Anne looked away from Jack's gaze for a moment, out to sea. She recalled Jack's story about losing his family to a jealous naval admiral, George Rooke, and his struggles with the drink, and the gambling. He had been able to overcome it somehow.
She knew what had been happening to Edward too. She tried to talk with him about it, but he wouldn't open himself to her. And now, he found his father alive and trying to kill him? It would be enough to drive anyone mad.
After a long silence, she asked, "How did you manage it?"
"Aye, there's the rub, miss. I still am." Jack joined Anne in facing the sea and leaned his arms on the railing. "Every day, at some point in the day, I want it. Most times, it's the smell, and you can't avoid that here by any means," Jack said with a dark laugh. "But, some days, it could be nothing and just like that," he said, snapping his finger, "the worm's in you and not letting go." Jack was silent for a moment as he moved around and began gripping the railing. "The only thing that keeps me going is knowing that I have a family here. That I didn't lose mine back then, I just gained a few new members now." Jack glanced at Anne, his eyes shining. "I can't tell you what Edward needs to get by in the day, but I know he needs us, and he needs you."
Anne took a long, measured breath, making sure not to let her emotion show. She wanted to tell him everything at that moment. She wanted to say to him that Edward had run off on his own with no consultation. She wanted to tell him that she's just trying to keep things held together, wanted to scream it, but she couldn't. She needed to be resilient, and they needed to present a unified front to the crew. If they knew the truth, she wasn't sure she could keep the crew together.
She looked at Jack Christian once more. He was as loyal as they came, a faithful friend of Edward's and smarter than his appearance would lead one to believe. He would understand and could provide a voice of reason to the crew where she could not.
"Mr. Christian, I will not lie to you. We may be heading into a battle soon, and we cannot have the crew worrying over Edward and his decision. I hope you can understand and help the crew to understand, for their morale. If Edward is on this island, then we will laugh about it, and you and I can have a long chat with him together." Anne placed her hand on Jack's.
"And if he's not?"
"Then our chat will have to be delayed, and in the meantime, we'll be the best damn distraction Calico Jack has ever had to deal with."
…
The longboat landed at the natural shore on the coast of Los Huecos, carrying with it the landing party appointed by William, as well as a few sightseers. Queen Anne's Revenge bobbed with the waves just a short distance from the coast. Far enough that they wouldn't hit land, but not too far in case the landing party needed to abscond quickly.
Along with Anne, William, and six other crewmates, Alexandre, the Queen Anne's Revenge's surgeon, and Victoria, his partner in medicine and possibly more, as well as former crewmate of Calico Jack, sought to join in of their own accord. When asked about their wishes for joining, the Frenchman replied with a curt "research" in his usual sly manner. Victoria refrained from answering, but her typically cold eyes were more distant than usual, a well-submerged burg rather than her typical frost.
Anne saw no benefit to leaving them on board and significantly less use to arguing with them, so she let them join. When Victoria emerged from below wearing her leathers and had her buckler strapped to her arm and her short sword at her hip, Anne became suspicious. When Alexandre brought a large satchel that jangled with the tune of the surgeon's instruments, and he too had a pistol and his immaculate rapier at his side, Anne's suspicions turned to an anxious knot in her gut.
What calculations had you come to this conclusion, mon ami?
Anne had already been expecting trouble on the island, but she was hoping they could gather some intel first. The first rule to winning any battle was knowing the other person's strengths, as well as your own; whether to strike fast and hard like a battle axe, whether to whittle the enemy down like a thousand mosquitoes sucking a man dry, or whether to retreat and seek another way all depended on the information. Without such intel, Anne would be lacking.
Anne hated to be lacking.
After she landed her feet on the shifting but stable ground of the sandy coast, Anne closed her eyes with her back to the other crewmates. Anxiety would do her no good here, especially when she needed to project absolute and unwavering strength. As a woman attempting to lead hardened men, she could settle for no less. She took the anxious feeling, wrapped it in a flaming hand, and with one last curse to Alexandre for his gift, she snuffed it out with a lengthy but silent exhale.
"Eyes sharp, men. We don't know what to expect out
