Disclaimer: POTC does not belong to me. If you have not already figured that out then I can only say... duh!

Val closed her eyes and bit back a groan. She'd known that he would not react well to this bit of information which was one of the reasons that she'd resisted his advances as long as possible. Still he had no cause to shout at her and she told him so.

"No cause? No cause? I could have hurt you, you bloody wench!"

With as much dignity as she could muster considering what had just occurred, Val pulled the sheets around her and sat up. Adopting the calm tone that one takes with a hysterical child Val said, "But you didn't. There was hardly any pain at all. In fact I'm surprised you even noticed. I'd rather hoped you wouldn't."

Her calmness only served to infuriate him further. How could she sit there and pretend that things had not just drastically altered? He'd taken her virginity. He'd been the first man to sample the sweetness that lay between her legs. An almost debilitating surge of savage pleasure accompanied this last thought. Pushing it away for examination later, Jack asked what he thought the most obvious question, "Why? Why have you never been with a man until now?" Suddenly an explanation occurred to him, an explanation which he longed to believe in with an intensity that scared and appalled him. His voice betrayed his disgust at his own longing, "Were you saving yourself for me?"

All Val heard was the distaste in his tone. For a moment tears threatened, then she told herself to stop being such a ninny. She had never expected Jack to be anything but scornful about her virginal state. Still she had never imagined him actually being repulsed by the idea of her saving herself for him. Thankfully she had not done so and she could now take great pleasure in setting him straight. "Don't be more ridiculous than usual Jack. Of course I was not saving myself for you. Do you really think that I've been a lovesick besotted fool waiting hopefully for the return of the man who deserted me? Surely you can not think that little of me? Not that it is any business of yours but I have had my share of illicit liaisons."

Valentine's mocking nettled him. "Can't have been much to these liaisons of yours since you were a virgin til tonight." With each second Jack found himself growing angrier at the woman in front of him. "What'd you do Valentine, fob off the London dandies with a pretty kiss and a blush? Quite the little cock tease were you?"

She felt the blood drain from her face at his vicious words and she wanted to flee from the room. Then from deep within her fighting spirit once again reared its head, she would not turn tail and run. "You are an incredibly crass boor Jack Sparrow and unimaginative to boot," she murmured throatily.

Jack easily brushed off the first part of her insult but the charge of being unimaginative perplexed him and his confusion showed on his countenance.

Laughing because she could tell that she had wrong footed him, Valentine explained, "Oh come now Jack. Surely a man of your experience must know that there are other ways besides intercourse to bring a romantic encounter to a mutually satisfying end?"

Mystified by Valentine's now frankly seductive tone Jack took refuge in sarcasm, "I'm sure all your paramours found it most satisfying to have to pay good gold to seek release having been granted the opportunity to worship at your dainty feet."

Valentine slid out of the bed and took her time adjusting and winding the sheet around her. "I assure you Jack that no man ever left my bedchamber having to seek out a lady of the night for his release." Deliberately she dropped her gaze to his groin, parted her mouth slightly, and then used the tip of her tongue to moisten her lips.

Jack could feel his member spring back to life at her provocation. Immediately an image of her kneeling before him with her silky black hair brushing against his thighs as she took him in her mouth was emblazoned on his mind. His grew even harder. At the same time a long buried streak of prudishness battled to be heard. Amazingly the streak of prudishness temporarily won out. "You can not fool me luv. No gently bred woman would ever do that."

Valentine wanted to dance with joy at her eminent victory in this battle between them. She could tell that he was aroused by her words and suggestive actions. Now she would hurt him as he had just hurt her. "I never figured you for a puritan Jack. Gently bred women do all sorts of naughty things when they choose. Of course we do have to be extremely fond of the fellow. Maybe that's been your problem and why you've never been so fortunate. I guess you'll just have to continue to part with your gold if you desire such activities. You're good enough for a quick tumble but I'd doubt any lady could care enough for you to want to pleasure you so. "

The blow had been effective and it took him a moment to recover but then he gave as good as he got. "Well now we've established that you're willing to act the whore when it suits you I guess we just need to discuss your price."

