Disclaimers: I do NOT own POTC, Norrington, etc.
Thank you to all my readers, you're the best!
NB: To reply to one of the comments, I do realize that Theodore and Andrew are really too familiar with their Captain, but I didn't like the idea of keeping the characters distant from one another because of their ranks, where would the fun be in that! But thanks for pointing it out, indeed I have thought about it but chose to ignore that detail for the sake of a friendship at sea.
Lieutenant Gillette had to admit, Miss Elizabeth Swann really lived up to her reputation; she truly was stunning with her chocolate brown eyes, her dark blonde hair, her slender built. Now that he came to think of it, there was something in Miss Swann that reminded him of Lawrence; both were rather tall and slender, both had blonde hair, though Lawrence was of a lighter shade due to the sun exposure and the salt sea. But apart from that, they didn't really look the same, though Andrew had to admit, he was incapable of saying who looked prettier than the other.
He noticed that his friend was stiffer than ever in the company of the Governor and his daughter. After a lot of small talk, Miss Swann excused herself from the table, feeling unwell. Governor Swann was sorry to her leave that early and justified her behaviour by her young age and her being a woman, as apparently it seemed natural to him that women behaved in such a way due to their humours and other headaches.
Norrington didn't say anything about this last comment, except that he was sorry to know that she felt unwell. Internally, he was genuinely amazed by how different she was from Lawrence. Miss Swann looked like a spoiled delicate child used to stay indoors and feeling unwell out of boredom, whereas Lawrence never complained about anything and adapted to any situation given to her, from a nasty cut in the hand to the handling of the whole medicine quarters in a time of rush to a dinner with one of the most disgusting man he had ever met.
He admonished himself, thinking in such a way wasn't helping his case in favour of marrying Miss Swann at all. And yet, Elizabeth had once seemed of the adventurous type, when she was but a child of ten. Though he had been but a Lieutenant, he had escorted her and father to Port Royal; she had been very interested in pirates back then. Maybe her upbringing had tamed the wildness she could have had.
After much small talk, the Governor announced proudly the promotion of James Norrington as a Commodore. James was greatly surprised at the news and thanked him gratefully. The ceremony was to be held in a month, if he didn't see any inconvenience to it. That way, Norrington would have time to rest from his long journey and the ceremony wouldn't be rushed.
'Maybe you should seize this opportunity to propose to my daughter… I do believe this would be the perfect occasion!'
Norrington wasn't expecting such a turn in the conversation, so much so that he choked on his wine. Was the Governor promoting him only to assure the wedding of his daughter? He felt manipulated but couldn't do anything about it.
'I wouldn't have thought of a better idea myself' he said, trying his best to appear delighted.
'Good then, I am so glad. I cannot wait to welcome you in my family, Commodore' Mr Swann said, chuckling and visibly as happy as he said he was.
His house feeling too empty and foreign after being almost a year at sea, Norrington had invited Gillette and Groves to stay over for as long as they wished. Groves was awaiting his friends in the parlour, anxious to know how it went, and he wasn't disappointed by their reports.
'So, you will propose to her, then? Next month?' Theodore said, incredulously.
Norrington answered by the affirmative, unconsciously fiddling with the black bow he had taken out of his pocket.
As for Lawrence, she was obviously unaware of the events of the day. Her days were spent in the calmest way possible, chatting with the ladies of the Arcadie, and daydreaming about her friends. 'At least I have the sea' she thought. 'And yet, how can it seem so different to me now? Why should the absence of James change the aspect of the sea to my eyes? It doesn't make any sense…' She sighed. Her good resolution about letting go of James' memory had obviously been vain. 'At least, we are getting closer to Port Royal, and in a few days I will finally walk the same earth as he does.' Startled by the romantic turn of her ideas, she admonished herself; those French ladies and boredom definitely had a very bad influence on her spirits.
Then, the day finally came when the Arcadie laid anchor in Port Royal. Lawrence stomach was in knots; what would she do if she met James before she met her cousin?
Fortunately, this situation never got the chance to happen as she heard her name shouted from the docks.
She turned round and saw her cousin Isabella waving at her, she was waiting for her with Mr Harrington, her father.
'Come, let's not wait any longer here, mama's waiting for us at home!' Her cousin said eagerly.
Lawrence waved back at her, already annoyed to be swept away that soon but happy to see familiar faces.
'Just a minute, let me thank my friends and say good bye. I won't be long.'
You couldn't say she was happy to leave the French people who had escorted her, for they were nice people, but their eccentricities were a bit too much to bear in the long run; nonetheless, they had all been very kind to her, and for that, she was sad to part with them in such a hurried manner. The ladies tear up and promised to write to her. She thanked them and promised to come visit them if she ever went to New Orleans, where they resided.
