While everyone else at the Granger Christmas party was making merry, a certain pirate had managed to corner a certain thief near the punch bowl, just long enough to have the following conversation ...

"I hear you're an expert on gems and jewels," James said, as he ladled some punch into a glass, his fingers feeling strangely naked without the array of rings that usually adorned them. He was dressed smartly in a black suit and tie, looking far more modern and respectable than was the norm for an eighteenth century pirate.

"In a manner of speaking," Elle replied, as he handed her the glass. "I hear you're a pirate," she said, taking a sip of punch, her eyes glittering with amusement almost as brightly as the diamond ring she wore on her left hand that declared her affianced. She remembered that day in the theater when they'd first encountered the pirate, the day Ashlyn had taken a personal fancy to him. And why shouldn't she" He was certainly attractive enough in a roguish sort of way. While Elle was already engaged to be married, she still had eyes in her head to appreciate a fine-looking specimen of man, like the good captain.

"Privateer," he corrected as he always did, while he filled a glass of punch for himself. The word pirate had always galled him, and it never failed to annoy him how little people knew of the truth of his story. "And I hear you're a thief," he countered, tit for tat. Two could play at this game, after all.

"Reformed," she pointed out, wondering just where he was going with this little game of cat and mouse.

"Once a thief, always a thief," he said, guessing there was more to it than just necessity, but it wasn't her skill as a thief that interested him really. "I hear you work in a jewelry shop. It must be hard to resist procuring a gem or two for yourself every now and then."

"Not really," she replied coolly. "I have something far more precious than any gem or jewel," she told him, with a nod of her head toward the eldest of the Granger cousins - a tall, handsome man who was currently dancing with a smaller, younger version of herself - her daughter Daisy.

"Mm," the pirate replied thoughtfully, recognizing the man in question as that of Dominic Granger. They'd only been introduced recently, but if things kept going the way they were, it was likely the pirate and thief would end up as in-laws before long. "I was wondering if I could ask for a favor," he said, turning back to her.

Elle arched a suspicious, perfectly-plucked eyebrow. "What kind of favor?" she asked, wondering if he was interested in employing her services as a jeweler or a thief. She watched while he reached into a pocket and pulled something out, before slowly opening his hand to reveal what appeared to be a rough, uncut diamond that would have been worth a small fortune on Earth.

"I need to know how much this is worth," he told her, letting her see it for only a moment before returning it to its hiding place somewhere in his suit jacket before it caught the interest of anyone else at the party.

"Here, on Rhy'Din?" Elle queried, arching both brows in sudden interest. "It's hard to say. If you can find someone who wants it badly enough, it could be worth a lot, but silver, gold, even diamonds are a dime a dozen here. Where did you get it?"

"Let's just say it was given to me by a friend," James replied, adjusting his jacket as nonchalantly as possible, given the fact that he was carrying a gemstone worth a small fortune somewhere inside. She didn't need to know how he'd come by it. No one knew the truth of how he'd arrived on Rhy'Din but him, and he planned on keeping it that way.

"Not stolen, is it?" she asked, knowing his reputation as a pirate, not that it mattered much. She knew something of his history, and though he seemed to deny most of what had been written of his adventures in Neverland, she knew there had to be at least some truth to it. One did not acquire a name like that of Captain Hook without good reason.

"I should be insulted by such a question," he said, sniffling in disdain. "Unlike yourself, I am a seaman, madam, not a common thief. I am a naval officer in the service of the king - or I was - and as such, I am a man of of my word."

"Hm, you intrigue me, Captain," Elle replied, the tiniest hint of a smirk curling her crimson-painted lips. "What is it you wish to do with it?"

"I am thinking of selling it, but I need to know how much it's worth, and I need a buyer," he answered, bluntly.

"And why do you wish to sell it?"

"Let's just say I'm in need of some capital." After all, he'd come to Rhy'Din with not much more than the clothing on his back, save for a small bag of baubles, most of which had been stolen, but for this one bit of treasure. "You work in a jewelry shop, aye' You must know of someone who might be interested."

"You wouldn't be wanting to sell it in order to buy a ship, would you?" she asked, taking a wild stab in the dark.

"Why would you think that?" he asked, furrowing dark brows at her suspiciously.

"Once a pirate, always a pirate," she replied with a shrug, green eyes dancing with amusement, turning the tables back around on him, as she stepped closer to adjust his tie. If he was looking for someone to spar with, he had certainly met his match.

"I am not looking to buy a bloody ship," he hissed, sneering, sea-blue eyes narrowed in annoyance.

"Ah, then you are looking to make some other purchase," she deduced. Though she did not press him as to what that purchase might be, she had her suspicions. He'd had eyes for no one but Ashlyn since they'd met that day in the theater. It wouldn't be long before he asked her to marry him, and the Grangers would welcome a pirate into their fold, just as they had a thief. Well, at least, they had that much in common, each of them redeemed of their ill-spent youth. "What is your story, really?" she asked as her fingers walked their way up the buttons on his jacket.

"That, madam, is none of your concern," he told her, unflinching, eyes flashing dangerously, like the calm before a storm. "Will you help me or not?" he asked, pointedly.

"Well, then," she started, that sly smirk still in place on her pretty face as she smoothed the front of his jacket, though it was hardly rumpled. "I should think you'll be needing this," she told him, stepping back a pace before tossing the bauble his way, grinning in amusement at the flurry of curses he was muttering beneath his breath as he caught hold of it.

"You should take better care of that, Captain, or it's likely to end up in the wrong hands." She reached into the beaded bag at her wrist to withdraw a small card. "I know someone who might be interested. You can reach me here," she said, tapping a carefully-manicured fingernail against the front of the card before handing it to him. Draining the punch from her glass, she handed him that, as well. "Thank you for the punch. It was most refreshing. Don't be a stranger, will you? I have a feeling we're going to be good friends."

She left him there to glare after her, before he, too, drained his glass, returning the diamond to its hiding place within his jacket once more.

She was right about one thing - he would have to be much more careful if he didn't want all his plans to go awry. The diamond was the only thing of any real worth left to him, the only means of becoming a respectable gentleman again and not a penniless vagabond. Without it, he might as well be a pirate.

As kind and generous as Ashlyn and her family were, he did not want to become a burden to them or a drain upon their coffers. No, he'd been born a gentleman and raised to be a naval officer, and by hook or by crook, that's what he'd be again or die trying.