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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
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After Dinner Conference


James sat on his side of the bed a little confused. Beckett talked a lot
about different things, about how things were going in the Caribbean, about
trade, about the weather, but never once did he offer an argument to Aislinn or
to James about accepting the commission. It was strange. Norrington had been
prepared all day for a barrage of nonsense from Beckett whom he couldn�t stand
anyway.


Aislinn came from behind the changing screen and crawled into her side of
the bed between the covers. Norrington rolled over and blew out the candle
before rolling back and wrapping his arm around her pulling her close and
kissing her gently. �James?� She said softly between kisses.


�Hmmm?� He said before kissing her again pulling her a little closer
as he leaned up and cupped her face in his hand then ran his fingers through her
hair enjoying the taste of her lips. Then his kisses moved down to her cheek and
then to her neck since she obviously had something to say and he was going to
give her the chance.


�The Caribbean sounds like an exciting beautiful place. May we live
there?� She asked. James stopped kissing her neck and opened his eyes hearing
her words frozen in place.


�Excuse me.� He stated.


�Well . . . if you are going to have a commission that is going to have
you commanding a fleet in the Caribbean . . . couldn�t we live there as
well?� Norrington leaned up slowly and looked down at her for several long
moments.


�You don�t know how far away it is.� He said.


�4 months on a ship if there are no storms.� She stated immediately
almost cutting his sentence off. James looked at her for another moment.


�We�d be there for years, it would involve moving our entire lives
from London to the Caribbean.�


�It wouldn�t be much different then it is now.� She said cutting
him off again almost immediately. He arched a brow looking down at her. She
seemed so excited about moving to the Caribbean and they hadn�t even talked
about it.


�You�ve never been on a ship.� James waited to see how she was
going to answer that one finding that she fell silent for a few moments. Her
eyes went downcast when she didn�t have an answer.


�There are many things I�ve never done.� She said softly. Her eyes
moved back up to his, �You promised to teach me.� Norrington couldn�t
argue with that, he certainly did make her that promise. The Admiral had a
strange feeling about this and he wasn�t entirely sure that it was her idea.
She was so impressionable sometimes. Yet the question was, who put the
impression there and when did they have the chance to do it?

Port


Arriving at the ship the day of their departure, James came out of the
carriage first and reached up offering Aislinn his hand helping her from the
carriage. As she stepped down, James took her arm and wrapped it around his as
they were met by the Captain and greeted appropriately. The Admiral introduced
himself and of course Aislinn and the Captain had his second in command show
them to his ship.


As the two were shown the way, it was explained that their things had
already arrived and were aboard the ship. However when they approached, Aislinn
stopped cold in her tracks and Norrington was nearly jerked to a halt. The
Admiral looked at her a little confused and saw the young girls eyes as wide as
apples starring as the Lieutenant walked up the gang plank. �Aislinn? What is
it?� He questioned.


�It�s on water.� She said as she looked at huge rocking wooden
vessel before her.


�Well of course it is, what did you think?� He replied in disbelief.


�I can�t swim! What if I were into the water? I would die!� She
said looking about seeing how huge and vast the ocean was in every direction.
�We�re going out there? All the way out there? Away from the land?�


�Is there something wrong?� The lieutenant said coming back down the
gangplank. �Is the lady alright?�


�Yes. May we have a moment?� Norrington requested politely.


�Of course, sir.� The lieutenant replied before leaving the two
alone. James pulled her back next to some crates on the dock to where they would
be able to speak quietly in private.


�I�ve been in the Kings Navy all my life, and lived on such ships
more then I have on land. As you can see with your own eyes, I am alive and
well. No serious harm has come to me. Do you honestly think that one voyage is
going to cause your life to come to a sudden and abrupt end?�


�But I cannot swim. What if I were to fall?� She said with a frown.


�There are over 500 seasoned sailors and military personnel onboard. Do
you really think that they�re going to let a lovely young woman meet her end
in such a way when a chance to be a hero presents itself? I�d wager they�d
be in the water before you touched the surface to catch you and bring you back
on board.� Aislinn looked at him another moment before looking back at the
ship. �You were the one who insisted she wanted to see the Caribbean first
hand, are you saying you wish to stay now?�


Aislinn�s eyes went wide remembering everything that Lord Beckett had
said and looked at Norrington not wanting to be the one who stood in the way of
further advancement in his career. Quickly she shook her head. �Then come, it
won�t be long before it�s time to cast off.� He offered her his arm and
she looked at the ship again taking a nervous breath wrapping her arm around
his.

First Week Out


The Captain invited the Admiral to dinner so they would have a chance to
talk, since the Captain had his duties to see to and the Admiral had been
extremely occupied since the middle of their third day out. When Norrington
arrived, the Captain smiled and greeted him anxiously and they sat down.


