Cloudburst: a sudden, intense rainfall

The nights dragged and felt downright chilly compared to what she was used to. Wrapped in a thick nightgown with her dressing robe as well as a shawl, Elizabeth prowled the upstairs corridor like a ghost, the ticking of the grandfather clock and the soft sighs of Nella and Fanny the only sounds. It had been almost a month since they'd arrived and surely it was time to go home. Her heart twisted at the idea of staying for a prolonged amount of time, sure something, some unknown force of nature or twist of fate, would happen and she would miss it if they stayed any longer.

In this quandary, she found her slippered feet on their way down the stairs. Propriety be damned, she thought. At this hour she would only run into a servant at the most.

"Weatherby, what we really wanted to know was...you tell him, Tabitha."

Elizabeth stopped just before the sitting room at the sound of Governor Harper's voice addressing her father. In a stunning moment of self-contradiction, she glanced down at herself clad only in her nightgown and squeezed behind the drapes, breathing thanks they were long enough to cover her feet.

"We were wondering if Elizabeth would like to stay with us a little while longer," Mrs. Harper said from the adjacent room. "The girls have taken such a shine to her."

"Yes, I must admit it is nice to see Elizabeth with some female company," her father said in that noncommittal tone years of politics had forced him to master. She rolled her eyes at it every time.

"Along those lines," Governor Harper cleared his throat. "Er, Tabby?"

"What Thomas wants to ask is, is she promised to anyone?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened.

"How did we arrive at that from mentioning female company?" her father laughed. She cocked her head just enough to look in the room to see him shift his weight onto his heels, hands behind his back, gently scoffing.

"Port Royal is still growing," Governor Harper said. "It's still primarily a port town, hence the name, Weatherby, old boy. The amount of fine society there must be staggeringly low compared to up here."

"If you're suggesting we're surrounded by apes, Tom, I can assure you Elizabeth's and my decorum are not exceptional."

"But how is she supposed to meet anyone?" Mrs. Harper asked with a tone so gentle it took Elizabeth several seconds to take insult. "She's twenty years old, and without ample, eligible young men to sort through, it would make it much more difficult to establish a match."

"For goodness sake, you speak of her as an old maid!" Her father's voice rose, she noticed, more clipped. Such a falling-out was not the way she had wanted to start the process of journeying home.

"It can't be helped, old boy," Governor Harper said. "There are few women there anyway and that sort of area attracts, well, men not quite right for marrying the daughters of governors." He held his hand up. "I have two of my own, you know. I understand the distress one can feel when it comes to their well-being. I couldn't handle governing such a place with them around. This would put your mind at ease and you could really focus on Port Royal affairs."

"You don't want to see her run off with some pirate, do you?" Mrs. Harper added. Elizabeth bit her lip.

"If you're implying..." Her father's back was to her, yet she could see his face reddening all too easily.

"I'm only implying that reading about them and romanticizing about them from a distance is one thing, but it's far likelier you'll see her in some pirate's arms than with a proper gentleman. Here, she can make an actual debut, meet people. Oh, please don't take it the wrong way, Governor Swann. We think the world of you and Elizabeth. That's why we're making this offer."

"As a matter of fact," Governor Swann said after a long pause. "My daughter is promised to someone."

Myself, she snorted.

"Well," he stammered. "She's not promised exactly yet, but the most unimpeachable, upstanding man I know has shown a keen interest in her. It should be very soon he'll ask me for her hand."

Elizabeth's hand flew to her mouth to keep from laughing at such a lie, but, chewing on her finger, she thought. Suddenly, years of going out and learning how to sail, playing chess, and strolling along the pier with James felt...tainted. She shivered.

"Who?"

"Soon-to-be Commodore James Norrington, the finest young man I've ever met. He's been practically part of the family ever since we'd arrived."

Yes, as an elder brother with a calm, dignified, sweet way about him, she wished to say, shaking her head. True, it took effort to crack his shell and stumble upon a dry wit and hints of a passionate nature, but to marry him? Shouldn't the idea of it have crossed her mind at least once in eight years? Did the very fact that it didn't make her the monster, or the potential union itself?

"While we're on the subject," her father continued. "Elizabeth knows a great many respectable people, and whatever she may lack in a social circle, she has more than made up for with her loyalty and her bravery. Staying in England would have been a curse for both of us after Catherine di—after what happened, and yet you decide the Caribbean has condemned her! I say it's made us who we are and it's high time we went back."

Tears welled up in her eyes. How could Father seal her fate and then praise as no one else ever had so quickly? Afraid of the drapes moving, she squeezed back out into the hallway and darted for the stairs, her slippers silent on the tiled floor. Reaching where the downstairs lamps couldn't, she crouched down again and waited.

"Weatherby, please. We, we didn't wish to offend." Governor Thomas hurried out into the foyer after her father. If they both chanced to peer into the darkness upstairs, they might see her. She held her breath. "We only wanted to help."

"I know, Tom, I know. It's just...the ideas you spoke of..."

"We would never want to upset you. Elizabeth is a fine young woman, and it's all because of you! We would never assume there was something wrong with her or that she lacked for character."

"Thank you."

"But may I be frank with you, Weatherby?" He neared him. "Marry that girl off quickly. Even sinners' eyes know a rare beauty when they see it."

"I thought you had said..."

"It's not just for Elizabeth I worry," he said, causing Elizabeth to raise an eyebrow. "She's a whirlwind of a woman. You know that. There always seems to be something smoldering in her. If you have any sympathy towards pirates at all..."

"What are you getting at, Tom?"

"Any pirate mad enough to love her would be consumed by her."

The two men's voices faded as they disappeared back into the sitting room and out of her line of sight, but Elizabeth remained on the step, trembling from what she had just heard.