A Spot of Blackmail
folder
Pirates of the Caribbean (All) › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
1,833
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Pirates of the Caribbean (All) › General
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
12
Views:
1,833
Reviews:
5
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 10
Jack had never really given up on the “knock Anna on the head and sail off with her” idea, but he knew it was going to need some adjusting if it was going to work. If he wanted her speaking to him afterward, the knock on the head would have to be figurative, to begin with. At the moment, she looked like he had actually done it. He had merely proposed that she take a vacation.
“You want me to do what?”
“I believe I said I wanted you to leave the tavern alone for a week or so.”
“All right, then I did hear you correctly. Now would you care to tell me why I should leave my livelihood for a week?”
“Because you need it, luv. Have you used that mirror I gave you lately? You look tired, and every time you go back there you look more tired. Trust me, that building’s trying to take the heart out of you, and you’re letting it.”
“And what else am I supposed to do? I can’t just go off and leave the place. If it doesn’t open I’ll lose a lot of business. If I’m lucky, they won’t knock the door in and drink me dry anyway.”
“Let somebody else run it for a while, then.”
“Who? Tell me that. There’s nobody in Tortuga I’d trust.”
“What about your friend who delivers the rum?”
“He’s an apprentice, Jack. He couldn’t handle the crowd I get in here.”
“Not by himself, no. If he had Gibbs and Anamaria to back him up, he could, though. He knows about collecting money, doesn’t he?”
“Well, I suppose he does, at that. But still, I don’t think…”
“Actually, you do. The trick is to get you to stop thinking for five minutes to get you used to it, and then get you to agree to stop thinking for a week.”
“Even if I did, what makes you think Gibbs and Anamaria want to run my tavern for a week?”
“Privilege of being captain, luv. I can order them to do it. I would’ve if Anamaria hadn’t volunteered.”
“She what?”
“She volunteered. It seems she likes you for some reason or other. Now will you stop being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn?”
“I’m not being…oh, all right, I suppose I am, damn it.” She was. Arguing with Jack had become second nature, and she would contradict him automatically if she wasn’t paying attention. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, be useful and tell Gibbs where to find this apprentice friend of yours. And when you’ve done that, you can sit there and let me drape you in silk again.”
“Now that idea, I won’t argue with.” Anna told Gibbs where to find Peter (and, more importantly, where to find the money to pay him with when he showed up with the week’s delivery). Gibbs certainly acted like he didn’t mind being tied to the tavern for a week, but Anna reminded herself to ask him about that.
“Right, luv. Now is there anything you’ve got at home you can’t live without for a week?”
“My hairbrush. Unless you’ve got one.”
“I think we can come up with something. So, here’s the plan. For the next week, you’re going to stay here and stop thinking.”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
“The Pearl to begin with, and wherever I take her.”
“Jack, I must’ve told you at least fifteen times by now. I don’t sail.”
“You do when you do it with me. You can argue with me about it later. The Pearl won’t let anything happen. In fact, if you want to blame somebody for this, blame her. She decided she wanted to get to know you better.”
“Don’t hide behind her. This was your idea to begin with, wasn’t it?”
“It was. But she agreed with me about it, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that when she thinks I’ve got a good idea, she’ll help me with it.”
“So if I agree to sail away with you for a week, I wouldn’t end up shipwrecked somewhere? And I’d be back here in a week?”
“As far as the two of us can arrange it, yes. There are still certain things we can’t control, of course.”
“All right, Jack. I give up. I’m taking a vacation.” Surrender did have its merits, she observed, when enough of her brain disentangled itself from the kiss Jack gave her for that. “Keep that up and I’m going to need a vacation from this vacation.”
“That’s the point, luv.”
*****************************************************************************
A/N: Been a while since the last update; grad school will do that to you. There's at least one more chapter of this, and I'll try to post the next bit sooner.
“You want me to do what?”
“I believe I said I wanted you to leave the tavern alone for a week or so.”
“All right, then I did hear you correctly. Now would you care to tell me why I should leave my livelihood for a week?”
“Because you need it, luv. Have you used that mirror I gave you lately? You look tired, and every time you go back there you look more tired. Trust me, that building’s trying to take the heart out of you, and you’re letting it.”
“And what else am I supposed to do? I can’t just go off and leave the place. If it doesn’t open I’ll lose a lot of business. If I’m lucky, they won’t knock the door in and drink me dry anyway.”
“Let somebody else run it for a while, then.”
“Who? Tell me that. There’s nobody in Tortuga I’d trust.”
“What about your friend who delivers the rum?”
“He’s an apprentice, Jack. He couldn’t handle the crowd I get in here.”
“Not by himself, no. If he had Gibbs and Anamaria to back him up, he could, though. He knows about collecting money, doesn’t he?”
“Well, I suppose he does, at that. But still, I don’t think…”
“Actually, you do. The trick is to get you to stop thinking for five minutes to get you used to it, and then get you to agree to stop thinking for a week.”
“Even if I did, what makes you think Gibbs and Anamaria want to run my tavern for a week?”
“Privilege of being captain, luv. I can order them to do it. I would’ve if Anamaria hadn’t volunteered.”
“She what?”
“She volunteered. It seems she likes you for some reason or other. Now will you stop being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn?”
“I’m not being…oh, all right, I suppose I am, damn it.” She was. Arguing with Jack had become second nature, and she would contradict him automatically if she wasn’t paying attention. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, be useful and tell Gibbs where to find this apprentice friend of yours. And when you’ve done that, you can sit there and let me drape you in silk again.”
“Now that idea, I won’t argue with.” Anna told Gibbs where to find Peter (and, more importantly, where to find the money to pay him with when he showed up with the week’s delivery). Gibbs certainly acted like he didn’t mind being tied to the tavern for a week, but Anna reminded herself to ask him about that.
“Right, luv. Now is there anything you’ve got at home you can’t live without for a week?”
“My hairbrush. Unless you’ve got one.”
“I think we can come up with something. So, here’s the plan. For the next week, you’re going to stay here and stop thinking.”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
“The Pearl to begin with, and wherever I take her.”
“Jack, I must’ve told you at least fifteen times by now. I don’t sail.”
“You do when you do it with me. You can argue with me about it later. The Pearl won’t let anything happen. In fact, if you want to blame somebody for this, blame her. She decided she wanted to get to know you better.”
“Don’t hide behind her. This was your idea to begin with, wasn’t it?”
“It was. But she agreed with me about it, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s that when she thinks I’ve got a good idea, she’ll help me with it.”
“So if I agree to sail away with you for a week, I wouldn’t end up shipwrecked somewhere? And I’d be back here in a week?”
“As far as the two of us can arrange it, yes. There are still certain things we can’t control, of course.”
“All right, Jack. I give up. I’m taking a vacation.” Surrender did have its merits, she observed, when enough of her brain disentangled itself from the kiss Jack gave her for that. “Keep that up and I’m going to need a vacation from this vacation.”
“That’s the point, luv.”
*****************************************************************************
A/N: Been a while since the last update; grad school will do that to you. There's at least one more chapter of this, and I'll try to post the next bit sooner.