�I�m terribly sorry, you know how the seas can be around storm
season. A bit testy at times.� The Captain apologized for how rough things had
been with the movement of the ship. �I�ve been at sea so long I hardly
notice it anymore unless it�s extremely tossing the ship about. Nearly
capsizing her really.�


�I�m the same way myself. Unless you�re the weather God, there�s
no need to apologize, I understand completely Captain.� James said with a
smile.


�Is she doing any better? Still ill?� The Captain inquired.


�She�s resting now. The doctor checks on her periodically. He�s
quite good your physician.� James complimented.


�Thank you.� The Captain said with a smile knowing it was rare to
actually get a qualified doctor and not some back woods �doctor� who
wasn�t a butcher that basically applied a bandage or two and hacked off a limb
here or there. �Poor dear. She seemed to be doing all right at first. Then she
developed that green color and that was the end of that wasn�t it.�


�Yes well, it�s her first time on a ship. It�s her first time even
seeing the ocean, much less being on it. Hopefully the sickness will pass before
to long and she�ll develop her sea legs. Hanging over the side constantly
isn�t helping her fear of falling off the ship any.�


�Can�t swim?� The Captain guessed immediately. James nodded a bit.
It wasn�t that surprising there weren�t a whole lot of women who did know
how to swim. It wasn�t exactly a proper thing for a lady to be practicing.
�One of the advantages to youth is it is resilient. She�ll be fine before to
long.� James couldn�t help but glare at the Captain slightly for the remark
of her youth. It seemed like everyone was getting some sort of dig in about her
age lately and it was beginning to irritate him. �More wine?� The Captain
offered.


�Please.�

Exhausted


�Aislinn?� James said shaking her arm a little. �Aislinn, wake up
dear.� He repeated once more. He could see the deep black circles around her
eyes and could well understand why she wasn�t responding right away but she
had to wake up. Slowly her eyes began to open and her body began to stir.
�Here now, sip this slowly.� Norrington coaxed as he put his arm behind her
back to help her to sit up so she could.


Her lips were parched yet still she was hesitant knowing the result of
taking food or drink the past few days was sudden and unwelcome and she was so
tired and sore she didn�t want to wretch one more time. Yet James insisted and
her mouth was dry so slowly she took a sip and then another. �Small sips.�
He cautioned keeping a close eye letting her have another taste. After a few
more times he let her lay back down before having her take some more. �Broth
shouldn�t upset your stomach. You need something otherwise you�ll get weaker
and we don�t want that.�


She nodded a little bit. Norrington reached up and smoothed her hair away
from her face, �Are you feeling any better?� He questioned sympathetically.


�Just exhausted.� She said softly. �I�m sore in places I didn�t
know I had.� She said placing her hands over her stomach and her chest. James
half smiled and reached up placing his hand over one of hers.


�You�ll get used to it. Everyone does sooner or later. It�s partly
the time of year we are sailing, the seas are more cross then calm which is why
the ship moves about so much. We�ll get to much smoother sailing seas before
to long and it�ll be a bit different.� He promised with a smile.


�Did this happen to you the first time you were on a ship?� She
questioned.


James felt a little sheepish in his answer, half wishing he could say yes
but mostly glad he could say no. He was a man after all and he did have his
pride. �You have to understand I was just a boy on my first voyage. Small
children don�t notice such things quite as much. Everything is an exciting
adventure and all caution is thrown to the wind if there is any to be had in the
first place.�


Aislinn looked at him for another moment, �Are you angry with me?�
She said in a quieter voice which alerted him that she was very worried about
what the answer was going to be. The Admiral arched his brow wondering what had
brought on such a question.


�For being ill? It�s not as though you could help it, darling. I�m
not going to hold something against you that is not of your doing. That is just
rubbish.� He said thinking the very idea was absolutely absurd.


�For embarrassing you.� She said correcting his assumption about her
question. James paused looking at her.


�What do you mean?� Embarrassment? What embarrassment was she talking
about? He couldn�t recall being embarrassed recently, and certainly not by
her.


�I can see the way you . . .� She paused and then tried a different
approach, �Not everyone is always comfortable with how old I am . . . are
they.� She stated hoping that this would be the correct way to approach the
subject. James looked at her. There it was again, that sharpness that hid itself
quite well but was always there lurking in the shadows. She was by no means dull
witted. �Sometimes you seem angry when something is said or a comment is made
about our age difference.�


�Once again, I�m not going to hold you accountable for something that
is completely out of your control, don�t be ridiculous.� He said picking up
the cup and helping her to sit up once again hoping that the subject would come
to an end if she would simply take some more broth.

