Full Summary: When Jack has no choice but to pose as a Navy officer in order to get his precious Black Pearl fixed from a sea battle against another crew of pirates, he ends up finding help in one of the most unlikely of places.
Chapter Two
Nell watched him disappear, straightening out her skirts before turning around. She best be on her way. She had found out what the Admiral wanted to know, and there was nothing else for her to do in town. Katie, her sister, should have taken the Admiral his breakfast by now, and cleared away his tea. By the time she arrived back at the house, he should have finished that too, and would be going through any paperwork he had to do.
She started along the cobble street, following the route she knew well. Next to the carpenters' was the blacksmiths'; Nell often had to travel down there so the blacksmith could speak to the Admiral about possible new swords as supplies upon the ships. In addition to this, if you followed the street, you reached the marketplace, where she went every Thursday to buy food. The road was rough and bumpy, which caused you to feel sick if you traveled down in a horse and carriage, as the Admiral was often telling her to do, although he knew she prefered walking. It was a great humour between them.
So she followed the path, taking in her surroundings of small houses where people lived as the town began to awaken, the calls of gulls overhead and the gentle roar of the ocean as it hit the shore. Nell didn't regret her decision to travel to the Caribbean, apart from the heat. It was a wonderful place to live. She could understand why the Admiral would want to stay here.
She eventually made it to the servants' door of the house as the sun was halfway to noon. Gratefully, she stepped inside and grabbed a rag, dipping it in the cold water that was kept in a bucket and dabbed it on her forehead before replacing it and heading up to the balcony. As she had guessed, the Admiral was still there, gazing out across the town. Nell announced her presence with a knock and stepped forwards, standing modestly.
"I went down to the dockyard, like you said, sir," She began, and he nodded for her to continue. "The ship, it's called the Siren. The captain is Mr. Smith. The ship is in need of repairs, so they've stopped here."
Admiral Georges nodded.
"Very well. I trust that you will go down to the dockyard every day until they sail, to make sure the repairs are going well. Every ship in the Navy must be to perfection in order to protect His Majesty." He paused. "On some evenings I may ask you to go down once more; I would like to dine with Mr. Smith one day before he leaves."
"I'll go down this evening if you wish, sir. That will give you plenty of time to organise a dinner." She backed out of the room, closing the door behind her, and walked down to the kitchen, spotting her sister.
"Katie!" She exclaimed, rushing over. Her duties had been busy lately, and she hadn't seen her sister. They were twins, but Nell was the older. They quickly hugged and Nell watched what her sister was doing.
"If you're doing the washing up, I'll start preparing dinner. It's Tuesday; the Admiral will be wanting the duck. I best start plucking it." She quickly unhooked the body of a mallard from the strings hanging from the ceiling and set it down on the table, plucking out each and every feather. The feathers could be used to stuff cushions and pillows, so she set them in a pile in the middle of the table. Not every maid was lucky enough to have duck feather pillows, but Nell supposed that had to be a perk of working for the Admiral, after all.