Chapter 16:  The Engagement

 

Lord Beckett smirked and held up a piece of folded parchment.  “Letters of Marque.”  He set them down on the table.  “Your ship and crew will be provided once we reach Port Royal.”  Robin arched an eyebrow, as though subtly remind Beckett that there was something more.  Beckett, however, did not continue.

“And?” Robin prompted after a few moments.

“And what?” Lord Beckett replied, taking a sip of wine.

Robin’s eyes narrowed slightly.  “The rest of the deal.”

“Ah,” Beckett said, setting down his glass.  “Interesting that you should phrase it like that.”  Robin’s brow furrowed.  “You had three objectives, Robin; you completed two.  I offered four rewards and gave you three.  You’ve already received the better side of the bargain.  I’m being quite generous given your failure to complete the ‘rest of the deal.’”  Beckett began eating again, behaving as though he had merely casually commented about the weather.  Norrington still had no idea what the two were talking about, but the look of horror and anger on Robin’s face showed that what Lord Beckett had said was certainly not casual.

“You said you would nullify it,” Robin hissed through clenched teeth, glaring at Beckett with such a look that would terrify most men.  Beckett merely smirked.

“So I did.  But you were to bring me Jack Sparrow.  You failed in that task.”

“You have the map and the compass,” Robin said, forcing herself to remain calm.  “You don’t need Jack for anything.”

“Revenge is a thing,” Lord Beckett said, his voice low and dark.  He blinked as though clearing such thoughts from his mind.  “But it would be rather unfair to me to give you everything when you only provided two out of three.  As I said…”  He picked up his glass.  “You made the better side of the bargain, I should think.”  Robin’s chest rose and fell rather rapidly as she stared at Beckett in horror.  “I fear that our conversation has confused the Admiral,” Beckett said as though reading Norrington’s mind.  Robin’s eyes narrowed threateningly.  Beckett paid Robin’s glare no heed as he continued.  “I take it you did not inform him of our engagement.”

This was apparently a bad time to be taking a drink of wine, for Norrington spit the liquid that was in his mouth all over the food before him as this information sunk in.  “What?” he exclaimed, turning sharply toward Robin, who was glaring across the table at Beckett, appearing to desire to kill the man.  “Engagement?” Norrington said in disbelief.  No wonder Beckett knew the name Jacqueline, with the two being so intimate.  “He’s your fiancé?”

Robin avoided Norrington’s gaze.  “He shouldn’t be—it was part of the agreement that that particular arrangement would be nullified.  It never should have been made in the first place.”

“It was little different than most contracts between a father and his future son-in-law.”  Beckett drained the rest of his glass of wine.  “And as I recall, you were quite happy with the contract at the time,” Lord Beckett said softly.

“Note the words ‘at the time,’” Robin said coldly.

Beckett shrugged.  “Your feelings, assuming that you have them at all, hardly matter at this point.  We will be married when we reach Port Royal.”

Norrington noticed that Beckett was giving him a rather odd look, as though attempting to put together pieces of a puzzle.  It suddenly occurred to Norrington that his reaction to hearing that Beckett was Robin’s fiancé did not match what Beckett knew of Norrington’s relationship with Robin.  Norrington nervously averted his eyes to the flag on the opposite wall, slightly afraid to look at either of the two other people in the room.

“And what good will a ship and crew do me if I’m married to you?” Robin asked venomously.  Norrington glanced at Robin, whose eyes flickered briefly to Norrington—she almost seemed to be attempting to distract Beckett.

“I will allow you to take part in your silly pirating adventures a few months out of each year.  That is, when you’re not providing heirs to my fortune.”

Robin’s face turned a dark red that nearly matched her dress and she stared determinedly down at her plate.  Norrington had probably never felt more sorry for her than he did at that moment.  “I get to play your whore, how wonderful…” she muttered under her breath.

Lord Beckett chuckled.  “Yes, it is wonderful.”  Beckett stood and began walking slowly toward her.  Norrington felt a strange anger building up inside him at the way Beckett was looking at Robin, and likely thinking about her.  “I’m sure you’ll perform quite well.”

Robin glared at him fiercely, her eyes narrowing.  “Are you implying something?”

