She felt herself startle awake the moment her senses registered 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 extended hand and leaning back over 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 covers 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 port for most of the day today, but I´ll send word to your father about your visit to the Mansion today, alright?"

The feeling of exhaustion was too heavy for her to do more than nod in consent. Besides, his steady stroking of the top of her head was lulling 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 and move away from the bed, then the sound of a door opening and closing faintly resonated in her ears. Then she was asleep once again.

The next time her eyes opened, she could tell the sun was up in the sky now. 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 decided whimsically, burying her face on the pillow that still smelled like him.

While she laid on the bed and debated with herself about simply going staying abed the rest of the day, her eyes glanced around the room, spotting a tray of food that had been placed on the commode to her right.

The inviting sight allowed the delicious smell floating around in the air, to finally register on her brain.

James had distracted her again last night and then she had fallen asleep right after, so now that she saw the food she remembered just how famished she truly was when her stomach rumbled in protest. All she wanted was to devour the offer in front of her.

As she sat up feeling a lot more motivated, she reached for the delicious looking bread, shoving it in 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 completely full, that she started paying attention to the condition of the rest of her body. There was a varied array of reddish marks spread all over her limbs, clearly a result of James taking deliberate care of returning her favour.

He really was a knave hiding behind a uniform.

Also there was 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.

Thankfully, she found her chemise waiting for her, neatly folded over the corner of the bed. After slipping it on, she reached for the bell that had been left conveniently close to the tray.

It wasn´t a moment later after she rang it, 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, Elizabeth could already guess that the woman was probably the no-nonsense type, her demeanour was reminiscent to that of her old governess -hopefully she wouldn´t be as annoying as the latter.-

But she felt much more intrigued by the way the younger girls were looking at her with nothing but wide eyes full of curiosity.

It was probably not very difficult to infer what her and James 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 silly, but she wasn´t keen on provoking a new wave of gossip with her as the centre, feeling 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 this day on I'm the lady of this house"

"Madam" they all greeted her in unison. Then the older maid took a step forward and with a business-like tone she informed her "As it was instructed by the Master, these girls will be the ones at your service from today on. 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 wives of her father´s friends usually were, but she too was a married woman now, so she needed to act the part.

"I would like to take a bath now. 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 admirably professional expression, keeping her eyes on her and not blinking once.

The girls did not have nearly as much control, as they all turned their heads down at the same time.

When she followed their stares, she was met with the clear proof of their activities of the day before, their clothes laid discarded, scattered all over the floor on the same spot they had landed when they took them off.

She was distracted from her mortification when she noted with some surprise that most of his clothes were still there, only his coat and tricorn were missing. Belatedly realizing that it made sense 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.

She must have taken too long to answer, because the woman asked her once again "Madam?"

Shaking herself out of her stupor while struggling to keep her face as dignified as possible, she pointed to the dress on the floor and ordered with a steady voice "I will be wearing that one, so get it ready for me"

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

"Very well" the woman agreed, glancing back at the other ones with stern eyes that send them all scattering to follow her unspoken command. "We´ll have your bath ready at the briefest, Madam"

Before the woman could completely abandon the room, she hurried to stopped her "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. So with that determination, Elizabeth found herself arriving on her Father's doorstep.

Estrella was the first person to greet her as she met her coming out the kitchens, the maid hurrying to her side with hasty steps. "Miss Elizabeth!"

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

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

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

Estrella´s face showed complete surprised but she nodded obediently in understanding.

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

"Yes, Miss. He has been inside his study for most of the morning."

Just her luck, her father was home and she would have to greet him as she was. Allowing a short sigh to escape, she instructed the maid "Please prepare another dress for me to change into, and after that, help me get my belongings down and into the carriage outside."

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

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

Estrella´s eyes grew in understanding "Yes, Madam" she corrected with an embarrassed expression, hurrying up the stairs.

After she was left alone, she realized she had forgotten to ask Estrella if he was entertaining guests, which would have given her enough time to rush upstairs and make herself more presentable before greeting him. But she was sure that Estrella would have mentioned something had that been the case, so with resignation, she started to drag her feet towards the direction of his study, examining the long hallway of her childhood home with new eyes as she went.

Even if by all standards the Mansion was considered more luxurious, she much preferred the inviting warmth that the long windows on James´ estate provided and the way the smaller rooms allowed the light to brighten up the insides better. The Mansion seemed gloomy in comparison.

When she peaked her head inside the room, her eyes immediately met her father´s as he greeted her jovially, standing up from his seat and taking her hand to pull her inside "Elizabeth, Dear! How are you?"

When he offered her a cup of tea, she had the strange realization that 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 with amusement "Ah yes, I've already seen to it. The maids were instructed to finish packing all your belongings in chests and have them ready for you, I´ll ask the butler to take them to your carriage."

"Thank you father" she said, feeling a little sheepish by her obvious carelessness.

He offered her a gentle smile before commenting with curiosity "I must confess Dear, that I had expected your visit to take place a little sooner"

Her cheeks flamed at that, but she pretended not to understand what he meant "I... was much too busy yesterday. James showed me the estate and there was much to do afterwards, it became too late for a visit to be appropriate" That 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 about it 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, but seeing the way his expression changed, 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 first thought.

