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Elizabeth Swann had thrown a tantrum in this night, on the one hand confirming Lieutenant Chandler's opinion of her, but on the other, he couldn't deny being touched by her genuine worry for the Challenger's sake. She had shouted at them to do something, to rush to the Challenger's support, and he would gladly have done so if he had only known how. Her father had been so shocked by the news that no useful suggestion could be expected from his side, only Captain Sparrow had kept calm. He was through with his mission, what else could or should he have done than inform the only English officers that he knew he could trust, and leave it to them how to handle their own black sheep, and Captain Black with his men? He and Mr. Gibbs left the confused gathering before dawn and intended to return to the Black Pearl, but they weren't out of the house yet – this time, they didn't have to balance on balustrades at least – when they were stopped by Elizabeth, breathless and out of herself.
"You can't just leave!" she cried pleadingly. "Jack! You've come here to warn the Commodore, and now you want to leave him to his fate?!"
"What else should I do, Missy? Your good Lieutenant Chandler is an apt sailor, and I bet he's a decent strategist as well. He will know what to do, and I have to leave! You may have forgotten, but your local hangman still has an open debt with me!"
"You've risked to come already, and this time my father wouldn't allow you to be punished! Don't give me this nonsense! You must do something!"
"And what would that be?"
"The Black Pearl is the fastest ship in the whole Caribbean! Find and inform the Commodore, the Falcon is too slow, they might not reach them in time!"
"The Falcon is like the Interceptor, Missy, it is fast enough! And your Commodore is a clever man, he knows to defend himself and his ship. Why on earth should I risk my neck to rush for somebody's aid who wants to see me dead, eh?"
"You've already risked your neck for him, you've saved him from that island and brought him here –"
"Yes, and I still don't know why I did it. My crew thinks I'm mad!"
Mr. Gibbs nodded knowingly, but Elizabeth glared at him. "Rubbish, Jack! You've saved him because you're a good man, and because you know very well that the Commodore is good, too! Don't leave him alone! You must not let him down now!"
"I haven't let him down, sweetheart! And what do you want anyway?!"
"Wait for a minute! Promise me to wait for a second," she urged him, running up the stairs again, "Wait!"
"What's her problem?" Mr. Gibbs asked nonplussed, and his Captain gave a laugh.
"What's her problem? That girl doesn't know what's good for her, that's her problem! It's dawning on dear Miss Swann that she might –"
"Here!" she cried from above, running back to them, waving with something, "Jack, you must give this to Anamaria, will you?"
"What's that?"
She presented him a golden chain with a small golden cross with five rubies. "Give her this!"
"It is very nice of you to give away your jewellery, Miss Swann, you happen to have some more things of gold that you'd like to dispose of?"
"She's nursed James," Elizabeth panted, "she's saved his life, Dr. Jennings said. Give her this and tell her that God will bless her for her goodness!"
"Hey, hey! So what do I get for my goodness? I've had an eye on this lovely golden statue in your father's –"
"Jack! I will reward you, go for the Challenger now and I will make my father give you whatever you want, you shall have just anything!"
"You may be sure, darling, I already have everything I want! I got the Pearl back, and being a pirate, I can take whatever else I may be in want of! I'm not like your Commodore, you can't tempt me to some suicide mission!"
Mr. Gibbs burst out laughing, "Yes, Miss, and marrying our Captain is out of the question!"
Elizabeth's cheeks turned deeply scarlet, even in the feeble light. Jack Sparrow grinned slyly. "Speaking of it, love – shall I congratulate you for getting engaged to young Mr. Turner? I'm still stunned that you resisted me, only to throw yourself into the arms of the puppy!"
She glared at him defiantly. "I would have resisted you and if you were the last man on earth, Jack! No woman who's right in her mind could ever do so much as think of attaching herself to you!"
He gazed at the necklace in his hand, grinning. "I didn't want you to attach yourself to me, darling! Besides, you're wrong, or you've just claimed Mrs. Jack Sparrow to be a lunatic!"
"Mrs. Jack Sparrow?! Whoever would marry you?!"
"Oh, the Lord will bless her!" He grinned triumphantly and let the necklace dangle before Elizabeth's nose.
"No! Anamaria?! What did you do, hit her on the head or something? The last time I've seen her, she was quite sensible still!"
