She felt herself startle awake the moment she sensed the rustling of the linen, followed by the unpleasant loss of warmth at her back. With a bit of a struggle, she managed to turn around and pry one of her eyes open, just enough to discern James´ figure sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled, blindly pawing for him to try and stop him when she felt his weight shifted forward, preparing to abandon the bed completely.

He turned around surprised, grabbing her hand extended hand and leaning back towards her "I need to go to the fort"

Why is he leaving now? "It´s too early. It´s still dark outside," she whined, burying further under the covers after she felt a chill run down her back "and it´s cold."

"Is it?" he asked back, sounding amused for some reason "Nonetheless, I need to leave now" he informed her, pulling the linen up to her chin and brushing her hair back.

She was still too sleepy to argue so she closed back her one eye and reluctantly agreed "Fine"

He simply chuckled, adding in a soft tone "I will be on the port for most of the day today, but I´ll send word to your father about your visit to the Mansion today, alright?"

She was feeling too exhausted to do more than nod in consent. Besides, his steady stroking of the top of her head was putting her back to sleep.

"If you need me for anything, you can just send one of the servants to find me, but I´ve already ordered the maids to assist you with whatever you need"

She only hummed back.

"I´ll see you tonight, Love"

She felt him kiss her head, followed by the sound of a door opening and closing. And then she was asleep once again.

The next time her eyes opened, she could tell the sun was up in the sky now, and when she drew back the canopy she realized that it was most definitely well past midday. Her body jerked up at the realization, but she had been laying down for so long that the world wobbled and she felt herself drop back down on the comfy surface under her.

The morning was already wasted, might as well not worry too much about the rest of the day, she thought burying her face on the pillow that still smelled like him.

While she was debating with herself simply going back to sleep, she glanced around the room and spotted the tray of food that had been left on the commode to her right, allowing the delicious smell floating around in the air, to finally register on her brain.

Now that she saw the food, she remembered just how famished she was.

They had gotten distracted again and then she had fallen asleep right after, so now all she wanted was to eat. Sitting up with a lot more enthusiasm, she reached for the delicious looking bread and shoved it into her mouth in one bite. Then, she proceeded to gulp down the rest of the food in a very unladylike way.

It wasn´t until her stomach was full, that she started to pay attention to the all the other important things, like the varied array of reddish marks spread all over her body, result of James taking deliberate care of returning her favour. He really was a knave hiding behind a uniform.

Also the fact that she was completely naked, achy and well, messy. And she probably smelled as well... the needed for a warm bath became a matter of pressing urgency after her realization.

Luckily, she found her chemise waiting for her, neatly folded over the corner of the bed. After she slipped it on, she reached for the bell that had been conveniently left next to the tray. It wasn´t a moment later that three young maids showed up, alongside an older woman that she could easily recognize as the Housekeeper.

"Mrs. Norrington" they all greeted her with a polite bow, after forming a perfectly straight line in front of her.

The old woman had an stiff expression that could probably rival James´ when he was truly upset although there was no hostility in her eyes; she could already guess that she was probably the no nonsense type, her demeanour was reminiscent to that of her governess -hopefully she wouldn´t be as annoying as the latter.- She was much more intrigued by the way the young girls looked at her with nothing but surprised stares full of curiosity.

It was probably not very difficult to infer what they´d had been up to the day before. Her completely dishevelled appearance, added to the fact that she had failed to introduce herself to any of the servants before going upstairs and sequestering herself with her new husband for the rest of the day was probably quite telling.

It was a little bit embarrassing, but she wasn´t keen on provoking a new wave of gossip surrounding her, being sure that her reputation as the capricious Governor's daughter would only make the suppositions worse; and, as she would rather avoid everyone in Port Royal finding out and discussing about her nightly activities with James, she attempted to endear herself to her new servants.

With the most pleasant smile she was capable of making she greeted them kindly "Hello, my name´s Elizabeth, from today on I'm the lady of this house"

"Madam" they all repeated in unison, before the older maid took a step forward "As instructed by the Master, these girls will be the ones at your service from today on. And you can ask for whatever it is you need to any of them or myself, Madam"

It felt a little strange to be addressed in the same manner the snobbish wife's of her father´s friends were, but she too was a married woman now, so she needed to act the part.

