Pirates Return IC

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Daniel and Zheng got the carriage and the horses put away and made their way to the grand room where all the people were. It was quite a change from grubby pirates to the ladies and gentlemen in their fine clothes. He saw Matty dancing with a naval officer. He had been ready to fight the whole crew to protect her honor if necessary, and he was pleasantly surprised that their unexpected genteel reaction to her true gender had not required him to suffer a painful and early death. He doubted that the naval officer would ravage her on a table in the presence of the ladies and gentlemen, and she could watch out for herself.

He stood against a wall and waited for someone to give him an order. Two older gentlemen came and rested against the sideboard.

"I say, Arthur," one of them said, "there's just no way a medical student can learn proper procedures without having dissected a cadaver. I mean, how can you know the best veins for bloodletting if you haven't held them in your hands? You can't. We've just got to get more specimens. With the new measures against grave robbing taking effect on the continent, it's getting harder and harder to procure good ones."

"I remember when I first started, and had to do the digging all myself, Jensen," the other replied. "I say it's certainly worth the price to have them nicely delivered."

"Excuse me, kind sirs," Daniel said. "Would a specimen that had been pickled, so to say, in a solution of salt water and vinegar, be acceptable to most medical institutions? And would it matter if they had, wounds or other defects in them?"

"Hmmn, the smell would be a little different, but not worse than the decomposing smell they usually have. It might actually be a good lesson for the students if they had injuries, which they could attempt to treat. Don't you think so, Jensen?" the one with a pipe said.

"Oh yes, indeed. Why do you ask, young boy? You don't happen to have a supply of specimens handy, I dare say." Jensen said.

"Oh no, I was just interested about the topic from something that I read," Daniel replied. He noticed Three Swords looking questionly at him. "Excuse me sirs," he said. He got a caraf of wine and went to refill the captain's glass.

 

"Where ever the captain tells me to go." Cornwallis said, smiling. "As pleasant as it would be to take to the high seas - I would be equally happy to stay here." He paused to allow Matty to spin, "I am rather enjoying the balls the Governor throws."


Three Swords allowed Daniel to fill his glass, "Watch what you say around the nobles. You're likely to get a cane across your face for even talking to them." Abbot sipped from his wine, "See what you can find out from the staff, especially the bed maids. I've already heard rumours that the governor no longer sleeps with his wife - no surprise in that, she's an ugly brute." he said looking at the pasted face of the governor's wife. "And that means he has another woman on the side. Find out if it's true - and try to find out who the other woman is. I need as much leverage over this man as I can get. Go, now." Three Swords ordered.

Abbot let Daniel walk away before approaching Alexa, "It's time you met the governor, show him some of that pirate charm." He said, taking her arm and leading her toward the host. The governor was shorter than most men at five foot eight and he feared always that people could look down on his bald patch and he now always wore a curly grey horsehair wig, which he fingered every few seconds to make sure it had not shifted.

"Lord Governor" Three Swords said with a short bow "may I present you Ms Alexa DeGrath." The governor instantly smiled, looking at Alexa's pretty face, completely ignoring his wife who stood beside him. He glanced at the governor's wife, who was staring at Alexa with pure hate. Close up she wasn't quite as ugly as he had thought, and under the mass of make up, she might even be pretty.

He had to get her away from Alexa before she hit her. He could already see her curl her fist. Very unladylike, he thought. "With your permission, governor, I would ask to steal your wife for a dance."

"Take her." The governor said still looking at Alexa, and now moving to take her arm. Abbot turned to the Governor's wife and took her arm as she ready herself to swing leading her away almost forcibily to where other guests were dancing.

 

Only many long years of practise kept the genial smile on Ricardo’s face; inside, he was reeling with outage even as he smirked at one of the young ladies who had immediately surrounded him, the smooth compliments coming without thinking.

Alexa. His Llamita.

Long-suppressed memories assailed him, the joy of knowing he had found what he had searched for so long.. the pain of loss, the bitter taste of betrayal… the feel of her skin beneath his hands, the sound of her voice when she’d cried out at his touch…

If not for DeGrath, she would never have betrayed him!

She had ran from him, and he could understand why…. He had not been a gentle man in his youth. He could easily forgive her that… but her betrayal was a different matter. She had let that boorish captain touch her, had taken the captain’s name…. Borne him a son

Ricardo could not halt a shiver when the last realization hit him. Thankfully the young woman he was dancing with, Miss. Avery, did not notice. Such a vacuous, weak, snivelling creature she was… nothing like his Llamita… his treacherous little flame.

