Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own anything related to Pirates of the Caribbean. Well, except a Jack Sparrow poster, but that's pretty much it. Only original creations (characters, places, etc) are mine.
AN: Here's this week's chapter. Thanks so much for reading, and please don't forget to review!
Chapter 9: Another Day, Another Potential Bride:
We left port about three days after I'd brought Selene aboard the Pearl. Remarkably, Jack didn't find out about her until after we'd headed to sea, and when he did, he merely thought I'd somehow located her on one of my (short) escorted trips into town. The man probably thought I worked miracles, and I didn't have the heart to contradict him.
And since he didn't know of my sneaking off into town without his permission, I never received a lecture, which only made me more confident in my efforts. As soon as we all had a spare moment after castoff, I secretly hunkered down with Anna, Gibbs, Cotton, and Rannoch to plan our next venture for a potential bride.
"A pity you couldn't find more back there," Gibbs lamented. "One lass is hardly what I'd call a success."
"Well, I'm mostly looking for quality, Gibbs, over quantity," I joked with a smile. "Don't worry –over time, I'm sure others will be found."
"Not too much time, I hope," Marty put in. At Anna's suggestion, he'd been brought into our little 'conspiracy' of going out behind Jack's back. "I know that more than a few lads have been eyeing Miss Selene."
"Aye, she's a pretty little thing, no mistake," Rannoch muttered, crossing his very muscular arms. "She even mended my shirts for me."
"And they look a lot more decent than when you used to do it," Anna teased. We all laughed as Rannoch's cheeks turned pink.
"Well, all we can do now is wait," I said. "As soon as we get the chance, I'll head out to find a few other women to join Penny and Selene down below. Who wants to go with me this time? I think Anna deserves a rest from playing watchdog over me, don't you?"
Cotton shook his head, but Rannoch raised his hand, and to my surprise, so did Anna-Maria.
"You need another woman to keep an eye out for you, Evie," she said. "Besides, while I'm out with you, I get a chance to do some actual female shopping that I can't do with the men around. Lord knows they hate looking at womanly things, unless it's a bribe for their nighttime companion."
"We resent that," chorused the men, with Cotton's bird squawking its opinion.
I rolled my eyes. "Alright, besides Anna, who else wants to, or is able to, go with me?"
Gibbs raised his hand. "You know I'd hate to see anything happen to ye, Evie," he said.
Rannoch hesitated a moment, and I grinned broadly. "Ah, I see how it goes," I teased, catching him glancing towards what the crew now called the 'women's quarters.' "You fancy Selene."
I'd seen it on his face that first night we found her, and since then, the Irishman had been attentive to her, always making sure she was comfortable and well-fed. It was rather adorable, at least to me.
Rannoch, meanwhile, was turning a bright red that went straight up to his hairline, the color blending in with his flaming red locks. "Uh, well, I-"
I reached out and gently patted his arm. "It's alright. I'm glad at least one man is thinking of her as at least courtship worthy. Think how awful I'd have felt if I'd had to leave her in some strange port all by herself!"
Rannoch cleared his throat and smiled. "She's a sweet girl," he admitted, "But it might not go any further than a small courtship."
My inner matchmaker, however, declared otherwise. It was clear that an attachment was going to occur between the Irishman and the little dark-haired girl, and the only one fully aware of it was me.
Anna might suspect something, but the others would be clueless until Rannoch openly showed his affection for Selene –after that, no one would dare make a move on the girl.
"Well, it's back to work for us," I sighed. "We'll discuss this later, when we next make port."
Marty looked at me. "Have you thought about the kinds of tasks that Selene can do aboard? We can't have her lying about, not when everyone aboard has to earn their keep."
That was true. Penny now had the unofficial task of organizing and resupplying the galley, and she was good at it. She kept track of how much food was being used, and kept careful notes on what would be needed, and when. Honestly, the girl was invaluable in keeping track of things like that.
Rannoch cleared his throat, his cheeks still slightly pink from embarrassment. "Since she can sew fairly well, Selene can take charge of mending sails. I'm sure that Evie has more to worry about besides fixing torn canvas."
I nodded my agreement. "Alright, Selene can take the job of mending the torn sails. Now, I've got to help Cotton make lunch. I'll see the rest of you later."
Our confidence was boosted upwards when, a week later, we pulled into a tiny town on the edge of Florida. The locals were wary of us, but once they realized that we needed supplies, their attitudes became much warmer. As usual, Jack led a group of fellows into the nearest cluster of taverns, but this time he refused to leave me behind.
"You need to have some fun, Evie," he said, taking my arm as he headed for the gangplank. "Come join us for a meal you haven't prepared, and I'll get you a nice proper drink. Anna, stay here and keep an eye on my Pearl."
I looked to Anna for help, but she merely shrugged, a helpless expression on her face. Sighing, I had no choice but to let Jack escort me off the Pearl and into town.
