Fic: Ghosts 3/? [PotC, Sparrabeth, PG-13]
Title: Ghosts 3/?
Author: GylzGirl
Rating: PG-13 for now
Fandom: PotC
Pairing: Sparrabeth
Continuity: This fic is a sequel to Fate Intervenes.
Summary: After leaving Libertalia, Jack and Elizabeth Sparrow once again take to sailing the seas on the Black Pearl; but raw emotions, rough seas and the past seek to test their happily ever after.
Betas: desiring_me & Karen, the Awesome.
Author's Notes: This poor chapter has been the victim of crazy holiday schedules, first that of one of my betas, then my own. Apologies.
******************************
CHAPTER THREE: The Marquesa de Andelusia
Once in the courtyard of the estate, Alejo ran ahead to knock on the door and announce the need for medical help. Jack cast a wary eye up at the imposing stone façade. Marty had been right, it truly was more castle than house. Now lantern light was illuminating the windows as the house was roused to their aid. Two large men came out of the front door with Alejo in tow. One immediately reached to take Elizabeth out of Jack's arms. Jack backed up a step, tightening his hold on her.
"Please Mr. Jack, they will carry her to the upstairs so that la Marquesa's physician can examine her. La Marquesa wishes to meet with you. Nobody will harm…"
"My wife," Jack interjected. "Elizabeth."
"On my word, Mr. Jack. We only wish to help," Alejo said.
Reluctantly, Jack allowed one of the two newcomers to take Elizabeth. The man was very gentle in his handling of her and Jack relaxed ever so slightly. Alejo smiled reassuringly at Jack and moved right next to him in a subtle indication that he was offering himself as collateral until Elizabeth was returned safely to him.
"I will take you to la Marquesa now, yes? She is very nice. Everything will be good."
Jack put his arm on the boy's shoulder. "Lead on, Alejo. And thank ye for all your help," Jack said in Spanish, clearly surprising him.
Alejo took a lantern from the floor just inside the doors and led Jack into a shadowed hallway. He followed the boy and his light uneasily through the darkness. Jack stiffened as he walked, fear creeping across his skin. It was not what might lurk in the gloominess that had unsettled him. It was the fact that he felt as though he knew this house; this mad, grand house on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Jack wondered, not for the first time in his life, if he had finally lost all mental anchor and been set adrift in the Sea of Lunacy.
The hallway led to a set of large wooden doors which Alejo stopped at and knocked upon. "Marquesa?" Alejo spoke in Spainish. "I have brought him. The man from the shipwreck. Mr. Jack."
"Captain Jack," he corrected.
"Captain Jack," Alejo repeated.
There was a sound of breaking glass behind the doors. "Marquesa? Are you alright?"
The doors flew open before them. There stood a beautiful woman with long dark hair and light green eyes. She was nearly Jack's height, her pale skin flushed with color and her white dressing gown tied askew revealing a glimpse of breast and nightgown. Her eyes found Alejo and quickly slid to the right, focusing on Jack's face.
"Jack?" she said, breathless with excitement. "My Jack!"
Jack's kohl-lined eyes widened. "Sera?"
She grinned and gripped the lapels of his drenched coat. She shoved him hard against the opposite wall and brought her delicate ivory hand to his well-tanned face. "I always knew you'd come back, mi amour."
With that, she affixed an active mouth to Jack's surprised one. As her thigh slid up Jack's leg and hooked over his hip, Alejo blushed and backed away a couple of steps. "It seems you two have met," he said uncomfortably.
Jack's hands gently gripped the woman's upper arms and he pushed her off of him with an audible pop as their mouths parted. "Sera, grateful though I am to receive your hospitality, yet again…" His dark eyes flicked over to the large round ring with flowers set in gold on his finger. He dropped his hold of her and hid the hand with the ring on it behind his back.
Sera laughed. "Oh Jack, you never took anything from me I didn't give willingly, even if you didn't bother to ask. It was my husband's ring and he wasn't using it any more. I was touched you wanted something to remember me by. And seeing as you have never sold it…" She smiled and leaned forward, aiming for his lips once again.
"Sera," Jack said. "The woman upstairs is me wife."
She froze and blinked. "Your wife?"
"Me wife. Lizzie, well Elizabeth."
