Chapter 11

A/N: Okay so I decided against bumping this to M since this will not get too explicit. Thank you to all my readers and I hope you continue to enjoy this. I am really enjoying writing it now!

Everything thing seemed to settle down quite a bit after the wedding. There had not been anymore incidents like the one on their wedding night thankfully. Elizabeth definitely believed that it was the alcohol that made Beckett act that way. Since then she noticed he did not drink much. She did not get to see him much either; he always seemed to be busy with whatever his job actually entailed. She noticed that he never really talked much about work.

Still she had a difficult time forgiving him for hurting her. She knew that she should just be over it by now but it was not easy. He treated her kindly ever since. He obviously was upset about it considering he broke his knuckles from punching that fountain. Not the smartest thing she has seen him do that was for sure. She noticed that he seemed to have a difficult time controlling his emotions. A few times she witnessed him be unnecessarily harsh to the servants. Elizabeth never witnessed her father be cruel to the servants; in fact he was extremely kind to them. Living with Beckett was a bit of an adjustment from her father's house hold.

She had been sitting in the bedroom combing her golden brown hair when there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she called. Elizabeth turned around to see her new found friend, Regina standing there.

"You have a visitor, Milady," Regina said gently.

"Oh? Who is it?" Elizabeth asked curiously. She had not been expecting anyone.

"He said his name was Theodore," Regina said. Theodore? The only Theodore Elizabeth knew was Lieutenant Groves but it could not be him. He had been on The Dauntless with James. "Would you like for me to tell him you are busy?" Regina offered.

"Oh…um…no! I will be right down," Elizabeth said. Regina bowed and left the room. Elizabeth felt like butterflies were let loose in her stomach. Her heart pounded in her chest. "There is no way that is Lieutenant Groves. Stop being daft Elizabeth," Elizabeth thought to herself. She took in a breath and composed herself before making her way downstairs. She could not control her stomach from tightening up in anticipation. She knew that she was being ridiculous. As soon as she took the last step down the stairs a familiar voice spoke.

"Ms. Swann…I mean Lady Beckett, it's good to see you," the voice said. Elizabeth looked up and gasped. Lieutenant Groves stood before her.

"Lieutenant…oh my god…how…how are you here right now? I am dreaming? I must be dreaming!" Elizabeth said as she approached him.

"You are not dreaming, I am here," Groves said gently. Elizabeth was in a state of shock but quickly recovered and pulled him into a friendly hug. She pulled away and took in his ragged appearance. His usually clean shaven face was scruffy and he did not have a wig on. Instead he had longish brown hair tied back into a messy ponytail. "Is there somewhere private we could go to talk?"

"Yes of course! The garden should be fine, follow me," Elizabeth began to walk toward the back entrance. "How are you alive? Lord Beckett told me that a hurricane destroyed The Dauntless and that there were not any survivors," Elizabeth asked as she pushed open the door.

"I am sure he did…" Groves said bitterly. Elizabeth definitely noticed the disdain in his voice.

"The fountain over there has a bench we may sit on," Elizabeth said as she lead the way and sat down. She patted the space next to her for Groves to sit down. He obliged and sat down and rested his elbows on his knees and had his fingers laced together.

"Is James alive?" Elizabeth blurted out suddenly. She could not help but wonder and hope that he was. Groves looked up at her and grinned and nodded. "Oh my god…" Elizabeth said breathlessly. She was overcome with an intense happiness. Tears suddenly fell down her cheeks as she took in the information. James was alive. She could not believe this; she had to be dreaming she was sure of it! "Is he alright? Where is he? Can I see him? When will I see him…" she fired off all these questions but Groves interrupted.

"Calm down," Groves said and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "He is doing alright considering the situation."

"Situation? What situation? Is he here in Port Royal?" Elizabeth said.

"Is Beckett around?" Groves asked suddenly.

"Not to my knowledge. He has been busy with work, I hardly see him," Elizabeth said.

"Ms. Swann I need to tell you something, alright? You most likely will not like to hear what I have to say but you need to know," Groves said. Elizabeth simply nodded and looked at him intently. What could he say that was going to be so horrible? Her stomach tightened up again in anxiety. She noticed that he did not call her by her new name. "Beckett, he…well…" Groves paused momentarily. "He has lied to you, Ms. Swann."

'Lied? What is he on about?' Elizabeth thought to herself.

"A hurricane did not destroy The Dauntless. I regret to inform you that your new husband is the one that destroyed us," Groves said the word 'husband' like it was a foul word. "He attacked us with his ship and another. We didn't stand a chance." Elizabeth just stared blankly at Groves. Did she hear him right? She felt utterly confused but then it was quickly replaced with a silent rage.

"Excuse me?" was all she could manage to get out. Her breathing was becoming heavy and she felt her face get hot. There was no way Beckett would have done such a horrible thing.

"Ms. Swann…Elizabeth, we have known each other for years and I like to think of you as friend of mine. I have never lied to you once and I am not lying now. Norrington will tell you the same as I have told you. We are in hiding Elizabeth. Beckett will want us dead if he learns that we are alive," Groves said.

Elizabeth was in a state of complete shock. She did not want to believe what he was saying but she knew he would never lie about something like this. In fact he would never lie about anything; Groves was the most honest person she knew. Cutler…why would he do something so heinous? She felt sick to her stomach and stood suddenly and went to a bush and emptied the contents of her stomach. This was too much for her to handle. This had to be a dream, it just had to be!

"Please tell me this isn't real! Cutler…he would never do something so horrible!" Elizabeth was crying now.

"I'm sorry Elizabeth but this is very real," Groves said solemnly.

"Where is James?" Elizabeth composed herself enough to say.

"He is hiding but will see you soon. I need to go Elizabeth before Beckett gets back and recognizes me. We will talk soon alright?" Groves said and stood up. Elizabeth nodded and went to Groves and hugged him tightly.

"Take care," she said quietly. "Tell James I miss him."

Groves nodded and gently pulled away from Elizabeth and started to walk away but stopped suddenly. She watched him curiously as he walked back to her and was pulling something out of his pocket.

"James said he wanted to return this to you," Groves held out her pink handkerchief that she had given to James the day he left. Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks as she reached and grabbed it. This confirmed that James really was alive.

The pair had no idea that they were being watched the entire time by a very familiar and sneaky assistant of Beckett's.