Agatha and Teague were both in his study when Jack and Elizabeth got back. Maggie ran after them as they headed for the study door. "The captain said they wasn't to be disturbed, Master Jack!"

Jack brushed off her warnings. "Aye, but our news is likely to be too disturbing for them not to want to be disturbed, and they'd be more disturbed if we didn't disturb 'em with it right away. They might even get disturbed with you not wanting us to disturb 'em with it when it's so disturbing that I know they'd rather be disturbed. Savvy?"

"I… s'pose so, sir." The maid looked utterly bewildered, but let it go.

"Wonder what her problem is?" Jack muttered to Elizabeth.

She shrugged. "I'd no trouble following it."

Jack nodded, vindicated, and knocked on the study door.

"Aye?" came Teague's gravelly voice from within. "What do you want, boy?"

"How'd you know it was me?" Jack asked, pushing open the door.

Teague was sitting back in his chair, booted feet crossed on his desk. Agatha sat next to him in a straight chair, ankles crossed primly beneath her, teacup and saucer in front of her.

"Maggie wouldn't have dared to knock after I told her not to. You wouldn't have any qualms at all about it."

Jack ducked his head, allowing the truth of the statement.

Teague went on, "…And neither would the king, here."

"…Which neatly brings us to our reason for bargin' in," Jack said smoothly, "as Her Majesty and I seem to have so much in common an' all."

"Aye?" Teague asked, pushing back his hat and fixing his keen dark eyes on his son's face.

"As Keeper of the Code, if anyone knows the answer to our question, it'll be you."

"What question?"

Jack reached out and took Elizabeth's hand in his. "Is there any precedent for the pirate king to have a prince-consort?"

Teague said nothing, but merely raised his eyebrows.

Agatha frowned in puzzlement for a moment, and then her eyes were drawn to their clasped hands, and then up to Elizabeth's blushing, beaming face.

"Elizabeth!" she gasped. "Is this—are you— what—with Captain Sparrow?"

"This morning Jack asked me to marry him," Elizabeth said simply. "I told him yes."

Agatha and Teague exchanged glances.

"Well," Agatha said, starting to smile. "This certainly makes things easier, I must say!"

"Aye, it does," Teague agreed, weathered face cracking in a matching smile.

Agatha ran over to Elizabeth, to give her a hug and a kiss. Teague groaningly lowered his feet to the floor and got up, coming around the desk to congratulate his boy.

"Congratulations, boy," he said, shaking hands with him. "Ye made a right smart choice for once in your life."

"Thanks, dad," Jack replied with an honest smile. "'Twas bound to happen at least once, ye know."

Agatha released Elizabeth. "I'm very happy for you, dear. In truth, Captain Teague and I have been hoping for this sort of outcome for quite a while now!" She moved over to Jack and gave him a hug as well.

Teague grinned and grabbed Elizabeth's hand, pulling her into his arms. "My turn," he rumbled in her ear. "Mustn't mind me sentiment, Miss Liz. I like daughters." He gave her a loud smooch on the forehead and released her. He grinned at her. "They always smell better than the sons."

"Oh! My! Er, thank you, Captain Teague."

Agatha finally released Jack after giving him a kiss as well. Then she sighed and held out her hand. He chuckled and dropped her earrings into it. She kept her hand out and he pouted a little as he coiled her necklace into it as well.

"You're such a scamp," she told him.

"Aye, but ye love me anyway."

"Well, my niece apparently does, and that's the important part."

Jack tried to look humble. "I'll do me best to take care of her, as ye know."

Agatha said, "I'm very glad to hear it, as your father and I were just discussing my imminent return to Port Royale. I wouldn't want her to be alone after I depart."

"Oh!" Elizabeth said with dismay. She nodded, but her expression looked rather stricken. "You're right, of course. You must go back sometime, I guess. It's just that I have so enjoyed the chance to spend time with you that I hadn't thought about it yet."

"Well, I do think we've imposed on Captain Teague's hospitality long enough," Agatha said.

Teague cleared his throat. "No need to leave on my account, ma'am. Pleasure havin' ye. Even the little one hasn't been too awful noisy."

Agatha beamed at him. "Thank you, Captain. I've enjoyed it here very much. I have found it a broadening experience, truly. It's just that I have established a life for myself there at Port Royale."

"Well, if you're determined to leave us, Auntie, then I'll be more than happy to take you back on my Pearl whenever you wish."

