Chapter Thirty

When Jack awoke the next morning, a steady stream of sunlight was already pouring through his window. He rolled over to get out of bed and was surprised to find Elizabeth sleeping soundly beside him. He was unsure of how to react at first, whether to wake her, or let her continue to slumber. He felt very uncomfortable knowing that she had slept in his bed. He remembered her telling him that she didn't want to go back to her room, but he thought she just wasn't tired. He had felt that surely she would sleep in her own room.

From the looks of it, she hadn't even accidentally fallen asleep there. She was under the sheets, her head resting comfortably on his extra pillow. Jack felt very disturbed watching her lying there. It wasn't as if the pirate had never fantasized about finding the blonde beauty in his bed before, but now that his best friend was dead, the thought somehow felt dirty and wrong.

Jack stared at Elizabeth for a moment before moving to get out of bed. As his weight shifted the mattress, she awoke. Rubbing her eyes, she blinked Jack into view.

"Good morning," she said softly.

"Good morning Elizabeth," Jack said, still feeling uncomfortable, but feeling slightly better as he pulled his vest on and wrapped his sash around him. "We need to have a little talk."

Elizabeth sat up in the bed, pushing her hair behind her and giving Jack what he was positive she must not have realized was a clear view of her perky cleavage. He crossed the room to sit beside her on the bed and realized his words were caught firmly in his throat.

"What is it Jack?" Elizabeth asked.

This was why he felt awkward knowing that she had slept in his bed. He had a very strong sexual attraction to her. But then who was he kidding, he thought, there was a strong sexual attraction to most girls for him when he found himself in a bed with them. Dark fantasies often lead to troubled waters Sparrow, he reminded himself. He forced his mind back to their present conversation, shaking his lustful thoughts loose as he raised his eyes to meet hers.

"What got into you last night?" he asked.

"What are you talking about Jack?"

"Was the rum from the tavern too much for ye? Did seeing me get into a fight upset you?" Jack asked.

"What?" she asked again, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"I've seen you drink much more and I know that you have to have been privy to an argument of that nature before. So I don't know what it was…but the whole conversation about wanting to join my crew, what brought that on?" he insisted.

Elizabeth was silent, her eyes dropping to her hands that rested in her lap.

"It's not going to work Elizabeth," he said, getting up to retrieve the deep maroon bandana he wore on his head. "There are too many problems, too many things that could go wrong."

Elizabeth didn't answer, but kept staring at her hands.

"You and I have both said that you don't belong on a pirate ship," Jack said.

"Then why did you keep asking me to sail away with you?" she asked, finally meeting his eyes.

Jack smiled uncomfortably. "Elizabeth," he started, "I think we both know that's not what those requests were about."

Elizabeth gave him a small smile.

"The truth is, you're not meant for a pirate's life Elizabeth. It's too dangerous for you. If something were to happen to you…"

"What is going to happen to me Jack?" she interrupted.

Jack sat down beside her on the bed again. Gently placing a hand on her shoulder, he tried to be as comforting as he knew how. "I'll get you a nice place, somewhere in the new colonies. You can have a good life."

Elizabeth shook her head, tears beginning to fall into her lap. Jack ran his fingers through her loose curls. "You've got to stop crying all the time and talk to me," he tried.

"I feel so lost," she whispered.

"I don't know what to tell you Elizabeth. I wish I had a better solution, but I don't. All I know is that a pirate ship is no home for you. It's dangerous…"

Elizabeth cut him off again, "I told you, I know how to use a sword."

"That doesn't mean you'll be safe. Anamaria is one of the best damn swordsmen I know and she still got…she was still…" Jack couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

A pause hung in the air.

"And it's not just that," Jack managed to continue, "if the Navy is to catch us at some point, we'll be hung. It is a very real consequence every pirate must face. If you willingly sail with us, it's a very real consequence that you must face as well. If we are to attack or be attacked by another group of pirates or simply a group of rowdy sailors and we are overtaken, they would love nothing more than to get their hands on a woman like you."

Elizabeth gave a slight shudder.

"You could be severely injured in simple everyday activities on board a ship. If a sailor joins us somewhere and takes a shine to you, I can't watch you every second of every day. You would be a weakness for our crew. You would be a weakness for me," Jack trailed off.

"Then why isn't Anamaria a weakness?" she asked.

"Anamaria chose the life of a pirate long before she met me. She's strong and capable. She knows what she's up against. I'm not responsible for Anamaria, but because of my relationship with William, I would be responsible for you."

"I see," Elizabeth said softly.

"I promised him you would be taken care of," Jack said.

"Then don't you want to see for yourself that I am?" she asked.

"Yes, and I plan to, but I can't watch you on a pirate ship like I would have to. If you are in a town, in a home, living a normal life, then I can know you are taken care of."