Soon I was seated at a table made of dried, crumbling wood, with a tankard of exotic fruit juice in front of me. There was a large plate of sliced meat, hardboiled eggs, and cheese in the middle of the table, and all the men were wolfing it down as I tried not to look disgusted at their severe lack of table manners.
'Thank goodness I don't eat meals with them,' I thought, inwardly wincing. Anna and I usually ate in her cabin or mine, since Jack had long ceased inviting me to dine with him. 'Well, at least the fruit juice is good.'
"So, luv, it looks like you've found two promising women for my men," Jack said, leaning back in his chair. "Not bad, I should say."
"There would be more if you'd let me find them," I told him half-jokingly.
He sighed. "Now Evie, we've been through this. You aren't going to try and argue with me again, are you?"
Snorting, I took a drink from my tankard and decided to ignore him. A gentle hand on my arm caused me to look at him in surprise. There was actual concern in his eyes, and a bit of wariness as well.
"Evie," he whispered, keeping his voice down so the others couldn't hear. "Is this one of those instances where it'd be best to keep out of your way? You know, for certain…feminine reasons?"
I stared at him, not comprehending what he'd just asked. When it finally hit me, I couldn't help but chuckle softly. "No, it isn't that, Jack. I'm just angry that you won't let me do what you and your crew hired me to."
Holding up a hand to stop him from speaking, I continued. "I know that you're just trying to keep me safe, but at the rate I'm going, it'll be years before I find wives for those that want them. Can you at least trust me to go out on my own and do what a matchmaker has to for her clients?"
His heavily ringed hand gently squeezed my shoulder in an almost affectionate way. "Evie, it isn't that I don't trust you," Jack admitted, "It's other people that I have my doubts about. Now, just humor me a little longer, and I swear I will one day allow you the freedom you need in order to fulfill your side of our bargain, savvy?"
Not given a choice, I rolled my eyes and went back to my drink, secretly glad that I had another way of handling this.
After about an hour, all of the crewmen around me were thoroughly drunk, Jack included. As for me, I was bored out of my mind with watching the men at their betting and drinking games. I very much wished that Anna-Maria were with me, if only to keep me slightly amused, but she wasn't.
Then, just when I thought I'd lose my mind, Anna appeared. As she came up beside me, she threw an evil glare in Jack's direction, which he didn't notice due to his intoxication. Rolling her eyes, she took me gently by the arm and motioned for me to follow her.
"I'm taking Evie back to the Pearl, Captain," she said, just loud enough for him to hear her. He simply waved haphazardly at her before emptying his tankard of rum.
Both Anna and I rolled our eyes as we made our way out the door and into the street, but I held my breath until we were safely away from the tavern. After a few minutes, I was able to relax.
"Scared of the Captain?" Anna teased as she led me onto the Pearl.
I chuckled. "More like scared that he might come after us and drag me back to the dull, drunken atmosphere of the tavern."
She grinned and patted my shoulder in sympathy. "Why don't the two of us go join Penny and Selene down below? We can go searching for more girls tomorrow, while the Captain and the men are busy sleeping off their rum."
"Anna, you're a lifesaver," I happily sighed.
Female company was just what I needed, though it wasn't just us ladies who gathered. Marty and Rannoch had joined us, but that only made the night more fun. We all traded jests and stories, but the men didn't hesitate to tell a lot of off-color tales they'd heard or experienced during their days at sea. Food was passed around whenever we were hungry, and while Marty and Rannoch indulged in their rum, we ladies sipped at our fruit juice and water.
It was a rare treat for Penny, Selene, Anna and I to get together in a small group –our duties kept us busy, and whenever there was free time, I was usually too tired to do more than sleep. Also, I suspected that Penny and Selene spent quite a bit of time alone with two certain pirate men who admired them very much, so I decided to leave them be.
We had such fun that it was past midnight when we broke. I beat a hasty retreat to my cabin, and fell into bed, ready for an easy sleep.
A pity that Anna-Maria is an early riser…
"Anna, do we have to do this now?" I whined as she practically dragged me down the dusty street. "This is one of the few times I get to sleep late, and you know Jack won't be awake until after noon anyway. Can't we wait to find marriageable women until after he and the crew head to the taverns tonight?"
She threw a glare at me over her shoulder, then went back to business. "You know we can't risk it, Evie," she declared. "He might haul you off with him again, and then you'll never get anything done while we're here. Now, come on! Besides, we're also here to find some fun things to buy, since I know you haven't had much time to enjoy yourself when we're in port."
Groaning, I gave up and followed her, ignoring Rannoch's good-natured laughter as we walked.
The market was large for so small a Spanish port, and rather distracting as well. Thus far, I'd managed to avoid frivolous spending sprees at past stops by staying focused on what I needed, rather than what I wanted. It also helped that Jack gave me little money to spend, probably because he knew what a woman could spend once she was let loose in a strange, exotic market.
