"Don't be harsh with Carolan, Esther; try to understand our Carolan.

She has suffered much; it hardens her...”

"Be silent!" cried Carolan fiercely.

"But I thought you wanted to hear my adventures with the chain gang!”

"But you prefer not to tell in front of Esther.”

"Ah!" He laughed a little, and his eyes were burning in his face.

"I am between two fires, you see. How I long to please you both! And Dammed, I will. Carolan, we will leave Esther dozing here, and we will move just out of earshot, and I will talk to you of what you want to know." His hand was about her wrist, burning hot.

"Come," he said.

"Come on.”

"I am not all that eager to hear.”

"Carolan." he said.

"Come, please. At any moment now we shall be sent back to our holes.

Carolan... please ...”

"And you are eager that I should know of all the horrors that await us on our arrival?”

"I think it is better to have your eyes open... if you are strong enough to bear what you see.”

He drew her a little along the deck. The exertion of the movement was exhausting.

"Carolan, I had to speak to you alone.”

"Of the chain gang?”

"That is past history. I had to talk of us.”

"Oh. Why?”

"All these months I have longed to talk with you. I cannot talk in front of Esther.”

"And yet, when she is there, you look at her as though you could bare your soul to her!”

"You are jealous, my sweet child.”

"Jealous! I? I was about to say you may practise your acts on whom you will, but I will not have them practised on Esther! Do you not recognize innocence when you see it? Esther is a romantic little fool.

She does not see you as you are, nor does she see me as I am. You are a sort of Robin Hood... the sort who robs the rich to help the poor.

What poor did your thieving eve: help?”

"William Henry Jedborough, alias Marcus Markham of course! He was excessively poor.”

"You put on a different personality for different people, do you not?

To Esther you are the philosopher. To me you are the charming rogue.

At least you think you are charming.”

"And you do not?”

"I only know you for the rogue you are! Oh, Marcus... I did not mean that... not entirely. It was so good of you to buy us that room in Newgate.”

"Even though you would not enter into a bargain with me, eh?”

"To me you pretend to be very, very bad, and to Esther you try to appear a sinner struggling towards righteousness. I do not believe you are either one or the other. Why did you try to make that stupid bargain, and then show dearly that you did not mean it?”

"I hoped you would fall into temptation.”

"And what satisfaction would you have had from it?”

"Enormous satisfaction. I love you. Carolan.”

"And you thought that your miserable money..." '... would have brought your submission! Come, Carolan, you know you hesitated.”

"I did not!”

"You did. I saw it in your eyes. And how hope leaped in my savage breast!”

"I would rather you did not joke about the matter.”

"Often a joke will hide our most serious feelings.”

"Please do not be so sententious. I am not Esther!”

"No darling Carolan. The time is passing, and we are wasting precious moments in quarrelling. I love you, Carolan. I want... some hope that some day. on the other side... you and I...”

"What?”

"Convicts whose conduct is exemplary are allowed to marry.”

"You are suggesting that I should marry you!”

"Please do not look as though the idea is repugnant to you, Carolan.”

"I should be sorry for your wife. You would not be faithful to her for a week.”

"If she were you, Carolan, I should be faithful to her for the rest of my life.”

"Your conversational powers are truly miraculous, Marcus! I doubt whether you have ever been at a loss to say the right thing. Still, I fear long practice in the art of deceiving poor females who want to be deceived has made you such an expert.”

"The last months have made you cruel.”

"Did you expect them to make me soft? Children go into Newgate innocent; they come out criminals. I went in, soft and foolish, I emerged hard, perhaps cruel. It is what life has done to me.”

"Carolan, my sweetheart...”

She turned her face to him; tears were streaming down it. She burst out fiercely, because she could not bear the tenderness that leaped into his eyes: "You know I loved him. You know what his desertion has meant. You know it has cut deeper than those irons, than all the horrors of prison. And yet you..." He put his hand on her shoulder.

"Carolan, do not look back. Look forward. You are young; you are beautiful. You were never meant to spend your life grieving for an unworthy lover." His hand slipped down to her breast.

