Midnight Boat to Freedom

I stood back and watched the two men greet each other as old friends. Anamarie gave him a smile and simply said, “Will.” He opened the door wider and we made our way inside the small shop.



There wasn’t much to look at in there, and I stayed behind Jack. I wished that Gibbs could have accompanied us; I had grown used to his larger than life presence behind me when I was uncertain. Jack made his way around the room, admiring the massive amounts of blades that seemed to be everywhere. “Still a blacksmith then?” Jack asked him.



“What gave it away?” Will replied. He took notice of me finally and gave a quizzical expression. Jack stepped over to where I stood and introduced me. “This be Tom. He just showed up one night. Seemed as though the sea just sort of spit him onto the deck, and the first thing he did was pick up a mop.” Jack looked back at me with a wink. Will rolled his eyes.



“Nice to meet you. Now what brings you back here?” Will asked. I panicked, thinking that he knew that I was trying to leave here, but the question was addressed to Jack. “Or was it simply to goad the Commodore?”



Jack laughed, “Well, that’s always a bonus to visiting here, but I do carry a purpose m’boy. A few of them actually.” He replied still laughing. Will grinned and started clearing things away, presumably to go home for the night. Jack stopped him and pointed at me. “This one,” he pointed to me, “will be needing something of your skills.” He said.



I tried to wedge behind Anamarie as all eyes focused on me. Remembering what Jack said, I stopped and stood a bit taller. I looked at Will, wondering what a blacksmith could possibly have for me. I was so daft. I looked around at the swords and blinked. Jack hid a smile as he realized I had figured it out.



“Tom is not of regular stature, more runt-sized then anything, but I’ve faith that you’ll know what to do.” Jack said. I almost spoke up about being called a runt, but realized it was all in good humor as they all smiled. I looked to the ground and said nothing.



“It will pose no problem, I’ll start it on the marrow.” Will said. He looked at Jack and changed the subject. “Would you and your company like to share dinner with us tonight? I assume you’ll want your blade as soon as I pull it from the forge, and a meal is surely waiting.” Will said.



Jack waited for a moment, regarding Will with a skeptical look. “And where might this dinner be?”



Will grinned and said nothing, simply leading them out and locking the door behind them. They walked through the streets, those that were out, keeping their distance. As they passed the guards, Jack gave them all an insolent smile and swaggered past. I stayed as close as I could to him and Anamarie. My heart started beating quicker and quicker as I realized where we were going. Not there, anywhere but there, my head screamed.



0



The Governor’s house was enormous. I remembered it well. The long hallways seemed a marathon when carrying a heavy basket of wet sheets and clothes. The floors seemingly endless as one polished them by hand. The lanterns, enough to light an entire city as one filled the kerosene in each of them, one by one. The dust that accumulated when one wasn’t dusting properly was enough to surely suffocate a grown man. These were the chores that I had done when I was here. This was the family that I had served for so long.



I tried to tell Jack, give him a look that told him the significance of this house, but he was looking at everything along the way, and paid none of us any mind. Will had gone first to announce us to the staff that had opened the door. I put my head down and walked past, trying to blend into Anamarie’s shadow. She seemed to notice that there was something different about me here, and she gave me a small look.



We were led into a small room, I knew that this was the place where we were to get cleaned up and refreshed before the meal, I whispered to Anamarie and Jack as they looked at the basins. Will had gone ahead to tell the Governor about the added company, and we were to wait in the foyer until he returned.



I jumped when I saw servants that I had worked side by side with in the past, and I ducked my head even lower as they passed, whispering. I knew that if anyone were to recognize me, it would be them. I had told no one of my plans when I left, but they could easily assume where it was I had gone and turn me in. I put Jack and Anamarie between us at all times. It was unnerving being back in this house and suddenly I wondered why I had wanted to come back to land so badly.



Will finally emerged from the main hallway and grinned. He led us back to the dining area and we seated ourselves. An old man, the Governor was seated at the head of the table, and a young woman was next to him. Will seated himself next to her, and Jack plopped into the chair next to the Governor, Anamarie at his side, and myself at the far end of the table, not meeting anyone’s eyes. I knew the woman, I had helped get her dressed many times in the past, and had waited on her many, many times. I hoped she didn’t peer too closely at my face. I looked at the chargers on the table and hoped for a brief meal, and a swift return to the ship. I was so wound up, my insides felt twisted and they hurt.



