stowaway || j. norrington

12

Lord Beckett was doing his very best to keep Frances Groves out of his way, while still in his sight. She hadn't sent any messages to Jack Sparrow in days, so Beckett knew his plan had worked. He had been wanting to hang her since she had returned, but Mr. Mercer told him to wait it out.

If he were to send word to Elizabeth Swann that her dear friend was dead, she would come swimming into his clutches. Now that's an idea: he didn't even have to kill her, he just needed Elizabeth and the rest of the pirates to think she was dead. Killing her would certainly ease Beckett's mind but he couldn't risk bad timing.

After an unsuccessful week, Beckett realized that Frances Groves was never going to truly get on his side. He needed to do it, and he needed to do it soon. Killing her wouldn't bring the pirates to him. Elizabeth, maybe. But he didn't need Elizabeth anymore.

"Miss Groves," He began. She had been sitting silently in his office for a few minutes now, waiting for him to begin the conversation. "I am aware of your... aversion to me and the Trading Company. I am going to be honest with you. You are of no value to me. An old maid, the daughter of a dead Admiral, and a known criminal. I've had your connection with the pirates taken care of, so don't think about calling them for help. You have a choice. You agree to work with me to draw your pirate friends back here, and you must be believable. But given your little begging and crying stunt upon your arrival, I do not have much faith in your acting abilities. That, or you are executed. And I am telling you now, there will be no trial."

•

Frances settled herself in her seat at the dinner table. "Absolutely ridiculous." she muttered.

"Care to share with the rest of us?" Theodore asked.

Frances hesitated. She could tell them what Beckett had suggested, but that could quickly put an end to the lovely dinners they'd been having. "Beckett and I had a very brief conversation today, in comparison to some of previous meetings. He offered me some choices." Frances frowned. "He asked me to bring the pirates to him. Or I'm dead."

"That's not much of a choice."

"Thank you for the input, brother."

"We will not let him, hear? I will kill him first." Norrington leaned across the table closer to Frances. She nodded, but knew that there was nothing he could do.

After they had finished eating and Norrington had left, Frances held Theodore back. "You remember our conversation the other day? About how I am an old maid and everything?" He nodded, unsure of the direction she was going. "Well, Beckett seems to agree, and I've been run dry of all help I can be. I'm not a member of the society anymore. There isn't even a society at Port Royal anymore. Lord Beckett doesn't feel obliged to adhere to any rules about how you can treat a lady. Not that he ever did. And I left out something he told me. It's not a real execution. He's going to take me one day and kill me, no trial or warning. I assume he won't even hang me, just slit my throat in my sleep."

Theodore frowned. "So you need to get your place back. Become someone that he cannot kill or harm without repercussions."

Frances shot him a look. "What, the Queen of England?"

"Like a wife. You must talk to Norrington."

"I can't propose to him, it's improper. You must ask him to take my hand."

"It's not me that's marrying him!" Theodore held his hands in the air. "He will understand, explain the whole situation to him, the way you did for me. Tomorrow, after dinner."

"I am not going to just ask him to propose to me, that would be ridiculous."

"I won't do it, so you must find another way." Theodore walked past her and up to his room.

Frances followed shortly after, taking a different turn to reach her own bedroom. She lay down, but couldn't bring herself to actually sleep. She stood, pacing the room. After many minutes, she made her decision.

Putting on a dressing gown and a coat, she slipped out of the house and began the trek to Admiral Norrington's house. If she didn't do it that night, she never would. Luckily, it was warm enough to walk twenty minutes in the dead of night. It always was.

It didn't take her long to realize that she'd rarely ever been to Norrington's house. Hopefully her memory served her correctly and she actually knew where it was.

Hell, the man was probably asleep, and here she was knocking on his front door. She sighed and started to turn away and head back home.

"Miss Groves?"

She turned to see Norrington holding the front door open. His tired features were soft in the moonlight. She had no idea what to say next. Again, she had thrown herself into a half-baked plan. "Admiral, I am sorry for waking you."

"You didn't."

The conversation was tense and dry, neither party sure of how to continue.

"I didn't tell you everything Beckett said to me today. I didn't want to, but my brother convinced me. And I know how terribly improper it is that I'm here at your house in the middle of the night, but if I don't tell you now, I never will."

"I'm not following, Miss Groves."

"When will you stop acting like a damn admiral and call me Frances?" She snapped. The pressure was irritating her, causing her to lash out at him. He was silent, afraid to speak. "Lord Beckett threatened me this morning."

"You told me. And if he—"

"—Hurts me, you'll kill him, I know." Frances finished his sentence for him and stepped closer. "James, I need you to ask me to marry you." She looked him in the eyes, daring him to refuse. He was rendered speechless, simply gaping down at her. "He's made it quite clear that I'm not important enough to stay alive and my previous involvement with pirates is a threat. A union would change that. Being a wife would change that."

"Miss—" He stopped, seeing the look in her eyes. "Frances. This is a delicate situation."

"Must I beg you? I seem to remember you telling me that a lady should never have to beg."

"So we will die either way," He rubbed his chin in thought.

Frances mustered up all the courage she had in her entire body. "I will die either way. You will not. I would rather die having known that I did something as brave as appearing on a man's doorstep in the middle of the night, asking him to marry me."

"Frances Groves." Norrington caught her attention. "I've wanted to marry you since the day we were reunited in Tortuga."

As much as Frances had always despised the thought of being a wife, she could have nearly died on the spot. This was all she had dreamed of from the ages of eleven to eighteen, though she had expected it to be under different circumstances. "Very well." She hoped her voice wasn't as unstable as she felt. "Will you tell Beckett the good news tomorrow? He will see through us if I am the one to tell him."

•

i'm so bad at writing and this is so weird but literally idc shut up 😍