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A Marriage To A Fine Woman	By : MarianTheBlackadder Category: Pirates of the Caribbean (All) > Het - Male/Female Views: 9674 -:- Recommendations : 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 List
- 19
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- 21
Dire Disappearance


Admiral Norrington and a squad of soldiers came down and started to
search the docks. Shouting back and forth to each other as they looked for
Aislinn. When James hadn�t found her in his office, and the orderly indicated
she hadn�t been there, it occurred to him that she might have come down to the
docks instead if she had heard something of the ship that was being held off
shore to try and find out what was going on.

A shout drew the attention of the men as James ran towards the call. One
of the Privates had come across a bosons mate laying in the sand on the beach.
Norrington approached as he saw one of the men helping the stunned solider up.
There was a brutal gash on his head where he had been clubbed across the face
with a hard blunt object of some kind.

It was only a moment before James recognized the boy. How could he
forget? �What happened sailor?� He asked.

�Lady Norrington sir . . . I came down the beach, seeing a figure
moving along the docks . . . I thought I�d convinced her not to do it, but . .
.� He looked over seeing that the boat she had been trying to move when he
approached her was gone, all that was left were some marks in the sand, and her
foot prints next to them.

�What? Do what? Where is she?� James demanded.

�She heard that the ship Crosswinds was out there, and insisted that
she had to get to it no matter what. I told her she couldn�t, but she was
almost hysterical . . . I thought I�d . . .� He raised his hand to his head,
�The next thing I knew she clubbed me with an oar.� He looked over to where
the boat had been, �She must have taken the boat after I was down.�

James eyes went wide as he looked up, �Marines . . . to the boats . . .
now . . .� He said starring out towards the water that was still thick with
the misty fog. He looked at two of them, �Get him to the surgeon . . . the
rest of you into the boats!� he ordered quickly following. �She cannot be
allowed to board that ship!�

It was unbelievable that she would do this. Go out of the house when she
was instructed not to do so until the baby was born when she was so close to
giving birth, take a boat out into the harbor not only when she couldn�t swim,
but on a fog thick night when there was hardly any light and you couldn�t see
anything, to a condemned plague ship. James was deadly silent as the soldiers
pushed the boats into the water and took their oars starting to row out into the
water.

Bitter Cold


Lord Beckett would have had to have been deaf not to hear the calls and
shouts on the docks. He stood at his window with a glass in his hand not having
completely been taken by surprise by the commotion. Common sense dictated that
something was going to happen tonight. The weather was far to convenient, and
knowing the death watch was on them, there were always those who might not be
able to resist the temptation of trouble.

Of course precautions had been taken and set into place, just in case the
need did arise. Courtesy of Lord Beckett and the East India Trading Company.
They simply had far to much interest invested in Port Royal not to assure it�s
safety.

Aislinn�s hands rested on her swollen belly under her cloak as the boat
crept along. She couldn�t row any more or move the oars another stroke. It
felt like an eternity since she�d left the shore. Needless to say when the
realization that she didn�t know which way shore was any longer she became
frightened. She didn�t even know if she was still heading in the same
direction she had first started out in.

All sorts of imaginings of what could be lurking in the unknown void
around the small boat and under it started to send chills down her spine. She
closed her eyes tight and clutched at her cloak, feeling as though she�d
awaken in a nightmare, alone in the dark, and was to afraid to move, or even to
draw a breath.

All at once, the sound of the wood bow smacking against solid wood caused
her to jump and her eyes to open. Looking up she could see the wood haul of a
ship before her. Slowly, she crawled over the benches to the front of the boat
and reached up placing her hands against the haul.

Leaning her head back she called upwards, �Hello?� she said not being
able to see the sails of the ship or even to the deck. The fog was still so
thick. She sat down again and picked up the oar placing it against the haul as
she started to push the small boat slowly along the side of the ship. Her eyes
staying fixed upwards towards the deck. �Is anyone on the watch?� She called
again. Moving further along the side of the ship, she spotted letters. It
spelled out the name of the ship as plainly as could be even in the darkness,
with bright white and gold letters. �Crosswinds�.

Aislinn�s eyes went wide as she realized she�d found the ship she�d
been desperately seeking these past months. �Father . . .� She said as she
dropped the oar into the boat and started to call, �Father!! . . .Father!!!�
She cried pounding her hands against the haul. �Hello!! Anyone! Please! . . .
FATHER!!!�

At last, she could see a shadow of someone moving on the deck looking
over the railing. She couldn�t make out their face, but she knew they were
there. �Whose there?� They asked her.

