Quiet now in Will’s cabin, Rosie lay back on the bunk and watched the concentration on his face as he dressed. It seemed he lavished the same deliberate attentions on everything he did and her body tingled at the thought of it—his fingers slipping buttons, tying lacings, and smoothing soft leather over the perfect skin of his as. He turned suddenly to catch her looking, a smile in his eyes, “You look at me like you have never seen a man before.”

Always direct, Will Turner. I don’t want this to be the end.

“I am not sure that I have. Don’t dress too quickly; I am trying to burn the image of you into my mind.” It had been two days, that’s all, and yet he was her brother, her would-be defender, and now her lover, two days enough then to form the sort of emotion that was rushing through her but evidently not long enough to have even talked about a corner of it. And they had talked. Hours at the helm and in his bunk but now it was too late, now they were standing on the edge of a day that they both knew would be the changing of them all, so she just gave herself up to what she flet instead of what she thought as she watched him.

It had been a stagger that was a half run the night before from the streets of Tortuga back to his cabin and if he had been reticent before, unsure not of his desire but hers, she had then felt the Will Turner he had been holding in- on her back in his bunk, his hips between her legs and with barely a breath left in her body. 

“Do you make it a habit of driving pirates to distraction?”  His fingers had teased at that white chemise, pulling at ribbons that he had almost sliced in two with his blade, a swell of memory combined with now and his mouth had moved to suck soft skin, those dark eyes chasing the spirals of his hands downwards

“Only uncommon ones..Jesus..Will” Rosie had only half muttered, holding his lips and his tongue and his teeth to her, rocking against him to ask for more, not even bare skin yet she had unravelled there and then

“Peas in a pod then Lass” he'd grinned at some other joke and with a roll of his body she had been on top of him, and her fingers had pulled leather through warmed steel, soft cotton giving way as buttons slipped through slits. Her eyes had never left his face, watching his lips part, and gasps following the shivers as her hands had explored hard bone, softer dips and the smooth of his skin. He was truly beautiful, and Rosie had let her hands cover that expanse of damp chest. Leaning forward to kiss that mouth, joyful kisses full of what they were about to do and like sex themselves

His voice had almost been enough  “Your hand is an improvement on the tip of your blade, but it seems I am at a disadvantage, since I have yet to feel you with either my sword or my fingers” his tantalising improper proper English words might even have grown solid for the affect they had, sending flush of heat down her belly andbreathless curses as she had struggled out of her clothes, too long a wait before she was back right there on top of Will Turner, but now with nothing between them except the silky wet that coated him as she moved, making herself dizzy with the contact, she had almost jumped when he spoke

“So you want me then Rosie? Not your usual fare…” he had teased to see her almost oblivious to anything but her own pleasure and that evidently involved his cock

“ I will run you through if you move away from me” which may or may not have been a joke, either way Will had taken her seriously and pulled her hips with his big heavy hands. More used to fingers and tongues Rosie had swayed with the feel of thickness and heat bursting into her, gasped for breath and pleasure before his taut mauscles pulled him up to sit, sending his body deep inside hers with a strength and purpose she failed to recall. "Holy Mary..." she had fought to stay with him, the power in her legs and her arms holding him so there was nowhere else to go except further, and harder and faster.There was always more.

Now, this morning, in the full light throw the port hole he stood stock still, hands stuck on a button that was going to have to wait, his chest rising and falling with words and the gentler dawn sex they had shared “I know you will be sailing with Mary and Anne, that wasn’t the question I ever asked you.”

“I know it wasn’t and that makes me…” Rosie screwed up her eyes and rubbed her hands over her face.

Fuck, it’s easier when they are bastards.

"It makes me want you all the more.” She grimaced and shook her head, “Oh, I don’t know, but this can’t be the last time I ever sit here, touch you, or watch you dress…undress Will. Yes, I sail on the Chamada, but you feel too good…Come here will yer?”