Sera's expression became unreadable for a moment and then a peaceful smile lit her beautiful face. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I was surprised. I never took you for the marrying type. I'm happy for you, Jack. Alejo will take you up to her. I'm sure she'll be just fine after a little rest."
Jack smiled and cupped her cheek with his hand. "Thank ye again, Sera."
Alejo gestured for Jack to follow him through the wooden doors and towards the massive staircase that lay beyond them. Sera's gaze followed the men as they walked past her and up the stairs, until they were out of sight. She slid down the doorframe, coming to sit on the floor as she blinked away tears.
******
Alejo knocked quietly upon the third door off the hallway of the second floor landing. Dr. Agusti Tovar, a man seemingly not much older than Alejo opened the door. He acknowledged him with a nod of his head and then turned his attention to Alejo's companion. "You must be Jack?" His English, though accented, was much better than Alejo's.
Jack was about to ask him how he knew his name when a smile brightened his features. "She's awake?"
A young woman in a servant's clothes stepped out from behind the doctor and smiled shyly at Jack as she carried Elizabeth's clothes from the room.
"She is dozing now. But she was awake and alert. She was asking for you."
"How is she?"
"Very tired; this is only to be expected. The gash on her head was not deep; it merely bled impressively as head trauma tends to do. She has a little swelling where she was knocked unconscious but that too seems not to have had undo effect. Mayra changed her out of her wet clothes and into a dry nightgown la Marquesa provided."
"Ta, Doctor," Jack said, exhaling in relief.
"Come Alejo," Dr. Tovar said. "They both need rest."
Alejo smiled. " Buenas noches, Captain Jack."
Jack clapped the young man on the shoulder, smiling and entered the bedroom. The doctor closed the door as he and Alejo left.
******
Jack stopped at the sight of his Elizabeth on the bed. Her drying hair was splayed out over the pillows. Her skin glowed in the golden lantern-light. The cut on her forehead left rather a nasty mar on her otherwise flawless features, but it had thankfully stopped bleeding. It amazed Jack that sunrises and sunsets, perfect as you please, had become such commonplace beauty as to go largely unnoticed by him any more; yet just the sight of his Lizzie sleeping never failed to inspire awe at her utter loveliness.
At the sharp clap of the door shutting, Elizabeth blinked open her eyes. She sat up a little and looked to the door. Upon seeing Jack, a smile appeared on her face. Jack grinned while his stomach did a little flip.
"Lord ye gave me a fright, Liz."
She sat up against the headboard and Jack came to sit on the bed beside her. "I'm sorry," she said as he took her hand in his. "Where are we? That island?"
Jack nodded. "Turns out the castle belongs to an old friend of mine. A Spanish widow I met some years back."
"A Spanish widow? I sense an interesting story."
Jack shrugged. "Not really so interesting, Love."
There was a knock on the door. Jack, thankful he was being saved from elaborating, kissed Elizabeth's hand and hopped up to answer the door. He opened it to find Serafina on the other side, smiling at him.
"I wanted to check on your Elizabeth. How is she?" Serafina stepped past Jack and into the room.
Elizabeth smiled. "I'm doing well. Thank you for your concern and your hospitality. We were very lucky to find such help this far out to sea."
"I only did what anyone would have to. Though it was fortuitous indeed that I was able to help my Ja…my friend Jack and his Elizabeth." Serafina smiled.
Elizabeth wasn't sure if she was merely jarred by the other woman's near slip of the tongue but, grateful as she was, she was feeling a strong dislike of this woman. "I'm sorry. It seems you have me at a disadvantage."
Jack cleared his throat. "Sorry, yes, Lizzie this is Sera. She's an old friend."
"Sera?" Elizabeth arched an eyebrow her husband's direction. She could well imagine what kind of friendship the single Captain Jack Sparrow might have had with a beautiful woman on a lonely island such as this.
"Serafina Raquel Noemi Melchora Sepulveda De La Rosa. I am the Marquesa de Andalusia." She extended her hand and waited for Elizabeth's. Elizabeth hesitated a moment, mainly because she was startled to notice a round gold floral ring on this woman's finger which seemed a delicate, feminine version of the one her husband wore constantly. A twitch of jealously passed through her system before she got it under control.
"Elizabeth Sparrow," she said, taking the woman's offered hand. She noticed, not without some measure of petty satisfaction, that Sera seemed to have a twitch herself at the mention of Elizabeth's last name.