�Please sir . . . I�m looking for my father . . . Lord Walter Bartley
. . . is he aboard this ship??� She asked quickly squinting trying to make out
the face, but he was simply to far away, it was to dark, and the fog made it
impossible.

�Why are you asking for names aboard a ship of the damned girl? What
does it matter if the one your looking for is here or not.� Aislinn was cold,
and tired, and frustrated that she was so close to her father yet it seemed she
couldn�t see him. It was like a nightmare.

�I must see him! Please sir, my father, his name is Lord Walter
Bartley. Walter Bartley!!� She called out again. The figure disappeared for a
moment before reappearing at the rail. Then a rope was thrown down beside her, a
loop tied into the end. She looked back up.

�Come up and identify him yourself. I�ve no idea who your father is.
Take the rope and I�ll bring you aboard.� Aislinn wasn�t even thinking
properly, about anything really. Looking towards the rope she saw that there was
a large loop tied into the end of it.

Reaching up she unclasped her cloak at the neck letting it fall back into
the boat so it wouldn�t be even more in the way then her dress was going to
be. When she started to reach for the rope, she froze in place hearing the sound
of a pistol being cocked right next to her head.

�Touch that rope, it won�t matter whose name you wear.� Aislinn
shivered slightly as she slowly turned to find herself starring straight down
the barrel of a pistol aimed squarely between her eyes. Lowering her hand her
eyes moved upward to see the grim look on the familiar unfriendly face of Lord
Beckett�s right hand. Mr. Mercer. �Pull the rope back onto the deck or
you�ll not find your death as quick and merciful as promised!!!�

The rope was pulled back onto the ship and the figure disappeared.
Aislinn had been so distracted by talking to the individual onboard, that she
never even saw or heard Mr. Mercer approach and step foot into her boat. �Sit
down.� He said never taking his gun off her.

Slowly Aislinn did as she was told, shivering as he watched her sternly.
She wasn�t exactly fond of Mr. Mercer. There was a coldness in his eyes,
something that made her skin crawl and chills run through her body of terror.
Never in her life had she met a truly soulless person, but when she looked into
Mr. Mercer�s eyes . . . . she couldn�t see a soul. Just empty cold darkness.

Mercer picked up the oar in his free hand and pressed it against the haul
of the ship, shoving the boat away from it with one hard thrust as they started
to float away. Aislinn felt her heart sink as the boat disappeared from sight in
just moments as they drifted further from the ship.

Uncomfortable Situations


Aislinn sat still, afraid to move with that gun pointed at her,
Mercer�s finger on the trigger ready to fire. Although now they were away from
the ship, it didn�t seem to make sense that he still held the weapon on her.
It wasn�t exactly a secret to Lord Becket, or Mr. Mercer that Aislinn was
unable to swim. She had a great terror of drowning. So fearing that she would
try to jump over the side and swim away wasn�t a reason. No, the only reason
to keep threatening her in such a way was to frighten her. For no other reason
then he enjoyed it. But Aislinn was unaware of his reasons. She�d never met a
man like him before.

�Who knows you�re out here.� Mercer said breaking the silence
causing Aislinn to jump a bit. It was a strange question somehow. She felt like
she should be careful the way she answered.

�Everyone.� She answered. Mercer arched a brow starring at her. It
was a very wide and general answer.

�Hardly. I doubt anyone knows you�re out here otherwise you
wouldn�t be.� Mercer said.

She starred at him for another moment before speaking, �I came out of
my own accord because I wanted to see my father. He�s aboard that ship. I�ve
been trying to receive news of him for months . . . and have had no word.�

�Regardless of your father�s being aboard that ship, it is condemned
and off limits to everyone. Including you, Lady Norrington.� Her eyes turned
downcast for a moment before looking back up at him.

�So he is aboard the ship.� She whispered.

�Yes, he is. Lord Beckett and Admiral Norrington made sure that bit of
information was kept secret from everyone so it wouldn�t get back to your
ears. Knowing your past record of foolishness, it was no doubt to keep you from
attempting such an idiotic venture.� She clinched her jaw at his words seeing
the way he looked at her.

Returned


It wasn�t long before Norrington and his men came across the boat with
Mercer and Aislinn. When they did, Aislinn was laying in the bottom of the boat,
apparently asleep.

Norrington felt his heart sink seeing the way she was laying. �Aislinn?
Aislinn!� He called as they pulled the boat along side the other and he
stepped over kneeling down next to her touching her face. She was so cold. He
looked up at Mercer, �What�s happened, what�s wrong with her?� He asked,
knowing full well of her fear of the sea and drowning with her inability to
swim. He doubted she would have ever been comfortable enough to fall asleep no
matter how tired she was in such a small boat.