The lopsided grin she got as he sat on the edge of the bunk made her sway with relief as much as anything. “Rosie, we are the same you and I, cut from the same cloth. You will have my sword,  should you need it, as I know I have yours.” The challenge of his grin though made her eyes close for a second “You have my respect always and my cock whenever it is that we meet and circumstance allow, assuming you are not indifferent that is” Laughing, he did his best to ignore the sweep of her hand up his leg to continue, “Our paths will cross, lass, and anyway you forget I am First Mate—I control the sails…”


***

The sun rose over a grim day in Port Royal, and, apart from the gentle wash of the tide, the thunk of wood was the only wake-up call as gallows were erected on the battlements. The cells and the stockade groaned—some cursing the pirates that had caused them to be incarcerated, some laying bets on how soon he would be there, and others praying to God they weren’t to be the first out onto the gallows. The previous night, having dispatched their grim proclamations, Standish and Lawes had retired, full bellies and conceited confidence giving them most agreeable dreams of retribution. Now, the morning sun seemed to smile brightly on their outline for the day—clear skies that would aid the early spotting of pirates sailing their way, and a clear view for anyone that had the misfortune to look on the “justice” that would be played out on the gallows. Standish instructed Peawick to polish the buttons on his uniform before slipping his arms into the blood-red coat.

“We must have daring and determination, Peawick, that’s what will show these scum that we are serious. The hangings begin at two, I suggest we inspect the ships of the flotilla, make sure that young commodore knows what he is doing, and then adjourn for a small aperitif before lunch.”

Anne was already on her way, unaware of the welcome committee. She had gathered her remaining crew from the bars and taverns of Croton Bay the day before, and despite their unspoken protests had them return to the Chamada do Siren, which was moored safely along the coast and now fully repaired. They had slipped out of the river mouth as the moon rose high and, with the speed of a sloop, gathered the pace of the wind in the open seas. The messenger from Standish bearing the cruel challenge to that particular corner of the Caribbean wouldn’t arrive before day’s end, in any case, but had Anne been forewarned she might not have set sail after all except for a desire to crush the impudence of the man who would have destroyed her. In any case, as the sun rose and the full wind propelled them forward whether she would have come to the aid of the citizens of Port Royal or not could remain a mute question. She would arrive in their midst nonetheless.

Just along the coast from Port Royal, however, in a small inlet the black sails of the Pearl, after all arguably the fastest ship on the Spanish Main, were already being tied to the masts. In his cabin the captain snapped the leather of his belt through the buckle and heavily tattooed fingers worked knots into material and pulled his dreads into place. The last thing, his cutlass, slipped into his waistband before Jack turned to look at Kate. “Are you ready, luv? We have a little walk, a stroll you might say, before we partake of Port Royal hospitality; we don’t want to miss lunch after all.”

“I will need my books to make the proper legal case, eventually…” Kate muttered distractedly as she examined the perfect silk slippers with rows of pearl beading gathered from cold, wild Scottish waters that he had tossed out of a trunk. They matched perfectly the ivory dress that he had also unfolded for her; it seemed he happened to have several dresses in his cabin. He just had things...beautiful things, and lots of them. “We are walking into a trap, Jack. They will know we are coming.”

Jack pulled the lace up to cover the curve of her breasts. “Yes we are, my beauty, but then they know that we know that they know…” and his hands spun away into infinity. “What they don’t know is the manner of our coming, one step ahead, Kate luv, always one step ahead.” He grimaced slightly at the thought of Anne Bonny. Anne could not anticipate what was waiting for her, there was no way to get a warning to her in time. She would have to rely, as ever, on her wits and her intuition, oh and a good measure of bloody mindedness, the bloody part being the most likely outcome. Jack smiled briefly, “No worries there then. Now, I believe you have an appointment with the governor.”

After unnecessary last-minute reiterations to Will to wait for the signal and to take care of the bloody ship if he valued his reputation, Jack, Kate, and a few spared from his crew set out on the track to Port Royal, an unlikely band of travellers if ever there was one.

On the ramshackle outskirts of town, Jack gave Kate a last scorching kiss, for now at least, before shooing her off with the confidence of a man who understood everything about the human spirit and the effect, particularly, of a dramatic entrance by a beautiful woman, his beautiful woman should anyone forget, into the boiling pot that was Port Royal. “Now that she has their attention, I think a more quiet entrance is called for…” and he and the two pirates with him were gone.

