A/N: This one took so long in part because I had to do stupid amounts of research for a few throwaway lines regarding Theo's dad and his soldiering. American history is not my strong suit, but I got there in the end.
They'd been in each other's company for all of five minutes, and Theo already knew perfectly well that Captain James Norrington hated her. Okay, she had to admit that she wouldn't be so completely certain of that fact if this really was her first ever introduction to the man - she'd probably still suspect, because he didn't have any Oscars in his future, but she wouldn't know it as strongly as she did now. The few smiles he offered were tight-lipped at best, and a slight shadow of the sarcastic, mocking ones she'd seen him flash in Jack's direction more times than she should probably admit. The Curse of the Black Pearl made for stellar background noise, and had often been a great excuse for her to slowly ignore the homework in her lap when she was younger that she was supposedly in the middle of doing.
And maybe, despite that knowledge, she'd still have been able to convince herself that it was just how he was - for he hardly seemed the type to beam over every little thing - were it not for the looks she caught the two Swanns sharing on more than one occasion in response to a wry remark here, or a pointed question there. She wasn't familiar enough with the way of speaking here just yet to know all the ways he was making fun of her, or doubting her, but she knew enough to know that he was.
The Governor had avoided the bedchamber now known as 'hers' beyond what had been required for basic introductions, and the servants didn't speak to her at all, leaving Elizabeth as her sole source of all things social. And that wasn't exactly a bad thing. The Governor was such a different animal from Theo that they may as well have hailed from different planets as well as different times, and the more the servants talked to her, the more chances she had to slip up and say something stupid, so she wasn't too bothered on those scores. And Elizabeth? Elizabeth was nice. Warm. Lovely, even. And really, really eager - so eager to know what the future held for women, and of all of the advancements it offered in all regards, but especially that one.
Theo didn't dare hope that Norrington would warm to her as Elizabeth had…nor tolerate her for Elizabeth's sake so willingly as the Governor did.
"I find it curious, Miss Byrne, that no evidence of a wreckage has yet washed up upon our shores," he said - and then, when he realised what he was saying sounded too much like an accusation, he added "If it did, we might have a heading in order to sail out and offer help."
"I've been here two weeks, sir, were it a shipwreck any other folk needing help would be long gone by now."
His dark eyebrows rose, and that seemed a far sight more genuine than whatever smile he'd tried to offer beforehand.
"Were it a shipwreck?" he echoed "So you suppose that it was not?"
Theo's brow furrowed "I do more than suppose. I was there. It's the sort of thing you tend to remember."
"Then I would ask that you share with us what did happen, madam, without any further preamble."
It was then that she winced - because she had been needlessly prickly, a result of her nerves and the blatant distaste that rolled off of him in waves. Had there been less at stake - had she been back home - she'd have gotten up and walked away in the face of such condescension. But she wasn't back home, and there was a lot at stake.
"I'm sorry," she sighed "I don't…I'm out of sorts. This isn't something I take much joy in remembering."
"In which case, I doubt your recount will bring any of us much joy, but still we must hear it."
Norrington's words were sympathetic, sort of, but his tone was not.
"Of course, of course. I…back home, I booked passage from Dublin to America- er, the Americas."
"Alone?"
"Yes, alone. My father is my only family, and he's a soldier."
"A soldier?" his eyes lit up "In which Regiment? It would be no great thing to contact his superiors and speak with him readily."
"It's not that simple," she shook her head "He's not a…typical soldier. The nature of his work means that he doesn't - that he can't - officially exist. Few know of him other than his direct superiors, and fewer still know of the specific nature of his work, and his whereabouts by extension. He certainly could never share much with me about where he was going, or why, or for how long. I'm not sure he ever knew the full details in advance himself."
Most of what she said here was true, so it wasn't too difficult to lend a bit of confidence to her tone.
"What do you know?" he asked the question like it was a challenge.