 

Alexa had caught the look the governor's wife had been giving her, and was grateful that the captain had requested a dance with the woman. She curtsied to the governor and let him take her arm and guide her to the dance floor. Alexa cringed inwardly. The majority of dancing she knew had been learned on board pirate ships and in the taverns of Freetown. Hopefully the few dances she had picked up at other occasions would quickly come back to her.

She smiled and swept her hair back. "Forgive me for asking, Governor, but I would ask if you would be willing to be patient with me, as it has been many a year since I have had the honour of being invited to this type of affair, and it seems I have forgotten most of the dances."


Miss Avery smiled coquettishly up at the handsome Spaniard who had invited her to dance. He was far more handsome than anyone else she had seen in a long time. "Mister Santiago, have you ever been in Port Royal before?"

She was admiring the way he moved and wasn't paying attention to her own feet. She stumbled, grabbing on to his arm trying to keep her balance.

 

"Oh of course, the Navy's all about following orders, isn't it? There's much more freedom on a pi- freelancer's ship," Matty corrected herself quickly. "You'd think it would be chaos, but the preservation of self-interest is more binding on men's conduct than any hierarchy of rules." She paused as the steps of the dance separated them briefly, pasting a simper on her face as she returned to him. "I do so enjoy a lovely party. It's nice to hear that there's no nasty wars to interrupt the social season. Where would we girls be without officers to dance with? I do so hope you'll be doing something about that horrid Red Hand, though. They're driving up the price of dresses, and making good lace almost impossible to get at all." Feeling thoroughly silly she looked up at him with wide eyes, but Leftenant Corwallis seemed to be enjoying the attention.

***

A scrawny man in a frock coat that was several years out of fashion and rather snug around the waist came up to Jacques, trying unsuccessfully to hide his eagerness. "A navigator, are you? I've been hoping for someone like you to come my way, someone who wasn't in the pay of the governor or his dogs. I keep telling them but they won't listen to me, 'Crazy old Solomon,' they say, 'at it again, trying to find the lost treasure city of the pirates!' Can't tell fact from fiction, they think, but I know what I know, and I bet you know it too, don't you? Come with me..."

He was surprisingly strong as he dragged Jacques away from the main room and into a side corridor. A few people sniggered into their glasses at the sight. "There," he said, stabbing his gnarled finger at a framed painting of a man in Navy uniform standing next to a desk. "There, on the desk. The map on top of the leftmost pile. I keep telling them that the evidence is right under their noses but they won't believe me... what do you make of it, Mr. Navigator?"

[ September 12, 2005, 10:30: Message edited by: Rallymama ]

 

Without thinking, Ricardo steadied the girl “Careful, Miss Avery…. “ He admonished her, a polished smile on his face. “To answer your question.. Yes, I have, but it was quite a long time ago”

Most likely before the simpering little fool was born, he reflected. It had been over twenty years since he’d last set foot in Port Royal, although the circumstances had been quite different.

“Tell me, Señorita Avery,” he spoke as he stepped away from her as per the pattern of the dance, “How long have you been in Port Royal?”

The idle chit-chat helped him to keep his mind from his Llamita, the intense urge to simply go to her, stick a knife in the disgusting pig of a governor’s throat and reclaim his beloved; but Ricardo knew better than to cause a scene here and now. No, he would wait, until he could have the privacy to deal with her betrayal.

 

Abbot felt a little foolish as a waltz started. His sword flapped at his side, tangled his legs and dragged on the floor until he pulled it off and hurled aside. With the sword out of the way, he smiled at the governor's wife who smiled back. He found her quite pleasant to talk to - he'd foundd out her name was Sarah, which was more than he knew before - but the white make up pasted across the skin of her face made it hard for him to look at her without cringing.

"You dance well." Abbot complimented her,

"And you always look at your feet when you dance." Sarah replied, "You don't attend balls very often do you?"

"No," he said smiling, still looking at his feet to make sure he didn't trip up. "I'm usually far better balanced... I just don't know the steps.." he said, hoping no-one overheard him.

"You don't know how to waltz!?"

"This isn't the sort of waltz I learned." he said, smiling mischievously. He was surprised that Sarah smiled back instead of fainting from shock. Abbot felt a little confused as he continued to dance.