Her shoes were not made for walking, and Kate winced a bit while adjusting the tilt of her bonnet and shaking the dust from the hem of her skirt. She took a last deep breath across the way from the governor’s abode—an imposing building, but weren’t they all designed to be so? It’s as if the building itself was shouting, “I have money, wealth, and the power to dictate what happens to your miserable little lives!” Well, she had something to say about that. Crossing the street, Kate lifted her hand and rapped loudly on the solid wood door. A minute passed before the door swung open to the face of a man who started to trawl his memory as if there were some reason he should remember this woman.

“Kate Archer, lawyer and representative of those men and women currently residing at His Majestie’s pleasure in the cells. I have in my bag papers constituting a legal challenge to their imprisonment, and it is of utmost importance that I speak immediately with the governor.” In fact, she had nothing of the sort in her bag, rather a huge leather bound copy of Francis Bacon’s Slyva Slyvarum that Jack had no doubt purloined for it’s sumptuous binding as much as for the content, although the alchemist did claim that it should be possible to make gold. In any case, it leant a certain gravitas she felt, if only in weight, and so she covered the churn of her stomach with a smile.

“Miss Archer…” the man frowned and nodded.

“You have heard of me. Now, am I to stand here in the dust while you deliberate and a crowd gathers outside the door, or are you intending to show me to the governor?” And indeed Jack had done his work well, because people were beginning to gather across the way and in the corners, much as autumn leaves blow and collect in the nooks and crannies of a street.

“I am not sure that the governor is receiving visitors presently,” the man clearly had an over-inflated opinion of his duties.

Kate deliberately raised her voice, there was an audience to be had and an audience that would spread word like wildfire through wooden buildings, “There is no doubt, sir, that Governor Lawes will see me if he values his name and his position.” With intent, she pushed past to gain entrance to the opulence that made up the entrance hall where bands of servants, interested maids, and officials gathered to witness the events unfurling. As predicted, two guards with clicking heels arrived next, and Kate stood firm as brutish hands took hold of her arms. “I request that you unhand me, sir. I am a lawyer, not a thief come to steal the silver. Or am I to understand that I am to be arrested and imprisoned without charge like the other unfortunates in this town?”

A confused official began to dither, a cry from outside the doors of “Tell them, Miss Archer!” only increasing the rising sense of panic. The heavy front door slammed shut and the red-faced man muttered, “Bring her this way!” as he motioned up the stairs to the two guards who flanked her. At last she got what she wanted—an escort to the governor’s office—and although she could hear the sound of boots roused into action outside in the street, she managed a smile. This was turning out just as Jack had predicted.

“What the devil...?” and it might just have been by the look on Governor Lawes’s face as Kate was marched through the double doors and into his rooms.

“She was requesting to see you, Governor. She claims to be a lawyer.” One of the men stifled a laugh, but seeing that the governor didn’t share the joke, he cleared his throat and pushed Kate a little further forward.

Lawes stood from behind his desk, the rage almost visible in the wobbling of his jowls. “Would you think to allow in any old vagabond off the street just because they asked to see me?? Why did you not take her directly to the cells? This woman is a troublemaker and a consort of pirates...and not just ANY pirate. This woman…”

The click behind his head made him stop mid sentence.

“I’ve only got the one bullet, Governor, but at this range it is most unlikely that I will miss.” Jack motioned to the two pirates behind him, “Tie them up, boys, good and tight now…I think it unwise for their future careers that they agitate me and force me to put a hole in Governor Lawes here, not good on the curriculum vitae, if you follow my meaning.” From over the white marble of the balcony two pirates slipped in behind Jack and manhandled the soldiers into what were probably the plushest chairs they had ever sat on, and sailors being sailors, the knots that held the soldiers were quite secure.

Jack smiled. “I believe, Governor, that you were about to hear the legal representations of my friend here. Now you can listen to her or not listen to her, either way those men and women in the cells get to walk free, being innocent of everything except that of being under your heel. With the first option, you get to keep your head and the maid gets to not have some extra cleaning duties.” Jack pulled on his beard to think and his brows furrowed deeply, “Though with that second option, I would sleep easier, knowing that the citizens of this fair town were not to suffer any reprisals once we have departed.” With an alarming swiftness he drew his cutlass and held it to the governor’s throat. “I think I am going to have to choose for him…” The sharp of his blade grazed quivering skin as Lawes stared at Kate, a plea in his eyes.

