Disclaimers: I don't own POTC, Norrington and his two Lieutenants.
A big thank you to all my readers!
'Thank you, James…' Lawrence finally said once they were both walking in the streets, away from that house.
Norrington tried to think of appropriate words to say, but he didn't know how to react. If they had stayed, his friend would have been abused by the Governor, that much was certain. Had he known, he would have kept an eye on her the whole time; only now did he guess why she had jumped so quickly back in the exposition room of Duplessier, when he was looking for the piece of information he had been asked to find. He dreaded to ask her, and yet he felt he had to, if only to curse himself even more.
'Did… did something happen during his tour of the house?'
At first she didn't answer, then, after a moment she finally said, flatly, trying to hide the fury boiling inside her:
'Just, just wandering hands and pervert looks, nothing to worry about.'
Norrington stopped in the middle of the street to face her, astounded.
'He what?' His face was contorted by anger, disgust, and worry for his friend.
'Oh Lawrence, I am so sorry, there are no words to… It's all my fault, I should have guessed something was wrong, I shouldn't have accepted his invitation, I…'
'No, don't you dare blame yourself! I decided to go with you, I couldn't bear the idea of your reputation being tarnish because of my rudeness, or whatever people would have called it.'
Norrington put his hands on his friend's shoulder, holding her at arm's length, and locking his eyes on hers.
'Will you be alright?' he asked, worry betraying his voice.
She lifted her right hand to squeeze his left one, still holding her shoulder.
'Of course I will, James. Please, can we forget about all this and not tell the others? I just want to forget about tonight's events.'
'Alright' he sighed reluctantly before letting go of her and straightening himself when he realized his open display of sentiment.
On the way back to the Dauntless, they tried their best to keep the subject of conversation light-hearted, though they both replayed over again what had happened back in this house.
As usual, Lawrence being of the optimistic kind, she turned the subject around in her mind, putting aside the unpleasant parts and focusing on how much James had shown his care, how he had touched her knee under the table to make her know that he was here for her, how he had abruptly ended the dinner to spare her more emotional trauma, and just then, his worried words, in the middle of a deserted street, both half-cloaked by the night.
During the two following days, Lawrence and the Captain never left Gillette and Groves' company, who were left in ignorance about what had happened with the Governor. The company of four spent their days visiting the rest of the city, having their usual afternoon each time in a different tavern for fear of being found by the Governor again.
On the third day, Lawrence decided to stay a while longer on board of the ship, promising to join her friends later. She took a nap in her quarters and was woken with a start by the sound of the bell announcing the fifth hour of the afternoon. She realized she was late for their tea and hastily put on her formal clothes.
She ran down the boarding plank, then across the harbour before catching her breath and starting to look for the appointed tavern in several streets.
'There can't be hundreds of street around here. Why can't I find that Rising Sun tavern!' she mumbled to herself, to busy looking ahead to notice anything else.
« Je savais que je te retrouverai, mon joli! » (I knew I'd find you again, my pretty boy!) said an all too familiar voice behind her.
She turned round, and there was Governor Duplessier, with a lean man she hadn't seen before. The man said to his friend that indeed, he found the boy's delicate face to his taste.
Lawrence's blood turned cold at his words. She didn't care about the etiquette now, and so she began to run away from them, but the lean man outran her and yanked her roughly by the arm, putting one of his on her mouth.
She tried to bite his hand, to scream, to free herself, but in vain. No one was there to help her, and even if there were people there, she wasn't sure they would help her, judging by how sick the Governor of this city was.
In her struggle, the ribbon tying her hair had gone off, her face was flushed, and more importantly, her bindings got loose under her shirt.
Glancing down, the man stepped back, though still holding one of her arms behind her back, and looked with an incredulous face at the Governor.
The Governor was as surprised as his friend, glancing at her face then at her revealing breasts.
« Le garçon était en fait une femme! J'aurais dû le savoir, les traits étaient trop délicats… Mais, c'est que ça change beaucoup de choses à présent… » (The boy was in fact a woman ! I should have known, the features were too soft… But, that changes a lot of things now…)
'You pig, don't you dare touch me!' screamed Lawrence, not caring whether he understood or not.