"And what if pirates attack the town I am living in?" Elizabeth proposed.

"Don't come up with ridiculous situations," Jack said.

"I don't know what you want from me," Elizabeth said, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"I don't want anything from you," Jack said. "I am keeping my promise to William. You will always be taken care of. I'm sorry if you don't see that I have your best interest at heart." He stood, crossing the room to pick up his hat. "Now come on. Get up and get dressed. I want to spend the next couple days on board The Pearl. I have a course to plot out."

Elizabeth pushed back the sheets and got out of the bed. For a brief instant, Jack was rewarded with a view of her lean pale calves all the way to her knees. How smooth and soft her legs must be, he thought.

"Be sure to grab all of your things from the room. I want to leave this place for now. We'll be spending our nights on board The Pearl."

Elizabeth nodded, leaving the room.

Jack picked up his sword and pistol and left the room as well, heading down the stairs to take care of the cost of the rooms he and Elizabeth had been occupying for the last few days. Once the rooms had been paid for, he went back upstairs to help Elizabeth with her things. She had changed clothes and was halfway out the door, but she was struggling under the weight of everything she carried.

"Here," Jack said, taking most of the boxes out of her hands, "let me get that for you."

The young widow and the pirate captain made an odd pair on the streets of Tortuga. To an onlooker watching only the two of them, it would appear as if the captain were completely in charge of the young lady, but when her belongings were added to the picture, burdening the captain, it became difficult to tell who was really in charge.

When they arrived back at the ship, Jack made his way directly to his cabin. "I still don't want you out of my sight for too long," he said, allowing Elizabeth to enter the room while he held the door for her. "You can spend your days in here with me. At night, you can use Anamaria's old cabin."

Jack crossed the room to open a rather small closet that Elizabeth had never noticed before. "I'll just leave your dresses in here for you. Although you probably won't be needing fancy things like this on the ship."

Jack settled for an apple to snack on while he got to work with his maps at his desk. Elizabeth took a bottle of rum from the cabinet and seated herself on his bed. She attempted to make conversation with the pirate, but he was deep into the plotting of his next attacks and treasure hunts and kept failing to respond. Eventually she grew bored and got up, walking over to Jack's desk. Setting the rum bottle down, she announced, "I'm going to explore the ship."

Jack looked up with a mild interest. "Alright, be careful and don't make me come looking for you."

"I'll be fine," she said.

"Very well," Jack agreed, taking a long sip of rum and then hunching over to study his maps again.

Elizabeth spent the rest of the afternoon exploring every nook and cranny of one of the world's greatest pirate ships ever known. Overall, it was a lot less interesting than she would have thought it to be. Jack's cabin was by far the most interesting place on the ship and she couldn't very well snoop through there. The powder room also held a deep fascination for her. The smell intrigued her and she enjoyed looking over the different types of weapons. As a lady on her father's ships, this room had always been strictly off limits to her. Now she wished she knew more about the weaponry contained inside.

As the sun began to sink, Elizabeth found herself back in Jack's cabin. He had lit several candles, but was still in deep concentration over his maps.

"Back already?" he asked, glancing up at her as she stood over his desk.

Elizabeth nodded, "I'm hungry."

"Hungry, eh?" Jack answered. He took one final glance at his map and then laid his quill pen down. "Well, I suppose we could go into town and get something to eat."

The trip back to Tortuga was a quiet one. Jack was still thinking about his maps and Elizabeth seemed deep in thought over something he wasn't quite sure about so he let her be.

Once in town, he picked a small place on the harbor to eat and requested a table for the two of them that would be somewhat private. When he had ordered their food, Elizabeth finally began to speak.

"What exactly are you plotting Jack?"

The pirate pretended not to hear her, "Did you enjoy your explorations today?"

"I did," she answered. "Don't ignore me Jack."

"We can't talk about it here," he lowered his voice, looking suspiciously around. "It's not important, just a small treasure hunt."

"If it's not important then why spend so much time planning it?" she asked.

Jack took a deep breath and a long drink of rum. "It's planning what comes before it that is taking me so long," he finally answered.

"Finding somewhere to take me."

Jack nodded, "I was thinking of a place called Charlestown. Are you familiar with it?"

"I've heard of it before," she replied.

"It's a fairly new town. It has a beautiful harbor and because it's so new, many of the people there would be starting over like yourself."

"I see," Elizabeth said.

"It wouldn't be like you were someone new dropped into an older community. No, this way you would fit right in. No one would question your background. I'll buy you a nice house. You can be a widow using your husband's money to start a new life for yourself. No one will even ask questions in a town like that."

Elizabeth nodded.

"I can give you enough money to become an acceptable part of high society."

"I don't know that I want to be a part of that lifestyle again Jack," she interrupted.

