It was a very merry luncheon, and it was late afternoon when they headed back to the Pearl. Jacob was staying with Aunt Agatha and Maggie at Agatha's house for the week that Jack and Elizabeth would be gone, so they enjoyed some privacy on the ship before the crew began to straggle back in the early evening.
Gibbs was the first one back, tapping lightly at Jack's cabin door. "Jack?" he called quietly.
"Come in, Gibbs," Jack called.
Gibbs pushed the door open slowly, peeking around it as if afraid of what he'd see.
"Come in, man, come in, I said!" Jack exclaimed. "What are you waiting for?"
Gibbs pushed open the door wider and came into the room. He looked at Jack and Elizabeth, both fully dressed to waistcoat and weapons. He breathed a sigh of relief. The two of them were sitting next to each other at the table poring over a map. *
"So… how did everything go, then?" Gibbs asked. "Everyone end up happy?"
"Mister! Gibbs!" Elizabeth exclaimed in a high, scandalized tone, her mouth falling open in shock.
Gibbs blushed bright red to the roots of his hair. "I meant, did you reach an accord during your meeting."
"What? I beg your pardon!" she exclaimed.
"With the governor, I mean! Your meeting with the governor! I didn't mean with your—well, with your—Ohhh." Gibbs groaned and covered his face with his hands. Not a good idea to piss off the captain's wife the day after the wedding.
He heard Elizabeth giggle, and he uncovered his face. Jack was chuckling behind his hand and Elizabeth was laughing outright.
"What—you—do you mean to say—ohhh!" Gibbs exclaimed in exasperation. He grumbled under his breath for a moment while the other two laughed at him, and then he pointed is finger at his captain's new wife. "Miss Elizabeth, that was Not Nice!" he informed her.
"But funny," Jack interjected, still chuckling.
Gibbs, thinking it over, started to smile. "I s'pose it was," he allowed. He gave Elizabeth a mock-glare. "Don't do that again, young lady! My heart may not stand the shock. Keep in mind I've known ye since ye were a wee lass!"
Elizabeth smiled. "I'm sorry for your heart, Mr Gibbs… but I can't make any promises. You were such a lovely target!"
At that, Gibbs laughed out loud. "Jack's going to have his hands full, with you," he said with admiration.
"Well, yes," Elizabeth answered, eyes downcast demurely. "I believe that was the general idea."
Flushing again, Gibbs cleared his throat and turned to Jack. "So, Jack—what happened? The meeting with the governor? Are ye pardoned? Employed? What?"
"We're pardoned and employed. More than that, so are you." In a few words, Jack outlined the terms of the governor's pardon, and Gibbs was thrilled to hear that he and the rest of Jack's crew would be included in it.
"Don't tell the rest just yet, though," Jack ordered. "I'll make an announcement to everyone at once, and I've one or two other things to tell 'em as well. When everyone gets back, make sure to gather 'em up on deck for me before they fall into their hammocks."
"Aye, I'll do that, Jack. What are the other things ye have to tell 'em?"
"Ye'll hear 'em along with the rest, man. Now get out of here so Elizabeth and me can figure out our heading, eh?"
"Aye, Captain," Gibbs said.
"Let me know when the crew's all here and assembled, eh?" Jack ordered, his attention straying back to the chart on the table. "I'm thinking it was somewhere around here," he said to Elizabeth, pointing to the chart.
As Gibbs closed the door behind him he heard Elizabeth say, "No, I'm sure it was closer. It was only about a day and a half from Port Royale!"
Gibbs smiled and nodded to himself, satisfied that the captain's marriage wouldn't change things overmuch—Jack was still obsessed with charts and navigation, even if he had a wife around now.
The door clicked shut. Jack and Elizabeth looked at the door, and then smiled at each other. Jack rose and sauntered over to the door, locking it, while Elizabeth stood up and stretched. She took off her baldric and meandered her way over to the bed. "Think I was too mean to him?" she asked, pulling her boots off and starting to unbutton her shirt.
"Nay," Jack replied, pulling off his own shirt over his head. "'S good for him. Keep him on his toes!" He met her at the bed and drew her into his arms. "Be another couple of hours before all the men get back," he told her. "Gibbs won't be knockin' until then, either. He knows to leave me alone when I'm plottin'."
"Shall we 'figure out our heading,' then?" Elizabeth asked.
Jack smirked. "West-south-west, I'd say."
"Oh?" Elizabeth looked around and caught the angle of the late afternoon sun. It took her a moment to figure it out, and then she laughed. The bed was exactly west-south-west of where they stood. "Far be it from me to argue with the captain," she said.
A little over two hours later, Gibbs knocked on the door again. "Jack? Everyone's here and assembled!"
"Be right out!" Jack called out brightly. He pulled on his clothes rapidly, then shoved his feet into his boots. "Bloody hell, why didn't you wake me?" he grumbled quietly to Elizabeth, as he tied on his sash and pulled his coat on. She was already fully dressed with her hair combed and plaited, and was poring over the maps again.
She shrugged. "You're older than I am. I thought you needed your rest," she told him in a saucy tone.
"You'll pay for that, young missy," he warned, pouring out some water into the basin and splashing his face and head with it. He dried off his face and ran his fingers through his hair before grabbing his hat and shoving it onto his head. He held open the door. "Well? You coming?"