�She seemed very exhausted, sir. Fell asleep a while a go.� He
answered with a cold look on his face. The tone in his voice didn�t exactly
hide the fact that he was lying. He seemed hardly concerned with the Admiral
knowing that he had put Aislinn out somehow, whatever his reasons for doing so.
However his not actually saying what he had done in blunt words and saying
something else in it�s place, indicated it was done violently.

James look darkened as he placed his hand on her forehead and touched her
face, reaching down and placing his other hand over her swelling abdomen. She
was cold, very cold. Having been out here at night far to long. Reaching
underneath her he picked her up and passed her over to the others where the men
took her from him and gently set her down into the boat. Norrington looked at
Mercer, �Go back to whatever it is you were doing, Mr. Mercer.� He said his
own look quite dark. He had suspicions about what he had done, but with no
proof, how could he accuse him of anything?

Stepping into the boat with the Soldiers they began to row back to shore.

Mercer watched them as they disappeared out of sight before reaching into
his coat pulling out a handkerchief that he�d taken off Aislinn. He held it
close to his face a moment before chuckling slightly.

Requiem


Dressed in the deepest, darkest black clothing from head to toe, Aislinn
knelt in the chapel on the island starring upwards towards the large crucifix in
the front of the church. Her eyes were red from crying, and tears streaked her
face, as she remained in silence clutching her rosary in her folded hands.

It had been three days now since she had come to the church, she�d not
returned home, she�d not been able to stop crying since the duty of disposing
of the plague ship was carried out. Three days on her knees, praying over and
over, unable to stop, so deep in mourning over the death of her father her heart
was broken and she knew no other way to try and stop the pain.

James paced back and forth just outside the church doors as the doctor
and priest stood nearby. �This can�t continue. She can go into labor any day
now Admiral and all she�s had for three days is tastes of communion bread and
water. The longer she goes without rest and nourishment the weaker she will
become.�

�I dreaded telling her of it. That the ship was condemned and that her
father would share it�s fate . . . . but it should have come from me. I could
have found a way to explain it to her, made it simpler, perhaps eased the blow
as much as possible.� James said pacing back and forth still. �Instead the
news came to her in the harshest, cruelest manner it could have possibly
come.� He looked at the doctor, �And since I am the one who kept it from her
and did not tell her, not to mention issued the order and personally oversaw it,
she no doubt views me as the monster who murdered her father.�

The priest spoke, �Aislinn is a child of God, who was raised in a place
where she was taught that it is God who gives and God who takes away, and
understands this. She will not blame you Admiral Norrington. Her heart is
broken, and she is trying to cope with and lessen the pain she feels the only
way she knows how.� James didn�t say anything, he personally had his
disagreements with the church in many ways since his marriage to Aislinn. He
hated what had been done to her, and attributed a large portion of the
difficulties that they had suffered from the first day of their marriage to the
way she was raised. Not to mention the obvious abuse she received while in the
care of the convent.

�Either way, something must be done Admiral.� The doctor said. �She
should be resting, saving her strength. She will need it for when it is time for
her to give birth.�

James sighed and ran his hand over his face. It was obvious he was going
to have to things the difficult way again.

Despair


Norrington was finally at the point where he had to remove Aislinn from
the church by force, and simply picked her up carrying her home. She didn�t
seem to respond to him any other way and he wasn�t about to leave her there to
simply wither away and endanger their child.

However, the change in geography didn�t seem to make a change in her
behavior. He found her kneeling beside the window in their bedroom once again
deep in prayer, saying her rosary over and over again. It was getting
frustrating. She had to rest and she had to eat. The doctor had a point about
that, especially since it was beginning to show in her face. Her pale skin and
dark circles around her eyes made it clear that she was weakening, quickly.

Walking over he reached down and took Aislinn by the hands pulling her up
to her feet. �Aislinn, stop . . . you�ve prayed enough.� He said looking
at her seriously. �You can�t spend your life in mourning. Your father
wouldn�t want it. You know this.� He said looking at her even though her
eyes seemed to stare off into some unseen void. Her eyes had become dull in the
past few days, having suffered a record number of tears and no sleep.

