"Elizabeth! What are you doing here?" asked Rachel.

She felt caught and wiped the sand unsteadily with her boot.

"You'd better explain that to me. Shouldn't you be in bed, resting up for your big day?"

Rachel really only wanted to go back to the beach, but of course she couldn't tell Elizabeth the truth.

"Listen, I saw you on the beach and recognised Jack immediately. And I can understand only too well that you don't want to get married. Let's play with an open hand, shall we?" Elizabeth helped her on her way.

Rachel took heart and told her she was planning a short visit to the Black Pearl.

Elizabeth let out a sigh. She would have preferred not to have found Rachel here and yet she wanted to help her somehow.

"You're sure this is a good idea?"

Like herself, Rachel placed a lot of value on making her own decisions and, like herself, Rachel reacted extremely displeased when decisions were taken away from her. That's why Elizabeth knew exactly how she wanted to proceed.

"I don't know," Rachel admitted.

Elizabeth thought hard. It wasn't like Jack to pick Rachel up just for a little outing. There had to be something behind it.

And the appearance of the pirate had also constantly tied her thoughts to Will. She missed him – always. But the desire for his presence had increased again since Jack Sparrow had appeared in Port Royal's harbour.

"How long is the trip supposed to be?" asked Elizabeth.

"Sparrow said I get to decide that."

Her cousin laughed out loud. "What Jack says and what he does are usually two different pairs of shoes – if not four."

"I'll be there in time for the wedding. I promise," Rachel said.

"You can't promise that, Rachel. But it would be better … I might be able to stall Flanagan for a day."

"Can you write him something with Jack Sparrow's name in it and the hint that if I don't come back, he'll have to track him down?"

Elizabeth tilted her head. "Why not tell him now that you're up and away with pirates by choice?" she said ironically.

"Just in case Sparrow's up to something."

"Oh, he's up to something, that's for sure."

"Yet you let me go?"

"Could I stop you if I minded?"

"No. You simply don't have that right, Elizabeth. You've had your experiences, saved yourself from your arranged marriage. Then it would be hypocritical for you to try to stop me."

Rachel spoke calmly and Elizabeth heard the rational thoughts from her words. But one thing made her wonder. "You do want to be back by your wedding though, don't you?"

Rachel nodded. "Not really, but I can't overshadow him with grief for the … I don't know how many times because I'm rejecting a man again … even if he's not here any more," she said truthfully.

"I hope you're right and Jack will bring you back by the day after tomorrow … though I'm sure it won't be the case. I know him."

Suddenly, Rachel smiled in amusement. "You know what? It wasn't up to me to choose my own husband, so why should it be up to me whether the wedding takes place or not?"

"Fair, and I'm still worried. Well, a word of advice from me: you don't want to be in a dress on a pirate ship – I wouldn't want to experience that again … I'll give you something. Let's go upstairs."

The Black Pearl was just faintly visible in the distance. Jack was waiting where Rachel had left him earlier.

"Chaperone?" asked Jack, looking at Elizabeth with an unclassifiable look on his face.

"She was just helping me carry the suitcase," Rachel replied, out of breath, dropping said suitcase in the sand in front of her.

The heavy-looking thing hit the floor with a thud, and Jack tilted his head with a grimace.

"Unusual," was all he said, though he wanted to use so many other words.

Rachel brushed her hair behind her back and his gaze fell on an amulet that hung on a pretty chain around her neck and only now came to light. It hadn't been there before and she hadn't worn it when they first met.

Jack knew the symbol only too well. It was a face that ended in two crab claws at the top. Suddenly his brain strained mightily.

"Where did you get that?" he now wanted to know from Rachel.

Rachel followed his gaze and she looked at her cleavage.

Upset, she reigned him in, "Well, I won't have inherited it from my father, and unfortunately I never met my mother to judge if it's from her!"

Jack beamed with excitement at Rachel. He did not want to point out her mistake.

"He means your necklace and the pendant," Elizabeth said, and a transformation passed through her as she too looked at the pendant.

She had seen this pendant around another woman's neck before … Rachel had only unwrapped the pendant when she was alone, and Elizabeth had had no idea what had been in the little box …

"Oh, sorry. Elizabeth gave this to me the other day. My father had been saving it for me," Rachel explained.

Jack looked at Rachel, then at the pendant, and then back at his Pearl standing in the water not far from them. He was convinced he was putting one and one together correctly, and was annoyed he hadn't thought of it sooner.

"Jack …," Elizabeth whispered, barely having turned to push the dinghy into the water.

"I know … I know, damn it!"

Rachel did not understand what they were talking about.

"Jack, if it wasn't for Henry … I swear you'd be stuck with me right now," Elizabeth said.

Jack had no clue who Henry was, nor did he care at the moment.

"If you see Henry, buy him a drink from me," Jack said.

"Henry is my four-month-old son."

"My condolences. The drink is still pending."

Then Jack paused, having almost pulled his boat into the sea.

"You cheated on your sweetie Will?" he asked, as if that would suspend the laws of the tides.

"Will Turner is Henry's father. Will Turner, who disappeared on this coast a year and two months ago."

"But not a eunuch …," Jack whispered more to himself. "Ah, you wasted no time on your last day together on land. And the whelp hasn't even seen his whelp yet. Someone's counting the months very carefully too, aye?"

Jack's grin was about to break the confines of his face until Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder.

"Jack … if an opportunity arises …"

"I promise absolutely nothing, aye?"

"But you are still an opportunist?"

Jack was no longer in the mood for this conversation.

Rachel watched Elizabeth very closely. Whatever her cousin was about, one thing was clear: it was incredibly important to Elizabeth, whatever she had just indirectly demanded from Jack.

The two women dragged the suitcase to the boat.

Jack had already taken a seat and Elizabeth took Rachel aside.

"Watch out and don't you dare not come back. I don't care if you get back in time for the wedding or not, as long as you get back here safe and sound."

Elizabeth pulled Rachel into a hug and closed her eyes.

Rachel and Jack reached the Black Pearl, and no sooner had they arrived at deck than Gibbs rang the alarm bells.

"Jack, over there! Do you see? It's the same ship that was chasing us when we came here," Gibbs said, pointing with his arm to the open sea.

"Barbossaׅ," Jack muttered and smiled because he saw his theory confirmed and that, although, this theory automatically brought trouble. "Full speed south!" he then called to his crew. "Your sightseeing time on the Pearl has just been drastically extended," Jack said curtly to Rachel.

"But I have to be back the day after tomorrow morning. I'm getting married," Rachel dutifully contradicted, and really meant it.

Yes, she had used Jack as an escape route … and she regretted that now, because it had been completely naive of her. But she didn't want to abandon her foster father or her still unknown future husband like that … if she was honest with herself, that's exactly what she wanted, but she wouldn't have the heart to do it.

"All the better to get out of here quickly, aye?" said Jack, smiling at Rachel.