Disclaimer: I own no part of Pirates of the Caribbean.

Thanks again to Freedom of the Seas for beta work and encouragement!

A/N: This brief chapter is actually a companion piece to Pirates of the Caribbean: Barbossa and the King's Messenger, and occurs just before the Epilogue. It was inspired by the prompt "Skullduggery" from the writers on the Black Pearl Forum. I have included it here as a sort of bonus or missing scene from the novel.

For anyone who has not read the King's Messenger story, be advised that below this line, there be spoilers!

Trust

The last evening before the Royal Oak reached Tenerife, we had enjoyed one of Hector's more lavish suppers, when I noticed that he was casting quick, surreptitious glances towards the door to our sleeping quarters. At first I thought it was a trick of the candlelight, but then I was certain I saw him nod slightly when he thought I was looking elsewhere. It also appeared to me that he was making quite a point of some story he was telling with great jollity and without pause. There was no doubt about it: I was being distracted.

Turning my head so that one ear faced the door behind me, I made out a few faint sounds of tiny, secretive movements coming from our quarters.

Alarmed, I jumped to my feet and spun about to face the door - and found myself staring at Jack the monkey, who instantly froze. In his little paw, he held the diamond given to me as a wedding present by Jack Sparrow, and I saw the monkey's eyes go from my shocked face straight to his master, as if awaiting orders.

"Explain yourself!" I demanded, turning to Hector. He grinned, without a trace of guilt, and rose from his chair as Jack ran to him with the gem. Hector pocketed the diamond and took me in his arms at once.

"T'is of no account, m'sweet," he said in his most cajoling manner. "Only a bit of business. Don't trouble yerself." As he held me close, he kissed me several times, to judge the state of my temper, as I thought. "I need the stone t' pay fer work on the ship - she needs t' be fitted out properly as a pirate ship." He gave me another long and wonderful kiss as I struggled to answer.

"That diamond was a gift to me-" I began, but Hector interrupted.

"Ye'll have more diamonds than ye know what t' do with, once we reach the Indies an' I take up me trade once more," he assured me. "An' now I'm inclined to a bit o' frolic with you, sweetheart, before they call the watch."

He scooped me up into his arms and carried me into our sleeping quarters. "I know what the trouble be: ye must need more tumblin' than yer man be givin' ye," he murmured, kissing my neck and undressing me.

As our embraces became more heated, he gradually overcame my objections, giving me passionate caresses, and letting me feel the warmth and nearness of his body, which I found impossible to resist. As I lay under him, I reached back to grasp the bedposts so that he could explore and possess me as he pleased. I surrendered myself to his attentions, and the next hour passed in the most exquisite bliss for us both.

After we had fulfilled our passion, he smiled and leaned close to my ear. "Now, little bird," he whispered proudly, "what was it ye were sayin' about that diamond?" But I knew I could not allow him to triumph like this.

"It was a wedding gift, my heart," I said gently, my arms about his neck.

Hector gave me yet another kiss, and I knew instinctively that he had anticipated my reaction, and had already worked out a line of reasoning for this skullduggery.

"Aye, love; but bein' a wedding gift means t'is mine even more than yers," he explained. "Y' see, when ye married me, that made ye mine, an' all that ye own be mine as well. The law-"

"Since when has the law mattered one whit to you?" I exclaimed with an incredulous smile.

"Since I found m' self in need o' that diamond," he answered in a sterner tone. "When Teague signed the papers and sent 'em in t' be recorded, ye became one with me. A wife be not able t' own things herself - they be owned by her husband." Then he adopted a more coaxing tone, and kissed me again. "Smile, sweetheart, I mean t' look after ye well. Ye know what ye mean t' me."

After he rose and dressed, I lingered in the bed. He gave me a confident smirk, and left the cabin, drawing the door closed behind him, and I heard his footsteps as he went out to the main deck.

Sighing, I sat up and thrust my hand under the side of the mattress, and pulled out a small velvet pouch. Inside - still undiscovered by Hector - were three other little diamonds I had managed to steal back from Jack on my wedding day, moments after he had helped himself to the ones Hector had in his pocket.

I was learning how to live with my beloved pirate, who, no matter what I meant to him, would always follow the Code. But, as the Keeper's daughter, I had learned a few things about the Code. "Take what you can and give nothing back" was indeed part of it, but not all. I smiled as I recalled the other rule that Teague had brought to my attention.

"Turnabout is fair play," I murmured to myself, tucking the pouch back in its hiding place.