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dwgmShades of Firefly! *g* 550 words today, theme: "Good and Evil". Many thanks to my dear ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hereswith for beta reading, editing, and excellent suggestions.
Previous bits...
And here's today's...
33. Good and Evil
~ An Execrable Business, continued...
Bill excused himself, saying he would take the tray of dirty crockery away to be washed, and that Jack would be down in an hour or so. “Though it might be more, a bit of weather coming up from the south, if I don’t mistake matters. He likes to stay on deck in a blow.”
The girl accepted this and bid him adieu, going back to her work even before he was out the door.
He handed the tray off to young Worley and returned to the quarterdeck. The wind was picking up, and Jack had that half maniacal glow that marked him when they were headed into a storm.
“Nice little squall coming, Bill. Just enough to make it int’resting.”
“Pretty int’resting below, too,” Bill said.
Jack frowned. “She’s all right, ain’t she?”
“Seems to be, for all she’s been stuck a month in Tortuga, though how long she’ll stay that way is the question.”
Jack gave a roll of his eyes. “Don’t be nagging, Bill. I’m takin’ ‘er home is what it is, and my cabin’s the safest place for her while I do it.”
Bill sniffed. “Don’t tell me you ain’t prepared to seize the opportune moment, and she an innocent!”
“She’s more fly to the time of day than you’d think. But no worries. I’ll swing a hammock while she’s with me.” Jack shook his head. “What a scold you are. When I had Letty Granger to stay you was all for me putting her up in my cabin, and it was a far tighter squeeze.”
“Letty was a widow!” Bill protested, remembering the rather colorless lady Jack had won in a duel, when Tobias had still been alive. Or trying to remember. He couldn’t quite recall her face. “This… Smith is—“
“I know what she is, Mr. Turner,” Jack hissed, impatiently. “None better. Didn’t I spend the last two nights with her, and did I so much as try to kiss her?”
Jack might be captain, but Bill had to say it, and did, quiet but firm. “There’s a special place in Hell reserved for blackguards who take advantage of innocents like that girl. A special place.”
But Jack just gave him a sharp, quizzical look. “You’ll be knowing all about that, won’t you, Bill? I know how old Mary is. To the day.”
Bill flushed, thoughts of his wife, his Mary, and of their first time together rushing through his head. And Jack was right, Mary had been only sixteen, and he a man of twenty-two. But that’d been different. Something almost… holy. God, how he’d loved her… and how much he still did, longed for her with his whole being sometimes. Sudden anger welled in him. “Don’t you dare compare—“
“Bill!” Jack’s sharp tone brought Bill back to a sense of where they were. Who they were. Jack went on, rather fierce. “It’s not the same, no, but I’ll not hurt her, Bill. I swear it. A six weeks’ voyage and I’ll deliver her safe and sound – intact! – to her grandmother. Savvy?”
Bill’s spurt of temper cooled, quick as it had warmed. “Aye. But—“
“No buts, not now. There’s a squall comin’ in.” And Jack’s eyes lit again as the first drops of rain came, spattering cold on their faces.
TBC...
hereswith for beta reading, editing, and excellent suggestions.Previous bits...
| 1. Tortuga 2. Happiness 3. Festive 4. Last Minute 5. Calm 6. Truth 7. Bargain 8. Spook 9. Down 10. Wounds 11. Moon 12. Monsters | 13. Beauty 14. Name 15. History 16. Service 17. Advice 18. Captain 19. Awe 20. Cross 21. "You've made a big mistake" 22. Heroism 23. Gold 24. Echo | 25. Greed 26. Advance 27. Challenge 28. Adventure 29. Sentence 30. Treasure 31. North 32. Coat |
And here's today's...
33. Good and Evil
~ An Execrable Business, continued...
Bill excused himself, saying he would take the tray of dirty crockery away to be washed, and that Jack would be down in an hour or so. “Though it might be more, a bit of weather coming up from the south, if I don’t mistake matters. He likes to stay on deck in a blow.”
The girl accepted this and bid him adieu, going back to her work even before he was out the door.
He handed the tray off to young Worley and returned to the quarterdeck. The wind was picking up, and Jack had that half maniacal glow that marked him when they were headed into a storm.
“Nice little squall coming, Bill. Just enough to make it int’resting.”
“Pretty int’resting below, too,” Bill said.
Jack frowned. “She’s all right, ain’t she?”
“Seems to be, for all she’s been stuck a month in Tortuga, though how long she’ll stay that way is the question.”
Jack gave a roll of his eyes. “Don’t be nagging, Bill. I’m takin’ ‘er home is what it is, and my cabin’s the safest place for her while I do it.”
