiliano?" Jack shook his head: "I've done a lot of things but I wouldn't humiliate myself that far in front of anyone. Feel free to think me a weakling, Captain, but he who, like you, is unable to take a warning simply because he is consumed with jealousy, deserves what he gets in the end."
"Pshaw! We'll see! You want to warn me? Good! But maybe it's the other way around and you'll serve as a warning to those curious Englishmen tonight, huh? Who knows! Well then, Sparrow! Farewell!"
With that, Brasiliano turned on his heel and trudged back towards the forest road, where Prudence Stevens was waiting for him along with a one-horse carriage and some of his cronies. Jack heard them both arguing loudly for a while until at some point Brasiliano said to her while bristling with anger: "Do whatever makes you happy, 'Spitfire'! But I tell you to hurry! I want you with me tonight when we decide about the English and what to do with them!"
Shortly thereafter, distant hoofbeats were heard, and it became quiet around the small beach - except for the soft footsteps approaching quickly.
"Keep still and don't move:" Prue whispered into his ear while she undid the cuffs from his wrists: "Wait here on the beach until night falls, get back aboard your ship and set sail immediately!"
"Thank you, love!" Jack rubbed his wrists and turned to her. Noticing that she seemed restless and nervous, he grabbed her hand and looked into her eyes: "Prue, darling, believe me, I'm really not a traitor and even less am I a spy!"
"You think I don't know that? Why do you think I'm letting you go?"
"And Brasiliano?"
"He won't touch me unless he wants to end up with a hole amid his forehead! So get outta here and don't worry about me!"
"Prue! You know there will always be room for a Stevens aboard my ship..."
"I know that Jack! But that Stevens isn't me! The place has only ever belonged to one and that's Caithleen!" She gently placed her fingers on his lips when he was about to reply, merely shaking her head as she continued: "We had a wonderful night together, Jack, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it, but there are things that have to remain unique! I cannot and will not try to replace something I will never be able to replace. And no matter how hard you try to tell yourself otherwise, things are the way they are. You still love her even after so many years and somehow I'm even a little jealous of her! But," she cupped his cheeks with both hands, "what chance would I stand against her, when the man in my arms calls me by her name and not by my own?"
She smiled at the amazed look in his eyes and added: "Didn't you realize you were calling me Caithleen all night, you lovely fool?" With a sigh, she pulled him into a tight hug once more: "You're proof that not all men are like Roc Brasiliano, Jack Sparrow!" Then she kissed him again passionately and said: "Caith was lucky that she came across a man like you! A happiness that should be granted to every woman..."
"Prue! I'm sorry..."
"Don't have to! But I think you should leave now! The tide is coming in and the crabs are already crawling ashore..."
Jack hesitated. He looked thoughtfully at the sea creatures, which really grew into respectable size, but something was strange about them as they scrambled to shore: They made no move to approach him and even backed away from him when he took a few steps toward them...
"See that, love? Strange, isn't it?"
"Very strange indeed! Do you have any idea what might be holding them back?"
"I don't know, but they are children of the sea, Prue, just like me. I can't remember how many times I got told I was born aboard a ship during a typhoon. I tend to believe in it myself by now. Look how carefully they avoid me." Jack frowned and added: "I don't think they would have harmed me. Not even if you would not have set me free..."
"But how can that be?"
"If only I'd know that! But," he once again wrapped his arms around the red-haired beauty that was Prudence Stevens: "I'm going to go now, love. Just let me tell you one more thing: Be careful who you put your trust in and beware of Hawke! It may be that he really got in trouble aboard the 'Monsoon', but there is no proof of this. Maybe you should find a safer place for your father's blueprints! I saw his sketches of the defences and the hidden cannons in your bedroom - and you know if I found a way in maybe another charmer like me could succeed in doing that too, eh?"
This said, he brushed a few strands of her thick red hair away from her face and breathed one more kiss upon her lips before he threw himself into the sea with an elegant leap once more...