"I would like to take a bath, then I want the carriage to be readied for me. I will be heading out to my Father's mansion after that."

"What about your clothes, Madam?" the older maid asked with an admirable amount of composure, keeping her eyes on her and not blinking once.

The girls did not have nearly as much success, they all turned their heads down.

She followed their stares to where the clear proof of their activities the day before laid discarded, the pieces of clothing were scattered all over the floor, on the same spot they had landed the day before.

She was distracted when she observed with some surprise that most of his clothes were still there as well, only his coat and hat were missing, then she belatedly realized that he should have more clothes somewhere around, after all, this was his home. Their home, she corrected herself with wonder. This place was where she would live from now on, it was the place where James lived, it was her home too.

Today was the third day in a row she would be wearing the same dress and it was truly embarrassing. So her priority would have to be to get herself to the Mansion and retrieve her belongings.

Struggling to keep her face as dignified as possible she ordered pointing to the dress on the floor "I will be wearing that one, so get it ready for me"

"Very well" the maid agreed, glancing back at the rest of the way, with stern eyes that send all of them scattering to follow her commands "We´ll have your bath ready at the briefest, Madam"

Before the woman could completely abandon the room, she asked her hurriedly "Wait! Did Ja… Did my husband leave word for me?"

"No, Madam. The master simply ordered to provide you with whatever you asked for"

James was right, she needed her clothes back at the soonest. With that determination Elizabeth found herself arriving on her Father's doorstep.

"Miss Elizabeth!" Estrella greeted her as she was coming out the kitchens, hurrying to her with hasty steps.

Elizabeth cringed at hearing her voice and remembering she had basically sneaked out of the Mansion two days ago. "Miss, you are safe! Thank god! We feared you had been kidnapped again!"

That offended her a little. She wasn't that careless, was she?

"I'm perfectly fine. I just decided to take a short trip together with my husband" she declared childishly.

Estrella´s face looked completely surprised but nodded obediently.

"Is my father home?" she asked, knowing the answer but wanting Estrella to confirm it

"Yes, Miss"

Just her luck, her father was home and she would have to greet him as she was.

She let a sigh escape. "Please prepare another dress for me to change into, and after that, help me get my belongings down and into the carriage outside" she instructed the maid.

"Yes, Miss" the maid bowed, turning to follow her orders.

"And Estrella" the maid turned back around to face her "I am a married woman now" she reminded her pointedly.

Estrella´s eyes grew in understanding "Yes, Madam" she corrected with a bow.

If her father was at the Mansion, he would definitely be at his studio. if she had any luck, he might be with someone else and she would have time to change before meeting him.

When she peaked her head inside the room, her father immediately met her eyes and greeted her jovially "Elizabeth, Dear. How are you?" inviting her inside to take a cup of tea with him. It was strange to realize she was now a guest in this residence.

"I seem to have forgotten to bring some essentials to my new residence father" she tried not to sound as abashed as she felt.

He looked down at her clothes and raised his eyebrows in amused surprise "Ah yes, I've already seen to it. Yesterday I ordered the maids to finish packing all your clothes in chests and have them ready for you"

"Thank you father" she said, a little sheepishly.

He gave her an amused smile before commenting with amusement "I must confess Dear, that I had expected your visit to take place much sooner"

Her cheeks flamed at that, but she pretended not to understand what he meant "I was much too busy yesterday, James was showed me the state and there was much to do, it became too late for a visit to be appropriate afterwards" It wasn't a complete lie.

"How are you liking your new residence? I reckon it was to your taste, was it not? The Commodore was quite enthusiastic when he first acquired it" Her Father´s eyes were glinting with a sort of amused confidence that she did not understand, but his words caught her interest immediately.

"You have been to his estate before?"

He had not made even one mention about it and now she was sure Her Father had know all along that James had been waiting to propose to her for a lot longer than she had thought.

Her father looked at her with a little guilt "He was quite nervous the style might not be to your liking so he earnestly request my opinion on the matter. I suppose he wanted me to approve of his purchase before he finalized the transaction" he ended with a chuckle.

She smiled down a little sadly at her lap confirming what she already knew "He bought it for me"

"I´m convinced he had nothing but the best intentions in mind, Elizabeth" he tried to appease her gently.

"I know" she said looking back at him "And the estate is really lovely, I have no complaints on it" she assured him truthfully. She really had made them both worry.