'Let go! I said LET GO OF ME!' she screamed louder, wriggling as best she could.
The Governor and the lean man were both saying profanities in French, concluding that they would send her to the lowest whore-house of the area.
The tumult they had made attracted a few local people around.
'Let me through, let me see to the matter' said a soft voice Lawrence recognized instantly.
'No, no he mustn't see me, no…' she thought out loud, tears starting to pool at her eyes.
James Norrington, Groves and Gillette elbowed their ways through the cross to see what the cause of all those screams was, as they thought they had recognized their friend's voice.
'Lawrence!' Norrington almost leapt forward until he was cut short by the vision in front of him. His friend was still being held by the lean man, her face was red, her mid-long blond hair flowing freely for what seemed to him the first time, and her shirt revealing the swelling of a woman's breast.
For a moment, Norrington's mind went blank; this discovery was too hard to process.
Andrew and Theodore exchanged worried glances, both white as sheets. They urged the other people to clear the way, then came back and threatened the lean man with their swords, ordering him to let go of their friend. Being unarmed, the man dropped her to the ground, letting her fall like a rag doll, and left the scene, not wanting to be killed for such a stupid reason.
As Theodore was helping her stand and Andrew tried to make the Governor leave with his broken French, James was still standing where he was, his mouth slightly open, his eyes wide with shock.
'Look at me' he finally said after a long silence.
Lawrence lifted her head with difficulty, her breathing had become erratic, her tears were now flowing freely.
'Tell me it's just the sun or some food poisoning. Tell this isn't real, please Lawrence…' James' voice broke.
She finally gathered her strength and looked at him, blue-grey trimmed with red and blurred by tears staring at bright green.
'James, I-I can explain…'
The sound of her voice cleared his mind; he shook his head and put on his mask of impassivity.
'We won't have this discussion here in the open. Theodore, help her to my quarters. We need to talk, all four of us' his voice was harsh, his eyes darkened by anger and hurt.
He turned his back and went back to the harbour, his mind reeling at a great speed.
'Come here, Lawrence, let's go' Theodore said with a soothing voice as he held shoulders to help her walk.
Andrew picked up her ribbon, put it in his pocket, and followed them.
Lawrence's feet felt as heavy as her heart, she felt like a man going to the gallows. 'Maybe it's where I'm heading to anyway…' she thought with sorrow. 'First Duplessier's assault, now James finding out... What have I done to deserve this? It wasn't supposed to happen that way, he wasn't supposed to know, ever.'
The way back to the ship felt twice as long as it used to.
Dragging her feet, her hair falling as a curtain over her face, Lawrence climbed up the boarding plank. She stopped at the middle and looked back at her friends.
Theodore stroked her back, to give her strength while Andrew smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand.
'We'll be right next to you. And you know James, he is just and kind, and a friend. There's nothing to fear' said Groves, trying to convince himself as well as her.
Lawrence took a deep breath, straightened her back, dried her tears with one hand, and walked on to the Captain's quarters. If she was to face a fate worse than death, as she believed it was, she would held her head high and stand with dignity.
The few crew members on the main deck stopped their work and look at her with shock, as they understood little by little what the situation was.
Lawrence knocked firmly on the door to announce her arrival, as it was open, and stepped right in, followed by her two friends.
'Close the door, Lieutenant Groves' a voice said. The Captain was pacing, his hands behind his back, his jaw clenched.
'I am going to ask you for the truth, Ensign Reynolds, can I trust that you will give me that, now?' His voice was emotionless, which broke Lawrence's heart almost more than the formal way he addressed her.
'Yes sir, I swear.'
'Good.' He glanced at her then stopped in front of her.
'Wh-' he tried to speak but found the words caught in his throat. He shook his head and rubbed his hands over his face to calm himself down and get more focused.
'Why, Lawrence… Why?' his voice was softer now, his eyes no longer held back how hurt he felt.