Elizabeth shoved on her own hat and followed him out.
The two of them exited the cabin and went up to the quarter-deck. Jack leaned on the railing. "Everyone here, Gibbs?" he asked.
"Aye, Captain. All present and accounted-for."
"Right. All hands, listen up. Due to my bravery in the battle and my humanitarian acts on behalf of the New Flimwell settlement prior to, the governor of Port Royale has offered me a royal pardon from 'any and all acts of piracy or outlawry of which subject has been previously accused'," he read from the governor's letter.
"Congratulations, Cap'n!" called out Scrum.
"Aye, well done, sir!" Derrick, the Scotsman from Blackbeard's crew, shouted agreement.
"Thank ye, lads!" Jack replied, beaming.
"Captain," Marty began. "What about us? What's in store for us?"
"Ah, Marty, that brings us to even more good news, along with a bit o' bad news."
Cotton's parrot squawked loudly and contributed, "Avast! Here be dragons!"
"No, no, nothing like that, Mr. Cotton. You lot think I could possibly sail the Pearl without you? The good news is that ye've all been pardoned along with me and the king, here!"
The crew erupted into cheering, which Jack allowed for a couple of minutes before he held up his hand. "We've been offered paid employment for the governor, transportin' goods and settlers between here and New Flimwell, and helping to defend it from any future pirate attacks. It won't pay as well as piracy does on a good day, but every man jack of you knows that piracy has its bad days as well. And it'll be steady work and a damn sight safer than piratin'.
"Now, before we start workin' for the governor, if any of you prefer a life of crime, just speak a quiet word to Mr Gibbs and we'll drop you off in Tortuga, no questions asked. As long as ye leave our cities and our ships alone, as far as I'm concerned, ye can go yer own way. I know ye all to be good, decent men, and I expect ye to continue as such even if ye return to piracy. Needless to say, I hope all o' ye stay with us, but no one knows better than me the appeal of the pirate's life—especially for the young." He looked down with an indulgent smile at Simon and Charlie, the cabin boys.
Jack's smile faded and he went on. "Now hear this, lads: after we start workin' for the governor, it'll be a different story. If any of ye leave my crew for piratin' after we start workin' for the governor, yer pardons will be revoked and it'll be my bounden duty to hunt ye down an' turn you in. If any of ye do return to piracy, I warn ye: the city of Port Royale and the town of New Flimwell are under our protection for the foreseeable future. The Black Pearl, the Empress, the Troubadour, and the Enforcer of the Code—these ships, and any others traveling with us, are to be sacrosanct. Also, be aware that my father, Captain Teague, is personally charged with maintaining the safety of Port Royale. Anyone who threatens that safety, well, it'll be my job to track ye down, find ye, and deliver ye to him, personally… and then he'll deal with you, very personally."
Some of the crew looked alarmed, and a couple of sailors spoke to their neighbors in the hushed whispers that Jack had mentioned to Governor Anderson.
"Mark what I say now, gentlemen. I'm Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean. My father is Captain Edward Teague, Keeper of the Code. My wife—" he gestured toward Elizabeth, who stood up straight and looked stern, "—is Captain Elizabeth Swann, duly elected King of the Brethren Court. So here's the bad news:
"Any attacks 'gainst any of us or any of those we're protectin', and ye'll receive no quarter when we blow you out of the water. And after we blow you out of the water, you'll have to deal with Captain Turner of the Flying Dutchman, who as ye know happens to be a close personal friend of ours."
The crew to a man, winced at the thought. Some of them turned pale.
"Any questions?"
A couple of sailors started speaking out, but Jack held up his hand again. "If ye do, ask Mr Gibbs. I have things to do."
He descended to the deck again. "All right, Gibbs?" he asked his friend in a low voice.
"Aye, fine. Can't believe I'm pardoned along with ye!" Gibbs exclaimed with a smile.
"Free and clear, mate. Straight from the king. No strings attached. If ye want to leave the Pearl and do something else, as long as it's honest, you'll still be free."
"Aye, that's worth a thought," Gibbs admitted. "In truth, I'm getting a bit old for all this running about."
"Wait! Gibbs, you can't leave me!" Jack exclaimed in a near-panic. "You leave and who else am I going to find to be First Mate and Quartermaster both? I'd have to hire Anamaria again, and you know she scares me!"
Gibbs laughed. "Can't have that, can we? All right, I guess I'll stay for a few more years anyway."
"Good man, Gibbs! Don't know what I'd do without you!" Jack said with a jovial clap on the back.
"You'd scurry around the ship all day, trying to stay two steps ahead of Anamaria, that's what you'd do!" Gibbs joshed him.
Jack caught Elizabeth's eye and smiled. "On the other hand, I'd pit my dearest Lizzie 'gainst Anamaria any day."
"That," Gibbs said thoughtfully, "is something I'd pay a hell of a lot to see."
Note: They were poring over the map, not pouring over it. Pore means to study closely; pour means to dispense liquid from a container. You can pore over a book at the library, but if you pour over it you're likely to get your card revoked. Many people make this mistake, but my faithful readers never will again. Will you? WILL YOU?