"That he was headed for the Carolinas. With all of the political unrest that yet remains there after the Yamasee War, and how folk are inclined to be doubtful when it comes to Irish sentiments towards the King and his authority, I imagine his superiors thought it might be good to have somebody who wouldn't draw much suspicion keeping an eye on things."
This was where the truth grew foggier. The truth being that she had no bloody clue what the Yamasee War was until Elizabeth floated it as something to throw out there - and she still wasn't particularly clear on the details. She'd had to practise the line a couple of times on her own to even be capable of repeating it without sounding like she had no clue what she was talking about.
"For one who professes to know little, you certainly have a fair amount of details," Norrington commented drily.
"I'm doing guesswork, honestly, Captain. Based on the sort of work I've known him to be doing in the past."
"Governor Swann is Governor of Port Royal, surely if he was to write to the powers in the Carolinas, they would be aware of your father."
"He could write to the King of England and potentially not have much luck if the information my father's handling is as sensitive as it's been led to believe."
"The proprietary government in the Carolinas is on the brink of collapse, Captain Norrington," Elizabeth added casually "I'm unsure as to whether they'd have the time or patience to spare in order to uncover and potentially therefore hinder a man doing sensitive work on the King's behalf for the sake of a daughter who is, for all intents and purposes, alive and well."
The look Norrington gave to Elizabeth in response to that was hardly nasty, Theo doubted he was capable of that, but it was pointed - and certainly suggested she'd gone off-script with the line of questioning he was trying to take.
"I find this all very convenient," he scoffed finally.
"How's that?" Theo challenged quietly "I've no idea where my only family is and almost died trying to reach the same continent as him. His unreachability damns me as a liar in your eyes, and leaves me unable to prove my case, or do much of anything really unless I want to risk another solo voyage. What part of that bodes well for me, or for you?"
It turned out he was much happier to give biting looks in Theo's direction than he was Elizabeth's. But she must've proved her point, because he changed his line of questioning.
"You still have not explained how you came to be washed up on our shores."
"The reason I booked passage in the first place is that whatever small amount of communication I received from my father dried up. As did the money he would send for me to live on while he was gone. With what was left, I made my mind up to sail to the Americas and see if I could find anything."
"A weighty risk."
"Better than staying at home and starving," she shrugged a little "Worst case scenario, I thought there'd be more work over there than there was at home, should I need to enter service and support myself."
"Enter service?" he arched a dark eyebrow.
"Yes."
"Not find a husband?"
Theo smiled a little "I wasn't that desperate."
Elizabeth hid a laugh with a bow of her head, and even Norrington seemed half tempted to offer a snort in response. But he covered it up quickly, and the curiosity with which he beheld her intensified.
"I underestimated the expense of travel, though, and the only captain I could find who would agree to secure me a place on his vessel was a…well. He was an unscrupulous sort. His manner was unbecoming of a gentleman. His passenger roster was already full, but he took what gold I had and agreed to take me on, but only off the books. I suspect because he had taken a liking to me."
"A liking to you?" Norrington echoed stonily.
"Well, there's no accounting for taste, eh?" she said drily.
There was that shadow of a smile again.
"I was confident I could avoid him, though, and that's what I did for some time. The voyage proceeded reasonably well, and I avoided the captain as best I could. And then we lost the wind."
James' lips thinned. That particular detail was a brainwave of Elizabeth's, as it turned out she'd heard many sailors complain of similar conditions over the last few weeks. No doubt he was pissed off that it lended believability to her story.
"The men kept their nerve," she said slowly, and then forced a bitter smile onto her face "For a week. By the second, however, superstition took over, and the blame landed on me."
"On you?"
"No doubt as a sailor yourself you've heard the superstition that women bring bad luck down upon a ship?"
"Yes."
"And redheads, too?"
"Of course. But sailors of the British Navy hardly ascribe to such nonsense, superstition is all it is."