Beckett smirked.  “Don’t play innocent—I’m sure that no one in this room believes that you are a virgin.”  Norrington was appalled by the casual way Beckett was speaking of Robin’s virginity, or lack thereof.

Robin stood quickly, knocking the table and causing her glass of wine to topple over and stain the tablecloth.  Norrington felt the sudden urge to laugh when he realized that Robin was a good two, perhaps three inches taller than Beckett.  “I’ll have you know that I am,” she hissed at him.  When Beckett smirked again, Robin suddenly struck him with such ferocity that Beckett nearly fell onto the table, only barely managing to steady himself.  Robin rushed from the room, uttering a few well-chosen words as she slammed the door behind her.

Lord Beckett put a hand to his cheek, which was rapidly turning pink from the impact of Robin’s hand.  “She hit me,” he said under his breath, completely taken aback.  “She dared strike me!” he then exclaimed angrily.  Lord Beckett took a few steps towards the door, seeming to forget that there was another person in the room.

“Lord Beckett!” Norrington said sharply, rising to his feet.  “Do you think it’s wise to go after her?  With her being so…angry with you?”

Beckett looked at him in surprise.  It seemed that he had indeed forgotten that Admiral Norrington was in the room.  “You’re quite right,” he said, looking at the door.  “We’d likely kill each other.”  Lord Beckett turned back to Norrington.  “Well, don’t let a lovers’ quarrel keep you from enjoying your meal.”

“I’m finished, Lord Beckett,” Norrington said.  He had not eaten as much as he could have, but Norrington did not want to stay in that room a moment longer than necessary.

“Then, Admiral, perhaps you could do me a favor,” Lord Beckett began.

“You want me to convince Robin that a marriage to you would be very profitable for her,” Norrington guessed.

“Very good, Admiral.”  Norrington was turning the handle of the door when Beckett spoke again.  “By the way, I am curious as to your reaction to hearing about my engagement to Robin.”  Norrington froze.  “You reacted quite strongly for someone she merely has a business relationship with.”

“I was simply surprised that she was engaged to you, Lord Beckett,” Norrington said, not looking at Beckett for fear of betraying himself.  “I would never think of the two of you as a couple.”  Norrington left the room as quickly as he could, knowing that his lie had been less than adequate.

Robin was right where Norrington assumed she would be:  at the front of the ship, gazing out onto the ocean.  He knew her too well.  “Go away,” she said quietly as he approached.  Norrington cautiously look another step forward.  “I said go away!” she snapped sharply, causing Norrington to halt in his tracks.  He briefly considered following her request before slowly walking up beside her.  “Are you deaf?” she asked, turning her so he could not see her face.  Her voice had cracked slightly, as though she was crying.

Norrington reached to the railing where Robin’s hands were clenching the wood.  He hesitated a moment before he lay his hand on top of hers.  He was surprised when Robin did not attempt to pull her hand away as Norrington gently enveloped it with his own.  She sniffed quietly, looking down into the waters below.

Norrington struggled with what to say as he tenderly brushed his thumb over Robin’s soft skin on her hand.  “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked after a few moments.

Robin looked sharply at him, revealing tear streaks on her cheeks.  “There was no reason to,” she answered after a brief moment of hesitation.  She took a deep breath.  “The engagement was to be broken after I did this job.  A job I didn’t entirely complete.”  Robin wiped away her tears.  “And there’s nothing I can do about it,” she said angrily, her hand almost painfully clenching Norrington’s.  “He has me and he knows it.”  Robin looked up at Norrington again.  “I suppose he’s sent you to convince me that a marriage to him would be…profitable for me.”

“He did,” Norrington confessed.  “And…”

“I know:  the wealth, the power, the reputation.  It should be exactly what I want!” Robin said.  “But it isn’t!” she added with a sigh, gazing out onto the endless sea.

Norrington bit his lip.  “What do you want?” he asked quietly.

Robin turned to him again.  “What?”

“What is it that you want?” Norrington asked again.  “If not wealth and power, as I suspect most pirates would, than what?”

Robin looked away as she thought.  “I want to be free,” she answered quietly.