Her father took one of her hands before asking her affectionately "Are you happy, Dear?"

A genuine smile appeared on her face as she replied sincerely "very much, Father"

A couple of weeks had passed since their wedding, and living with him was turning out to be significantly different than living with her Father; James was as dedicated a husband as he had been a fiancé and he had proven how completely serious he had been when he promised her she would be free to do whatever she so desired.

The lack of rules and restraints had been almost baffling but not once did she dared question it.

He hadn´t flooded her with tasks he expected her to do around the estate as she had been anticipating. But when she had asked him if she could do it, he had not denied her the right to either, readily handing over the household management and the ledgers to her. The servants obeyed her immediately and never questioned whether or not James had approved her decisions before complying, she had access to every room, there was no maid following her around unless she wanted to, there were no classes she didn´t feel like sitting thru, no annoying gathering she was forced to attend... It was incredible.

The most unexpected realization was the amount of time James spent working. Because they had always met in other places, she had never noticed it before, but now that they were living together it was obvious he usually spent most of his day outside on the fort, the docks or with her.

And so, at first, she hade become quite occupied with the task of making their new home a properly liveable place, but after she had exhausted every manner of fabric and colour combination, they had quickly reverted to the routine they maintained while they had been engaged. The only notable difference would be that now she would return to their state instead of her Father´s Mansion.

It was much better than before. Now when they parted, she knew he would come home to the same place that she did, and when the moment he did she could spend the rest of the day with him, she could lay down next to him and sleep in his arms at night.

The only thing that bothered her lately, was that he still had not been able to make enough time to keep his word to teach her, he was still busy as usual and she was much too eager on making him fulfil his promise. Busy as he was, she had taken to persistently visiting him at different times, although already resigned to having to wait until all his preparations for the next patrol were completed.

And so, Elizabeth found herself laying down on one of the sofas of James's office, curled up comfortably while her nose was buried in one of his books, until the moment she abruptly declared "I need trousers"

"What?" James who -until that moment- had remained with his eyes fixed on the paperwork in front of him, lifted his face to stare at her with an expression of complete bewilderment at the request. What sort of book had she been reading?

She rolled onto her stomach and crossed her arms on top of the rest arm, letting her chin drop on top and fixing her attention on him before continuing with a smirk "I can not learn proper swordsmanship in a skirt" she rephrased, pulling lightly on the edge of the skirt she was currently donning, talking to him as if he was missing the most obvious thing in the world. "Therefore, I need trousers" she concluded.

His face clearly showed his scepticism, but nevertheless he suggested "Why don´t you send for the tailor today then? I´m sure it will only take a couple of days"

Her face scrunched in concentration, pondering his offer for a moment. "It will be much faster if you just lend me a pair of yours" she argued instead, looking very pleased with her idea.

At which a short noise -that was neither a choke nor a laugh, but somehow both at the same time- escaped him before he could cover it up with the fist he brought in front of his mouth. She also managed to catch a glimpse of the smirk forming there.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, irked by his reaction.

"I´m sorry" he tried to pacify her "it's simply that, it´s… unlikely that my trousers would be of any use to you" he said, letting out a small chuckle.

The laugh made her eyes narrow even more, so she finally got up from her comfortable place of rest and made her way to the other side of his desk "And why is that?" she questioned, leaning over the piece of furniture as she stared at him with a small scowl.

"Don't look at me like that" he pleaded, while a smile still adorning his face "My frame is bigger than you, you will end up losing them" he tried to explain.

She would concede that he was a tall man, but she wasn't short either, she was sure his clothes would do just fine. As she opened her mouth to argue with him, a voice sounded behind them.

"Commodore, Sir!" it was officer Groves, who entered the room making an effort to avoid direct eye contact with her even as he offered a polite "Mrs. Norrington" to her, she noted curiously.

"What is it, Groves?" James asked in a steady tone, his 'Commodore voice' as she liked to call it.

It was truly a wonder to her how he managed to change his expression so quickly in front of his soldiers. Unlike the times when he was alone with her, his mouth would not even twitch in front of his men. She could still not decide if she found it impressive or ridiculous.

"The Dauntless' inspection has been conducted, Sir" Groves reported, standing at attention

"And were there any abnormalities found, officer?"