"Well, it's a shame I couldn't book passage on a naval ship, then, for I might have fared better there. As a redheaded woman I was branded a Jonah. A bringer of bad luck. It was decided that the best course of action would be to throw me overboard so that they might entice the wind to return."
"And the captain allowed this?"
"I…" she hesitated, then coughed and cast her eyes downward "He made it clear that only one thing might convince him to fight my case with his men. It wasn't a course of action I was willing to take. Walking the plank was preferable, really."
Governor Swann began to mutter a series of disagreeable noises beneath his breath - both believing of and utterly disgusted by the tale she was spinning. Theo didn't dare look up to see if Norrington had bought it, though, worried that she'd find herself on the receiving end of one of those shrewd stares…and that whatever that stare found would bode ill for her. Luckily, that worry added to her fluster, and she took a deep breath in as Elizabeth made a show of resting a comforting hand at her back.
"Once I was in the water, I managed to divest myself of the heaviest layers of my clothing - so I could float on my back, you see. I didn't have a plan after that, I didn't even expect to survive in the long run, I just knew I didn't want to drown," she said, voice strained "Although I did wonder at times if it wouldn't be quicker and easier if I just got it over wi…well. At some point or another I became too delirious to do much of anything. And then I woke up on the beach - to Miss Swann finding me."
"Elizabeth," Elizabeth corrected firmly.
In her peripheral vision, she saw James' attention shoot to Elizabeth and knew instantly that he did not like the firmly reinforced familiarity on her part. Theo finally looked up and at him properly, and hoped that a bit of direct honesty might plead her case and show him that she really didn't mean any harm.
"I have no intention of being a burden," she said seriously "I had no intention of being a burden, and the fact that I haven't been able to help it isn't something I'm pleased about. I'm grateful that you - that none of you - have washed your hands of me yet. I will always be grateful for that. As soon as I'm able to stand for more than ten minutes without feeling like I'm going to faint, I will do everything I can to see that nobody has to concern themselves with me eating their food, taking up their space, their time, and inconveniencing them anymore."
And with that one, very heartfelt, assurance…she watched as whatever small amount of goodwill she'd clawed from him vanished. His features became stony, and something in his jaw clicked as he ground his teeth together and finally regarded her coolly. All Theo could do was return his glare with an alarmed stare of her own.
"We are not so lax here, madam, in our care nor in our duty, that something so small as momentary inconvenience would lead us to abandon either."
With that, they were done.
"Why do I have a feeling that didn't go well?"
She hadn't tried to shake Norrington's hand as he left this time, but she suspected he wouldn't have accepted it if she did. So she stayed where she was, and waited until she heard the heavy click of the front door before she addressed Elizabeth and the Governor.
"Well…you did insult us," Elizabeth replied slowly, like she was amazed at Theo's bemusement.
"What? When? How?!" Theo gaped at her.
"Theodora, do you truly think we'd value an extra portion of food, or an empty bedchamber, or whatever meagre amount of money it would cost to clothe you more than your safety and wellbeing? That we would be more troubled by that than by the prospect of your being out there alone in the streets?" Elizabeth frowned at her, hurt glimmering in her dark eyes.
"Of course not," Theo blinked "I didn't say that."
"You did. In your speech to Captain Norrington just now. We all heard it."
"No," Theo insisted "No, it would be insulting if I planned to be a leech on your household when I've got four working limbs and an ability to support myself."
"So you intend to, what? Learn a trade?"
"I'm not above scrubbing pots and pans in town if that's what it takes."
"God in heaven, you're serious, aren't you?" Elizabeth stared at her in disbelief.
"Of course I am."
"Whyever should you do that when we can help you?"
"Because it's not your fault that I ended up where I did, so why should it be your problem?"
"It may not be our fault, but it's now our responsibility."
"Which isn't fair to you! You've done your bit and then some to help, it would be undignified of me to take advantage of your kindness unless I absolutely have no other choice."
"What bizarre sort of place do you come from?" Elizabeth gaped at her in amazement.
