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Geez, only two of these characters were even in the movie, although Bootstrap was an implied character. So only Tessie is really mine and Disney can’t have her! No profit, no harm, no foul.
Brilliant Match
The woman who walked into Bootstrap’s front parlour (front parlour – this was getting to be too much to take in. Bootstrap had a parlour!) was tall, quite striking and disturbingly familiar looking. She stood with her hands on her hips, eying Captain Jack Sparrow with not a small amount of suspicion.
“And what have we here? I could smell the rum from the front door.”
Oh, so she was like that. What had poor Bootstrap got himself into? Not that she wasn’t a good-looking woman. Thick, glossy hair, smooth brown skin, bright intelligent eyes and a lush mouth. Quite lovely and feisty, if you were into that sort of thing. He could see why Bootstrap was attracted to her. Quite striking, indeed. But the way her fists were clenched on either side of her waist made him fear that ‘quite striking’ might be a bit too apt of a description.
What kind of a proper wife came home in the middle of the night? And who the hell was she to complain about Bootstrap having a little rum with a friend.
“Oh, there you are, Tessie. I was wondering where you got off to. This is my wife, Tessie. And this here’s me old friend Capt…uh, ah, Jack.”
Jack’s eyebrow shot up to his hairline. Not a Captain, eh? What was that about?
Tessie’s black eyes narrowed. “Captain Jack Sparrow! Oh my goodness, Bill, what you bring a ruffian like this into our home for?”
Jack was offended. How did she know who he was? And why did she look so damned familiar?
Charm. That was what he needed. To be charming. “My lady, I must protest, I have done nothing to warrant this response.”
“Not’ing, my foot, I heard all about you from me daughter. You stole her boat, and you never did give it back.”
Daughter? “I did no such thing, I assure you.” Jack began to think he might be in trouble.
“He did no such thing.” Bootstrap leaping to Jack’s defence, just like the old days. That was more like it.
“Oh yes, he did. I just had a late dinner wit’ Anamaria in town and she told me all about him. She’s been sailing wit’ the man for nigh on two year, and he never did return her boat to her. And you sit here wit’ him like he your old friend.”
“Well, he is my old friend, we sailed together for some time.” Bootstrap’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. “But that was long ago, and I had no idea about him stealing Anamaria’s boat.”
“I didn’t steal it, I merely borrowed it without…” Jack sputtered, trying to salvage something out of the situation.
“Shut up, Jack.” They yelled in unison.
So, that was it then. The old Bootstrap was gone. Subsumed by his new wife, eh. What a tragedy.
Just when he thought his situation could get no worse, Anamaria appeared in the doorway.
“Hello, Jack. Imagine this, meeting you here, of all places.” She was grinning at him. Evil wench. She’d last set eyes on him not six hours before, when they set anchor in the harbour of this highly specious town.
“Yes, your captain, Anamaria. Seems like there be no end of coincidence in the world sometime. Don’t know why you want to be off gallivanting on a pirate ship wit’ the likes of him, though. When I was your age, I was learning a real trade, and having babies. Pirate ship’s no place for a lady.”
Anamaria’s eyes swept over Bootstrap and her jaw dropped. Wide.
“This me husband I told you about, dearie. Bill, here’s me daughter.”
Anamaria snapped her mouth closed with a smirk. Evil smirk, Jack thought.
“You would be Bill Turner, I presume? You look mighty familiar to me, Mr. Turner.” She turned to face Jack fully. “Doesn’t he, Captain Sparrow?”
Think, Jack, think. Jack fingered his moustache and frowned.
But Tessie saved him by sweeping Anamaria out of the parlour and into a large room at the back. “You see dearie, business is very good these days. Look at all the space I need for me girls to work.”
Jack’s head whipped around to get a peek at the back room and Bootstrap laughed.
“Not what you think, mate. I know what you’d expect in a town like this, but Tessie has a legitimate business. Sewing.”
“Sewing?” The very notion confused Jack.
“Yeah, and the like. This is a free island, Jack. No one owns anyone here, and people come here so they can make their way, free like. Sure, lots of them turn to piracy and less reputable businesses, but there’s thriving trade too. And there’s these girls, women really, with real talent.”
Jack saw that the room contained several spinning wheels, tables piled high with bolts of fabric, skeins of wool, rolls of spun cotton. A loom with a half-woven cloth sat in one corner.