I listened to the conversations around me, and tried to get my mind off of my own predicament. The Governor was looking at Jack with a disdainful look, and Jack had a beaming smile on, refilling his glass of wine himself many times. I could feel the glee radiating from Jack as he told tales that he was sure were going to make the Governor squirm. I knew the Governor well; he was too timid and polite to say anything to the contrary and had pasted an utterly ridiculous grin to his face. He was flustered and sweating, and as the first round of food was served, I swear I saw him lift his wig and fan his head. I sputtered a laugh and Anamarie shoved a glass of water to me, a twinkle in her eye told me she had seen the same thing.



I was not used to being waited on. I gave the proper responses and courtesy, but avoided contact throughout the night. Jack requested serving after serving, not caring for the polite decorum that his company required. Will grinned and snorted quite a few times during the meal, and Elizabeth seemed to enjoy her father’s discomfort as well. The Governor hastened the servants to hurry and bring the rest of the meal, he was eager to have the charade over with. For once, I found myself agreeing with him.



As the plates were cleared, Anamarie pulled a small flask from her pocket and offered it to me. I didn’t drink before, but pretending to drop my napkin, I took a large swallow of the fiery liquid as I ducked under the table. I nearly gagged as I took a sip, and felt pain as Anamarie thumped my back. As I passed the flask back, I saw that all eyes were on me. My face flushed, and I pointed to the plate in front of me.



“He choked on a fishbone!” Anamarie covered for me, and I was immediately grateful. I watched as the plates were taken away and the Governor stood. The meal was over, and now the men would go to his study for a smoke, or whatever it was they did in there. Elizabeth and Anamarie rose and left me to go to the study with the men. I had forgotten that I had to go to the study. I was counted with them “men”. I fought down an exasperated sigh and followed.



0



There was so much smoke in the room, my eyes burned. I had nothing against tobacco, I rather enjoyed the smell, but that was on a ship, in the open air. Not in a small room, where I was seated next to Jack and the Governor who had the largest most flamboyant pipe I had ever seen. It emitted more smoke than a clogged chimney. My face was still flushed, but I knew that this was from the large drink I had taken. I itched to run from the house and swim to the boat, but I had to stay here and avoid raising suspicions. I couldn’t get rid of the frown that was stuck to my face and I feared I had the curdled milk look again.



There was talk about the weather, trading, buccaneering, every topic seemed to come back to the topic of pirates, and Jack grinned as the Governor changed the topic frantically. Will hid a small smile each time, and we both shared a smile as Jack parried words with the Governor, simply to see him squirm.



I perked my ears as the conversation shifted to an approaching wedding. This was a topic that seemed to put the Governor at ease. His face took on a natural shade as he figured this was a topic that Jack couldn’t possible manipulate to make him uncomfortable. I hadn’t been gone for very long, but I knew that something had gone wrong with Elizabeth and the Commodore. It was the gossip of the servants for some time, and the fact that Elizabeth had fallen for a man whose father was a pirate was a huge scandal. But after events that had conspired, the Governor had granted Will clemency and the marriage would come to be a respectable one. Certainly not what the Governor had in mind for his only daughter, but it would suffice. And she was happy, which was something that the Governor desired over all.



I had never met the Commodore or Will before that day, and to see these people up close for the first time had changed my view of the situation. The Commodore was a given that we would not have met, he was haughty, and only the finest servants were selected to wait on them at meals, chosen for their experience and capability. Will had started his life here, a chattel as I had, but our paths in that time had never crossed. For that I was grateful. He had no idea who I was, and there was one less person that I had to concern myself with.



The wedding was coming up soon, and I listened as the Governor rattled off the details. I was glad that I no longer worked at the house, the plans that he had for his daughter’s wedding seemed near impossible in even the most capable hands. Surely he was exaggerating when he said that there would be an unending flow of wine for the impossible number of guests he had listed. There were not enough hands in all of Port Royal to do that much pouring. Let alone to drink that much. He talked about how many casks would be unloaded from the port and brought here and I nearly fainted. I felt very poorly for the staff that I had left behind, but couldn’t help but feel relieved that I had avoided the amount of unnatural work that was going to have to be done.