"Oh come on, look at Will Turner. He took on a trade. He learned to stand on his own two feet without leeching off of the people who found him indefinitely."
Plenty of servants had murmured about the similarities in her coming to Port Royal and Will's, and even the Swanns themselves had commented on it, so there was no need for her to pretend that she didn't know who he was.
"Will is a man."
"So what, I'm just expected to be your problem until…" she almost slipped and forgot that Governor Swann was in the room, given his silence and apparent happiness to bear witness to the exchange with a level of bafflement that matched Elizabth's, but she quickly found her footing and saved herself "Until my father can be found?"
"Or until we find you a husband," Elizabeth said drily.
"At this point, I don't know which one is least likely," Theo breathed a disbelieving laugh that threatened to crack as mortification threatened to overwhelm her.
Not only had she severely pissed off the big bad authority in Port Royal, at least until Beckett would come knocking, as well as the Swann's closest family friend, but she'd insulted them all to their very faces while she was trying to thank them. There might not have been a language barrier in the most technical, literal sense of the world, but she might as well have been trying to speak to them in Swedish for how well she'd done so far.
"I'm…I'm sorry. So sorry. I wasn't trying to insult you - I was trying to avoid insulting you by not being an imposition. I was trying to say the opposite of what I…oh for…"
She couldn't even swear properly, instead cutting herself off and falling silent so she didn't dig herself in deeper by blaspheming or whatever else they'd find unacceptable here. Oh golly, or oh deary me didn't quite fit the bill here as much as a nice oh for fuck's sake would have.
And apparently that was far too much emotion for the proper Englishman that Governor Swann was, for he sighed and stood with a pleasant, if not somewhat awkward, smile.
"Do not trouble yourself, Miss Byrne. We face a great cultural chasm here, that much is now apparent - but we are aware of it, so we can now ensure that we won't fall prey to its depths. I shall speak with Captain Norrington this evening and apprise him of your misunderstanding. All will be well."
Theo only hoped she could believe him - but she was instead fairly sure that Norrington would like nothing more than to fling her into that chasm at first chance. Duty or no.
A/N: Since the last chapter I actually read Pride and Prejudice for the first time in its entirety, and I loved it - not least because, y'know, inspiration, but also because part of that inspiration comes from Lizzie and Jane and the camaraderie there, which provides such a good model for close female camaraderie in something that kinda sorta resembles this time period. More of that to come!
I did get a bit stuck with this story because even with James being less inclined to give Theo the benefit of the doubt in this version of events, I didn't want their differences or conflict to be born purely from initial suspicion, or for it to turn into a thing of "I have simply decided to hate you" because they're both a bit too practical and reasonable for that.
But I've been reading a lot lately around historical settings (non-fiction, and contemporary fiction) and one thing that keeps striking me in that reading is how much less individualistic society could be in time periods such as this. Especially when you see unmarried (or widowed) women essentially being ferried around between friends and family who can take them on when they have no husbands or fathers to care for them. In cases like this, plenty of women in that position would even be significantly included in the wills of wealthy friends and neighbours, so there was definitely a sense of community and helping one another - to the point where they were within their rights to almost expect it, and be openly disappointed if it didn't happen - without it being seen as shameful or leeching like it might be today. So I don't think it's really a stretch to think that her being seen to refuse the help of the Swanns (or the care of James, insofar as his position would require of him) would be seen as an insult to them. Class would play a huge role here, too. If the Swanns were struggling or not in a role of responsibility in society, Theo's ideas about their washing their hands of her wouldn't be so iffy.
Unfortunately for Theo, I think she'd really struggle to accept that help without feeling like she was leeching or being a great big burden. I don't think it would even occur to her that it might reflect poorly on the Swanns if the woman they found ended up slumming it somewhere as soon as she was no longer bedridden - especially given that Theo is a woman. Cue Elizabeth as cultural translator.
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