"Formerly Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the Governor of Port Royal," Jack mentioned quickly.
Elizabeth's eyes shot over to those of her husband. Jack decided to shut up at that point. He wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong but he'd definitely done something Elizabeth didn't appreciate.
The two women dropped their brief hand contact and both settled their eyes on Jack, not wanting to look at each other. After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Serafina finally spoke. "I just wanted to see to your condition and welcome you to my home, Elizabeth. You must be exhausted after such an ordeal. I will leave you and Jack to rest. Perhaps tomorrow we can get better acquainted?" Sera smiled.
"I'm sure that would be lovely," Elizabeth lied. "Thank you."
"Until tomorrow then. Buenas noches." Sera left and shut the door closed behind her.
Elizabeth immediately turned to Jack. "Why did you mention that I was a Governor's daughter?"
"Well she'd just given 'er title and all. I wanted 'er to know that yer blood be just as blue as what she's got. That she oughta talk to ye like an equal. That's all."
Elizabeth smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "I apologize. I misunderstood."
Jack grinned. "What? Thought I were ashamed that she might think I settled for some little tavern wench or the like?"
"Something like that."
Jack shook his head. "Bloody aristocracy. Don't get me wrong. Sera's a good lass an' all. But all those labels still mean something to her. Mind it's not 'er fault. Just her world."
"Labels like Captain?" Elizabeth teased.
"I'm ignoring that," Jack said with a pout. He turned to the window and pushed aside the curtain trying to make out the Pearl. The moon had clouded over leaving the outside world in darkness and all that greeted him was his own reflection in the glass.
"Mind you," Elizabeth said, "I hope she was an only child because her parent's must have used up all the names on her."
"She was. Poor thing's been alone most her life," Jack said distractedly, letting the curtain drop from his hand.
Elizabeth smiled. For all of Jack Sparrow's experience and knowledge, his apparent naivety of the ways of women was quite adorable. Of course, he could have just been being kind enough not to comment on her jealous snarking. Elizabeth took a deep breath. She really was grateful to the blasted woman. She took another breath to calm herself, noting that if she was going to react this way to any woman who might have had a past relationship with her husband, she might have little time left for much else. "When you said widow I assumed older."
He turned to her. "She would've been older had she been born sooner."
"Jack!" Elizabeth laughed and threw a pillow from the bed at him. He caught it and smiled at her. "So who was her husband?"
Jack straightened to his full height and spoke in his best Spanish accent. "Antonio Miguel Alfonso Xavier De La Rosa, Marquis de Andalusia."
"You seem to have that memorized."
"Had to. I was 'im for a fortnight, several years ago."
"Pardon?"
"Posed as good ol' Tony to help Sera out of a bind."
"Did you now?"
"Were an unfair match-up, the two of them. Lesser Spanish nobility who left his family obligation of propagating the line and passing on his title, lands and lineage until he was hurtling headlong toward the grave. He selected a beauty from another noble family which had fallen on hard financial times. She was barely old enough to marry and in no position to object to her father all but selling 'er to the old fool."
Elizabeth smiled. "How old will you be, next birthday?"
"Very amusing. But I was your choice if you recall. Even if now ye regret it."
"Jack," she said quietly.
He turned to attempt to look out the window once more. "By all rights though, it worked out well for 'er," he continued. "He was kind enough; still had the remnants of a handsome youth. They had a couple of daughters and were happy, until nature took its course and he slipped off the choir inv…" Jack turned back and found her staring at him with tears running down her face.
"Lizzie? Lord, what've I done now?"
"You think I regret you?"
He tilted his head. "Ye don't?"
She shook her head slowly. "I've been so confused, Jack; and so hurt. Grieving a child who never came to be yet had so much impact. Watching your relief at being spared fatherhood while at the same time you seemed disappointed in me for failing to bear you the child you never wanted." Elizabeth exhaled heavily and as she met his eyes, Jack sensed a burden she had been carrying for a long while lifting. "I love you, Jack; like I've never loved anyone else my whole life. I can't imagine living without your being there. I just don't…"
"Liz, I never said I didn't…"
"You didn't have to." She drew in a shuddering breath as the tears continued to flow.
Jack came to her then and took her face in his hands. "Don’t ye understand, Love? I was pissing meself with fear."
"Fear?"
