I find James is most agreeable in the mornings. He views each day as a fresh start and so likes to start his days with an optimistic outlook. This is also probably because no one ever goes to see him in the mornings and so he never receives any news that should sour his mood. This is why I chose now to speak with him about the occurrences after the engagement ball that took place just three days ago.

Walking closer to Fort Charles with a small bounce in my step, I greet the soldiers dressed in their crisp uniforms with chirped "good morning"s and polite "how do you do"s. Willoughby Harold follows along behind me, letting out the occasional yip of excitement.

It's a bright morning, the skies a light blue and sprinkled heavily with giant, puffy white clouds that occasionally cover the sun and douse everything in shadows for a few minutes before clearing away and lightening everything up again. The air is chilly, as the winter seasons draw nearer, turning everyone's noses light pink. The breeze coming in from the seaside doesn't help much.

Pulling my cream shawl tighter around my arms, Willoughby Harold and I turn a corner and I spot two familiar figures.

"Gillette, Groves!" I greet cheerfully.

The two men turn towards me and smile. Groves bows while Gillette nods in greeting.

"Good morning, Miss Courtney," Gillette greets.

"Good morning, Lieutenant." I smile brightly and dip into a polite curtsy.

"What brings you to Fort Charles?" Groves asks.

"I was hoping to have a word with the admiral if he could spare me a few minutes."

"Well, why don't we escort you to his office," Groves offers.

"Oh, I wouldn't want be any extra trouble-"

"It's no trouble, really," he reassures me, earning a pointed look from Gillette.

They both seem to have a silent conversation, ending with Gillette sighing and giving in.

"No trouble, Miss Courtney," he assures me.

I hold back a giggle from his exasperated tone. "If you insist." Stepping between the two lieutenants, I link elbows with both gentlemen and we begin our quick journey to James' office while Willoughby Harold trots happily ahead of us.

"If you don't mind my asking, Miss Courtney, what are you hoping to speak to Admiral Norrington about?" Groves asks.

Gillette sighs at his companion's nosiness. "That's none of your business, Groves."

I let out a small giggle. "I don't mind. Unfortunately, it has to do with the admiral's father."

"Oh?" Groves pushes.

"Well, he had requested that I not speak of it, but I feel it's something our dear admiral should know about."

"How intriguing," Groves says.

"Groves..." Gillette sighs and glares at his friend.

"You're not the least bit curious, Gillette?" Groves argues.

I look between the two men as they address one another and smile in amusement. "You two are very amusing," I comment.

They stop arguing to stare at me in surprise as if they had forgotten I was there and I laugh.

Willoughby Harold barks up at us, and we give pause.

"Oh, it seems we've made it to his office already," I state the obvious. I part from my companions and face them. "Thank you very much for escorting me. We should talk again soon."

"It was our pleasure, Miss Courtney," Gillette says, bowing lightly.

"I agree whole-heartedly, Miss Courtney," Groves says, following his friend's actions.

I curtsy to them both, smiling. As the men walk away, I knock a small tune on the office door.

The door opens and I'm greeted with James' (very pleasant looking) face. "Ah, good morning, Carleigh."

"Good morning, James."

"What can I do for you?" He asks, welcoming me into the room, closing the door behind me and Willoughby Harold. He leans down to scratch the dog's ears.

"I wanted to speak to you about your father." I take the seat in front of his organized work desk.

He tenses up as he stands straight and takes his seat behind the desk. He turns his full attention on me. "Oh?"

I shift in my seat under his gaze and take a deep breath. "Yes. It's about his conversation with me the night of the engagement celebration."

"I'm listening..."

"He said some things to me that I think you would want to know. But I must ask that you keep this discreet, as he had wished you not find out." Glancing up to check James' expression, I see his eyebrows crease in concern, a frown growing on his face.

"Alright, no one will find out. You have my word," he promises.

I nod in understanding and open my mouth to continue, but no words come out. "Oh, I'm not sure where to start..." I play absentmindedly with the ruffled trimmings of my peach skirt. James waits patiently for me to continue. Best start with background information. I take another deep breath before starting. "Right. Well, I'm sure you know of your father's views on pirates-"

"Indeed."