When she reached her cousin's carriage, Isabella hugged her warmly and kissed her on both cheeks, and so did her uncle.
'At last you're here!' her cousin said. 'I am so relieved to see you. We didn't know when your ship would arrive so we've waited for you yesterday too. Are you well? You look so different from the last time I saw you. But come, come, we'll talk about all this on the road.'
Isabella Harrington was a lively young lady of a year older than Lawrence; she was the only child of Mr and Mrs Harrington, and so was spoiled beyond compare, but her generosity was unmarred by her wealth. Though her complexion was plain, with mousy hair and hazel eyes and short of height, her enthusiasm gave her a sort of aura that drew people to her.
'Oh look at you, Charlotte, your skin is so tanned and you've lost so much weight. Was French food not to your taste?' Isabella laughed. 'Anyway, since the letter I received from you telling me of your situation, I couldn't help but count the days and talk about you to my friends. Isn't it right, Papa?'
'Yes, yes it couldn't be more accurate' chuckled Mr Harrington. 'I was sorry to hear about your situation Charlotte. Of course you are at home with us and can stay as long as you wish and find a suitable match. There are a lot of fine gentlemen in the area, I am sure you will have a lot of suitors.'
Lawrence gave him a fake smile. 'Of course the gentlemen here are fine, and the only one I care about is already spoken for…' she thought with irony.
'I can't wait to show you around, and you know what? There will be a ball at the Lindons this Thursday isn't it exciting? Apparently Catherine Lindon has asked her father to organize one because a ship of the Navy has recently arrived and she's been told the officers on board are so handsome. I bet she already sees herself married to one, though not the Captain, as everybody knows he only has eyes for Lizzie. Oh, imagine if you get to catch the eye of one of them!'
At those words, Lawrence turned white as a sheet. 'Of course James, Andrew, and Theodore would be at that ball; of course James only has eyes for Miss Swann… I hadn't planned on us to meet again, or at least that soon, and at a ball. I will ruin everything, there will be a scene and…'
'Charlotte dear, are you alright? You look so pale!' Mr Harrington cut her in her thoughts.
'It-it's nothing, uncle. I'm not used to being in carriage after months on sea…'
'Ah yes of course. Well, I'm sure you will be right as rain now that you're back on earth and with a loving family.'
'I agree, and you won't have time to be bored here, you can count on me' added Isabelle with a lot of enthusiasm.
The Harringtons lived on the outskirts of Kingston, at about half an hour from the harbour, in a large house too big for Isabella and her parents. After a warm welcome, Lawrence was shown to her room; for a moment, she had almost forgotten what it was like to have a place of one's own that huge; it was at least the size of the Captain's quarters, she thought but then shook her head to get rid of that comparison.
Mrs Harrington was very caring and looked after her as though she were her own daughter; she gave her new dresses and ribbons and everything a proper lady of twenty should have.
There wasn't a moment of the day when Isabelle wasn't by Lawrence's side; the first days she showed her the house and its gardens telling her the most recent gossip about people Lawrence had never heard about, except for Miss Elizabeth Swann. From what she gathered, Isabelle and Elizabeth weren't what you may call best friends, but they were nonetheless quite close to each other.
It had only been three days and Lawrence was already bored to death; she had never thought she would be drawing or embroidering again, and yet, there she was, listening to the ceaseless chatter of her cousin and spending her days like a proper young lady, much to her displeasure.
Thursday came quicker than expected; Isabelle was impossible to live with; she took under her responsibility to make Lawrence the most presentable as she could, and that meant, powdering her skin to make her look paler, curling her hair, and... forcing her to wear a corset and a long gown.
Lawrence hadn't worn such a paraphernalia for ages, and she wasn't about to give in now; even the French ladies had been kind enough to dress her without a corset.
'Charlotte, I honestly think no man will be able to resist you tonight!'
The torture being over, she looked at herself in the mirror and gave a genuine smile to her cousin. She did look beautiful, though so different from Lawrence. The woman standing in the mirror had nothing of Lawrence; her hair was nicely curled and tumbling over her shoulders, her skin was white as porcelain, bringing out her eyes all the more; as for her dress, it was made of pale blue and cream white, with dark blue ribbons on the front; even though she had gained weight since the first day she had climbed on board of the Arcadie, she had still a pretty slim waist, but her shoulders and arms had lost the muscles they had gained after the many hours spent on board of either the Daisy of the Sea or the Dauntless. Luckily for her, those muscles weren't visible with such a dress, and her slim waist was to her advantage, especially with the corset.
'This dress is beautiful, thank you Isabelle.'
'You look beautiful my dear cousin, and to be honest, I wouldn't have recognized you had I met you by chance.' 'Well, I wouldn't have recognized me either…' Lawrence thought. 'Which may be a good thing, that way, if James or Theodore or Andrew saw me, they wouldn't recognise me either.'