"Like I've never known; not in this world or beyond it. Me own dad were shit at being a father. What good was I going to be at it, eh? If it were a lad and me every bad trait came home to roost. Or a lass, pretty as her mother; me going insane trying to fend off suitors which could very well be pirates knowing her blood." His eyes widened with fright as Jack recalled his fantasy images on the beach. He was startled out of this reverie by a soggy female laugh.
"Lizzie?" He sounded wounded and it only made her laugh harder. "Hey steady on now. Not funny."
In the next moment she had launched herself into his lap, nearly knocking the pair of them off the bed. His arms came around her waist instinctively. "Oh Jack." She kissed him like she hadn't done in months. Elizabeth pulled back panting for breath. "My Jack," she said her twinkling eyes looking into his dark puzzled ones. "You beautiful, beautiful, stupid man." She kissed him again and he smiled against her mouth and laid her back against the pillows.
When they broke apart this time, Jack grinned lazily and stroked his long fingers down the side of her face. Elizabeth gazed up into his eyes and yawned. Her eyes widened in embarrassment as she covered her mouth. Jack laughed and it turned into his own yawn.
This time Elizabeth laughed. "Oh, how very romantic we are."
"You started it,"
"True." Elizabeth touched his face, tugging on the plaits that hung from his chin. His beard had only recently re-grown to the length that he could braid again. "Tomorrow?"
Jack kissed her collarbone, running his tongue briefly over the ridge of the scar she had just below it. "Tomorrow," he agreed.
He stood next to the bed and stripped naked, laying his still damp clothes over the chairs at the side of the room, hoping to dry them overnight. He climbed under the covers beside Elizabeth and extinguished the lantern light, then gathered her to his chest.
"Jack?" Elizabeth said.
"Yes, Love?"
"Tell me the tale?"
"The tale? Of the widow?"
"The widow and the pirate."
His hand stroked down the side of her body in the dark, making her shiver pleasantly. "All right, Love."
TBC: CHAPTER FOUR: The Widow and the Pirate
Previously:
1. Lost at Sea
2. Shipwreck
Crossposted to sparrabeth, deppfanfiction, and pirates_bride
Author: GylzGirl
Rating: PG-13 for now
Fandom: PotC
Pairing: Sparrabeth
Continuity: This fic is a sequel to Fate Intervenes.
Summary: After leaving Libertalia, Jack and Elizabeth Sparrow once again take to sailing the seas on the Black Pearl; but raw emotions, rough seas and the past seek to test their happily ever after.
Betas: desiring_me & Karen, the Awesome.
Author's Notes: This poor chapter has been the victim of crazy holiday schedules, first that of one of my betas, then my own. Apologies.
******************************
CHAPTER THREE: The Marquesa de Andelusia
Once in the courtyard of the estate, Alejo ran ahead to knock on the door and announce the need for medical help. Jack cast a wary eye up at the imposing stone façade. Marty had been right, it truly was more castle than house. Now lantern light was illuminating the windows as the house was roused to their aid. Two large men came out of the front door with Alejo in tow. One immediately reached to take Elizabeth out of Jack's arms. Jack backed up a step, tightening his hold on her.
"Please Mr. Jack, they will carry her to the upstairs so that la Marquesa's physician can examine her. La Marquesa wishes to meet with you. Nobody will harm…"
"My wife," Jack interjected. "Elizabeth."
"On my word, Mr. Jack. We only wish to help," Alejo said.
Reluctantly, Jack allowed one of the two newcomers to take Elizabeth. The man was very gentle in his handling of her and Jack relaxed ever so slightly. Alejo smiled reassuringly at Jack and moved right next to him in a subtle indication that he was offering himself as collateral until Elizabeth was returned safely to him.
"I will take you to la Marquesa now, yes? She is very nice. Everything will be good."
Jack put his arm on the boy's shoulder. "Lead on, Alejo. And thank ye for all your help," Jack said in Spanish, clearly surprising him.
Alejo took a lantern from the floor just inside the doors and led Jack into a shadowed hallway. He followed the boy and his light uneasily through the darkness. Jack stiffened as he walked, fear creeping across his skin. It was not what might lurk in the gloominess that had unsettled him. It was the fact that he felt as though he knew this house; this mad, grand house on a rock in the middle of the ocean. Jack wondered, not for the first time in his life, if he had finally lost all mental anchor and been set adrift in the Sea of Lunacy.