Sighing James reached up and cupped her face in his hand, moving the
tears away from her eyes with his thumb, �The baby will be coming any day now.
You must eat, and you need to rest. Endangering your life and our child�s will
not bring your father back.�

�Why wasn�t I allowed to see him?� She said in a soft childlike
voice after a moment. James had a feeling that this subject was going to come up
again. When she was brought back to shore and had awoken, she instantly
requested to be allowed to see her father, but was denied of course. Aislinn
pleaded that she at least be taken back to the ship and would be satisfied
enough just to speak to him from one of the long boats, or even one of the ships
assigned to escort the crosswinds to sea.

�Aislinn . . . it would not have done you any good.� He said gently.
�You didn�t need to see him like that. He was affected by the disease as
much as the rest of the crew. It�s better that you remember him the way he was
before the illness overtook him, it�s what he wanted.�

She looked into James eyes a moment turning his words over in her mind.
�You saw him . . . didn�t you.� For some reason, she felt betrayed by
this. That James got to see her father and she was denied a chance to say
goodbye. �You saw him, and spoke with him.�

Norrington could almost feel the emotions inside Aislinn begin to shift
as he looked into her eyes. It didn�t seem like the time to lie to her, she
had been lied to enough, and he had kept things from her that he should have
explained himself instead of letting her find out from someone else. He
couldn�t chance that happening again. �Yes.� He answered honestly.
�I�m not the sort of commander to issue such an order and not be the one to
carry it out myself. The responsibility was mine, no one else should have to
bare such a burden.�

Aislinn�s lip started to quiver slightly, and she clinched her jaw
pushing his hand away from her face. Tears were welling up in her eyes again,
but there was a hurt and angry feeling behind them now. �He was my father,
James. He was the only family I had . . . and you took him away from me . . .
without even letting me say goodbye.� She said hardly able to speak. �You .
. . had the power to let me see him one last time, to speak with him and let me
tell him I loved him . . . but you didn�t. Instead you kept me from him. You
wouldn�t even let me say goodbye!!!� She shouted reaching up and pushing him
away from her walking back towards the window.

Needless to say, James was a bit in shock. He hardly expected such a
reaction from her. Then, for some reason he couldn�t explain, his own reaction
shocked him even more. He became almost as upset and angry as she was, having
already felt guilty about the whole affair. �All of these tears and grief over
a man you hardly even knew, Aislinn what does it matter if you said goodbye to
him face to face or not!� He shouted.

Stepping towards her his temper flared. �He sent you to a convent when
you were an infant when your mother died and let you be raised by a bunch of
overzealous pious relicts and never even bothered to visit you regularly!!
Pouring money into their greedy pockets, while they abused his daughter and sent
you letters as if showing you a proper caring fatherly regard!!� Aislinn
turned around and shouted back at him now.

�My father loved me! He was a businessman! He was far too busy to try
and raise me on his own when my mother died! He only wanted what was best for me
and to have the care I needed!� She shouted.

�He put you in a box from birth, to be raised by strangers until you
were of an age to give to someone else, be their responsibility!! He treated you
like one of his assets, an investment Aislinn . . . not his daughter . . . and
yet you carry a blind unshakeable loyalty for him, and have made yourself ill
mourning for a man who would not have shed a tear for your passing!!!�

Suddenly, without warning, Aislinn�s hand came across James face hard.
She couldn�t hear another vulgar word about her father. There was such force
behind the smack, it left a sting on his face that made him realize what he had
been saying, and how incredibly harsh, disrespectful and inappropriate it was.
Never had she struck him before for any reason. She had never even raised her
voice at him or shouted at him except for the time when Margaret filled her head
with nonsense. But at that time she was unfocused and unclear about her anger
towards him.

That wasn�t the case now. At this moment, she was very clear, and the
smack wasn�t exactly unwarranted. She starred at him, �My father was a great
man.� She said in a clear and definite tone. �You have no right, to speak
ill of him. How can you when he has given you all the wealth that he worked so
hard for in his life.� She said as tears rolled down her cheeks. It was true.
Knowing that his fate was sealed with the ship and it�s crew before they even
arrived in Port Royal, he made arrangements to have everything, all of his
property, all of his holdings, everything that was his transferred to James and
Aislinn. �You have no right to speak of what you know nothing about.� She
said starring into his eyes a moment longer before moving past him and leaving
the room slamming the door behind.

James stood there another few moments, stunned. The little girl that he
was used to, the child bride that he had married seemed to disappear in moments.
He was wrong in his words about her father, especially now when his blood
wasn�t even cold. He had no idea what had come over him that he would do such
a thing.

�ADMIRAL! ADMIRAL NORRINGTON!!!� A shrill voice of one of the
servants came from downstairs.
To Be Continued . . . .
- 19
- 20
- 21
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A Marriage To A Fine Woman