The Captain's Cabin Boy

Chapter 30

Josette pushed against Jack’s chest and managed to dislodge his arms from around her before she reached over for her shirt. Jack looked at her with narrowed eyes before he turned his attention to Adele who was still staring, the rum bottle now in pieces in front of her feet.
Josette got out of the tub and silently put on her clothes while Adele’s eyes kept moving from her to Jack and back again.
“I thought you were ashore.” Jack spoke up as he gazed at Josette who was not making eye contact with either of them.
“I came back.” Adele replied quietly as she looked down at the broken glass.
“Did you cut yourself?” he asked and Josette looked at him in shock. Was he actually asking her that?
“Not by the glass.” Adele replied steadily as she stared at him dead in the eye.
Jack didn’t even blink, “If that is so, then you should learn to knock.” He said and she blinked.
“And you should lock the door.” She replied as she shot a glance towards Josette who was standing uncomfortably behind Jack.
“But then again, you’ve always been quite the exhibitionist. I would know.” She murmured and Josette felt her cheeks flushing.
“Adele.” Jack warned in a low voice, “Next time, knock. Someone take care of the broken bottle.” He waved a hand at the shards and Josette was surprised at his calmness.
Adele’s gaze fell on Josette before she leaned down and picked up the pieces, her mouth a thin line of anger and humiliation.
“I’ll help.” Josette muttered but Adele held up a hand to stop her.
“It’s my mess, girl. Not yours.” She snapped and Josette’s anger flared.
“Fine.”
“Fine indeed.” Adele replied before she stood up and walked out of the cabin with the broken glass, slamming the door behind her.
Josette turned to Jack, “We’re not doing this again.” She told him and he snarled.
“Because of her?”
“Yes! You need to clear your position with her. I am not going to be the thorn between you and her. And I won’t stand for her hateful gaze as well. I want no one to judge me, Jack. This is your fault. Not mine.” She said and Jack’s eyes flashed.
“My fault? Why is everything my fault?” he asked her and she sighed.
“Because you brought us to this. Not me. Let me ask you something, have you any doubts that her child is not yours?” Josette asked as she approached him.
Jack blinked, “Doubts?”
“Yes, doubts.”
“I always have doubts but it’s not impossible.”
“Are you aware that this woman loves you?” Josette tried to keep her voice calm and composed.
Jack averted his eyes, “Perhaps I have noticed a few signs.”
“So, you know. And you still kept visiting her with this knowledge and after the fact that she lied to you. But I guess that wouldn’t bother you since you lie all the time.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Are you judging me, Josh?” Jack asked huskily as he leaned close to her.
“I am just telling the truth. It suited your purposes to have her at your beck and call.”
“And how about you? What does your behavior say about you? You sit here, letting her walk all over you while she’s obviously trying to claim me. You do nothing to get what you want. You do nothing to have me.” He hissed at her.
“You want me to claim you, Jack?” she cocked her head to the side and his eyes darkened.
“You know I do.”
“Then swear to me that the child is not yours.” She challenged while staring at him in the eyes.
“You know I can’t do that.” He murmured and she smiled sadly.
“Exactly.” She whispered as she stepped around him and headed for the door. She opened it and in silence she walked out.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo


Josette wiped her hands and stood up from her kneeling position. She grabbed the basket with the clean clothes and headed out of the hold. She climbed up the stairs and walked towards the bow of the Pearl to put the laundry up to dry. The wind was strong and the clothes would be ready in just a couple of hours. As she arrived at the bow she paused.
Adele was there, leaning over the rail while staring at her hands. Josette took a step back but Adele’s voice made her pause.
“Do what you have to do. I won’t stop you. At least you have something to do here.” She said with bitterness in her voice and Josette swallowed thickly before she carried on with her task.
As she fumbled with the wet clothes and sheets she noticed Adele’s bandaged thumb.
“Is it deep?” she asked after clearing her throat. The woman was making her nervous.
“No.”
Silence fell between them after that. Until Adele broke it.
“I know you feel sorry for me.”
Josette froze, “Me?”
“Yes.” Adele looked at her sideways, her gaze sharp, “You’re different from the others. I have received a lot of stares in my life. Jealousy being the main emotion in them. But you have none in your eyes. You just pity me, don’t you?” she turned to face her.
“Should I?” Josette asked instead of answering and Adele sneered.
“By your reckoning, you should. By mine, you shouldn’t. I was an active participant.”
Josette frowned, “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I need you to understand that I am not here for your pity. Or his.” Adele pointed out, “I just wanted for my child to know his father. I never did.”
Josette looked away, “Why did you decide to come here? He obviously does not share your sentiment.” Her voice was quiet but biting too.
Adele chuckled, “Quite the realist, aren’t you? Because I love him. Like you do.”
Josette shook her head, “It’s dangerous for you to be here. The Navy will not hesitate to use you against him.” She was confused.
“You’re a woman too yet here you are.” Adele waved a hand at her.
“I am not with child.” Josette huffed.
“Yet. I’d advise you to be more careful than I was. He’s very charming and persuasive when he wants something.” Adele said with a far away look on her face.
Josette glared at her, “If he has so many flaws, why are you here? Why subject yourself to his inattentiveness.”
“Because I wanted him to believe that I am not lying. Despite what you may think of me, I do not sleep around. I never have.”
“I don’t think anything.” Josette replied flatly.
Adele scrutinized her face and form before she shook her head, “I never liked your kind. Dressing up as men to win a place among them. Perhaps you succeeded while everyone thought you were a man. But what after your secret was out? You keep dressing like one, alright. You keep suppressing your femininity and yet you get upset that he gave me your dress because I had nothing else to wear. You call it practicality, I call it manipulation. Making men believe that you are capable of handling things; that you are their equal when in reality you are not. As soon as there is an attack or a raid, he will tell you to take cover in the cabin. That’s how men are. They know no one better than themselves.”
Josette stared, shocked and slightly offended by her speech. She suddenly recalled Jack’s words from a long time ago; when he said that he would always trust the words of his mates more than those of a woman’s.
“So you find it easier to manipulate men in your bed instead. It gives you power?” she asked and Adele wrinkled her nose in disgust.
“Personally, I have not done something like that. He never needed manipulation, Josette. It was his own free will that led him to me. I have that much self respect.” The brown haired woman spat and Josette nodded.
“So what do you expect from him?”
“Kindness.” Adele whispered before she turned and walked away.
Josette watched her go before she covered her face with her hands and let her tears flow.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

A few days later…

John plopped down in the chair next to a giggling Josette and frowned.
“What?” he asked as he plucked a piece of beef from her plate and popped it in his mouth.
“The way you walk.” She said with laughter in her eyes.
“What about it?” he frowned as he chewed.
“You hop like a bunny.” She chuckled and he scowled.
“Hey, I am wounded. I can’t walk normally because my damn leg hurts.” He muttered as she pushed her plate towards him. He muttered a thank you and dug into her untouched food.
“You’re not hungry?” he asked after he had swallowed.
“Not really.”
“Why?”
“I am just not hungry, John.” She said and he blinked.
“Alright…”
“Right!” the cook spoke up, “Dave! Bring this up to the Captain.” He said loudly while holding a tray in his hands and Dave looked up in puzzlement.
“Me?” he voiced and Josette sat up.
“That’s my task.” She spoke up but the cook shook his head.
“The Captain asked for Dave.” He shrugged and Josette’s heart dropped to her stomach.
“Oh.”
Dave stood up begrudgingly and snatched the tray from the cook before he walked out of the galley.
Josette sagged in her seat and John glanced at her, “You had a fight with the Cap’n?” he asked quietly as the men carried on eating and conversing loudly with each other.
“No. Not that I know of.” She murmured and then recalled the day he had found Adele sleeping peacefully in his bed while he stood near his desk gazing at her with a deep frown in his gaze. The image, that homely image of him with Adele in the same room, had wounded her deeply though. Because she knew that they were attractive together; that he belonged with a woman like her.
Perhaps he had seen her face and had decided that she didn’t need to be around much. That she didn’t to witness much. It was for the better actually.
“Well, that’s strange.” John announced with a sigh and Josette shrugged.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

