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"Oh!"
Elizabeth Turner was taken aback by the sight that greeted her in Commodore
Norrington's parlor. The Commodore, quite bereft of wig, coat or boots, was
rolling around on the Persian rug with the notorious pirate Captain Jack
Sparrow, who was missing not only his coat and boots, but also his breeches.
Apparently, he missed his breeches rather often, for his golden skin was no
paler on his exposed backside than on the rest of him, and really, this was
information that Elizabeth had never desired to have, and devoutly hoped to
be able to forget as soon as possible.
Her exclamation startled the two men, who looked up at her with surprised
expressions, Norrington's colored with dismay, Jack's with amusement.
Norrington jumped to his feet and with some confusion, attempted first to
don his coat and then, seeing Elizabeth's pointedly averted eyes, threw it
over Jack's bottom half.
"Ah, Miss Sw- that is, Mrs. Turner. This is a surprise."
"So it would seem, Commodore. Your man let me in. I'm sorry, I didn't
realize you were. . .not receiving visitors."
Jack propped himself up on his elbows and pushed his tangled hair from his
face. "Oh, is that what they're calling it these days? 'lo there, Elizabeth,
how's young Will?" Jack was as composed as if they'd been sitting down to
tea, which was exactly what Elizabeth was supposed to be doing with
Norrington at that moment.
"He's fine, Jack. He's on his way from the forge, in fact. We had an
appointment with the Commodore."
"Blast! I knew I'd forgotten something." Norrington gave Jack an annoyed
look. "This is all your fault."
"I don't see how you can say that, love-" (At this, Norrington's pink cheeks
became positively red.) "I'm not the one as made an appointment and then
forgot it. I was just dropping by to see my old friend Jamie, all unawares
of appointments and Governor's daughters and blacksmiths, 'n all.
"You will go sneaking into people's windows and, and, blind-siding
them, after not writing or leaving word for months on end. It's enough to
make anyone forget an appointment!"
Elizabeth cleared her throat delicately.
"Oh, Mrs. Turner. It's not what it- That is Ja- er, Captain Sparrow and I
were discussing the possibility of the Governor granting him a letter of
marque in exchange for his help with the Spanish."
"I see."
"And. . .Captain Sparrow was showing me an injury he sustained to his leg,
which I was endeavoring to help him with. Nothing improper was going on, I
assure you."
"Of course not." Elizabeth cocked an eyebrow. "That will be Will coming up
the steps. I think I'll just. . ."
"Of course. My apologies, Mrs. Turner."
"Jack? I do hope the Commodore is able to help with your. . .injury. Let us
know if you decide to take him up on his offer."
"My offer?" Norrington looked like he'd swallowed something very foul.
"Yes, Commodore, the letter of marque?" Elizabeth turned on her heels and
left the room.
From just outside the door, she heard Jack laughing and Norrington cursing,
a sound that was abruptly cut off by a loud thump, followed by Norrington
saying, in an entirely different sort of voice, "Oh!"
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