The hallway led to a set of large wooden doors which Alejo stopped at and knocked upon. "Marquesa?" Alejo spoke in Spainish. "I have brought him. The man from the shipwreck. Mr. Jack."
"Captain Jack," he corrected.
"Captain Jack," Alejo repeated.
There was a sound of breaking glass behind the doors. "Marquesa? Are you alright?"
The doors flew open before them. There stood a beautiful woman with long dark hair and light green eyes. She was nearly Jack's height, her pale skin flushed with color and her white dressing gown tied askew revealing a glimpse of breast and nightgown. Her eyes found Alejo and quickly slid to the right, focusing on Jack's face.
"Jack?" she said, breathless with excitement. "My Jack!"
Jack's kohl-lined eyes widened. "Sera?"
She grinned and gripped the lapels of his drenched coat. She shoved him hard against the opposite wall and brought her delicate ivory hand to his well-tanned face. "I always knew you'd come back, mi amour."
With that, she affixed an active mouth to Jack's surprised one. As her thigh slid up Jack's leg and hooked over his hip, Alejo blushed and backed away a couple of steps. "It seems you two have met," he said uncomfortably.
Jack's hands gently gripped the woman's upper arms and he pushed her off of him with an audible pop as their mouths parted. "Sera, grateful though I am to receive your hospitality, yet again…" His dark eyes flicked over to the large round ring with flowers set in gold on his finger. He dropped his hold of her and hid the hand with the ring on it behind his back.
Sera laughed. "Oh Jack, you never took anything from me I didn't give willingly, even if you didn't bother to ask. It was my husband's ring and he wasn't using it any more. I was touched you wanted something to remember me by. And seeing as you have never sold it…" She smiled and leaned forward, aiming for his lips once again.
"Sera," Jack said. "The woman upstairs is me wife."
She froze and blinked. "Your wife?"
"Me wife. Lizzie, well Elizabeth."
Sera's expression became unreadable for a moment and then a peaceful smile lit her beautiful face. "I'd be lying if I didn't say I was surprised. I never took you for the marrying type. I'm happy for you, Jack. Alejo will take you up to her. I'm sure she'll be just fine after a little rest."
Jack smiled and cupped her cheek with his hand. "Thank ye again, Sera."
Alejo gestured for Jack to follow him through the wooden doors and towards the massive staircase that lay beyond them. Sera's gaze followed the men as they walked past her and up the stairs, until they were out of sight. She slid down the doorframe, coming to sit on the floor as she blinked away tears.
******
Alejo knocked quietly upon the third door off the hallway of the second floor landing. Dr. Agusti Tovar, a man seemingly not much older than Alejo opened the door. He acknowledged him with a nod of his head and then turned his attention to Alejo's companion. "You must be Jack?" His English, though accented, was much better than Alejo's.
Jack was about to ask him how he knew his name when a smile brightened his features. "She's awake?"
A young woman in a servant's clothes stepped out from behind the doctor and smiled shyly at Jack as she carried Elizabeth's clothes from the room.
"She is dozing now. But she was awake and alert. She was asking for you."
"How is she?"
"Very tired; this is only to be expected. The gash on her head was not deep; it merely bled impressively as head trauma tends to do. She has a little swelling where she was knocked unconscious but that too seems not to have had undo effect. Mayra changed her out of her wet clothes and into a dry nightgown la Marquesa provided."
"Ta, Doctor," Jack said, exhaling in relief.
"Come Alejo," Dr. Tovar said. "They both need rest."
Alejo smiled. " Buenas noches, Captain Jack."
Jack clapped the young man on the shoulder, smiling and entered the bedroom. The doctor closed the door as he and Alejo left.
******
Jack stopped at the sight of his Elizabeth on the bed. Her drying hair was splayed out over the pillows. Her skin glowed in the golden lantern-light. The cut on her forehead left rather a nasty mar on her otherwise flawless features, but it had thankfully stopped bleeding. It amazed Jack that sunrises and sunsets, perfect as you please, had become such commonplace beauty as to go largely unnoticed by him any more; yet just the sight of his Lizzie sleeping never failed to inspire awe at her utter loveliness.
