Though he had not asked Jacqueline specifically of her social stature, Captain Norrington supposed he should assume she was lower class given her father's job as a merchant sailor, but the dress she was wearing was rather luxurious, though slightly worn.

"This whole mansion is yours?" Jacqueline said as Norrington helped her out of the carriage. "How could a military man afford such an abode and the servants it must take to keep it clean?"

Norrington was a bit surprised. It was almost as though she had seen this sort of mansion, perhaps lived in one with a family. "I inherited it from my mentor when he died."

"Your mentor?" Jacqueline said as they entered the foyer.

"Yes," Norrington said, motioning towards the parlor door. "Mr. Johnson. He taught me the art of sailing and helped me obtain my first post on a military ship."

"Isn't that what fathers are for?" Jacqueline said, stopping before an oil painting of Norrington. "You look quite dashing with a brown wig," she commented before sitting down near the parlor window.

Norrington touched his powdered wig, momentarily wondering how she thought he looked in it. He recovered quickly. "My father died when I was very young. Mr. Johnson helped take care of my mother until her death, and then took me in as his son."

Jacqueline's cheeks became slightly tinged with pink. "I'm sorry, Captain. I didn't realize…"

Norrington held up his hand and sat in a wing chair next to her. "You were just asking, there's no need to apologize." He rang a bell, and his butler entered. "A pot of tea, please," he said to the man. The man gave a slight bow and left. "If it is not too soon for you, Jacqueline, I wonder what your father was like."

Jacqueline looked down into her lap. "Well…I doubt he was like Mr. Johnson or your father. My father was merely a merchant, not a high class citizen."

"Neither was my father. And Mr. Johnson was a Captain in the Royal Navy."

"Such as yourself," Jacqueline said with a charming smile. "I'm sure your father would very proud."

Norrington smiled. "And I'm sure that your father was very proud of having such a lovely and spirited young lady for a daughter."

Jacqueline bit her lip as she smiled shyly. "Thank you, Captain."

The butler entered carrying a silver tray with a porcelain teapot and cups. He placed it on the table near Norrington. "Thank you," he said, and the butler left. Norrington began pouring the tea. "One or two lumps?"

"Two, please," Jacqueline said.

The two drank their tea for a few minutes in silence. Jacqueline gazed around the extravagant room as she drank. Norrington noticed that Jacqueline closed her eyes every time the cup touched her lips. Perhaps all women did that. Norrington had never noticed before. Jacqueline had lovely eyes. They seemed so deep and…

"What is it?"

Norrington hadn't realized that he had been staring at her. "Oh, I'm sorry, I was just thinking." He felt his face flush slightly, but Jacqueline either didn't notice or politely ignored it. "You've never mentioned your mother," Norrington said, desperately trying to recover his composure.

Jacqueline gave an uncaring shrug. "I never knew her."

"I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Norrington must have looked horrified, because Jacqueline giggled a bit before continuing. "That must sound awful, but she left my father after I was born and he had to raise me by himself."

"She left him?" Norrington repeated quietly.

Jacqueline nodded, taking another sip of tea and closing her eyes again as she did so. "My father never told me anything about her except that." She fell silent for a moment. "Though, if she is still alive, I suppose it would be sort of nice to meet her…" Jacqueline trailed off, looking into her tea but not really seeing, her eyes glazed. Norrington shifted in his chair a bit awkwardly. He couldn't imagine what it would have been like to live without a mother all his life, and surely it would be even worse for a girl.

Norrington suddenly felt very silly as he realized that Jacqueline was wearing the same worn clothing she had been for at least a week. "We should find you a change of clothes."

Jacqueline looked down at her dress. "Oh, I must look terrible."

"No, no, Jacqueline." Jacqueline looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "The dress perhaps, but not you," Norrington conceded. "Come. I think I have something that will fit you."

Jacqueline appeared slightly confused as she followed Norrington to a guest bedroom, where she stood awkwardly in the doorway. Norrington kneeled before a trunk at the foot of the bed, taking a small key from his pocket. He hesitated slightly before turning the key in the lock, aware that Jacqueline was watching him rather intently.

Norrington stroked the dark fabric of a dress before lifting it gently from the trunk and laying it on the bed. "It's beautiful," Jacqueline said quietly, walking up next to him, running a finger along the gold accents around the neckline. "I used to have a dress this color." She looked curiously up at Norrington. "Where did you get it?"

Norrington closed the trunk. "This chest is full of my mother's belongings. It's all I have left of her." Jacqueline's hand jumped away from the gown, and she took a step back. Norrington smiled. "It won't bite."

"It's your mother's," she said quietly. "If it's nearly all you have…I can't…"

"You can," Norrington interjected. "What's the purpose of a dress that's never worn?" Norrington headed to the door. "I'll send in Anne to help you change."