"Or I could bring you back on the Empress," Elizabeth offered.

"My Troubadour is also at your disposal, ma'am," Teague put in.

"Oh, my? How shall I choose?" Agatha asked, smiling.

"Easily," Jack said. "You choose my ship because she's the one who brought you here, and because it'll be a nice way to welcome me into the family."

She patted his cheek. "With an argument like that, how could I refuse?" she said graciously. "Though I daresay you've found my jewelry welcoming enough already."

"Ah, but one doesn't rob family," Jack protested. He nodded toward her neck, where a shiny silver necklace now sparkled. "At least, not permanently."

Agatha looked down and her mouth dropped open. "When did you—how long have you had—so that's where it's been! How on earth did you put it back on me without my noticing? I can imagine your pinching it easily enough, considering all the practice you've had, but how did you put it back without my noticing?"

"Never forget, dearest of aunties," Jack announced grandly, arms out in a presentation gesture, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow!"

"Piffle!" was Agatha's rejoinder.

Elizabeth giggled at Jack's taken-aback expression. She didn't think his momentous introduction had ever been "piffled" before.

"You're a rascal is what you are," Agatha said crisply. "The only reason I let you get away with your mischief is that I know that you're a good man who loves my niece."

Visibly touched, Jack smiled. "Why, thank you, dear. I'm going to miss you when you're gone, I think."

"As will I," Teague agreed.

"Well, I would love it if you ever felt the urge to come and visit me there, sir. That goes for all of you," she clarified, gaze sweeping over to Jack and Elizabeth as well.

"Much obliged for the invitation, Auntie," Jack replied. "I just don't think any of us will be able to take ye up on it, being as we're all three of us known, wanted pirates."

"Perhaps we could work something out," Agatha said. "I am close friends with both the governor and the fort commander."

"Who are they, these days?" Teague asked in a noticeably breezy tone of voice.

Agatha gave him a sharp look, but he cut his eyes toward Jack and then looked back at Agatha and widened them. He looked, for a moment, as innocent as a retired pirate who scares Pirate Lords the world over can possibly look.

Jack noticed the look and narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.

Agatha's lips twitched as she answered. "The governor is Mark Anderson, a very kind young man who just moved there with his new bride. The commander of the fort is Commodore Eustace Gilbert."

"Eustace Gilbert, eh?" Teague was genuinely interested. "Older fellow? Lots of white hair, voice like a foghorn, and he never rolls up his sleeves?"

"Yes, that's he. Do you know him, Edw—er, Captain?"

Jack gave her a sharp look at her slip, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice. Neither did Teague, as he was starting to chuckle.

"Know him? Aye, I know Ace Gilbert well enough. He was me first mate for seventeen years on my Troubadour."

"Commodore Gilbert was a pirate?"

"Pirate as they come. Branded even, like Jacky, here. Good man, though. Glad he's been able to cross over."

"Cross over?"

"To respectability, he means," Jack clarified.

"Is that generally a desirable thing for a pirate?" Agatha wanted to know.

"Depends on the individual," Teague said thoughtfully, "but when a pirate reaches a certain age, he often wishes to minimize his lawbreaking and regain the comforts and appearance of respectability."

"Aye," Jack agreed. "Bein' on the run for more'n a decade or two can wear on a man."

Agatha gave Teague a significant look. He gave her an assenting blink and the tiniest of nods.

She changed the subject. "Have you given any thought as to where you might marry?"

"Well, we could have any of these captains marry us," Elizabeth suggested. "We'd just have to make sure it was his own ship this time."

Jack shook his head. "And here I thought you'd learned your lesson about being married by a pirate." He tsked at her a few times.

"Well, what do you suggest?"

"Not sure. Clergymen are a bit thin on the ground in a pirate town like Shipwreck."

Agatha spoke up. "I have a suggestion, if I may."

"Suggest away, dear," Jack invited.

"Get married in Port Royale when you're bringing me back."

Jack shook his head. "Auntie, I just told you. We're not welcome there. Or we will be welcomed, but only with a noose. Having been to the gallows once before, I'm not overly eager to repeat the experience. Especially as I wouldn't be going alone this time," he said, taking Elizabeth's hand and giving her a significant look. "It was only luck and good planning that didn't get us caught when we picked you up."

Agatha exchanged significant glances with Captain Teague. He held her gaze for a long moment and then nodded. He rose and left the room.