Cornwallis, looked shocked, "You cannot get good lace? This cannot go on, I will speak with governor immediately." he paused "Well, maybe after this dance." he said giving Matty his best smile. "Tell me, what is it like for a lady living aboard a... freelancer ship?"

 

How would I know? I've never lived as a 'lady,' aboard ship or anywhere else! Matty hid that thought behind a giggle as she fished for something to say. She was afraid that her act was wearing terribly thin. Maybe bits and pieces of the truth, taken out of context and cobbled together...

"As Miss Alexa's ward, they leave me alone. It would never do to arouse the ire of the ship's surgeon, now would it? Sometimes you'd think the crew doesn't even know I'm there." She turned a relieved sigh into another giggle when he nodded his agreement. "It can be rather dull, actually, all that sailing about with nothing but the open ocean to see. I always look forward to reaching port and finding something fun to do."

Knowing that someone in Port Royal seemed to know about the Pale Horse before they'd even arrived, Matty hoped she wasn't pushing her luck with the lies.

 

"Not a problem, Lady." The Governor said, watching her move. He was a little disappointed that Alexa was the same size as him - maybe even a little taller than him. He convinced himself that at his own height he could whisper in her ear, rather than having her nose right in his armpit, but it did little to console him. "I shall be patient with you... in all things." He gave her a sly, somewhat smarmy wink. Being a nobleman, he noted Alexa as being below his class, and therefore, he figured he could have his way with her. "Come, let us try to dance again. You can tell me how you gained the name of a certain Arvin DeGrath... and why he is not with you tonight."


" 'Something fun to do' ? " Cornwallis asked, interested "Do you attend many balls when you are on land?" He took her hand to lead her away from the dance floor, taking a glass from a waiting tray for Matty and then took one for himself.

 

Alexa felt her insides squirm in disgust at the look the Governor gave her, but she smiled at him and followed his lead in the dance.

"I was actually a member of Arvin DeGrath's crew on the Violet Maurader, as the ship's surgeon. We, became close during that time, and after he retired from the life, we married." Her eyes swept the room briefly, taking note of where her crewmates were. Bringing her attention back to the Governor, she felt her smile falter.

"Arvin passed away but two years ago."

****

Miss Avery smiled. "I have been in Port Royal for nearly ten years, good sir. My father owns a sizeable plantation here." She looked around the room.

"I believe I need a drink."

 

Zheng stood leaning against the wall. He had no intention of dancing as they did in this place. His type of dance involved the sword. His unusual azure blue eyes scanned the room. Noting the position of the crew of the Pale Horse and especially the young girl Matty. He smiled inwardly at the thought. How could he not have notcied she was a girl.

Zheng could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise and his heartbeat quickened. Something was going to happen and he became incredibly aware of the pistol in his boot and the sword on his back. Something was about to happen which he had been dreading.

"Excuse me, sir," he swung round to see a girl slightly taller than himself looking at his face. Her eyes quickly darted to the floor as he looked at them. He could see her face go red. "Excuse me," she repeated and made to walk away. Zheng grabbed her arm, harder than was necessary and turned her towards him.

"Would you like to dance?" he found himself asking. She smiled and nodded. He led her to the dance floor.

 

Abbot bowed to the governor's wife as another dance finished. He was starting to sweat from his exertions and the crowded dance floor. He looked at the Sarah, she was breathing heavily and sweating herself - perspiration streaming down her face and washing the paste from her face.

His eyes widened as he saw the skin beneath her make up. Her skin was bronze in colour, dark and shining. He had presumed her to be english but her skin said differently. She saw the shock on his face and touched her forehead, pulling it away and seeing the white paste on her gloves. She looked at him with the same shock Three Swords had shown and rushed away, her head bowed so no-one could see her face.

She almost fell as she started up the stairs. Abbot watched her go, his legs unable to work. Once she was out of sight feeling came back to him and he followed her, heading for the stairs.

A footman attempted to stop him - Sarah must have told him not to let anyone up as she had ran away - but Abbot grabbed his face and hurled him aside and marched up the stairs. He had seen the direction she had gone but he had no idea which room she had gone into, so he searched each one before he found her. She was sitting by a table, wiping the remaining paste from her face.

She saw him in the mirror and spun to look at him. Abbot felt suddenly embarrassed for having pursued her up here and he made ready to leave until he heard her voice. "Wait." He stopped in his tracks and turned to see her again. He had thought her to be pretty beneath the make up - but she was positively beautiful.

