Maggie the housemaid met him at the door. "Oh, Master Jack," she greeted. "The ladies 're waitin' on you in the sitting room, and yer feyther wished to know as soon as ye arrived."
"Well, best you go and tell him then, Maggie, m'dear," Jack said. "I'll somehow manage to find the ladies meself. I'm awfully good at finding ladies, ye know."
Maggie tittered and scurried off, and Jack made his way to the sitting room and went in quietly.
Elizabeth and Agatha were sitting there together, talking and playing with Jacob. Elizabeth's hair was curled and coiffed; she was wearing a dress; and he'd bet there was even a corset under there. Jack raised his eyebrows and blinked at the sight, and shook his head as if he were hallucinating.
"And suddenly, it's four years ago," he remarked idly. Elizabeth once again looked like the Governor's daughter.
Both ladies jumped, startled. He had time for a quick smile-and-nod to Agatha before Elizabeth leaped at him. "Jack!" she cried, running to him. It seemed like she would throw herself into his arms, but at the last minute she stopped short and grabbed his hand instead.
"Hello, love," he said. Moved by the same impulse, they both leaned closer, exchanged a quick brush of lips on cheeks, followed by a smile. "You're looking rather square-rigged, darling. What's the occasion?
"I am," Agatha told him.
Elizabeth shrugged. "She told me as long as I was on land and not working, I should dress as a lady. I must admit, I was wondering if I'd forgotten how."
Jack grinned. "Always said you should wear a dress..." he said, purposely not finishing the quote in front of her dignified aunt. He could tell she remembered the "...or nothing" by the way she blushed pink and cleared her throat.
"You're looking very fine as well, Captain Sparrow," Agatha told him. "Come and sit down by me, won't you?"
"With pleasure, Auntie dear." Jack removed his hat and sat down next to Agatha, and with studied casualness he extended his arm along the back of the divan behind her. Agatha gave him a sharp look, but then smiled and let it go. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his flirting, and resumed her seat.
"Now then," he asked her, "Are you quite finished misbehaving, love?"
Elizabeth laughed, a little ruefully. "I certainly hope so."
"Good. Let's see what we can work out."
Elizabeth rang for Maggie to come and put the baby to bed, and sat down in her chair with a businesslike air.
As they started talking about various plans and options for finding Angelica and her ship, Jack industriously unfastened Agatha's necklace singlehandedly from behind. He took his time about it, while still actively participating in the conversation, putting out some ideas and shooting down others. Teague came in and joined them. He didn't say much, but his dark eyes darted around everywhere, not missing anything. He noticed right away what Jack was doing, but he merely dropped one eyelid in a wink at his boy and said nothing. He watched Jack's progress with interest.
None of the ideas were practical without having a lead on where El Gavilón could possibly be, and Jack was getting frustrated. He interrupted his own sentence to reach over with his other hand and touch Agatha's earring, setting it swinging.
"Oh, those are nice, Auntie," he said, using the distraction to remove the necklace from her neck completely. "Fancy giving up one of those, dear?"
Agatha squeaked and grabbed for the earring—which was still in her ear—and said, "Don't you dare, you rascal!"
Jack laughed. "Pirate!" he informed her, surreptitiously dropping the necklace into his pocket.
"Tell me something I don't know!" she said acidly. "At least I caught you before you took it!"
Teague, across the room, quickly turned his laugh into a cough. "What, er, what were you saying, Jacky?"
"Just that I think we're going about this wrong. We already know Angelica wants to kill me, and we know she tried very hard to kill Elizabeth and Jake as well. Instead of us trying to chase her down all over the Caribbean, why not just let it be known where we are, and wait for her to come to us?"
"We could prepare a little surprise for her," Teague offered.
Jack nodded. "Precisely."
"Ambush, you mean?" Elizabeth asked.
Teague said, "Aye. Shipwreck's a good spot for one, ye see. She sails in, she gets surrounded."
"By whom?" Elizabeth asked sarcastically. "By pirates who just love to cooperate and defend each other?"
Jack grimaced and looked at his father. "She's got a point."
Teague conceded it, but added, "Well, we do have a few ships at our disposal."
"True," Jack said, thinking of his sack full of ships-in-bottles that Gibbs had stolen from Blackbeard. Crewing them all would be a challenge, though. Thinking of Blackbeard made him think of Will, and then he smiled. If he played it right, they might even have the Dutchman at their disposal. He blinked and came back to himself as Agatha stood up. He rose as well.
"Well, it's getting late, my dears. I'm for my bed, but I'd like a word with you first, Jack, if you don't mind."
"I'm at your service, Auntie," he gallantly assured her, making for the door and holding it open for her.
Out in the hallway, she beckoned him away from the sitting room so they wouldn't be overheard.
"I've been thinking," she said, "About Elizabeth's husband. Or, non-husband, as I suppose it is. You say he's a friend of yours, and a good man. Do you think you could possibly arrange a meeting for us? Without Elizabeth's knowledge, I mean. I would like to meet him before she sees him again."
"Aye, that's easily done. Tomorrow, if ye like, Auntie. Is Elizabeth still sleeping a lot?"
"Yes, she usually naps after breakfast and after lunch, at least. Sometimes in the evening as well."
"So we'll leave when she falls asleep in the morning, and you can leave her a message that you're out shopping and will be back later. Will that do?"
"Perfectly, thank you."
"Auntie, if I may ask... why don't you want Elizabeth to know?"
Agatha smiled sweetly at him. "I just want a word with him before they meet again, that's all. Good night!" She patted Jack's cheek and headed up the stairs.