At the sharp clap of the door shutting, Elizabeth blinked open her eyes. She sat up a little and looked to the door. Upon seeing Jack, a smile appeared on her face. Jack grinned while his stomach did a little flip.
"Lord ye gave me a fright, Liz."
She sat up against the headboard and Jack came to sit on the bed beside her. "I'm sorry," she said as he took her hand in his. "Where are we? That island?"
Jack nodded. "Turns out the castle belongs to an old friend of mine. A Spanish widow I met some years back."
"A Spanish widow? I sense an interesting story."
Jack shrugged. "Not really so interesting, Love."
There was a knock on the door. Jack, thankful he was being saved from elaborating, kissed Elizabeth's hand and hopped up to answer the door. He opened it to find Serafina on the other side, smiling at him.
"I wanted to check on your Elizabeth. How is she?" Serafina stepped past Jack and into the room.
Elizabeth smiled. "I'm doing well. Thank you for your concern and your hospitality. We were very lucky to find such help this far out to sea."
"I only did what anyone would have to. Though it was fortuitous indeed that I was able to help my Ja…my friend Jack and his Elizabeth." Serafina smiled.
Elizabeth wasn't sure if she was merely jarred by the other woman's near slip of the tongue but, grateful as she was, she was feeling a strong dislike of this woman. "I'm sorry. It seems you have me at a disadvantage."
Jack cleared his throat. "Sorry, yes, Lizzie this is Sera. She's an old friend."
"Sera?" Elizabeth arched an eyebrow her husband's direction. She could well imagine what kind of friendship the single Captain Jack Sparrow might have had with a beautiful woman on a lonely island such as this.
"Serafina Raquel Noemi Melchora Sepulveda De La Rosa. I am the Marquesa de Andalusia." She extended her hand and waited for Elizabeth's. Elizabeth hesitated a moment, mainly because she was startled to notice a round gold floral ring on this woman's finger which seemed a delicate, feminine version of the one her husband wore constantly. A twitch of jealously passed through her system before she got it under control.
"Elizabeth Sparrow," she said, taking the woman's offered hand. She noticed, not without some measure of petty satisfaction, that Sera seemed to have a twitch herself at the mention of Elizabeth's last name.
"Formerly Elizabeth Swann, daughter of the Governor of Port Royal," Jack mentioned quickly.
Elizabeth's eyes shot over to those of her husband. Jack decided to shut up at that point. He wasn't sure where he'd gone wrong but he'd definitely done something Elizabeth didn't appreciate.
The two women dropped their brief hand contact and both settled their eyes on Jack, not wanting to look at each other. After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Serafina finally spoke. "I just wanted to see to your condition and welcome you to my home, Elizabeth. You must be exhausted after such an ordeal. I will leave you and Jack to rest. Perhaps tomorrow we can get better acquainted?" Sera smiled.
"I'm sure that would be lovely," Elizabeth lied. "Thank you."
"Until tomorrow then. Buenas noches." Sera left and shut the door closed behind her.
Elizabeth immediately turned to Jack. "Why did you mention that I was a Governor's daughter?"
"Well she'd just given 'er title and all. I wanted 'er to know that yer blood be just as blue as what she's got. That she oughta talk to ye like an equal. That's all."
Elizabeth smiled, somewhat embarrassed. "I apologize. I misunderstood."
Jack grinned. "What? Thought I were ashamed that she might think I settled for some little tavern wench or the like?"
"Something like that."
Jack shook his head. "Bloody aristocracy. Don't get me wrong. Sera's a good lass an' all. But all those labels still mean something to her. Mind it's not 'er fault. Just her world."
"Labels like Captain?" Elizabeth teased.
"I'm ignoring that," Jack said with a pout. He turned to the window and pushed aside the curtain trying to make out the Pearl. The moon had clouded over leaving the outside world in darkness and all that greeted him was his own reflection in the glass.
"Mind you," Elizabeth said, "I hope she was an only child because her parent's must have used up all the names on her."
"She was. Poor thing's been alone most her life," Jack said distractedly, letting the curtain drop from his hand.
Elizabeth smiled. For all of Jack Sparrow's experience and knowledge, his apparent naivety of the ways of women was quite adorable. Of course, he could have just been being kind enough not to comment on her jealous snarking. Elizabeth took a deep breath. She really was grateful to the blasted woman. She took another breath to calm herself, noting that if she was going to react this way to any woman who might have had a past relationship with her husband, she might have little time left for much else. "When you said widow I assumed older."