"Well, then you know he wants nothing to do with them and he wishes for you to also have nothing to do with them." I look up at James again, who nods in agreement. I pause. "Oh, I don't really know how to properly say all this..."

"Take your time and tell me everything honestly."

I nod. "Right." I pause again, briefly, then nod again. "Right. Well-" I pause again. Why is it so hard to say something so simple? I'm not going to get in trouble. I take one last deep breath. "I'll keep it brief and to the point."

James nods in understanding.

"Essentially, he told me that if I plan to continue being seen in the presence of pirates, that it would be best to quit being seen in your company as well." I pause in thought then bob my head firmly in finality. "Yes, that's it."

James leans back in his chair, stiffly. His face is scrunched up, all handsome and upset. Finally he asks, "He asked you to stop being around me if you are to continue being seen with pirates?"

"Yes."

"Who else knows?"

"Just you."

"Why would he ask that of you?" He seems to ask this more to himself than to me.

"He cares very much about you, James. He wants to see to it that you remain successful. Being associated with pirates in any way could ruin that."

He looks me in the eyes. "That's ridiculous. I had been associating with pirates before I was promoted to Admiral-"

"Yes, but you had used the heart to get Lord Beckett to keep all that quiet. It also helped that not everyone knew where you were when you had disappeared."

Willoughby Harold's head bounces between our figures from where he's sitting as we go back and forth.

"Surely everyone knows about all that now-"

"James."

He pauses and I continue. "He's right, you know-"

"No, he's not-"

"He is. You have a very valuable reputation at risk."

James looks at me, incredulously. "So you're going to drop all ties with me then? Just like that? No arguments or questions asked?"

I purse my lips together and give him a soft glare that says 'come on, James, you know me better than that'. "Of course I'm not going to give up like that. You know how much I abhor being told no."

The admiral visibly relaxes some and slumps back in his chair, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. "So what are you going to do then?"

"Well, I'm going to be around whoever I'd like to!"

James smiles softly. "Good." After a brief pause, he asks, "Can Callise know?"

"Of course," I reply. "She is our friend and deserves to know just about everything that goes on in our lives."

He hums in amusement then thinks for a moment. "You said I was not to find out about this conversation..."

"Yes. Your father had asked that no one was to know about what was discussed that evening, but I really thought you'd like to know." James nods in agreement. "You may handle this knowledge however you see fit, but I would like to stay as much in your father's good books as possible."

"I understand."

I smile. "You always do." I pat my skirts and Willoughby Harold trots over to my feet. I pick him up, place him in my lap, and pet his head. "Oh, now that I remember it, I'd like to ask your permission on something."

"Oh?"

I pull out a silky blue ribbon from my pocket and begin to absentmindedly tie it around Willoughby Harold's neck into a little bow. "Yes. It's about Captain Pennell and his ship..."

James closes his eyes briefly and heaves a deep sigh.

I can't help but grin as I continue. "You see, I had mentioned that I've only ever been on one of your ships- and that has only been so few times- and so he had invited me onto his ship so I could see what it's like." I quickly add, "But I know you never really like me on ships at all in the first place, and you have never let me near a pirate ship before-"

"Carleigh-"

"I know! But! Callise trusts Captain Pennell, and I already asked for her permission and she said yes," I argue. I notice James' hesitance, so I continue. "Come on, James. You know you can trust someone if Callise does. Besides, I think he likes me enough to not want to kill me for my riches."

James lets out another heavy sigh, and I know I've won.

I grin. "So I can go?"

"...Fine."

I bounce in my seat, slightly startling Willoughby Harold. "Really?" I exclaim.

"Yes, fine. Just don't get into any trouble." He then adds, "And I'd like to speak with Pennell beforehand, as well."

"Fine, fine." I wave it off, just happy to get to go on a pirate ship. Me! On a pirate ship! "Wait- about what?"

"Well, I'd like him to keep you out of trouble. You are not to leave his sight, or the harbour-"

I groan. "But there's nothing to see in the harbour! I see it all the time!" I pat Willoughby Harold's head and pout.

"Your reaction is exactly why I want to speak to Pennell before you go on. He's going to have to make some strong promises with me about not letting you convince him into allowing you to do something stupid."

I gasp dramatically. "When have I ever done something stupid?"

The glare I receive says enough.