Free Toward the Sea of Freedom by Sarah Lark Page A

by the book. And now she’s out of sorts. She’s a proper lass, sir. You ought to let her see her love, free of charge. I’m sure she’d have a good influence on the lad.”
    The guard laughed. “You’ll use any trick, Bridie. But honestly, I don’t give a damn if the boy talks or not. He’s got his ticket to Van Diemen’s Land in his pocket, either way—or to wherever they’re sending the prisoners now. Botany Bay is supposed to be closed, I hear. So, whether the girl wants to pray with him or exchange a few quick kisses, it’ll cost a penny.”
    Kathleen fished a coin out of her pocket. Earlier she’d hidden the bursting purse under her dress. She took a breath.
    “Bridget here says you might be able to do something else for Michael, sir?” she asked quietly. “A better cell, better food?”
    The guard shrugged. “He’s got to come out of the dungeon first, miss. As long as they’re having fun with him down there, there’s not much I can do. And if he stays this stubborn, that could be till the trial. But after that he’ll be here a few months—the ships won’t leave till March. The sea’s too rough in winter. I can probably make his stay better till then.”
    “Just bring him here for now,” Bridget said. “Or does the lass need to go into the dungeon?”
    The guard nodded, shrugging his shoulders. “The fellow’s chained up down there. But now’s a good time. The other guards are eating breakfast, and they like to wash it down with a little whiskey. Well, follow me, girl.”
    Trembling, Kathleen followed the man through drafty halls and down stairs into the vaulted cellar. Every step produced a ghastly echo. She did not say a word, nor did the guard. Only once did another guard pass them, herding a troop of ragged-looking prisoners. The men did not dare look up, though they stole side glances to get a look at Kathleen.
    “Here we are.”
    The hall leading past the dungeon cells was lit only meagerly by miserable oil lamps. In the cells themselves, near total darkness reigned. Each prisoner only had a single candle to light his chamber. Kathleen squinted in the dark when she was allowed to enter.
    “Wait a second,” the man grumbled. He brought one of the lanterns from the hall into the cell. “Here, since it’s you. Your beloved ought to be able to see you, at least. Just costs a halfpenny more.”
    “Only if you leave the lantern here until it burns out.”
    Kathleen did not know how it happened. She would never have believed she could summon the courage to say something like that. But just the first quick glimpse of Michael’s body stretched out on a heap of straw made her shudder. She had to fight for him. She was all he had.
    “Since it’s you?” Michael’s low voice asked suspiciously once the guard had gone. “What did you do to get them to let you in here, Kathie?”
    Kathleen had already sat down beside him on the straw. She could hardly wait to put her arms around him and kiss him. But now she glared at him.
    “What do you think, Michael Drury? That I behave like a girl of easy virtue just because everyone now thinks me the sweetheart of a criminal?”
    “Kathleen.” Michael sat up. “Forgive me, Kathleen. It was . . . It’s been a long night.”
    He tried to sit up and lean against the wall, but she saw that his shirt stuck to his back and that the blood had soaked though the fabric. And now she noticed the chains on Michael’s arms and legs.
    “They whipped you?” she asked.
    Michael shook his head. “Forget it, Kathleen. Let’s not talk about it. I can only say I’m sorry. Good Lord, the last thing I wanted was to hurt you or your reputation. I wanted to marry you, Kathleen. Start a new life, raise our child together. And don’t call me a criminal, Kathie. I didn’t hurt anybody, never got in a fight, never betrayed anyone. I’m an honorable man.”
    Kathleen laughed weakly. “When you’re not stealing grain or selling moonshine.”
    “Isn’t it our