“Freedom,” Norrington muttered.  “But freedom is dangerous, especially now that the East India Company has gained so much power.”  Norrington swallowed hard.  “I believe that…that you should marry Lord Beckett.”  Robin stared at him in shock, pulling her hand away from his.  “He can provide you with safety and security,” Norrington explained quickly, but Robin continued to gaze at him in horror.  “Robin, the life you want to live will ultimately lead to a premature death—either by cutlass or hangman’s noose.”  Robin put a hand to her throat at this comment.  “Robin…do you…have you seen a hanging before?” Norrington asked curiously, remembering when Robin had made the exact same motion a long time before.

Robin blinked, surprised by the sudden change of topic.  “Um…no.  No, I haven’t.  And I don’t care to, either.”  Robin shook her head.  “I can’t believe that you actually want me to marry Beckett.”  Norrington noted Robin’s avoidance of discussing her apparent fear of hanging, but said nothing more on the matter.

“I believe that it would be best for you,” Norrington said.  “I did not say that I…wanted you to.”

Robin bit her lip as Norrington fell silent.  “You’re thinking of Jacqueline,” she said quietly.  “Do not mistake me for her, James.”  Norrington smiled softly.  “What?” Robin asked curiously.

“I wonder when that started again,” Norrington said quietly.

“When what started again?” Robin asked when Norrington did not elaborate.

Norrington turned back to Robin.  “You calling me James.”

Robin’s mouth opened slightly and she appeared somewhat startled.  “I’m sorry, Admiral.  I didn’t realize I was doing that.”

“Don’t stop,” Norrington said, receiving a rather bewildered look from Robin.  “I don’t mind,” he said, smiling slightly.  “I rather like it, really.”

Robin grinned.  “Don’t let Beckett hear you talk like that.”

Norrington smiled and nodded in agreement.  “How did you get the map?” he asked suddenly.

Robin bit back a smile as she looked down at her hands.  “Got you drunk.”

“Oh, that was on purpose?” Norrington said, unsure of whether or not he should be surprised.

Robin laughed.  “Honestly, yes.  You didn’t even notice me take it.”

Norrington’s brow furrowed.  “And what did Elizabeth get?”

“A fake.”  Robin paused.  “Though apparently I was quite drunk as well—I can’t recall her taking it.”

Norrington took a deep breath, turning away from Robin and towards the sea to hide his expression as he spoke again.  “So you came back to the island so you could close your deal with Lord Beckett.”

Robin was no fool.  “Is there a question in there?” she asked, her eyes surveying him questioningly.

“There might be.”

Robin thought for a moment before answering.  “I came back to get my freedom—a ship, a crew, and an engagement broken.”  She paused, watching Norrington closely.  “But that isn’t all,” she continued softly.  “I returned because I realized something.”  Norrington gave into the temptation to turn back to her.  Robin’s eyes seemed to flicker almost nervously for a moment as he did so, and Norrington feared that she was not going to tell him what she had realized.  However, this fear proved to be unfounded.  “That you’re a good man.  There aren’t enough of you in this world.  And I wasn’t going to let one of such a minority die—not if I could save him.”

Norrington shook his head.  “I am not a good man.”  He looked down at his hands.  “I’m helping Beckett again…I betrayed Elizabeth…again.”

“James,” Robin said quietly, shaking her head slightly.  “You’ve done some bad things in life, granted.  What man can deny that?”  She took a deep breath.  “But you try to make things right; you try to do good, despite what the world has done to you.  I don’t know how you do it,” she said, looking down at her hands, almost mimicking Norrington as she fingered the ring on her right hand.

“Now you’re thinking of Jacqueline,” Norrington accused with a small smile.

“I am so sorry, James,” Robin whispered.  “If there was any way I could go back and change that…”

“There isn’t,” Norrington interrupted.  “But it seems you were even more inebriated last night than you think.  You seem to have forgotten that I already forgave you.”

Norrington’s heart beat a little faster as Robin smiled shyly up at him, giving him a look that reminded Norrington so much of Jacqueline that he nearly believed that they were onboard the Intrepid many years in the past.  Norrington offered Robin his arm, which she accepted after a moment’s surprise, and the two began to walk around the deck, just as they had long before…