Fresh Air


Two weeks later, Aislinn sat on a crate on deck watching the sea line
enjoying the fresh air as it swept over the ship. She was feeling much better
and able to walk about freely, and eat solid food as well as drink again.
Apparently her �sea legs� had finally arrived and she had gotten used to the
movement of the ship so it didn�t make her ill, as James had promised.


While she was enjoying the view, something caught her interest out of the
corner of her eye and she looked over unable to help her curiosity. Hopping down
from the crate she walked over seeing a sailor practicing tying some knots on
some rope. She watched with great interest for a few moments before the sailor
quickly stood up feeling as though he had been rude not to do so sooner.


�Oh no, please.� Aislinn said with a smile moving closer. �May I
sit with you?� She asked.


�Of course M�Lady.� She smiled and sat down with the sailor who
started to tie another knot in the rope and Aislinn watched fascinated with what
he was doing.


�What is that your doing there?� She finally asked unable to simply
watch any longer.


The sailor looked at her before looking at his rope. �Oh this?� He
said before smiling politely. �Just workin� on me knots. Ya know, for the
ropes.� He said pointing upwards towards the sails and the ropes that were all
about between the masts and the sails. Aislinn looked back at his hands.


�Can you show me?� She questioned moving a little closer. The sailor
was a little surprised that a lady, and actual lady wanted to learn how to do
something like knots. But, he was bored and she seemed keen to learn so why not?


A while later, the Admiral came up on deck having been walking about the
ship to pass the time, looking here and there since this would be one of the
ships under his command when he accepted his commission in the Caribbean. When
he came out on deck, he noticed there was a gathering of men around some
creates, and something seemed to have caught there attention. It wasn�t to
unusual. Sometimes men would tell a story, play a game, jokes, or simply sit
about having conversations to keep themselves occupied when there was nothing
else to do.


Norrington was curious to see what it was this time so he casually
approached the men to see what the fuss was about. When he did, his brow
furrowed slightly to see a young lady sitting in the middle of the crowd with a
piece of rope in her hands. Her concentration was hard on the rope as she
twisted and turned it about. The man next to her seemed to have tried to
instruct her in how to do whatever it was she was attempting to perform and was
letting her have a go at it. All eyes and attention where on her and then at
last when she thought she had gotten it, she pulled the ends of the rope with a
smile and held it up. However when she did her smile disappeared and all the men
roared in laugher.


Apparently, she had done something wrong and instead of the knot she had
been going for, Aislinn had managed to tie her hands firmly together in such a
way that even though she jerked at them, they refused to come loose. The man who
had been trying to teach her how to tie the knot was a little baffled and
scratched his head looking at her wrists as she held them out to him waiting for
him to untie her.


The laughter quickly started to die down as one of the men noticed
Norrington standing behind the group and one by one the group peeled off and
disappeared afraid they would be in some sort of trouble for laughing at the
Admiral�s wife. Norrington approached Aislinn. The sailor who was teaching her
the knots couldn�t depart even if he wanted to, since he was the one who had
begun to teach her in the first place.


Aislinn frowned when the sailor seemed unable to untie the knot she had
secured on herself. �It�s one of the best knots I�ve ever seen M�Lady .
. . I can�t seem to find the end.� He said searching over the rope between
her wrists. James could see that the sailor was to nervous to really concentrate
on what he was doing and he decided to give him a break.


�Go on about your business sailor.� He ordered.


�Thank you sir.� The man said giving his salute before quickly
standing and departing as fast as he could move. Aislinn reached after the man
still being tied up but he simply was gone in a heart beat and she looked down
at her bound hands not sure what to do.


James didn�t say anything and moved closer reaching to his side and
taking out the knife that he kept. Pulling her hands closer he cut the rope from
her wrists, careful not to slip and injure her and set her hands free returning
the knife to it�s sheath. �You know, I should leave you bound.�


Aislinn rubbed her wrists a little as the rope had been quite tight.
�Why?� She questioned looking up at him. �Do you think I should have found
a way to have gotten loose on my own?� She wasn�t been sarcastic she was
honest in her inquiry. �Would that have been the proper thing to do?�


The Admiral sighed slightly. �The proper thing to do would have been
not to have been socializing by practicing duties that are strictly preformed by
the men on this vessel. Tying knots in ropes is simply something that young
ladies do not do.�


�But it looked like fun.� She explained. Norrington arched a brow at
her response. It looked like fun. How did one respond to that without sounding
like a complete and utter killjoy? Yet she saved him that unpleasantness by
correcting herself and nodding in agreement. �I understand. I apologize.�
She said softly. �I won�t do it again.�


�Good.� He said appreciating her maturity. �I�m pleased to see
that you are feeling better.�
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A Marriage To A Fine Woman

After Dinner Conference

Port

First Week Out

Exhausted

Fresh Air