"There isn't enough gold in the world Jack Sparrow. I told you that I freely give myself to those I care about."

Jack placed a hand to his heart and mocked, "I'm touched my luv. Truly I am. You've just given your virginity to me free of charge. You must care an awful lot for me."

"Will you stop harping on that!"

"Kinda difficult not to darling. So I ask again, were you saving yourself for me?"

"Stop being such a conceited ass. The answer is no, no, a thousand times no; I was not saving myself for you. If you must know, I simply painted myself into a corner and could find no way out." Her desire to fight drained away and left her feeling tired and bruised. She supposed that he did have some small right to an explanation. At his questioning look she elaborated, "Fine. If you must know I had told the story of my passionate but unfortunately brief marriage with Mr. Smith so many times that there was no viable way to explain why I was still a virgin. However, I soon found that a few tears over how I could never betray my husband's memory in such a manner followed by other services rendered led to both parties ending the evening well satisfied and nobody the wiser about my annoying little problem. "

In spite of the lingering feelings of anger and hurt Jack found her explanation unbelievably amusing. He burst out laughing and continued to do so for several minutes. Valentine's glare did not have any effect. When he sobered he asked, "Why didn't you just ask one of your beaus to assist you in the matter? Most men, not me of course, enjoy the sport of deflowering virgins." Jack just could not let the undeclared truce stand, "Personally I prefer a more seasoned woman."

Marveling at how quickly this man could reignite her ire, Valentine snapped, "Well most men are not like you Jack. How fortunate for womankind that that is the case. The men that I've chosen to dally with are all gentlemen to the bone. If any one of them had taken my virginity he would have felt compelled to marry me. I like the freedom that being a widow gives me and I have no desire to give that up."

"So you intend to go back to playing the grieving widow?"

Valentine considered his question. She really had not thought much about what she was going to do now that their secret had been disclosed. "I'm not certain. It depends on how much of the story gets back to England. I shall certainly not stay in Port Royal. Maybe I'll relocate to Venice. No one there will hear of all this nonsense and I can introduce myself however I wish. Italian men are so charming and with the technicalities out of the way I shall be able to enjoy myself even more."

Her cheeriness at the prospect of Italian men irritated him. "Our marriage is a technicality? I doubt Millicent would agree with that assessment. You've ruined my chance for happiness by announcing our marriage why shouldn't I do the same to you?"

"Stop playing innocent Jack. I did not put that man up to announcing our marriage and you very well know it. You must have been the one to speak to him although why is beyond me. If you'd gotten cold feet you should have just told Millicent. But then you always did take the cowardly way out of things, just like the way that you ran away after our impulsive wedding rather than face up to the mess we'd made of things."

"Get out. Get out of here Valentine before I strike you." Jack growled in a voice so sharp that it could have cut glass.

Realizing that she had crossed some sort of line but unwilling to appear weak Valentine sniffed disdainfully, "You would strike a lady Jack? I'd not thought even you would sink so low."

"Stay here a moment longer and you'll find how low I can sink. For all your fine words and airs you're no more a lady than I a gentleman. Me, I'll take an honest whore any day over the likes of you. At least they know how to act like a woman and please a man unlike you, you sharp tongued shrew."

Clutching the sheet around her, Valentine made as stately a retreat to the door as possible. When the safety of a quick exit was assured she delivered her parting shots, "By the way, the technicality that I referred to was my virginity Jack not our marriage. Thanks to you I no longer have to limit my activities with amours. I really do owe you my gratitude and I hate to impose but I have one more favor to request. Actually, it's just a bit of advice that I seek." Valentine paused a moment before fixing him with a contemptuous stare. Her hand on the doorknob and the door already half open she gave the coup de grace, "Since you're so conversant with the protocols of paying whores for sexual favors, I have a question to ask. Exactly how much should I leave on your nightstand to compensate you for your services tonight?" The sound of something hard and heavy hitting the just closed door echoed loudly as she hastily scurried back to her cabin.