Elizabeth woke and was alone. Of course he hadn't stayed. Keeping up pretenses and the like. Was it bad of her to be disappointed?
Ten minutes later she had pulled her breeches back on followed by a shirt and vest. At least she had stopped having visions of Will slowly drowning and crying out for her.
When she came above deck the sun was high on the horizon. It probably wasn't even noon yet.
"Miss Swann!," Gibbs' voice rang loudly across the deck. Elizabeth spun to face him.
"How are you m'lady?," he asked, genuine concern in his voice.
"I-I'm fine," she started. "I'm just...confused...what is the heading?"
"Didn't Jack tell you? Tortuga!" he told her, his eyes glinting.
Tortuga. Why hadn't he mentioned it? Angered, she walked the long length of the lower deck to walk up the stairs to the captain's deck. Yes, exactly what Jack Sparrow needed, she thought bitterly. All the rum in christendom.
As she approached the top step she noticed Jack was hunched over a small table with Pintel at the helm. He was eyeing a large map, tattered at the edges.
Startled by Pintel's presence, she spoke, "G-Good morning Mr. Pintel."
He tipped his head in her direction.
"Captain Sparrow," she spoke, putting a little too much emphasis on the 'Captain' portion of it.
Jack glanced up in her direction, muttered something and went back to his map. Incensed by this, she let out an exasperated sigh and strode to his side.
"Mister Gibbs informs me we are heading to Tortuga?"
Jack responded but didn't look up. "Aye."
Elizabeth bit her lip and glanced at the endless expanse of ocean. "And at what point was that information to become public knowledge, Captain Sparrow."
He looked up at her, obviously irritated. Truth be told he was having trouble reading the bloody map. He was sure there were rough bottoms in this part of the sea and was trying to make sure they didn't end up tearing out the ships bottom in shallow waters.
"Miss Swann, normally the Captain aboard the ship makes all the decisions and the crew are merely along for support." Then he looked her square in the eyes and said, "Savvy?"
Her eyes betrayed hurt he thought he saw for a moment, but that was quickly replaced with contempt.
"Savvy," she replied, turning on her heel her hair flying out behind her.
Tortuga. Lovely. She thought about all the men drinking ale and consorting with prostitutes. Absolutely wonderful.
Jack felt bad. Maybe he had overdone it. He didn't want any of the men to catch on to what was happening between he and Elizabeth. He wanted to preserve her modesty. He had been short with her on purpose. He loved her. He did. But should she someday choose another he wanted her to be free to do it with her ladylike modesty intact. He let out a long breath and gave the next order.
"All hands make ready!"