‘Maybe it would help to look at some really fine examples, to get some inspiration,’ he suggested.

‘Where would I find those?’ she queried.

‘Oh, that’s easy. You remember I told you I went to the Royal Institution School? It’s just part of the institute itself, which was set up to give people a chance to learn about art and literature and science. They hold lectures and they have an art gallery. We could go and look.’

Another new world opened up for May. Many of the pictures on display were by members of what she learned was called the Pre-Raphaelite School. She did not know what that meant but the romanticism of many of the subjects awoke a similar response in her own soul.

She went back again the next Wednesday and stood rapt in front of first one and then another. She knew that with the simple watercolours at her disposal she could never achieve anything comparable, but that did not stop her trying. Flowers and leaves and fruits were her favourite subjects, entwined into the intricate designs she had always loved, and after a while she began to gain some satisfaction from the results.

The introduction to the Royal Institution had another benefit. James had casually mentioned that lectures were held there and in that May found an answer to some of the gaps in her education. Lectures on the romantic poets allowed her to share James’s love for their work; and for the first time she began to have some grasp of history and the geography of the world. As the summer passed she began to feel that in time she might become the sort of woman he needed as a wife.

* * *

The SS Royal Standard docked in Melbourne towards the end of June. For Gus, the voyage had been a great deal more enjoyable than he expected. For one thing, as purser’s assistant he was no longer liable to be kicked and cuffed by the officers; and the ship, steel-hulled and built to carry passengers rather than cargo, as had been the initial purpose of the wooden-hulled Shenandoah, was a good deal more comfortable and stable than his previous experience.

In addition, whereas the Shenandoah had avoided entering any port and relied on replenishing supplies from the prizes taken, the Royal Standard made regular stops for re-coaling and resupplying. So Gus was able to visit places like Cape Town and Singapore, which he had heard of from the reports of fellow crew members, but had never seen.

But it was the presence of Kitty on board that really made the difference. Whenever the weather was good enough for the passengers to be allowed on deck, and his duties permitted, Gus sought her out and they spent hours walking the decks or leaning on the rail gazing down at the sea.