"Nothing was found amiss. Although some of the gurneys need to be replaced"

James straightened in his seat at that "I remember giving the express order for those to be commissioned, weeks ago"

The officer nodded in agreement "They were Sir, exactly like your ordered. I personally talked to the Blacksmith"

James´ eyes darted in Elizabeth´s direction at the word 'blacksmith' but she did not seem to be paying particular attention to their conversation, instead she was staring inquisitively at Groves.

"And then, what seems to be the problem?" he asked, focusing back on the problem at hand.

"I´m not certain. But Mr. Brown did say they would probably be ready sometime next week"

The news made him frown in annoyance, it had been almost three weeks since he had given the order and the Blacksmith seemed to prefer drinking and sleeping over abiding to his command. It seemed like he would have to ask the Governor to help him find Mr. Brown a new, capable apprentice if he wanted anything done on a timely manner ever again.

Just one more thing for him to deal with, but for now he dismissed Groves with a gesture of his hand "Very well, you can go Officer"

"Sir"

He noticed the way Elizabeth´s eyes trailed after the retreating Groves, she turned to him as soon as the door closed but before he could ask her anything she leaned close once more and asked in a bit of a whisper "What do they think about me spending so much time here?"

He was looking at her with a small, curious frown now "Who are you referring to?"

"Your men James, who else?" she asked more loudly, turning around as if to make sure no one was coming in again.

"And why do you ask?"

"Last time I crossed paths with Lieutenant Gillette while leaving your office, he looked positively mortified to see me"

She had simply tried to be amiable by offering him a smile, but Gillette had stuttered in his step and then fixed his eyes to the floor.

James just stared at her expectantly.

"You really haven´t noticed?"

"I would have definitely noticed if they were behaving towards you in an unbecoming manner"

She shook her head immediately "That´s not what I mean, it´s..." she was having trouble explaining the change, it was more like they were intimidated. "I'm simply curious as to why officer Groves wouldn´t raise his eyes to look at me, he hurried out of your office as if he was being chased out" she declared, pointing at the door with a small smirk.

He seemed to give the thought a moment of his attention before giving up with a slight shrug and returning his attention to his work "I'm their captain Elizabeth. They are not about to start recklessly enquiring about my personal affairs"

"It´s just... Have I offended them in some way?" she hesitated before asking with just the tiniest bit of apprehension in her voice "They don't complain about my presence here, do they?"

Elizabeth started trying to recollect any instance that might have provoked such behaviour, but the officers and posted guards around the fort had always greeted her politely and never shown hostility towards her. His officers seemed even happy to see her most of the times when she came. It was just weird that lately they refused to make eye contact with her.

His eyes raised back at her question and his head tilted slightly to the side with more focus "Why would they complain about you?"

It was her turn to shrug.

She was sure she may have done a thing or two in the past that could have potentially earned her such response, but her behaviour had been outstanding for a while ago. There was nothing anyone should complain about, which made their current situation even more annoying.

"I will have a word with all of them if it´s something that is bothering you, but I´m certain they aren´t trying to be rude" when she didn´t answered right away, he asked "Is it really relevant what they think?" offering a look that made it obvious he himself had no interest in whatever his men´s opinion about them might be.

She huffed in resignation as she sat on his desk, staring at the papers he was working on. He was right, it wasn´t important. Still, the idea that they might be thinking she wasn´t good for James was grating at her pride.

Something must have shown on her expression because when he looked up again, James reached for her cheek and added more seriously "Many of them have told me that my work has become even more efficient, and they seem to think that my mood has dramatically improved since I got married" the amusement in his voice was sincere and made her smile. "I´ve heard nothing but praise about you, Elizabeth."

Her mood finally relaxed when she heard that. She would never tell him, but sometimes she worried his men might hold some resentment towards her over what had happened on Isla de Muerta.

But then she realized what he said "The stoic Commodore Norrington is in a better mood, is he?" she asked impishly, slowly running her fingers over the back of the hand that still held the documents "Oh, the marvels of sex"

He actually snorted at her. "Well, I suppose you would know, Love" he responded, with barely concealed vanity in his tone.

She scrunched her nose at him "I do. I would even dare to say that I´m quite adept at the subject now, and it definitely puts me in a better mood" she purred at him.

At which he pulled his hand back a little and chided her gently "I´m working, Elizabeth. And I need to finish this today" Then his eyes were back down again.

