Ed would be lying if he said he'd slept well. It was the comfiest bed he'd ever slept in, but thoughts of Stede plagued him throughout the night, meaning he only slept in bursts of about twenty minutes.

Eventually, Ed decided that it was close enough to morning that it was acceptable to give up on sleep and get up, so, he made his way downstairs towards the kitchen. To Ed's surprise, Mary was already there, standing over the stove next to a woman with an eye patch.

"Ed!" Mary greeted him with a smile, "This is my friend Evelyn. Evelyn, this is Ed."

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at Ed and looked him up and down, "This is your accomplice then?"

Ed raised his eyebrow at Mary, but she just smiled at him.

Evelyn hummed, "I guess he looks like he can handle himself better than the other two,"

"The other two?" Ed asked, still slightly bewildered by the woman,

"Doug and Stede," Mary supplied, before turning to Evelyn, "I thought you liked Doug,"

"I do but I wouldn't back him in a fight."

Ed eyed Evelyn cautiously, but he decided she wasn't a threat and walked over to Mary. He looked over her shoulder into the pan she was stirring, "What are you making?" He asked,

"Biscuits for later; Evelyn brought over the final ingredient." Mary winked at Ed with a grin.

Ed nodded. He glanced over at Evelyn again to see that she was frowning,

"He knows?" She asked Mary.

Mary sighed, "He's in on the plan, of course he knows."

Evelyn's scowl deepened, "I don't like it,"

"You wouldn't."

Evelyn turned and narrowed her eyes at Ed, "You should leave Mary out of your plans," she said,

"I've already tried to tell her I'll do it alone, but she insisted."

Evelyn turned back to Mary, "He's not worth it, Mary," she said.

Ed got the distinct impression that they were no longer talking about him. He also had a feeling he knew exactly who they were talking about.

"We've been over this, Evie, I'm not just going to leave him."

Ed felt a twisting sensation in his stomach and he suddenly wanted to be anywhere other than this kitchen. He didn't want to hear this woman he didn't know try to dissuade Mary from helping him rescue Stede. "I'm just gonna…" Ed gestured vaguely at the door.

Mary turned back to look at Ed and frowned, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Can I borrow some more of Stede's clothes?"

"Go for it," Mary said, "I don't have any need for them."

Ed left the kitchen and made his way back up the stairs. He made his way back to the spare room Mary had shown him to the day before. He opened up the wardrobe and ran his fingers over the clothes. He took his time choosing his outfit. He could have been much quicker, but he wanted to avoid running into Evelyn again.

Eventually Ed was dressed, and he made his way back down to the kitchen. Thankfully, Evelyn was gone, and Doug had taken her place at the kitchen table. Mary stood by the counter was putting her fresh biscuits into a tin.

She smiled at Ed when he walked into the room, "Are you ready?" She asked.

Ed nodded, "Are you?"

Both Mary and Doug nodded, and Mary picked up the biscuit tin.

"Then let's go."

Ed watched impatiently as Doug and Mary put on their shoes and coats, doing his absolute best not to make any sounds intended to hurry them along. Before long though they were ready, and they set out towards the town square.

There was already a sizable crowd gathering, despite it still being fairly early in the day. Ed, Mary, and Doug kept to the shadows, doing their best to not draw attention to themselves. The crept around the outskirts of the square until they came to a stop opposite the jail house.

Ed turned to Mary, "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, "I can do it. You can still wash your hands of all this."

Mary placed her hand on Ed's arm, "I'm not going to leave you, Ed, we're in this together,"

"But you're friend…"

"I don't do things just because Evelyn tells me to. I am quite capable of making my own decisions, just like you are Doug are."

Ed smiled at Mary, "Thank you."

Mary returned the smile then smoothed down he skirts and turned to the jailhouse,

"Good luck," she called to Ed and Doug,

"You too," Ed replied.

-x-

Mary set off towards the jailhouse, biscuit tin in hand. She took a deep breath and pushed open the door. She was thankful that there was only one man in the room, just the guy sat behind the desk.

"Good morning, Ma'am," the man said,

"Good morning, Chief,"

"What can I do for you?"