“Are you asking me to intervene on your behalf, sir? Only I seem to remember having to do that once before…in this very office as it happens…” A very slight nod from Lawes gave her an answer.

“Very well,” Kate lifted her chin and with a thud brought Bacon down on the desk. “Come, come, Captain Sparrow! The governor here must have a cast-iron case against these people! How else would he be able to legally justify state murder? He must have satisfied himself that, whilst upholding the presumption of innocence and fully considering the evidence, having been aware of the legal precedents and jurisdiction in these matters, these people have committed a capital offence!”

Jack’s laugh made Lawes leap from his skin, “And I thought you were a student of English law, Miss Archer! Now wherever did you get the impression that evidence and honourable legal process was required?”

“Oh come now, surely you can’t believe that a man such as the governor here would sink to those depths? To allow innocent men and women to hang without rhyme nor reason? If that were the state of affairs one would have anarchy! Why you might as well say that any man could take a life with impunity, even a pirate with a cutlass, by way of an example.”

Governor Lawes was shaking now, hardly daring to open his eyes, but Jack continued. “Miss Archer, you are simply wasting time and you insult me further. I believe I HAVE given him a hearing such as the one he has denied those wretches waiting to die, thereby clearly demonstrating that it is the law of pirating that we will be using here today. And as you know, it is in any case a far superior form of justice, being based upon those lofty ideals of democracy and equality,” a curt grin on his mouth Jack leant forward to peer into the face of the governor, “ a fact borne out by the evidence of this morning, I would suggest.”

“Hmmm…I fear you have me there. In that case, the defense retires. Do as you wish, Captain Sparrow.”

Jack’s blade moved one-half inch, a small trickle of blue blood working it’s way down to starched linen.

Lawes could hardly speak, “What do you want?” he asked Kate.

“A full pardon, Governor, right now…You see, Captain Sparrow, all it needed was a little persuasion!”

“An admirably argued case, Miss Archer…Now what do you say you prepare said document, with some haste?” Kate smiled and drew a stiff piece of parchment from the thin leather case on the desk. Bending to use the quill and ink, she hastily penned the words required before handing it to the governor to sign.

“Now, since I am not assured entirely of the full extent of your conversion to the laws of piracy, I will be leaving one of my friends here to make sure that you enjoy a period of reflection upon the wisdom of your ways. I hope that you use it well, Governor. Come Kate,” and almost as quickly as they had arrived, the three pirates disappeared back over the balcony.

As they moved quickly around the side of the building Jack whispered to Kate, “Are you ready, luv? This bit is... the less well-formed part of the plan, so to speak.”
Kate nodded and, with a touch of her fingers to the lips of her lover, she stepped out into the increasing crowds outside the governor’s residence, now held back by a line of red coats but still an incendiary waiting to explode. “I have the pardons! The governor has relented!” The last thing Jack saw of her was her hand still aloft as she was swallowed like a tidal wave by a crowd moving to the prison.

Jack closed his eyes for a second and swallowed. “Now for the tricky part…to the harbour.” A quick glance at his companion and a second quick glance into the open street, then they raced across toward the sea in a flurry of red and billowing cotton.

 
The mayhem in the town had soldiers running every which way, their orders confused and abandoned, a circumstance most fortuitous for Jack since it left the cannon situated at the battlements overlooking the town unguarded. Well very nearly so, in any case unguarded enough for Jack and his companion to easily take it. “Hold this mate!” From somewhere about his person Jack produced an alarming looking fire-red rocket embossed with gold dragons, a gift along with the ship’s cat. “Knew this would come in handy…” As the touch paper on the Chinese firework lit, they averted their faces and hoped for the best—the best being that they weren’t ignited themselves. A fizzle turned into a roar and the rocket leapt into the sky chased by a thousand bursts of fire and red smoke—a signal that would be hard to ignore.

Down the coast, Will Turner nodded to the crew and to Rosie, “Time to go.”

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