Note: This scene fits right into the last part of chapter 27, where it says "see footnote."
Jack came up close behind her. "Careful there, darling," he said. "Don't want to let Teague catch you glaring daggers at me mum. 'E was right fond of her."
Elizabeth whirled in surprise, completely distracted from her aggravation. "That's your mother?" she asked, shocked. He nodded. She looked back at the painting more closely.
The first thing that struck her was how much Jack must trust her enough to tell her this, because his mother was black.
"Oh, my," she said in surprise. "Was she... she wasn't a slave, was she?"
"Not her. Her mother was, briefly, but she killed the slaver and escaped into the hills almost as soon as she was unloaded from the ship. She met up with a Taino tribe and married their English interpreter. He was a full Taino, called himself Mabo Smith. They only had one child 'fore he got killed in a Carib raid. So me mum was half African and half Taino."
"She was beautiful," Elizabeth said honestly. It was true; her English eyes were unaccustomed to seeing beauty in dark faces, but Jack's mother had clear skin the color of coffee with cream; thick, wavy, blue-black hair done up in an English style to match her English clothing; and a hint of mischief in her expression. She had a narrow, straight Taino nose, and full, African lips. There was a bit of a smile lurking in one corner of her mouth. Her eyes were intense, velvety-black. Jack had inherited those, along with her nose and hair. She was beautiful.
"What was her name? How did your father meet her?"
"He was shipwrecked and was the only survivor. She's the one what found him. He brought her back to England with him. In England she went by Sophie, but her real name was Senya," he answered. "Me dad wasn't allowed to marry her lawfully there, but they did have a tribal wedding after they returned to the Caribbean."
He was quiet for a moment, remembering. "I was ten when she died." He flashed a quick half-smile at Elizabeth, as an apology for getting so serious.
"And then Teague remarried? You mentioned a stepmother once. And siblings."
"Aye. When mum died, he brought me back to England with him for a bit, and that's where he met me step-mum. She was nice enough. English lady, name of Roberta Adams. Pretty. Smelled of roses. She had twins, as I told you."
"Adam and Sarah, I remember."
"Aye. Sarah married a baron, and Adam inherited some property from an uncle, so he's a landed gentleman now." Jack smiled fondly. "A proper lord."
"You sound proud of them."
"Aye, well, I had a lot to do with the raising of them, once me step-mum got over me being a mulatto, that is. Had to, with her being so ill and Teague off sailing all the time. I like knowing they're doing well."
"Did—did she have difficulty getting over it?"
Jack shrugged. "No more than any other Englishwoman might have had. Especially once Teague talked to her about it. Told her he wasn't ashamed of Senya, and wasn't ashamed of me, and if Bertie was ashamed of me, then he'd take me and the twins away from her to be raised by the Taino. He may possibly have given her to understand that the Taino were cannibals, with her not knowin' the difference between them and the Caribs."
Elizabeth laughed. "I take it she straightened out then?"
He nodded and grinned. "Fell right into line, and after a while she started to like me anyway. It helped that she saw me with her babies so much. They loved me. Still do, for all I haven't seen 'em in years."
"Do you stay in contact?"
He shrugged. "We write, sometimes, when we think we can get away with it." He turned to her. "How about you, love? How do you feel about me being mulatto?"
"I haven't had time to think about it," Elizabeth answered honestly.
"Going to stop being friends now?"
"Not that I know of. Why? I can't see how this would change anything between us, can you?"
"It often does, which is why I don't tell people often. Figured you were all right to tell."
"Thank you, Jack. She really was beautiful—I don't fault Teague's taste at all. And you look a bit like her, too."
"You're saying that I'm beautiful, then? I've always thought so," Jack said, striking a pose for her.
Elizabeth shrugged and nodded. "Well... yes." Jack slanted a surprised, black-eyed gaze down at her and she blushed and turned away.
Jack laughed. "On that note, I'd better take me leave," he told her. On an impulse, he reached out one daring hand and brushed his fingers gently against her cheek. "Good night, 'Lizabeth." And he put his hat on and was gone.
I decided to delete this scene originally because I didn't want to get into a potential problem with racism and people ascribing modern views to historical figures, like what happens in American schools when students read Mark Twain, for example. In real life, once Elizabeth found out that Jack was of mixed blood, it probably would have changed things between them, and she certainly would not have married him. Mixed marriages were scandalous enough between a white man and a black woman, but between a white woman and a black man, it was so far beyond the pale that Jack would probably have been killed over it, once people found out. (Dark-complected people were usually thought by the English to be sub-human, and a romantic relationship with someone like that to be disgusting in the extreme.) I like to think that Elizabeth would have been more open-minded, but in real life she might not have been. Again, thank God for fanfiction! :)
Considering that the only glimpse we get to see of Jack's mother in the films is a shrunken head, I thought it much more likely that she would have been either an African or a Caribbean native than an Englishwoman. From what little we can see of her features in that scene, she didn't look terribly English. Being bi- or tri-racial would also explain Jack's darker coloring and dreadlocked hair.