But she was not very convinced, she had heard the note of regret in his words.

Instead of pointing it out, she decided to continue with her speculations "Maybe they simply don't like a woman hanging around the fort? I still remember how superstitious sailors can be, 'bringing women aboard is bad luck' and all of that nonsense" she said, mocking the words she had heard as a kid.

He chuckled lightly "I do believe that only counts at sea"

"You didn't bring another woman here before me that traumatized them, did you?" she asked in jest, pulling the map on the table towards her and studying the route he was charting.

One of his eyebrows climbed up as he asked with disinterest while "What other women would those be exactly?" his eyes remained were they were, even when he added in a matter of fact tone "You are my wife, and the only woman for me"

He said it with such carefree confidence that it sort of made her feel shy, regardless she felt herself smile at the clear affection in his voice.

"Well, they didn't seem to act this way when I first started coming here, before we got married they…" as she said it, the reason behind their odd behaviour came to her. She stood up and walking around his desk with a little hop in her step; settling across his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck as soon as James looked up.

"They think we are doing indecent things in here" she practically sang with mirth.

He appeared to be at a true loss for words before his face settled in a scowl "I would lash every single one of them if I ever learned they were entertaining ideas of you in such an inappropriate way Elizabeth. And why would they even imagine me in that situation?" he questioned as his mouth pursed in distaste.

"Sometimes you truly are not fun at all" she sighed, disappointed at his conclusion. Dropping her head on his shoulder she stared at the ceiling with a small pout.

"And sometimes you are just too mischievous, Love" he answered back, stubbornly staring at the dumb documents, although there was no rebuke in his tone.

Instead of retorting to his comment, she eyed his profile, asking carefreely "So?" it was a struggle not to laugh at the visible confusion that appeared on his face. She pulled on his neck and persevered "Would you like to prove them right, Dear?" she whispered alluringly in his ear, gently nipping his lobe.

He let out a very small, distracted groan at her attention but told her sternly "Elizabeth, I would not be able to concentrate on my work if we do. Ever again"

Her head drew back and she had to commend him for managing to keep his eyes on task. Deciding to try something else, her hand started a path downwards, past his chest and down his taut abdomen, feeling his muscles contract through the layers of fabric of his uniform "But you´re not saying no" she remarked, drawing each syllable out as she continued with her attempt of enticing him.

He eventually gave up on pretending to read the papers in front of him as his hand tangled on the hair at the back of her head, as he drew her close to his face, she went willingly and smugly as well. His kiss was rough, his mouth immediately pried hers open, pushing his tongue inside while his hand kept her head firmly in place. She was having difficulties keeping up with him, but he didn't stop until her head was fuzzy from his ministrations.

It wasn´t until he felt satisfied with the state she was in, that he eventually retreated from her lips to admonish her roughly "You enjoy distracting me from work a little too much" his eyes focused on her were staring at her with some arrogance.

If he had been trying to teach her a lesson, he had just failed monumentally. Now she truly was beyond caring about his work.
"Quiet" she ordered, diving right back to his mouth and pushing on his chin, feeling her lips curl against his in delight when he obliged her and obediently opened his mouth for her, just as she knew he would.

Sometimes she could not help but feel inebriated by the power she had over him, the power he had willingly handed her. Knowing he was willing to leave himself completely unguarded and at her mercy, made her desire for him to give her even more of himself. It was addicting.

Before things could progress any further, he pulled his lips away and offered with a pant "If you are so eager for physical activity we could go out into the forest later in the afternoon, and I´ll start teaching you the basics of marksmanship instead"

It was too easy to realize he was trying to distract her, but even knowing that, she couldn't stop the way her face exploded into an enormous grin. It was embarrassing, but there was no hiding the excitement his offer had provoked in her.

"And I can shoot things?" she asked with uncontained excitement.

"So long as it's not me"

"I promise not to accidentally shoot you" she swore with a raised hand, making his forehead wrinkle at the distinction. "I would never do it on purpose of course, you´re too handsome to hurt" she told him affectionately, already modifying her plans for the rest of the day. Even if she would have to delay their current activity, she could still have him tonight after dinner.

With that settled, she offered him a chaste kiss on the cheek and got off his lap and walked to the door "I´ll wait for you at home then"