“They make all kinds of fancy clothes,” Bootstrap went on. “Tessie makes the finest lace in the Caribbean, and she’s known for it too. She does work for all the fancy folk. Like that Governor’s daughter over in Port Royal. They sent an envoy all the way here to order the lace for her wedding gown, would you imagine that? Must be two days journey.”
Bootstrap shook his head in wonder and Jack just shook. He was well aware it was two days journey. He was painfully aware of exactly how far away he was from Will at any given moment.
And the Governor’s daughter. Married. He reached for the last of the rum.
“A fine commission that was,” Tessie said proudly as she came back into the parlour with Anamaria in tow. “Twelve yards of ivory lace! Not to mention the silk they imported. They took me all the way to Port Royal for the fitting, too. What a lovely looking girl, really. And what a handsome couple they were.”
Jack wished someone would open a foot long gash in his chest and rub a mixture of rock salt and freshly squeezed lemon juice into it. It would hurt less. This woman had no idea the pain she was inflicting.
Tessie sat on the divan next to Bootstrap. “I even made the lace for the Commodore’s cuffs.”
Commodore.
Commodore??
“Oh mum, what are you saying? I heard all about that girl.” Anamaria gave Jack a pointed look. “Last I heard she was engaged to a blacksmith.”
Tessie laughed. A deep, hearty guffaw. “Oh no, that one was no blacksmith. It was a Commodore, sure as day. Commodore Norrington. Nice looking lad, a bit stuffy, but she was a bit uptight too, so I suppose it’s a good match.”
Good match? Great match. Brilliant match! Jack found the ten-ton weight lifting off his chest, thoughts tumbling into place.
Elizabeth married Norrington.
Will did not marry Elizabeth.
Port Royal was two days away.
He grabbed Anamaria by the arm on his way out the door.
“Now wait a minute there, you ruffian. I ain’t seen me daughter in three years. She come to visit me, and she’s not leaving yet!”
Right. It was Anamaria who suggested they make the detour to this place. Ordinarily he would never have come here. Oh, it had a seedy enough reputation but it wasn’t nearly as lively as Tortuga, and without any navy presence at all, trade was small-time, or in things like lace and bloody wedding gowns. There wasn’t enough plunder to make it worth the trouble.
Not that he was sorry he made the trip. Bootstrap was alive and well, even if he was married.
And his son was not married.
“My apologies, my lady, but I can’t very well sail without my best sailor, can I?”
Bootstrap stood up automatically.
“Not you, Bill!” Tessie smacked her husband hard on the shoulder.
Bootstrap looked back and forth frantically.
Jack Sparrow. Captain Jack Sparrow. His captain. Looking a bit ragged but still handsome and alluring as ever. He could practically taste him. He still thought about his old lover now and then, usually about his old lover in a tempting position. Preferably on his back, naked, lean and hard. Waiting for Bootstrap to get the rest of his clothes off so he could join him.
Tessie. His Tessie. This gorgeous woman who had pulled him from the ocean, taken him into her home and nursed him back to health. Who loved him dearly, and gave him the kind of stability and safety he’d never had before. And he loved her. Sure, she was demanding at times. A bit harsh when he had too much to drink. But it was for his own good. And she really had a spectacular body, especially considering the fact that she was a mother of five.
And those children had given her the body Bootstrap loved. Warm and soft and curvy the way real women should be. Tessie never wore a corset, no matter how many dresses she made to put over other women’s corsets. She was proud of who she was, she didn’t need to hide.
He loved that about her. In fact, he loved everything about her. He even loved the way she loved her children, every one of them. Even if one was a pirate. And another was a preacher. She didn’t care.
Although she might care about Bootstrap having been a pirate. He hadn’t exactly been forthcoming about that.
“I’m beginning to see some t’ings I don’t like about your past, Bill.” Tessie had her hands balled up into fists again.
So maybe he was something of a kept man. But he was being kept by a fine woman, and there was no shame in that, after all he’d suffered.
Bootstrap sat back down again. “That was a long time ago, Tess. I’m not going to sea again, I’m staying right here with you.”
Jack’s smile had a tinge of sadness about it. For a second or two. “Great to see you, William. I’ll be back again soon, I promise.”
‘And I’ll figure out how to tell you about me and your son some other time,’ he added silently.
In the meantime, there was a two-day voyage to be made.
Next: Chapter 16 Wild With Desire
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