Mary walked over to the desk and placed the biscuit tin on top of it, "Well Chief, I was doing some baking with my children, so now my house is full of far too many biscuits and the three of us are never going to manage to eat them all, and I thought who deserves all these biscuits more than our town police. After all, you've all been working so hard to keep us safe from these pirates, I bet you haven't had a chance to take a break since they arrived!" Mary opened the tin and held it out to the chief.

"Oh, thank you. I don't mind if I do," the chief reached out and took one of the biscuits. He took a bite and smiled, "These are delicious, be sure to thank your children for me,"

"I will, they'll be delighted to hear that."

The chief took another bite and Mary watched closely as his eyes fluttered closed and the chief slumped over in his chair, unconscious, as Evelyn's special ingredient took effect.

"Perfect," Mary hurried around to the other side of the desk and started to search for the keys to the cells.

-x-

The moment Mary was out of sight Ed turned to Doug, "How about you? Are you ready?"

Doug nodded.

Ed grinned. He reached out and grabbed Doug's shirt. He yanked on it harshly, ripping it across the chest, then gave Doug a light push towards the square.

"Help!" Doug shouted, "I've been attacked!"

The policemen stationed around the jailhouse all rushed towards him, "What happened?" One of them asked.

Ed left his place in the shadows and dashed towards the jailhouse, Doug's distraction providing him the perfect cover.

He ducked inside and found two guards stood outside the entrance to the cells.

"Who are you?" One of them cried, as they raised their guns.

Ed grabbed hold of one of the guards' guns and pushed it backwards, so the butt went straight into the guard's stomach, causing him to double over in pain.

Ed spun around to face the other guard, who was staring at him in shock. Ed took advantage of the man's shock to take a swipe at his legs, causing the man to topple over. Ed took hold of the man's gun and wrenched it from his grasp. He hit the man he'd taken the gun off on the back of the head with the butt of the gun, knocking him out.

Ed then turned back to the first guard, who was just about upright again. He jumped at the man and looped his gun around his neck. He applied all his weight, cutting off the guard's air supply. The man gasped then fell limp in Ed's arms.

"Wow."

Ed spun around to see Mary standing in the doorway. She held out a set of keys, "I can see what Stede sees in you."

Ed took the keys and nodded at Mary, "See you soon," he said,

"Good luck." Mary turned and hurried back out of the jailhouse.

Ed turned back to the door leading to the cells. He fitted the keys into the lock and turned it. The door opened and Ed stepped inside.

He found himself in a corridor, lined either side with cells containing Stede's crew, all of whom were poking their heads through the rails to see what the noise was.

"Ed," Stede breathed,

"Hey,"

"You came,"

"Of course."

Somebody coughed, "Not to interrupt but do you have keys for these?" Zheng asked, rattling the bars on her cell.

"Oh, right, yes." Ed hurried down to the cells and started unlocking them.

"Go out the back door, we're making our escape through there," Ed instructed them.

"Ed," Stede took hold of Ed's hand, "I just want to say-"

Ed squeezed Stede's hand, "Not now."

Stede's face fell.

"No," Ed tried to correct, "I just meant let's get out of here first. Then we can talk."

"Oi! Love birds," Izzy shouted,

"We're coming!" Ed shouted back, before hurrying towards the back door. He pushed it open to reveal a carriage with Mary sat in the driving seat.

"Mary‽" Stede cried, "What are you doing here?"

"Helping your boyfriend rescue you, now get in,"

"Who's Mary?" Archie asked,

"My sort of wife," Stede said,

"You're married‽" Izzy cried,

"Yes, look-"

Mary coughed, "Can you have this conversation in the carriage? I don't know how long Doug can keep up his diversion,"

"Doug's here‽" Stede cried.

Mary scowled, "Get in the carriage!"

"Are we all going to fit?" Lucius asked, eyeing at carriage warily,

"If you don't want to get thrown back in jail you will," Ed said.

Stede opened the door to the carriage, and everyone started piling in.

Ed climbed up and joined Mary in the driving seat, "Let's go," he said.

Mary pulled on the reins and the carriage started making its way back towards the Bonnet house.