"Who are you?" he asked, breathless - this was the second time he had been surprised by someone pretending to be something else.

"My name is Sarah. My father is a french nobleman and my mother was one of his servants... slave would be a more accurate depiction." She looked away, "My father had no other children... his wife was barren.... and he saw a use for me. He loved me really - his only child- and he wanted a good life for me. And a good marriage. So, when I grew up, he had me wear this paste - like many noble woman do - to hide my skin colour. Then he told the governor I was a cousin of his. My father offered a huge dowry - one the governor wouldn't refuse - and we were married within a month." She stopped and looked down at her feet, "When he found out who I really was, he was furious, but he could do nothing about it. Imagine the scandal." She stopped there, unable to go on.

Abbot walked toward her, taking her hand so shhe could stand. He gazed at her beautiful face and threw his arms around her. He kissed her, passionatelty and she wrapped her hands around is body, returning the kiss. The party continued downstairs, but they were oblivious to it all.

[ September 10, 2005, 01:08: Message edited by: The Kilted Crusader ]

 

"Nowhere near as many as I'd like," Matty demurred with a little sigh, then she fell into the spirit of storytelling that often took her on long nights of singing ballads and chanteys. "We travel so much, Miss Alexa and I, that it's hard to get the proper invitations. If Papa weren't away in London on business - well, many things would be different then, I'm sure."

Matty recognized the next dance the musicians were playing, or at least a version of it. Tonight what was normally a lively hornpipe had been slowed down and forced into an unnatural rhythm to suit the courtly gestures and stiff costumes of the party guests. She wanted to grab the instruments out of their hands and show them how to play the song properly - many a pirate-piper would be rolling in his watery grave over this butchery. When someone hit a sour note, she winced involuntarily.

 

Ricardo’s smile did not falter as he led the girl to the side, picking a glass of wine for the both of them from a passing servant.

The vintage was passable, nothing more than he had expected from the boorish governor; after all, the English had never learned to appreciate good wine. The cool drink dulled some of the fury seething beneath his skin, and helped him to appear interested of the simpering fool at his side. Her batted eyelashes and far-from subtle advances left him cold; she was nothing compared to his Llamita.

The governor was still dancing with her, and Ricardo had to wrench his gaze away before he did something foolish., his knuckles whitened a little as his hold of the glass tightened in his effort to restrain himself.

Despite this, he noticed how his companion reacted to the sight of the governor; a slight shiver and a glint in her eyes that spoke volumes to him.

Avoiding the governor, Ricardo ran his eyes across the room. The Captain was nowhere to be seen, and neither was the governor’s wife, come to think of it. Apparently the captain had done what he’d originally asked the Spaniard to do… but then again, Ricardo now had a new task…. charming the governor’s mistress.

He concentrated his attention on her again, his eyes smouldering and his expression far more engaging than before. It was obvious from the girl’s gasp that she was affected.

“Tell me, Señorita,” he spoke in a lowered voice, “Is there anywhere where we could spend a few moments undisturbed?”

 

She was trying her best not to make it look like she was leading him but Zheng was lost in this unknown song. He began to think how a pregnant cow in high heels with an elephant on its back could dance better. He almost lost his footing and it took all of his partners strength to stop him from followin. She giggled as she righted him and he suddenly became aware of how close his body was to hers.

He risked his eyes away from his feet and looked inot her deep brown eyes. She smiled at him but looked away just as quickly. Zhneg looked back down at his feet and apologised as he stood on her left foot. She winced slightly but continued nonetheless. He once again looked int her eyes as the dance finally finished.

He bowed deeply to her, "My name his Zheng Hui," he said as she curtsied. "What is yours?"

 

Daniel picked up a large platter full of goose bones and drippings and took it into the kitchen. He was well aquainted with kitchen work, and though this one was larger than any he'd ever been in before, the layout was familar. He put the platter in a tub of sudsy water, rolled up his sleeves, and started to scrub the stack of plates in there. A young woman was scrubbing out mugs next to him.

After he finished the stack of plates, he caught her eye. "Must be nice, working in a grand place like this, eating the leftovers of the finest foods. Sleeping in a warm bed everynight."

"The grass is always greener on the other side, isn't it? Spend a few days serving the governor and his wife, and you might feel a bit different about it. I've seen things you wouldn't believe going on around here. My name's Molly. What's yours? Who you here with?" The young woman dried her hands on her apron and gave him an appraising look.