"Nah, sweetheart, the last time you've seen her, she was already married to me for six years! At least I think so, I don't know how official a marriage is that was performed by a drunken, shipwrecked priest in Tortuga…"
Elizabeth goggled at him. "But Will told me about those – those – women in Tortuga –"
"There's a lot that you don't know, sweetheart, about life, or love, and knowing you to be as stubborn as an oak, it doesn't even make sense to explain it to you. I must have met a thousand women in my life, and some were worth a damn. There used to be a time when I had a bonny lass in almost every harbour in the whole Caribbean."
He shot Mr. Gibbs a conspicuous smile, and that one giggled. "One bonny lass per harbour? Remember the two harpies in San Fernando? When they understood that you had double-played on them? Jesus –"
Jack smirked with the memory of Carmenita and Juliet – fiery, the both of them! "There are girls that captivate a man's eyes, or spirits, one is pretty and sweet-tempered, one is clever and brave, I've deemed myself in love with any of them really. When Anamaria signed on the Hummingbird – that was my ship back then – I did not expect anything but a gifted sailor and a courageous fighter, though Mr. Gibbs here recommends by any rate to take no women aboard –"
"It's bad luck to have a woman aboard!" Mr. Gibbs said with emphasis.
"But luckily, I'm not superstitious. Anamaria and I fought a lot of battles side by side before I finally realised what a treasure was already on my ship. That all these lovely girls I had fancied were no patch on a real woman like her… Took me all of my persuading powers to make her accept me though!" He chuckled, "Now little Miss Swann, you are to marry the puppy, so you will never learn about the difference. And say hello for me to Will. How's he doing lately?"
"Fine," Elizabeth said testily, "He's doing fine, but never mind now! Jack, I beseech you – go after the Challenger, please!"
"Speaking of dear Anamaria, love – she'd kill me for suggesting it! And even if she didn't – the good Commodore would start the fire as soon as sighting us!"
"No, he wouldn't! He owes his life to you, and James –"
"James?"
"Jack, you've said yourself that a friend is invaluable, and as invaluable a friend as James is for me, you surely won't regret it either to help him once more! Name your prize and I'll pay it, I swear, but don't just sail away now! You mustn't doom him -!
"I'm not dooming him, darling. The Commodore is a lucky creature, and I'm sure that he'll be lucky with Black as well. Trust him to be a good fighter, I must know. Now leave me alone, I have to return to my own business again, be assured I give this to Anamaria, and good day to you!"
He dragged Gibbs away, unaffected by Elizabeth's pleas, vows and curses, who saw them disappear in the distance eventually. She was desperate. Chandler was still discussing with her father what was to do now, and certainly, the Falcon would set sails by noon at the latest. She was a fast ship, no doubt, but what if she wasn't fast enough? What if it was already too late? What if this Black had already ambushed the Challenger?
For some minutes, she had set all her hopes in Jack, she had truly meant she'd be able to convince him to help them. But of course, why should he? He didn't care for James, he might have some regard for him, but in the end, regard didn't matter in such a case. She couldn't even be angry with him, she had to be grateful that he had come to warn James in the first place, more couldn't be demanded from a guy like Jack.
But what now? Chandler had said that they should be around the Caymans, two weeks even for the Falcon, ten days for the Pearl maybe… Lord, if she thought of this Black, it turned around her stomach. To fear that they could be captured by that man, what he'd do with them – it took her breath. Did Black know they were after him? Did he lurk somewhere, waiting for them, luring them into some ambush? How could she have deceived herself like that in Captain Filister? Half of her was still screaming denial, it couldn't be because it must not be! The good-humoured, easy-going Captain – a traitor, a greedy villain? She remembered their conversations, how pleasant they had always been, but also that she had been strangely dissatisfied with him, at other times. When he had spoken of the Fortuna – hadn't she thought that it was improper to be so unceremonious about losing his ship? Hadn't she felt irritated by his obvious lack of true grief after his cousin's death? The obnoxious scoundrel!
