Norrington's Darling

The Wrongs of Cutler Beckett

POV: Zuri Sparrow

"I was young. Jack was working for Beckett. I followed him on board one of his journeys, not knowing Beckett would be there. However, I was out of hiding for only about ten minutes before Beckett found out. Both Jack and I were hauled into the captain's quarters to be yelled at. 

"Beckett was there, glaring at the doorway. When he saw us, he started in immediately on chewing us out, lecturing Jack not to ever let me sneak aboard a ship ever again. He lectured me, too: to learn to be a respectable young lady and go do what young ladies ought to do. But seen as I was there, I was to help out the crew.

"I proved my worth then. I worked harder than any other crewmember and I was often put in the crow's nest and the rigging for my good eyesight. Beckett grew to realize I was useful. He took back his revoke and told Jack to take me along on every voyage. In any way, it's his fault I'm a pirate, I suppose.

"Back then I didn't know I would be a pirate. All I knew was that Jack and I were incredibly valuable to Beckett. As I grew older, so did his fondness for me. Beckett made excuses to travel with Jack and I. Besides my brother—who I was practically connected at the hip to—Beckett became my greatness confidant and best friend.

"Beckett and I went through much. We were on a first-name basis. We watched my brother make both great and stupid decisions, laughing at his ridiculous antics all the while. We played tricks on each other—I once dumped a bucket of sugar on him. In return, I got cold seawater dumped on my head. We teased each other relentlessly. He taught me thousands upon thousands of things. He's the reason I have an education. In return, I taught him how to sail, not that it does him much good now. But he loved it back then.

"Beckett was bitter all the time—but never to me. Never me. Jack, perhaps. But never me. He rarely got angry with me. His subordinates often pleaded with me for me to teach them how to get on his good side. I never had an answer when they asked me how I did it.

"I never wanted anything more than a friendship with Beckett. Clearly, he thought of me as much more than a friend. Several times I suspected things were more important to him than what I'd taken them for. Several times I was caught between a rock and a hard place: Beckett held my brother's life in his hands and if I were to mess things up, Jack could be in serious trouble.

"I suppose that's why it went on as long as it did: the touches, I mean. On many occasions, his hand would be over mine. That in itself wasn't what bothered me—I was young and naive and I didn't realize what it meant, having only ever been around Elizabeth, who'd never had any romantic experiences herself."

"He touched you." James's voice was level, but there was a deadly tone to it. His gorgeous green eyes were stormy and turbulent.

"Yes," I said. I felt much better as I set the story up for James. It felt good to finally get it off my chest—even Jack only knew a small portion of the story. "Do you want me to continue?"

After a moment, James nodded. "Tell me where."

I didn't have to ask what he meant. So, I continued my story.

"The touches were usually brief. Hand, shoulder, knee, back. Those didn't bother me. Most of them were idle, things he did without meaning behind them. The touches that did bother me were the ones to my hips and thighs, occasionally low on my waist. A few times he hugged me, his hands got too close to my chest for my comfort. I was always quick to tell him about those, and he apologized quickly for the incidents every time.

"One day, Jack made a particularly good venture for Beckett. That night, we all went out for drinks. Beckett was especially cheery, which was unusual for him. And even though they knew they'd regret it later, some of Jack's sailors convinced Beckett to get drink after drink. It wasn't long before Beckett was tipsy. I'd only had a small glass of spiced rum, but Beckett had probably had five to my one."