"You are beautiful, Carolan ... my Carolan. You are vital; you are trembling now because you need me as I need you. Make no mistake, we were meant for each other!" She tried to control her trembling limbs.

She longed to lie against him, to lift her face to his. There was in his eyes that which she had tried to arouse in Everard; she had tried to make a man of Everard, the saint.

"Carolan." he said.

"Carolan! Darling, what is prison, what is transportation, what are chains? We can overcome them all.

Promise, my darling. Promise to come to me ...”

Her body urged her to lift her head, to let her brilliant eyes tell him of her response to the passion in him. But she could see Everard, his young face so different from that of Marcus, so beautiful, so saintly.

What had prevented Everard from coming to her? How could she know what? Suppose he came? Suppose, when she landed on the other side, he was there waiting for her! Miracles could happen. In seven years' time she would be a free woman. She would be twenty-four. Was that so very old? She fought against the almost overwhelming power of her senses. Because Marcus appealed to her body so strongly, she must guard against her body. What had Aunt Harriet slyly hinted? She was like her mother, like her grandmother ... she had that in her, that immodesty, that sensuous desire which could, while it lasted, seem so important that it could lure one into ruining one's life just for a momentary satisfaction. There he lay beside her, this man whom she knew to be a thief; he was unkempt; he was dirty; he was a convict sentenced to transportation for life! And because of that indefinable attraction he had for her, she had been ready to give herself up to the sensuous dream of living beside him for the rest of her life, loving him, hating him, finding pleasure in him.

She said: "I love Everard. Who knows, he may come to me! I do not believe he has deserted me; doubtless his mother prevented his coming to Newgate ... We must go back to Esther; whatever will she think?”

 She got up, and went back to Esther.

"Was it very bad?" Esther asked.

"What?" said Carolan.

"The chain gang. What a coward you must think me! But I cannot bear to hear of it." She appealed to Marcus.

"Do you think I am a coward?”

"I think you are a very charming young lady!”

Carolan threw him a glance of distaste. She felt safe now. He could not put his hands on her, with Esther so near.

Esther said: There was a lady looking over the barricade. I think she must be a passenger. She wore a beautiful gown; but how she scowled!”

"Do you not know," said Carolan, 'that we convicts are performing animals? Our ways and habits are a source of amusement and ridicule to the free.”

"She did not seem amused. Her dark eyes flashed. She seemed to me to be looking straight at you and Marcus. Her petticoat was satin; she had black hair and black eyes. She was very beautiful! She paced up and down ... in this heat too, but she did not seem to notice it!”

Carolan said: "An admirer of Marcus's, doubtless!" She laughed at him.

"Odd how, in his convict's rags, he can exercise that appeal of his!”

"Do not be jealous, darling," said Marcus.

"I am not the man to be impressed by a satin petticoat.”

"Oh, but Esther says she is beautiful! Do you not admire black eyes, Marcus?”

"What does it matter?" put in Esther. This is the happiest hour we have spent since coming aboard. I could almost feel I was taking the trip for pleasure!”

"You must have strange ideas of pleasure.Esther,"said Carolan.

"Oh come," put in Marcus.

"A great poet once said "There is some soul of goodness in things evil, would men observingly distil it out." There is truth in that, do you not think so?”

"I do," said Esther. Then: "Look, there is the dark lady again!”

Marcus looked up and looked away quickly.

"Fie!" cried Carolan.

"How coquettish he is! As coy as any maiden!”

"Carolan, please do not tease me." The seriousness of his eyes made her look at him sharply.

She demanded: "Why is it that there is always mystery surrounding you, Marcus?”

"Is there? I did not know it.”

"You must know it. In Grape Street, one was never sure of you. And even here, on this miserable prison ship, there must be mystery concerning you.”

"My dear Carolan, what are you saying? What mystery do you refer to?”

She was unable to reply. She stammered: "It was just... that you looked... oh, I cannot say. Secretive perhaps.”

"Look!" said Esther.

"That woman. She is talking to the sentry about us.”

The woman's voice floated towards them, indignant and angry.