"I'm Daniel, here with Captian Abbott." The stack of dishes was now clean, and there seemed to be a lull in the hectic work of the kitchen. A huge man in a chef's uniform pulled a steaming platter of food from an oven and layed it on a table.

"Mangez, mangez," he called to the kitchen staff.

"Oooh, let's get something, at least Louis never forgets us," Molly said. Daniel chose a stuffed crab. It was delicious. He and Molly sat down on a bench and enjoyed the hot food.

 

The precipitous departure of the governor's wife, who had followed her, and how long they were taking about returning had not gone unnoticed. If the governor himself saw it he was hiding it well, but others had no such cause for discretion. Tongues wagged and the story spread quickly, like an outbreak of plague in the slums.

The gossips became more brazen, pushing for something to happen. The first couple's sleeping habits already were the talk of the season and now if they could simply drop the right stick onto the mule's overloaded back, the whole cart was likely to collapse.

Several matrons drifted towards Alexa and the governor without seeming to realize where they were. Some of their words reached the other ears; it soon became obvious that they wanted to be overheard.

"Poor thing, she must have to make do with last season's leavings."

"Margaret, you should take your old thiings to Freetown. They'd think they were getting the latest fashions!"

Alexa smiled inwardly. Her dress may actually be second hand, but it never could have belonged to any of these old cows. Had it, there would have been enough extra fabric to make a matching dress for Matty after the alterations.

"...and a color any whore would be proud of!"

"True, a decent woman would have found a way to ..."

"You know Elizabeth, perhaps we should try letting whores set the styles here in Port Royal."

"What are you saying, Eleanor! Then we'd have to suffer the attentions of our husbands!"

If the hens' darting glances were looking for a reaction from the governor other than a tightened jaw or slightly narrowed gaze, they were disappointed. After a few more minutes of subaudible mumbling, it became clear that they hadn't given up.

"We might have been wrong about them not having anything in common, Eleanor."

"True. Common certainly seems to describe their shared taste in companionship."

They could no longer be ignored.

 

Miss Avery nodded slightly, unwilling to tear her eyes away from Mister Santiago's. "Yes... there is a place...."

Her eyes swept the room, and noticed the Governor's eyes on the two of them. She smirked slightly and took Santiago's arm and lead him to an empty salon across the way, where they could be alone.

 

"Well now, Danny me boy," Molly said as she finished a snail. "Let me tell you a thing or two about what goes on around here. A week or two ago, me and Fat Willy were having a little fun under the back porch, when out of the big house comes the guvnah's missy, the Avery tart. I barely stopped moaning in time for us not to be noticed, when out from the hedges comes this old coot, with a red circle on his hand. She put a satchel, the kind the folks who know how to read put their papers and stuff in, into his hands, and he hands her a small bag with a good heft and a nice ring to it, if you know what I mean. Fat Willy told me he'd seen the old coot sometimes down at the Green Mermaid on the docks. We both knew that whatever was going on, it wasn't right, but I hadn't finished what we'd started, so after the hussy went back into the big house, I made Fat Willy sweat a bit. How'd you like to sweat a little with me?" She laid a wet washcloth around Daniel's neck and slowly pulled it down his shirt.

"Uh, I'd love to Molly, but, um, I think the Captain will be wondering why it's taken me so long to go get him a new caraf of wine. I'd better get back there." He jumped up from the bench they'd been sitting on and grabbed a pitcher of ale from a table. He didn't look back at Molly as he half ran back to the ball room. He didn't see the captain, but his mom was dancing with the governor, and Zheng and Matty were dancing as well. He walked around the room, refilling mugs of the ale drinkers, hearing all sorts of sordid gossip being almost much more than whispered.

 

The governor caught sight of Santiago moving away with his mistress into the empty Salon. His face dropped and he pushed Alexa away.

"Forgive me lady, but there is something I have to take care of." He walked away, leaving Alexa on the dancefloor alone. He stalked over to the open door of the dancefloor, seeing miss Avery with Ricardo's arm draped casually over her shoulder. The governor's anger grew as he walked toward's them.

A single white glove slipped out of his pocket and rocketed toward Ricardo's face, slapping him with a resounding crack. "I'll meet you in the grounds in one hour. Be there, or I will have you hunted and shot." With that, he grabbed miss Avery's arm and dragged her away.