An arm snaked around her waist and a hand covered her mouth just as she made to pass in front of the hold. She gasped when she was pulled into the darkness of the humid room and almost stumbled as soon as she was released.
“What did she say to you?” Jack’s voice was harsh and low as he shut the door and looked at her.
“W-what?”
“Adele. You’ve been distant the last few days. You never come to me. You don’t even acknowledge me outside your duties.”
“I am trying to keep my distance for your sake.” Josette answered quietly and he narrowed his eyes.
“My sake, you say? What the hell does that mean?” he asked her angrily, his body vibrating with fury.
“I don’t want to cause trouble. If she’s so rude to me, I cannot imagine how she is to you.” She shook her head.
Jack paused and grimaced, “You’d be surprised if you knew that she’s not talking to me. Like at all. Not since that day she found us together. Maybe it was what she needed to understand the situation.”
“Kind of a harsh way to make her realize how you feel about her. Wouldn’t it be better if you explained it to her? Or do you keep her for future leverage?” she crossed her arms over his chest.
“My, my…” he murmured as he tilted his head to the side and gazed at her appreciatively, “Aren’t we the little pirate? You’ve finally started thinking my way.” He grinned and she wanted to hit him with something; preferably with his pistol.
“Jack, it’s not funny.” She hissed, “This is all a mess! Your mess.”
“You want to know what’s not funny?” he asked her lowly as he started advancing on her, “The fact that my thoughts are so focused on you that I cannot lead us to our destination. My bloody compass does not work because what I want is not bloody Hawk! It’s bloody you!”
“Jack-…”
“Tomorrow morning we’ll dock at Haiti.” He cut her off, “I want you outside my cabin at dawn. We’ll head into a nice inn, I will get you out of these ugly clothes and then I am going to take you. Is that clear?” he murmured and her eyes widened in shock and indignation.
“Excuse me? I am not one of your tarts!” she sputtered.
“Of course you’re not. You’re Josette. My Josette.” He said softly as he reached out and stroked his finger down her cheek, “Mine. And tomorrow you’ll give me what is mine so that I can save our heads afterwards. Is that clear?”
“So, you just want to use me in order for your compass to work.” She stammered and he smirked.
“Love,” he started as he cupped the back of her head and pulled her to him roughly, “Don’t you know that my compass points to what I want most in this world?” he murmured and she gulped.
“And what you want is a quick shag with me?”
“I want you in any way I can get you. Doesn’t matter if it’s quick or slow. But I always much prefer slow.” He grinned when she flushed.
“I am not much of a conquest. Most would claim that I am rather plain. People would wonder if the great Captain Sparrow does not have a taste in women.” She breathed and he cocked his head to the side.
“Most people have not seen you naked, love.” He replied and she narrowed her eyes, “Or angry.” He added before he slammed his mouth against hers and stole her breath away. She let him but when he made to slip his tongue between her lips she bit his lower lip angrily.
He pulled back with a moan and chuckled, “I take it this time you’d like it rougher?” he breathed as he pressed another kiss on her lips and then pulled away before she could bite him again.
“Jack!”
“Tomorrow at dawn.” He reminded her before he turned and walked away, leaving her breathless and flushed.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Josette quietly made her way up the stairs on nervous legs. She wiped her sweaty hands against her breeches while her inner voice screamed at her to stop and turn around. It screamed at her to not give in. She shook her head, trying to banish the annoying voice that yelled at her to not give him any more power but the voice remained there; at the back of her mind, taunting her.