She also felt severe stings of remorse for her eagerness to bring him together with Henrietta – what sort of suitor had she picked there for her friend?! Being her clever self, Henrietta hadn't been interested in Filister at all, thanks to her cool temper that wasn't easily incensed, if it could be incensed at all. Poor Hen would feel just as bad about the Challenger's dire situation once she heard of it, for cool or not, she must know what it meant. Perhaps she didn't deserve James, all right, perhaps she didn't love him like she should, sure – but she had to be worried nevertheless! Something had to be done, and she returned to Chandler and her father to make them hurry up. But the Lieutenant came down just now, his face twisted and worn-out, and Elizabeth stormed at him. "Please Sir, you must rush to their aid –"
"What exactly do you think am I contemplating, Miss Swann? Of course we will make haste and try to help them! We'll do everything that is in our power!"
"Lieutenant Chandler, I know that James has no truer friend than you, I know and God will bless you for it! Make sure he comes back safe! I beg you, do more than what's in your power!"
He looked at her in amazement, "May the Lord bless you for your concern, Miss! And be reassured that I will do just anything I can!"
He left and headed down for the fort to arrange the soon departure of the Falcon; it would be ready to leave by noon approximately, which left him some more time. He didn't wrestle with his wishes this time, but walked straight to the Van Dykes. Miss Van Dyke had been in the know about so much already, she deserved to learn about the rest as well. Maybe he wasn't to see her ever again, maybe it was too late for rescuing the Challenger anyway, and the Commodore was already… – No! He didn't allow himself to do so much as think of this possibility. Miss Van Dyke was surprised about such an early visitor and asked him to follow her to the parlour. In short and plain words, he reported about Captain Sparrow's unexpected appearance and the information he had conveyed, finishing, "Don't be afraid, Miss, we will set out for their help immediately. The Falcon is preparing to leave as soon as we can!"
She was very pale and whispered, "Yes, I suppose that's good… Oh Lord!"
"I hope you allow me to express my admiration of your impressive foresight, Miss Van Dyke. You were right all along with all your conclusions."
A smile flew over her face like a shadow. "I would thank you at once if I believed to deserve such compliment, Lieutenant! But I merely guessed, rather than concluded, and to think anybody capable of such vile deeds is most certainly no compliment to my own wicked imagination! Not for a minute though, I suspected Captain Filister, or thought this infamous pirate to be among the living still, and this being the crucial parts of Mr. Sparrow's disclosure, I cannot claim to have possessed any true insight at all!"
"Your modesty is very amiable, Miss Van Dyke, though you needn't, you mustn't underrate your own cleverness!"
"Oh, you make it hard for me, Sir! Shall I decide which is the more valuable quality, modesty or cleverness? I ought to pick virtue at once and declare that I'm not very clever, inducing you to state the opposite and make me blush both with the compliment, and my own guilty conscience for being not very truthful to begin with. No, Lieutenant, I suppose I better stay on the side of truth and acknowledge therefore that I'm far more clever than modest, but cleverness is neither a virtue in many cases, nor a blessing, and most certainly, it is the safest way to sink a woman in society's regard!"
"What a shame for society then! Although it wasn't my intention at all to make you choose between them, I shall tell you nevertheless that I'm glad you've chosen truth over virtue. It suits you very well!"
"So let me say one more thing considering my possible foresight, which may turn out to be clever, or simply wrong – you've said you were still wondering how Captain Filister could keep in contact with those pirates, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have, this was the only thing that even Captain Sparrow had no clue of!"
"And how should he, I don't think he's ever encountered the Captain. But I have, and recollecting something he told me once, I might be able to bring some light into this mystery – do you remember the Fortuna's mascot? He spoke of it very proudly, claiming that they had tamed the albatross. I mocked him then, but I've seen this creature several times. It is tame, and more than only once I spotted something like small notes attached to its claws. I didn't pay attention then, only thinking to myself that I had done injustice to the Captain for not believing him, but I suppose I understand it now!"
He gaped at her, overwhelmed with his admiration for the pretty, smart lady. She was surely right; he had seen the bird in passing once, too, but had forgotten about it instantly. They talked some more before he had to part, and on the threshold, she stretched out her hand to him. "Lieutenant Chandler, I will pray for you and your safe return with the Commodore. I wish there was more that I could do!"
He took the hand and bowed, kissing her fingertips and trembled inwardly. "I shall return with the Commodore or not at all, Miss, I promise!"
"That's dreadful, Sir!" she cried and blushed. "If there's nothing that you can do for the Commodore, you have to come back at once and stand in for him! Don't say you wouldn't return!"