He turned to her. "She would've been older had she been born sooner."
"Jack!" Elizabeth laughed and threw a pillow from the bed at him. He caught it and smiled at her. "So who was her husband?"
Jack straightened to his full height and spoke in his best Spanish accent. "Antonio Miguel Alfonso Xavier De La Rosa, Marquis de Andalusia."
"You seem to have that memorized."
"Had to. I was 'im for a fortnight, several years ago."
"Pardon?"
"Posed as good ol' Tony to help Sera out of a bind."
"Did you now?"
"Were an unfair match-up, the two of them. Lesser Spanish nobility who left his family obligation of propagating the line and passing on his title, lands and lineage until he was hurtling headlong toward the grave. He selected a beauty from another noble family which had fallen on hard financial times. She was barely old enough to marry and in no position to object to her father all but selling 'er to the old fool."
Elizabeth smiled. "How old will you be, next birthday?"
"Very amusing. But I was your choice if you recall. Even if now ye regret it."
"Jack," she said quietly.
He turned to attempt to look out the window once more. "By all rights though, it worked out well for 'er," he continued. "He was kind enough; still had the remnants of a handsome youth. They had a couple of daughters and were happy, until nature took its course and he slipped off the choir inv…" Jack turned back and found her staring at him with tears running down her face.
"Lizzie? Lord, what've I done now?"
"You think I regret you?"
He tilted his head. "Ye don't?"
She shook her head slowly. "I've been so confused, Jack; and so hurt. Grieving a child who never came to be yet had so much impact. Watching your relief at being spared fatherhood while at the same time you seemed disappointed in me for failing to bear you the child you never wanted." Elizabeth exhaled heavily and as she met his eyes, Jack sensed a burden she had been carrying for a long while lifting. "I love you, Jack; like I've never loved anyone else my whole life. I can't imagine living without your being there. I just don't…"
"Liz, I never said I didn't…"
"You didn't have to." She drew in a shuddering breath as the tears continued to flow.
Jack came to her then and took her face in his hands. "Don’t ye understand, Love? I was pissing meself with fear."
"Fear?"
"Like I've never known; not in this world or beyond it. Me own dad were shit at being a father. What good was I going to be at it, eh? If it were a lad and me every bad trait came home to roost. Or a lass, pretty as her mother; me going insane trying to fend off suitors which could very well be pirates knowing her blood." His eyes widened with fright as Jack recalled his fantasy images on the beach. He was startled out of this reverie by a soggy female laugh.
"Lizzie?" He sounded wounded and it only made her laugh harder. "Hey steady on now. Not funny."
In the next moment she had launched herself into his lap, nearly knocking the pair of them off the bed. His arms came around her waist instinctively. "Oh Jack." She kissed him like she hadn't done in months. Elizabeth pulled back panting for breath. "My Jack," she said her twinkling eyes looking into his dark puzzled ones. "You beautiful, beautiful, stupid man." She kissed him again and he smiled against her mouth and laid her back against the pillows.
When they broke apart this time, Jack grinned lazily and stroked his long fingers down the side of her face. Elizabeth gazed up into his eyes and yawned. Her eyes widened in embarrassment as she covered her mouth. Jack laughed and it turned into his own yawn.
This time Elizabeth laughed. "Oh, how very romantic we are."
"You started it,"
"True." Elizabeth touched his face, tugging on the plaits that hung from his chin. His beard had only recently re-grown to the length that he could braid again. "Tomorrow?"
Jack kissed her collarbone, running his tongue briefly over the ridge of the scar she had just below it. "Tomorrow," he agreed.
He stood next to the bed and stripped naked, laying his still damp clothes over the chairs at the side of the room, hoping to dry them overnight. He climbed under the covers beside Elizabeth and extinguished the lantern light, then gathered her to his chest.
"Jack?" Elizabeth said.
"Yes, Love?"
"Tell me the tale?"
"The tale? Of the widow?"
"The widow and the pirate."
His hand stroked down the side of her body in the dark, making her shiver pleasantly. "All right, Love."
TBC: CHAPTER FOUR: The Widow and the Pirate
Previously:
1. Lost at Sea
2. Shipwreck
Crossposted to sparrabeth, deppfanfiction, and pirates_bride