The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Jaggery tells a shocked Charlotte to sit, but she doesn’t. He tells her that he learned of her plan from Keetch, who has been informing on the crew the entire time. He tells her that, as captain, it is his job to maintain order among the chaos of a ship. He tells Charlotte that, by choosing to join the crew and dress in men’s clothing, she has also empowered his men to question their place within the ship’s hierarchy. Charlotte asks him if he killed Hollybrass, and Jaggery says yes, because Hollybrass questioned his authority. He tells Charlotte that, since he as captain can’t be held accountable for how poorly the voyage has gone, she, “the unnatural one,” must take the fall so that he can preserve his authority.

Jaggery lights candles, revealing that his cabin is full of broken and water-soaked items that he’s put back into place. He tells Charlotte that the storm destroyed much of his cabin, but he has maintained order by restoring it. Charlotte tells him that he’s insane, but he counters that he’s a very reasonable man. To prove this, he gives Charlotte three options. First, he tells her, she can take the key to his guns and partake in the mutiny, but face social ruin when she reaches land. Second, she can renounce her current ways and don her dresses once more, and Jaggery will protect her again. Third, she can solemnly accept the hanging that she’s been sentenced to. Charlotte refuses all three choices, then leaves the cabin.

Charlotte goes to the deck, with Jaggery close behind her with a pistol. She sees Zachariah, whose hands have been tied by Keetch, and realizes their plan has been completely upended. Jaggery attempts to turn the crew against Charlotte by claiming that she tried to kill him and would kill the rest of the crew as well. Charlotte tells them that he’s lying and is the true killer of Hollybrass. She runs towards the crew, but they shrink away from her. However, when Jaggery tells them to grab her, they refuse to do this as well. Seeing this, Jaggery begins to pursue Charlotte himself.

Charlotte flees across the deck until she reaches the front of the ship. Jaggery fires at her and misses; in his rage, he throws his pistol at her, prompting her to scramble backward in fear. She finds herself on the bowsprit, where she struggles to keep her balance as the ship reels. Charlotte backs up until she’s cornered. Jaggery lunges for her, but at the exact same time, the ship plunges forward and he loses his balance. Charlotte lunges forward in an instinctive attempt to grab him, but he falls overboard. For a moment, his arm reaches out towards the seahawk carving, and then he vanishes. Charlotte hurries back to the deck and cuts free Zachariah, who says that she should be the new captain.