'I never meant to lie to you, James, I swear. I-I just couldn't risk everything I had built so far by revealing the truth.'
'How can I trust any word you say? Was everything a lie? Your past, your care, our… our friendship? Was this all part of a wicked plan to reach some higher end? Is Lawrence even your name?'
Lawrence did not lower her eyes and willed herself to stay strong.
'Actually, I was born Lady Charlotte Reynolds, of Charleston, about twenty years ago. Lawrence was my brother, he was to become an officer in the Navy but fate decided otherwise; he fell from his horse at the age of seventeen. My mother had died giving him birth, so that left only me and my father, Lord Charles Reynolds. My brother's death devastated him, as his only hopes and joys in life resided in my brother's success; being of the weaker sex, my father never cared much about me, so after the tragic accident, he cast me out of his house, depriving me of any heritance at the same. He told me how much he had always hated me, and that to him I was now as good as dead. My father has never been a tender man, when his spirits were angered, he could become very violent, and I knew that if I stayed longer in Charleston, he'd kill me, because I'd be a waste of money to him and a constant reminder of Lawrence's death. As for the rest of my story, you already know it, I never lied about anything but my true nature and why I enrolled the Navy.'
Once she was done talking, she heaved a sighed, as though a weight was finally being lifted off her chest and she could breathe normally for the first time in months.
As she told him her story from the beginning, Norrington has regained control over his display of emotion, his face was unreadable.
'Did you know? How long have you known?' he asked, looking first at Groves then at Gillette.
'After the attack, when she killed that pirate. He had collapsed over her, we pushed him aside to see to her injuries and she was unconscious and… that how we discovered' Theodore confessed guiltily.
'What will happen now?' asked Gillette hesitantly.
'I need to think…' Norrington said as he started to pace the room.
His mind was in turmoil, he couldn't think straight, torn between what was expected of him, to perform his duty and treat this case objectively, and feeling sorry for her, understanding what had driven her to live such a dangerous life. His heart told him to forgive her, to forget about everything and act as though nothing had happened, but his mind of Captain of the Navy told him otherwise. 'First, taking someone else's identity, disguising herself as a man, lying to officials of the Navy… The punishment should be jail for a couple of years, but I can't possibly send him-her to such a place, she'd end up dead because of mistreatments, malnourishment, or epidemics…' he thought to himself, turning the arguments over and over again until he finally decided.
'Mr… Miss Reynolds, you shall be send on the next ship leaving to wherever any relatives of yours currently resides; your destination will be unknown by either myself or the Lieutenants. From now on, you are no longer a member of crew of the Dauntless; you will take on your true name and dress accordingly. Lieutenant Groves will help you have a private word with captains of other ships.' He let the announcement sink in, his expression still impenetrable.
Lawrence gulped. 'This is it' she thought. 'It's all over now… This is the last time I'll ever be in their company, the last time I'll see his face, and hear his voice, and I've got so much more to tell him…'
'I highly doubt we will be seeing each other again, Miss Reynolds. I wish you a pleasant life, wherever you will be. Lieutenant Gillette, you may accompany her if you wish. Godspeed, Miss Reynolds.'
To her surprise, the world did not crumble beneath her feet, the tears did not overflow her face, her voice did not betray her sentiments, did not plead him; she arrived with dignity, she would leave with dignity.
'May you live and long a happy life, Captain Norrington. It was both a pleasure and an honour meeting you and serving under your command, sir. Adieu…'
She saluted him, looked at those green eyes one last time, and left the room, followed by Groves and Gillette.
NB: I may be wrong of course, but after a bit of research, I didn't find any proof of death penalty for crossdressing. Men and women were sentenced to death if crossdressing was associated with sodomy, or piracy (cf. Anne Bonny and Mary Read).
Crossdressers were thus flogged depending on the degree of cruelty of the authority on board, and/or put in jail, though I don't know for how long, as crossdressing was fairly common apparently.
Btw, the history of women crossdressing during war-time is truly fascinating, I strongly encourage you to look up the wikipedia page and other websites on the subject because it's just mindblowing.