He turned away and left, and likewise did Elizabeth Swann, sneaking out of her father's house. She had no reason for stealth, but tried to be as silent as possible still. Her father had urged her to go to bed after that eventful night, but she could impossibly find rest, so now she walked down to the town. Lately, she had become a regular churchgoer, though she seldom attended the actual services. Instead, like now, she fell to her knees before the altar, and began to pray.
More than two hundred souls, some of them children still, were sailing on the Challenger in this very moment – if the wretched pirate fleet hadn't assaulted them yet. Oh Lord, those poor, poor sods! Not knowing who was waiting for them… And among them, James, the best among any given lot of men. She prayed to god that his famous prowess would save the day; he knew after all that he'd have to take down three ships at once. But he didn't know that they were already waiting for him, and James was too decent a man to be capable imagining just how bad that Captain Black could be –
"He is an officer of the Royal Navy, Miss Swann, trust the Commodore to be very capable to imagine every vile deed. He's seen enough of them."
Elizabeth gave a start, for a second, she thought her mind was playing a trick on her, but it was only Reverend Martin. She goggled at him, and he gave her a benign smile. "Don't be surprised, Madam – you spoke your prayers out loud –"
"Did I?"
"Yes, you did, but be not alarmed. I didn't mean to eavesdrop – our conversations with the Lord are a very private matter, and I only heard your last words. Actually… I must say I am pleasantly surprised to see you so often in this church, recently."
She was embarrassed, she couldn't say why. "Well – so many souls in danger – I thought I better pray for them – I…"
"That is very good of you, Miss. I'm sure the Lord will take delight in your eagerness."
"I doubt it, Reverend… I was – I acted very badly, and I – I don't think He – thinks very kindly of me…"
"Our Lord is almighty and merciful, Miss Swann. And allow me the assumption that you cannot have done anything so very bad."
But she had! Without thinking about it, Elizabeth 'confessed', explaining to the friendly parson why it was going to be all her fault, if the Challenger was sunk, if all those souls were to drown, or worse still, and why no one but she was to blame if James did not return home. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but the Reverend listened in perfect silence, until she couldn't go on, because she was sobbing too hard to speak.
"Miss Swann," he murmured at last, pulled her up and steered her over to a bench to sit down. "Calm yourself. You know as well as the next man how good a sailor our Commodore is. And it is not your mistake that it is his job to pursue pirates. Sooner or later, he would have heard of this Mr Black, and he would have set out to hunt him down. It got little, or nothing, to do with you. What I understand though is that your mind is very badly stirred up, while your soul longs for atonement. I believe I can help you with both."
"Can you?" Elizabeth cried hopefully, despite herself. She didn't think the Reverend could help her; she didn't need a sermon now.
"Yes, I believe I can. Come with me, Miss Swann. Certainly, the Lord is pleased with your prayers, but there is but little good in crying your eyes out in the church, when you could be of so much more use for Him elsewhere. Let me help you to put your mind at ease by employing it usefully."
She had no idea what he might be talking about, but followed him nevertheless, grateful for his kindness and sympathy. He tugged her arm underneath his own and lead her out of the chapel, into the bright sunshine, and curiously, towards the fort, which was just now humming with busy preparations. But he didn't go all the way; instead, he stopped before the small hospital adjoining the fortress.
"Help yourself by helping me, Miss Swann," the parson said brightly and pushed open the door. "There is a lot to do. You can distract yourself from your gloomy premonitions, and in the same moment do something that our Lord will thoroughly approve of!"
He was right. At first, Elizabeth was still hesitant, but she soon forgot her doubts, surrounded by so much more tangible misery. The Reverend pointed out a number of patients who had nobody to visit them, either because they didn't have any family, or because their loved ones had to work. She sat next to the beds of a very old, frail lady – Mrs Parks – and listened to her quiet complaints; she nursed two soldiers suffering from chicken pox. She sat with a fisherman who had lost an eye in an accident, and a young woman who had lost her baby in child-bed. There was no room in this hospital to be complacent about her own grief, Reverend Martin had been right, and before she knew what she was doing, she helped the two tired nurses to hand out lunch.
This was when Sarah found her; poor Governor Swann had discovered that his child was missing, and had sent out a whole party to search her. Reverend Martin walked her to the entrance. "And, Miss Swann? Where will we two meet again? In the church, or here?"
"I'll return, Sir. I promise."