Her father looked at her with a glint of guilt, but his demeanour remained completely relaxed. "He was quite nervous the style might not be to your liking so he earnestly request my opinion on the matter" he chuckled a little before adding "I suppose it had more to do with wanting me to approve of his purchase before he finalized the transaction"

She smirked down at her lap, feeling her stomach flutter a little after 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, probably worrying she might anger at the idea of them cooperating for such a thing behind her back. And she definitely would have in the past, but now she only felt grateful to the two of them.

"I know" she said looking back at him with sincerity "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 "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 had 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 had 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 a much better arrangement than before. Now when they parted, she knew he would come home to the same place that she did, and the moment he did he would willingly give her his undivided attention, she could spend the rest of the day with him, she could lay down next to him on the bed 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 visit him at different times of the day with the hope she would be able to sneak him away from his work, although already resigned to being forced 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 she buried her nose in one of his books, completely immersed, until the moment she declared with abruptness "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?

Rolling onto her stomach, she crossed her arms on top of the rest arm, let her chin drop on top and fixed 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, planting her hands in front of him and 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 adorned his face "My frame is bigger than yours, 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, Mr. Groves?" James asked in a steady tone, his 'Commodore voice' as she liked to call it, showing no trace of the playful behaviour he had been displaying until a second ago.

It was truly a wonder to her how he could manage 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 while he delivered the news.

"And were there any abnormalities found, officer?" "

"Nothing amiss was detected" he reported, but then she saw Groves straightened out even more before cautiously adding "Although some of the gurneys need to be replaced."

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

The officer nodded in agreement "They were Sir, exactly as 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 what seems to be the problem then?" he asked, focusing back on the problem at hand.

"Mr. Brown assured me there wasn´t any, but when I pressed him, he adamantly argued that they would be ready no sooner than next week. Apparently, he seems to believe it is too much work to be done" Groves added, sounding like he was not in agreement with the Blacksmith.

The news made him frown in annoyance, it had been almost three weeks since he had given the order and that man seemed to prefer drinking and sleeping over abiding to his request. It seemed like he would have to talk to the Governor and ask his help in finding Mr. Brown a new, capable apprentice. Otherwise, he suspected it would be difficult to get anything done in a timely manner ever again.

Just one more thing for him to deal with.

Although there was nothing else that could be done for now, so he dismissed Groves with a gesture of his hand "Very well, you can go Officer"

"Sir"

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

He eyes acquired a curious glint as he looked at her with a small frown "Who are you referring to?"

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

"And why do you ask?"

"Because 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 had behaved towards you in an untoward manner"

She shook her head immediately "That´s not what I mean, it´s..." she was having trouble explaining the change, truly it sort of felt like they were intimidated by her. "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 regard her question for a moment before giving up with a slight shrug, 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 attempted to try and 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 time when she came. It was just odd that they refused to make eye contact with her lately.

His eyes raised back at her tone 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 now. There was nothing anyone should complain about, which made the 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 instead "Is it really relevant what they think?" he was displaying a look that made it obvious he himself had no interest in whatever his men´s opinion about their relationship might be.

She huffed in resignation as she sat on the edge of his desk, staring at the different stacks of documents in front of him.

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 honest and made her smile. "I´ve heard nothing but praise about you, Elizabeth."

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

Then she realized what he had said "The stoic Commodore Norrington is in a better mood, is he?" she asked impishly, running slow 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 does not fail to put me in a better mood" she purred at him.

At which he pulled his hand back away from hers slightly, chiding her gently "I´m working, Elizabeth. And I need to finish this today"

His eyes were back down again before she could even respond, 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 "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 voiced the declaration with such carefree confidence that it sort of made her feel shy, regardless her mouth lifted into a 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 became apparent to her. She stood up and walked around his desk with a little hop in her step, settling across his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck without warning.

"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 while his mouth pursed in distaste.

"Sometimes you truly are not fun at all" she sighed with disappointment 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, even when there was no rebuke in his tone.

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

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

She drew her head back so she could make direct eye contact with him, 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 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 at enticing him.

He eventually gave up on pretending to read the papers in front of him as his hand tangled on her hair, pulling her closer to his face. She went willingly, and smugly as well.

His kiss was rough, and when his mouth pried hers open he pushed his tongue inside while he used his hand to keep her firmly in place. She was having difficulties keeping up with his movements, but he didn't stop until her head was fuzzy from his ministrations.

It wasn´t until she had started panting for air and he was satisfied with the muddled state she was in, that he eventually released her lips.

And when he did, it was to admonish her roughly. "You enjoy distracting me from work a little too much"

It took her a moment too long to gather herself and his eyes stared at her with some arrogance as she did. But 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 as soon as she regained her breath, diving right back to his mouth and pushing on his chin with her thumb. Her lips curl against his in delight when he quietly obeyed 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 to 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.

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

It was too easy to understand 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 a bit aggravating, but there was no hiding the excitement his offer had provoked in her.

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

"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," she told him affectionately, lightly brushing his lower lip "You´re too handsome to hurt"

She was already strategically 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. And 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."