Captain Norrington was just finishing a cup of tea when the door to the parlor opened and Jacqueline entered. The dress appeared to fit perfectly, though Jacqueline's shoes were slightly more visible than what was probably fashionable. "You look lovely, Jacqueline." Norrington stood and offered her his arm.

"Are we going somewhere?" Jacqueline asked as she accepted it hesitantly.

"Into town. I'm afraid my mother's trunk simply won't provide the accessories needed to accompany the gown." When Jacqueline opened her mouth, Norrington said, "It's no inconvenience."

Norrington took Jacqueline to a small shop that included many accessories for ladies. Though Jacqueline appeared very uncomfortable and out of place at first, she seemed to enjoy hiding her face coyly behind different fans, peeking over the top of them at Norrington and batting her eyelashes. Norrington found this rather amusing as well, sometimes taking a fan himself and hiding behind it, causing Jacqueline to laugh brightly and tap him lightly on the shoulder with whatever fan she happened to be holding, pretending to disapprove of his behavior.

When he finally convinced her to allow him to buy one for her (black with gold designs), he then moved on to getting her to try on jewelry. At first, she responded very well to this, allowing him to help put many bracelets and rings, obviously loving the look of gold and gems against her skin. However, once they had found two bracelets that matched the dress perfectly as well as a ring with a rather large diamond, he discovered that she would not let him place a necklace around her neck. Norrington said nothing about this, not entirely certain how to take this.

Jacqueline wore the three pieces of jewelry out of the shop and carried the fan. Instead of meeting the carriage to return to his mansion as Jacqueline seemed to expect, Norrington began guiding her through the streets of Port Royal.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"A tour of Port Royal. A walk will do us both good."

Jacqueline smiled. "We did almost nothing but walk on the Intrepid."

Norrington shook his head. "That was merely in circles with the same scenery—that hardly counts."

"True," Jacqueline conceded.

Norrington became rather conscious of the many odd looks he was receiving from those the two passed. No one in Port Royal knew the woman on his arm, so he expected this. Jacqueline, however, seemed particularly uncomfortable with the stares, so Norrington began taking her to slightly less congested streets. They finally ended up on the beach.

Jacqueline gazed longingly out at the sea as they paced along the edge of the water. They were almost completely alone on the shore, except for a young couple that was also walking along the beach. The other couple was lower class, and they were frolicking shamelessly in the shallows. Norrington noticed Jacqueline sigh quietly as she watched them.

"If you wish to take off your shoes and walk in the water, I promise I won't tell a soul," Norrington whispered in her ear. Jacqueline looked up at him curiously, trying to see if he was joking. She then grinned at him and held onto his arm for support as she balanced on one foot as she took of one high-heeled shoe, and then the other. She nearly fell into him while taking off the second shoe, causing her to laugh a little in embarrassment when he caught her.

Jacqueline held her shoes in one hand and elevated her skirt slightly with the hand holding her new fan as she walked through the shallow water. She laughed a little and twirled around. Norrington, though he would usually disapprove of a young lady acting like this, laughed as well, taking her hand and spinning her as though in a dance. The two then walked arm in arm down the beach, with Jacqueline's bare feet in the shallow water, the bottom of the dress getting wet.

The two began discussing pirates—for once, it didn't seem to negatively affect Jacqueline. Norrington told her stories about capturing pirate ships and defeating their captains in hand-to-hand combat (with a little embellishing, of course). Jacqueline seemed fascinated by all this, enjoying his tales immensely, but whenever he neared the pirates' hanging, she would ask a distracting question or start a little story of her own.

Jacqueline, it seemed, had run into pirates before, yet she had never come out of the situation for the worse. Her father would make frequent stops in the pirate port of Tortuga to stock up on rum, where it was least expensive and most plentiful. Jacqueline said that pirates in Tortuga hardly seemed like the pirates one often heard of—they were merely a bunch of drunken men and women who had no cares about anything. Norrington was mesmerized by her view of pirates, even after what had happened to her. She seemed to believe that pirates weren't all bad, just a select few that gave them a bad name.

"You are aware that you are defending the people who killed your father and your fiancé," Norrington remarked. Jacqueline looked slightly stunned, making Norrington wish he had not brought the memories back to her.

"As I said, they aren't all bad. Most are just…free," she said quietly.

The two fell into silence, continuing to walk along the beach until the sun started to set. Norrington then walked her back to where the carriage was awaiting them and they went to his home. He showed her back to the guest bedroom that was usually only occupied by Norrington's mother's trunk. He had Anne bring Jacqueline a set of nightclothes, and bid Jacqueline goodnight. Norrington headed down the hall to his own room, where he quickly stripped off the many layers of his uniform until he was down to his undershirt and breeches. He lie awake for a long time, reconsidering his opinion of pirates. Perhaps, just perhaps, Jacqueline was right. Perhaps pirates were just…free.