“You girl. Halt.” A firm voice commanded and she froze as she slowly turned and locked eyes with Downer. He had Dave and Cotton restrained by the railing and they were both glaring angrily at him.
“Yes?”
“Call your captain. Now.” He said as he lifted his pistol and aimed it at her imperiously.
“What for?”
Instincts kicked in after she had uttered those words and her eyes widened when Downer’s gaze darkened.
“I won’t say it again.” He said lowly and she gulped before she turned and knocked on Jack’s door.
It was opened after a few minutes by Jack. Once he saw her he frowned.
“Love? I was just-…”
“Mr. Sparrow.” Downer called and Jack’s face fell.
“Aye? Ah, Mr. Downer! What a surprise. How can I be of service?” he smirked even though his voice was laced with sarcasm.
“You can help by telling me why we keep making these unnecessary stops.” He drawled and Jack’s lips twitched.
“Because my crew needs a bit of rest.”
“Your crew or you?” Downer cocked his head to the side and Jack’s eyes narrowed.
“What are you really afraid of?” he asked as he stepped forward, causing Josette to take a step back and behind him.
“That you’re dallying. That you’re trying to win time in order for us to lose Hawk.”
“Nonsense. I am trying no such thing.” Jack waved his concerns away with a bejeweled hand.
“Is that so?” Downer’s voice was low and smooth as he stepped forward.
“Of course. I have no wish to lose my head, mate.” Jack said gravelly.
“I am not convinced.” Downer shook his head as his gaze fell on Josette who visibly shuddered at his stare.
“What would convince you then?” Jack’s anger was translucent through his words.
“Her.” Downer pointed at Josette whose eyes widened in alarm, “I’ll take her so that I can ensure that you’ll surely do as you’re told.”
Jack gazed at Josette before he looked back at Downer with wide eyes, “No way. There is no deal when it comes to her.” He said heatedly as Josette took a step back.
“Really? I make her the deal.” He motioned towards his men who stepped forward, ready to grab Josette when a voice stopped them.
“Stop.” Adele appeared at the threshold and Jack turned to look at her.
“This is not the time, Adele.” Jack warned but she did not look at him.
“I’ll come with you.” She ignored the looks she received from Jack, Josette and the rest of the crew and stepped forward.
“What are you doing?” Jack whispered harshly and she shot him a glance.
“Ah, you’re the woman we found…What is she to you, Sparrow?” Downer asked as he eyed Adele appreciatively. Josette shuddered at the look he gave her; it was the look of a starved man.
“She is no one!” Jack exclaimed as he shook his head almost comically.
“What is your connection with him?” Downer asked as he looked at Josette with mockery. She glared at him.
“I am carrying his child.” Adele replied and Jack’s eyes widened while Josette almost choked on her own saliva.
Downer’s eyebrows disappeared under his hat before he laughed, “My, my, Josette. Seems like you’re not the only one in his life. Be careful.”
“Like you were?” Josette spat at him and the laughter froze on his lips. His eyes darkened before he turned to Jack.
“You have many secrets, Jack Sparrow. So, this is why she’s still here…” He murmured and then, “Grab her.” He commanded and before Jack could even make a step they had grabbed Adele by the arms and Downer had his gun pointed at him.
Jack made to lurch forward but Josette grabbed his arm.
“If anything happens to her-…” he started but Downer rolled his eyes.
“No worries, dear partner. I won’t touch a hair of her pretty head. Now, weigh anchor and let’s get going, yes?”
With those words he walked away and his men dragged Adele with him. She didn’t look back.
Jack stared at their backs before he closed his eyes and sighed, “Bloody hell, lass. What have you done?” he muttered before he snaked an arm around Josette and pulled her into a tight embrace that none of the crew tried to comment on.

End of chapter 30

Author’s note: Ahem, were you expecting that? I hope not.
Thank you for reading! If you want more then please review. It means a lot and it’s free! What are you waiting for?? Give me some love!!!

Xxx Lina :)