Jack listened to the plans with a small smile pasted to his face, laughing when he was supposed to, nodding, agreeing when the Governor hesitated in his long-winded speech. I watched his behavior for sometime, and started to realize that he was up to something. This was not that Jack that I had come to know over my time on the Pearl. I glanced at Will, and from his furrowed eyebrow, I could tell he was thinking along the same lines as me.



By and by the Governor ran out of things to say about the wedding and there was silence. More smoke filled the room, and I thought I would pass out from trying to hold my breath. Finally, the Governor stood, and Will got to his feet as well. Jack followed, a confused look on his face.



“I must retire for the evening, as I feel I have run out of things to talk about.” The Governor said. Will and Jack forced a laugh. “I have surprisingly enjoyed the company tonight, and I am sorry to see you go, Mister Sparrow.”



Jack rolled his eyes at the Governor’s back. “Captain… They never seem to remember.” He muttered and grinned widely as the Governor turned back around. “But, you got us wrong, mate. We’re not leaving until tomorrow and the Pearl ain’t docked.”



The Governor raised his eyebrows as he realized the dilemma that we were in. I would have more than gladly swam, but I had a feeling that other plans were going to be made. I knew that the Governor would think of anything to keep us from staying at his house, and I silently urged him to think of something. I wanted to stay here no more than he wanted us.



“I’ll get a document ready and seal it. You can take that to the innkeep. They’ll allow you a room for a night, with my approval. But you must be gone tomorrow. No dallying.” He said as he took out a parchment. “Mister Turner, perhaps it would be wise if you accompanied them on your way home.” He added.



Will nodded and grinned at Jack. The Governor sealed the parchment with a wax stamp and handed it to Will. We followed him out of the study and waited in the foyer for Anamarie. When she had joined us, everyone said their goodbyes and we left the Governor’s house. I had never been happier to be gone from there, even on the night I left.



0



“So, Turner. Married? Are ye happy about it?” Jack asked as we walked through the streets.



Will didn’t answer immediately, and I caught the faraway look in the dim light. He seemed to be looking for words. “I am lucky to have Elizabeth and her father think so highly of me at this point.” He said in an indifferent tone.



I raised my eyes and Jack gave me a significant look. “Are you saying, that you’re only doing this for a higher station?” Jack asked Will, but quickly changed his direction. “N’ermind all that now. I have a proposition.” He said.



“What is it? I’ll make the blade for you, that’s no problem.” He said, giving Jack a quizzical look.



“Nay, although that’s part of it. Tom’ll be needin it where we’re going.” I gulped, and sputtered. What did he mean by that? I was content to stay on the ship when they went to town from now on. Jack continued. “We’re having a go at a little foray. And I thought that it was a perfect opportunity for a bachelor like you to have one more go at the sea, y’know, see if that’ll make as your last bit of freedom b’fore ye settle.”



“You mean, you want me, to accompany you, in a boat, on a search for some treasure, I’m assuming?” Will asked, pulling the parchment from his pocket as they reached the inn.



“I knew you’d make a good pirate! See, I said nothing of treasure! Admit it, you want to go.” He goaded Will. “I guarantee you won’t regret it.”



Will gave Jack an exasperated look. “I never said I would go. Besides, what are you after if not treasure?” He countered.



“See! You be interested!” Anamarie chimed in. Will looked to me and I shrugged. He sighed. The innkeeper handed him keys and slammed the door shut. Will looked to the door and handed the keys to Jack.



I could see that he was reluctant, but itched to join us. The hesitancy on his face belied what he was saying, and I knew that given enough pressure, he would agree. I vowed to stay out of it. Due to the people he knew, I wanted nothing to do with him after this visit, he was a nice enough person, but I wanted to turn away from this place and never come back. I was surprised at what he said next.



“When are you planning this?” He said with a resigned sigh.



Jack beamed. I watched as Will’s shoulders slumped, but a smile ghosted his features. I was shocked. How could he think of accepting so fast? He hadn’t directly accepted, and I knew that he was going to have to run it by Elizabeth, so the chances were that he wouldn’t go, but still, he was set here! He had a free name now; he was marrying someone prestigious. Why on earth would he give all that up for the chance to come on an adventure with Jack? One that no one had heard anything about before? One that I needed a SWORD for? I was immensely confused and glad when Anamarie pointed me to a cot in the corner. I fell asleep making a mental list of questions I was going to bombard Jack with in the morning.