This time was different. Anna had managed to wheedle some extra money out of Jack by barging into his cabin while he was still hung over. In his eagerness to get rid of her, he pushed a small pouch into her palm and told her to "heave off" until later this afternoon, otherwise she'd be tossed in the brig.
Though I was reluctant to admit it, it was rather fun to be out-and-about. Anna found a stall that sold all kinds of men's gear, from shirts to belts, in a variety of colors, materials, and styles. There she insisted that I get at least one set of dress-up shirts and pants, as well as a few colorful cotton tops and undershirts to work in.
Since it seemed like a good idea, I bought a stack of clothing, and since I'd purchased so much, the stall-keeper, who was a round old Spanish woman, sold me a pair of soft boots at a discount. Further in the market, I found a few belts to go with my outfits, and indulged a bit by buying some beautifully carved wooden hair clips to hold my hair back.
But best of all was the amount of exotic fruits, vegetables, and dishes we sampled throughout the market. On most of my usual trips into a port's town center, I barely had enough time to taste one or two things between purchases, thanks to Jack's restrictive time limits. Today I was able to savor each bite I took, and even bought a few things to snack on back in my cabin.
Our purses a lot lighter, Anna and I headed back towards the Pearl with Rannoch standing watch at our back. We had just made it to the docks when I noticed the form of a woman hanging around the ship. The three of us stopped and warily eyed her as we made our way closer to the Pearl, wondering what she was doing here.
"I hope that she's not after any of the men for some reason," I muttered to Anna, who looked more than suspicious. "You know, in case they cheated her out of…something last night."
My friend looked amused for a moment, then turned serious. "Well, you never know what to expect from our boys. Should we ask what she wants?"
"I have a feeling we're about to find out anyway," I muttered as we approached the gangplank.
That was when the woman turned around, a determined look on her face. She was clearly Spanish, with ravishing black hair and flashing black eyes, as well as olive-toned skin. Dressed in a white blouse and brown skirt, she seemed about my age, but taller, with a slimmer womanly figure. There was also a determined air about her as she looked at me, Anna, and Rannoch.
"You work on this ship?" she demanded, huffing slightly as a breeze blew some of her hair into her face.
"Yes," I drawled carefully.
"Is there something we can help you with?" Anna demanded, her voice authoritative as she assumed her role of second mate. Since Jack was incapacitated (and Gibbs probably the same), she was technically in charge.
The woman seemed to sense that she was talking to someone of importance, and relaxed somewhat. "I wish to come aboard and work," she said, crossing her arms. "I want out of this port town, and I am willing to do most types of cooking or woman's work in order to pay for it."
I nearly dropped my purchases in surprise. "You want to go on a strange ship full of sailors?" I asked, surprised out of my wits.
The woman raised an eyebrow at me. "Why should that surprise you, as you obviously have made the same choice?"
"Well, I wouldn't call it a choice, exactly," I muttered, shifting my packages around in my arms.
Anna rolled her eyes at me before throwing a glare at the stranger. "What kind of skills do you have?" she asked, strictly business. "We've already got two cooks in the kitchen, a woman in charge of our supplies, and another who can mend canvas and clothes. What can you do?"
"Herbs," the woman said bluntly. "I can mix herbal remedies for colds, stomach ailments, headaches, and even for wounds. I can also prepare mixes of dried herbs to keep insects and rodents out of clothing and bedcovers."
"Handy," Rannoch muttered, though he still didn't appear to trust her.
Meanwhile, my mind was swirling with possibilities. If this girl worked out, she could end up married to a decent crewman from the Pearl –if not, she'd at least be able to keep the men vermin-free between now and the next port.
"We could give her a trial period aboard," I suggested, looking over at Anna-Maria. "If it doesn't work, we could just drop her off somewhere."
"As long as it isn't here, I do not care where you leave me," the woman said, dark eyes growing hard.
Anna sighed. "Alright. But before you come aboard, would you at least tell us your name and why you want to leave here, so that we'll be prepared for any 'surprises' that might crop up?"
"My name is Rosalinda Rodriguez, but you may call me Rosa," she declared, tossing her long hair imperiously over her shoulder. "And I am leaving because my fool of an uncle wants me to marry his bastard son, who is not only an idiot, but a fat, disgusting one at that. Now, may I fetch my things so that I can come aboard?"
"Fine, fine," Anna replied. "Be back here tonight, and we'll show you to a cabin."
Rosa merely nodded and left, her brown skirt swirling as she stalked off.
Rannoch whistled and shook his head. "I don't know about you, but I think she's going to cause trouble aboard."
Anna and I looked at each other and grinned. "I certainly hope so," I said as we headed off to put away our things.
With Rosa aboard, things were doubtlessly going to get interesting for someone!
AN: Review?