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‘It’s about your – your life before you ca this up, uncomfortable as it ood conduct of everyone on board, I have to knohether these – these ru

‘Can I assume from your silence that they are notuntrue?’

When she failed to answer him a third time, he felt ill-at-ease This, allied with his physical discomfort, caused him to become impatient He stood, perhaps better to impress her with his authority, andto deliberately persecute you, Miss--’

‘Mrs,’ she said ‘Mrs Mackenzie’

‘But rules are rules, and as it stands I cannot alloomen of – your sort to travel on a ship full ofIt’s difficult enough carrying so many women at close quarters I’ve looked into your – your circumstances, and I can’t allow your presence to destabilise overnor of Gibraltar would say if he knew of the presence of this particular passenger Let alone his wife They had only just stopped shuddering at the thought of those ga German prisoners

She stared at her shoes for sohfield, are you putting me off the ship?’ Her voice was low and calm

He was half relieved that she had said it ‘I’m sorry,’ he said ‘I feel I have no choice’

She appeared to be considering so surprising in what he had said to her But in the faintest narrowing of her eyes there was conteer, perhaps Histrionics, like the other two unfortunates He had posted the rating outside in anticipation

‘You are free to say so,’ he said, when the silence becathy pause Then she placed her hands in her lap ‘Insister, to be more precise I have been a nurse for four and a half years In that time I’ve treated several thousand– that you ?’ Her tone was sharp

‘That’s not what--’

‘But I can’t, can I? Because I aet my so-called past Not even several thousandthat--’

She looked at hiht have squared her shoulders

‘I know quite hat you were suggesting, Captain Thatabout me Like most of the occupants of this ship, you choose to deter you heard And then act upon it’

She smoothed her dress over her knees and took a deep breath, as if she were having so to say, Captain Highfield, before you interrupted me, is that I have treated in my career probably several thousand men, some of whom had been terrorised and physically brutalised Some of ere my enemies Many of ere only half alive And not one,’ she paused for breath ‘Not one of them treated me with the lack of consideration you have just shown’

He had not expected her to be so composed So articulate

He had not expected to find himself the accused

‘Look,’ his tone was conciliatory, ‘I can’t pretend I don’t know about you’

‘No, and neither can I, apparently I can only try to lead a useful life And not think too hard about things that may have been out of my control’

They remained in an uneasy silence His mind raced as he tried to work out how to deal with this extraordinary situation Outside, he could heara way to salvage their dignity ‘Look – are you saying that what happened wasn’t your doing? That you ?’

If she would plead for herself, make a promise about her future conduct, then perhaps

‘I’ that it’s none of your concern either way’ Her knuckles hite with sos that are your business, Captain, are er lists and my service record, should you have cared to look at it, is nurse, my marital status and my behaviour on board your ship, which, I think you’ll find, has ained strength The tips of her pale ears had gone pink, the only sign of any underlying lack of composure

He realised, with some bewilderlanced down at the papers that detailed the procedures for putting off brides ‘Put her off at Port Said,’ the Australian Red Cross supervisor had said ‘She ain, a lot of theypt’ Her ‘them’ had contained an unmistakeable note of contempt

God, it was a mess A bloody mess He wished he’d never embarked on the conversation and opened this can of worms But she had entered the syste in his expression, she got to her feet Her hair, scraped back froh, almost Slavic bones of her face, the shadows under her eyes He wondered briefly whether before she left, she would try to hit hi thought it ‘Look, Mrs Mackenzie, I--’

‘I know You’d liketo say, soht ret

She was half-way towards the door, when she said, ‘Do you want ?’

His final words stalled on his lips He blinked

‘I’ve seen you liht as well know that I used to sit out on the flight deck at night’

Highfield was now co behind him ‘I don’t think that’s--’

‘I won’t touch you, if that willwith ’

‘Then I won’t trouble you’