Bill sniffed. “Don’t tell me you ain’t prepared to seize the opportune moment, and she an innocent!”
“She’s more fly to the time of day than you’d think. But no worries. I’ll swing a hammock while she’s with me.” Jack shook his head. “What a scold you are. When I had Letty Granger to stay you was all for me putting her up in my cabin, and it was a far tighter squeeze.”
“Letty was a widow!” Bill protested, remembering the rather colorless lady Jack had won in a duel, when Tobias had still been alive. Or trying to remember. He couldn’t quite recall her face. “This… Smith is—“
“I know what she is, Mr. Turner,” Jack hissed, impatiently. “None better. Didn’t I spend the last two nights with her, and did I so much as try to kiss her?”
Jack might be captain, but Bill had to say it, and did, quiet but firm. “There’s a special place in Hell reserved for blackguards who take advantage of innocents like that girl. A special place.”
But Jack just gave him a sharp, quizzical look. “You’ll be knowing all about that, won’t you, Bill? I know how old Mary is. To the day.”
Bill flushed, thoughts of his wife, his Mary, and of their first time together rushing through his head. And Jack was right, Mary had been only sixteen, and he a man of twenty-two. But that’d been different. Something almost… holy. God, how he’d loved her… and how much he still did, longed for her with his whole being sometimes. Sudden anger welled in him. “Don’t you dare compare—“
“Bill!” Jack’s sharp tone brought Bill back to a sense of where they were. Who they were. Jack went on, rather fierce. “It’s not the same, no, but I’ll not hurt her, Bill. I swear it. A six weeks’ voyage and I’ll deliver her safe and sound – intact! – to her grandmother. Savvy?”
Bill’s spurt of temper cooled, quick as it had warmed. “Aye. But—“
“No buts, not now. There’s a squall comin’ in.” And Jack’s eyes lit again as the first drops of rain came, spattering cold on their faces.
TBC...
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 03:27 pm (UTC)Jack in his element -- maniacal glow about him and the rain beginning to fall -- oh my, but that's a vision to ease the sorest of eyes.
Just one little niggling thing that's got me worried:
I’ll deliver her safe and sound – intact! –
That's gotta be a typo, right? I mean, there she is all sweet below decks and here he'll come all wet from the storm and then...and then...C'mon, geekmama! Throw a girl a bone!
Ya, I know, anticipation is half the fun...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:01 am (UTC)Bones are on the way. Little ones at least. ;)
I'm so glad you liked Jack and Bill here. Thank you so much for your wonderful comments!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 03:52 pm (UTC)And though Jack avowed that he'd deliver Nell "intact" to her grandmother (though Nell might have a little something to say about that, I'd wager!), he never actually said that he wouldn't *touch* her, now did he? ;-)
Looking forward to further developments on the Jack/Nell front ...
no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 04:03 pm (UTC)I love the interplay between Bill and Jack, Bill's sweet backstory and Jack making use of it. I have no doubt that Jack intends to be a good man.
But...there's touching and then there's touching, right? This is going to be an interesting voyage, and I'm loving every minute ♥
no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:04 am (UTC)I'm so glad you're enjoying the story! Thank you for letting me know!
no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 04:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 04:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 06:08 pm (UTC)Jack + storm = ♥ I loved "maniacal glow" and this entire image of Jack - it's perfect!
And Jack's official plan concerning Nell is truly admirable. Luckily, admirable plans rarely work, so there is some hope left! lol!
*waiting with bated breath for more* :)
no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-11 10:53 pm (UTC)Jack is pretty much of his own mind though--he can be persuaded only if he wants to be, seems like I remember. I bet there were some looks tween those two sailors--and did I ever mention how much I love when you write sweetness, like Bill remembering his bride. Funny innit, for some men it's the women they love/marry, for some it's the children that come, for some the wanderlust/horizon--
And by the by, I remember Letty and she was special fine--Jack's known some womens.
no subject
Date: 2009-02-12 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-13 10:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-14 03:14 am (UTC)belated comment
Date: 2009-02-18 11:33 pm (UTC)Bootstrap channelling Book. I think I love you :-)
Re: belated comment
Date: 2009-02-19 06:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-10 10:12 pm (UTC)The value of friends is that they know you so well... and yet the problem with friends is that they know you too well. It would seem these two have been together for a very long time. It's fun to see. Full-blooded to be sure.
Well, I suppose we could give Jack points for intentions. That at least shows that he is a good man.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-11 01:41 pm (UTC)He does have good intensions. Mostly. *g*
Thank you again for all the comments, I'm so glad you're enjoying the story!