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The officers overseeing them were sure that most would have hardly a hair left on their heads such was their propensity to tear into each other. Keeping them below decks was no more peaceful, for their screeches could be heard echoing across the bay and the soldiers were sure they’d be lashed themselves for their inability to keep order. It was with great relief that they watched the longboats come alongside the transport ship at five o’clock that morning. There was relative quiet at that hour of the morning, for even those women who could keep up their tirades for hours through the night would have fallen into a fitful sleep in the early hours.
    ‘Right, wenches! Time to rise and shine!’ The guard threw open the hatch. ‘And bring all yer worldly goods with yer this morning, eh? We’ve a little surprise for yer.’ Bodies began to roll and stretch. Curses began to fill the air. Within minutes there were women pushing and shoving at each other.
    ‘What now?’ the girl beside Mary whined. ‘Another day to watch what we’re denied?’
    ‘Is that boats bumpin’ against us?’ Mary picked up her bundle. ‘That sounds promising.’ She was sure if she had to spend another night next to these whining women she’d slit her own throat. It was all she could do not to retch at the combination of body odour and stale vomit.
    ‘Move.’ Mary shoved the girl beside her. ‘For God’s sake, let’s get out of here before I lose me stomach altogether.’
    ‘So what’d be new about that?’ sneered Sarah, languishing beside her.
    A bit more pushing and urging, a lot more cursing and snapping and Mary reached the upper deck where the soldiers waited, watching the women with sly smirks.
    ‘Line up.’ The first officer looked the women up and down. He laughed as a couple of the women pushed down skirts that billowed with the wind.
    Mary moved into line and peered around the prisoners in front of her. Three officers were grabbing at the women, rubbing their hands up and down their torsos, crouching to look under their skirts. Some of the women giggled and squirmed but clearly had no real objections. As Mary approached the head of the line, she glared into their faces.
    ‘Don’t get yer feathers in a flap, girl.’ One of the officers threw back his head and laughed. ‘We’ve to search yer to make sure you’ve taken nothing but your own stuff, is all. Now if you’ve not been stealing you’ve nothing to fear. And who knows, you might even enjoy it.’
    Mary hissed into his face. ‘And what, in God’s name, would I be stealing from that hell hole, tell me that?’ She held out her arms, clenched her teeth and fists and endured the groping, her eyes piercing his face with threat. The moment his hands had traveled the full length of her body she pushed him off, risking a slap, but unable to tolerate another second of his touch. He laughed again and shoved her out of the way.
    Mary boarded a long boat with a dozen other women, and they were rowed to shore. She gripped the sides of the boat and looked straight ahead. The skies overhead were dark grey, threatening a storm. The wind whirled about them. The boat lurched and stalled. As the rowers dipped the oars, spray splattered the women. Mary's legs trembled, her heart beat wildly. She kept her eyes averted from the dark and choppy waters. She had resisted looking down at the sea, even from the ship's deck. She had forced herself not to think about the swirling blackness below. She shielded her face from the wind. The waves slapped against the boat as she considered what lay ahead of her. The women were vastly outnumbered by men, weak from poor food and months languishing in the hull of the boat. Had a prison already been built to house them? Would they be put to work? She could see tents on the shore. She could hear voices broken up by the squalls of wind. Men carried boxes and planks, or pushed barrows. Some were wielding axes and shovels. Her attention was drawn to