"Fine, you'll be able to be a part of whatever part of society you want."

Just then the brunette wench Jack had ordered their food from delivered their plates. "Jus' give me a shout if ye will be needin' anythin' else."

"Another round of rum," Jack said, shaking his mug.

The wench leaned over and picked up Jack's mug as well as Elizabeth's, flashing him with a nice view of her ample cleavage. Jack gave a small toothy smile as a token of his appreciation.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

"Please," the pirate's voice came out low and husky, "it's more than I get from you."

"Excuse me?" Elizabeth said, getting angry.

"I've been looking out for you since we arrived in Tortuga. How many women do you think have expressed an interest in ol' Jack with you constantly by my side?" he asked.

Elizabeth, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the way the conversation might be turning, dropped her eyes to her plate.

"You don't have to be ashamed, luv," Jack said, taking a bite of his food. "It's just that a man has needs and with you always near me, it's hard to find women willing to fill those needs. Are you going to eat at all?" the pirate asked, noticing Elizabeth was merely picking at her food. "I thought you said you were hungry."

"I guess I'm not so much after all," she answered softly.

"Well, whatever you decide not to eat, just pass it over here to me. We don't want it to go to waste, now do we?"

"Is that why you're so anxious to get rid of me Jack? Because I'm a burden to you? I'm a burden to your womanizing ways? A burden to the way you prefer to live your life?" her eyes flashed hot, meeting his.

Jack found himself slightly taken aback. "If that's how you want to see it Elizabeth, then fine. I'm not going to waste my time trying to change your mind. I already explained to you that you are a burden to both myself and my crew, but apparently you weren't paying attention because it wasn't in those ways. You are a burden because I have tried to see that you were properly cared for in ways you would be accustomed to."

Elizabeth instantly felt bad. She knew Jack had gone out of his way since he had picked her up to make sure she felt comfortable and for the most part she had shown little to no appreciation. "I'm sorry Jack."

"Finish your meal so we can go back to The Pearl," the captain said, unwilling at this point to entertain further conversation.

The pair ate the rest of their dinner in silence and when they were finished, began making their way out onto the streets. A few dark clouds had rolled over the sky, covering the moon and a light rain had picked up. The rowdy crowd that normally filled the streets had pushed it's way closer to the buildings in an effort to stay dry. Jack put his arm around Elizabeth and pulled her to him for her protection.

"Captain Jack Sparrow!"

If he had seen her before he heard the voice he would have done almost anything to avoid her, but it was too late now.

"Scarlet," he greeted.

"Well, I 'ad 'eard that you 'ad a new lady friend, but it's good to finally see 'er for myself."

Jack nodded.

Scarlet reached out a hand and touched Elizabeth's chin, turning her face one way, "She's a beauty," and then the other until the young girl managed to pull her head away, "and she's got a fire within."

Elizabeth scowled.

Scarlet tisked, "You should learn to take compliments better for your master. You don't want to shame him, now do you?"

"Jack is not…" Elizabeth managed to get out before Jack squeezed her shoulder so hard that she let out a small whimper.

Jack gave Scarlet a small smile, "I'm afraid this one is still in training."

"Ah," Scarlet said. "Well, at least with this one I can see why you haven't been in need of my business."

Jack refrained from the sarcastic smile that would have given away how ironic her comment had been.

"I can't say that I understood with that pirate wench you've been dragging around, but this one," Scarlet nodded in Elizabeth's direction, "this one, is definitely a step up. Once you've broken her in, I might be interested in hiring her for myself. Do you think her madam would be willing to let her go?"

"No, I don't believe this one will be for sale," Jack said.

Scarlet reached forward and squeezed Elizabeth's breast so unexpectedly that no one had the chance to stop her.

"A bit less firm than expected, but very nice none-the-less."

Elizabeth's jaw hung open.

"I'd offer a nice price for her. You see, the thing is, Captain Sparrow, I would do almost anything to get your business back. You were someone I had learned to count on."

"I see," Jack said. "Well, I can almost promise you that this one will never be up for sale to another madam. Now, if you'll excuse us, we really have somewhere we need to be."

Jack pulled Elizabeth even closer and began to squeeze past Scarlet.

"Captain Sparrow?"

"Yes," Jack answered, feeling her breath in his ear.

"You will let me know if you change your mind?"

"Indeed," he said, taking a step away.

"I've got some of your favorite mind numbing passion in stock for you as well. Takes those demons away in a flash."

Jack did not acknowledge her final remark, but made his way quickly out onto the street despite the rain.

"Are you ok?" he asked Elizabeth.

"I feel a bit awkward, but yes, I'm fine," she answered as they made their way towards the ship.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Not here, let's get back to the ship first," the pirate said, picking up their pace as he pulled her as close as possible.