Chapter 4

"So I heard something about you yesterday."

Will looked up and saw Elizabeth standing in front of him, smiling like she knew something embarrassing .

"Is that so? Who from?"

"Jack Sparrow."

Will attributed the smile to the fact that she did know something embarrassing.

"Oh…"

"Jack informed me – and everyone else – that you went to the Pearl the other day and told him that you had 'met the girl you're going to marry.'"

Will shifted guiltily. "Um."

Elizabeth was grinning. "You must really like this girl."

"Umm…" Will shuffled his feet nervously behind the counter, scuffing his shoes on the floor. "See, the thing about Jack is that you can't believe everything that he – "

"His girlfriend was there, too. Anamaria, I think? I asked her about it. She said it was true." Elizabeth had never seen anyone turn so red so fast.

"See, she's been dating Jack for a really long time. You probably can't believe anything she says either – "

"I heard her tell some people the mystery woman's name. It was Elizabeth."

Will stared at her rather guiltily for a moment, unable to come up with any more excuses. "Yeah, all right… I give up."

Elizabeth leaned somewhat flirtatiously against the counter. "Are you telling people that you want to marry me, Mr. Turner?"

"Uh… not in those words, exactly…"

"I think we should at least go out for coffee first, don't you?" Elizabeth suggested, smiling.

It took Will a moment to realize that she was asking him out.

"C-coffee…?"

Elizabeth took a few seconds to reflect on just how adorable he was when he was nervous.

He swallowed hard, seemed to finally remember how to form a proper sentence. "I don't actually drink coffee. But I can do dinner on Saturday."

Elizabeth's smile was nearly enough to make him lightheaded. "Dinner sounds good. Tell you what…" She took one of his business cards off the counter and wrote something on the back of it. "Here's my number. You can decide where you want to go. Just call me with a time and place."

Will took the card, hoping she couldn't see how much his hands were sweating. He glanced at the number on the back. She had nice handwriting.

"Will."

He looked up, saw that she was standing by the door.

She smiled again. "See you on Saturday."

"Yeah, see you…"

She stepped outside, and the door swung shut behind her. Immediately, Will sank into a chair, letting out a breath that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding. It was no wonder he was so lightheaded. He couldn't help wondering vaguely if he would even be able to survive an entire date with Elizabeth Swann.

"Are you doing anything this Saturday, Elizabeth?"

She glanced up from her book, saw James Norrington standing in the doorway of the sunroom.

"Yes, actually. I'm going out."

"Oh." He sounded mildly surprised. "Out where?"

Elizabeth felt a twinge of annoyance. "Out for dinner. With a date."

James looked startled. "A date?"

"Yes, a date. You're not my boyfriend, James, despite what my father seems to believe."

Now he looked just as irritated as she felt. "A date with whom?"

"Do you really need to know that?"

"I'm just curious."

"His name is Will Turner."

"What does he do?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Really, James? People are more than where they work, you know."

He shrugged. "Still just curious."

Elizabeth looked away from him, turning back to her book. "If you must know, he's a blacksmith."

"A what?"

She glared at him. "A blacksmith. Is that a problem?" She had a suspicion that he was struggling not to laugh.

"No," he said finally. "Not at all." He turned to leave, a faint smirk just noticeable on his face. "Have a nice date. With your blacksmith."

Elizabeth watched him go, frowning. She knew he wasn't a bad person, not really. He tended to place a little too much value on people's careers and how much money they made, perhaps, but once you got to know him, he was really quite nice.

Elizabeth, quite simply, was not interested in him. At all. She knew full well that her father had been hoping to pair them up for the last few years, but try as she might, she simply could not bring herself to fancy James Norrington.

"I heard you have a date on Saturday."

The familiar feeling of annoyance returned. "I suppose I can guess who told you that."

Elizabeth's father came into the room, sat down on a chair nearby. "James merely mentioned that you had turned him down because you've been… previously engaged."

Elizabeth didn't even look up from her book. "That's right."

"Elizabeth."

She finally looked up at him, wondering why he sounded almost worried.

"James tells me that the man is a blacksmith."

"Yes."

"How, may I ask, is it possible for one to support oneself in that profession in the twenty-first century?"

Elizabeth turned back to her book, carefully keeping her voice neutral. "He makes swords. Other things, too, but mostly swords. They're very impressive. He's quite talented."

"Is he."

"Mm-hm."

"Elizabeth – "

She looked up at him again, her eyes flashing angrily. "Do not try to tell me that you don't want me to go out with him. I am twenty-three years old, and I can date whomever I choose."

"I merely feel that James is perhaps more suitable – "

"Father," Elizabeth interrupted. "Stop. I am going to dinner with William Turner, and that's final."

When Will finally found the courage to set foot in the Pearl, he was hoping that he would, at the very least, get Jack to apologize for telling everyone and their brother about the words that he was now wishing had never come out of his mouth. At best, maybe he could convince Jack to tell everyone that it wasn't true. Unlikely. Luckily, the place was empty when he arrived.

"Hey, Jack..."

"'ey, mate. You doin' anything' tomorrow?"

"Yeah, in the evening. Why?"

"We need another man fer our football team. Game's at one. You in?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah, sure. But look, I need to talk to you about – "

"Wait jus' one minute," Jack interrupted. "Wha' d'ya mean yer busy in th' evenin'?"

"I'm allowed to be busy."

"No yer bloody well not!" Jack laughed. "When yer not workin', yer never busy, an' I know you don' work in th' evenings."

"All right, fine... I have a – a date."

Jack stared. "A date? You?" A huge grin spread across his face. "It's tha' girl, innit? Th' one yer gonna marry."

Will did his best to ignore the jibe. "Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Did you really have to tell everyone – "

"Yes."

"Why?"

"'cause it's th' stupidest thing you've ever said, mate."

"I hate you, Jack."

"Love you too, kid. So where're you takin' this girl?"

"That's none of your business."

"I'm hurt."

Will got up to leave. "Goodbye, Jack. See you tomorrow at one."

"Don' ferget!" Jack called after him.

Will could hear him laughing.

Sincerest apologies to Norrington fans. But in my defense, I did say that he's not a bad person. Please don't hate me! And in other news... you would not believe how long it take me to figure out how to spell 'flirtatiously.'