Edgy tempers became the norm, parents screamed at truculent children, fights broke out amongst repressed men and Lady Harriet made a discovery that caused moral outrage amongst the privileged passengers on board. It appeared that a little bird had told her that members of the crew had smuggled aboard a couple of girls when the ship had docked in Cape Town. Both were mulattos and although hidden from view they had been passed around for the pleasure of the crew members and had been seen parading along the deck one evening after the Captain had ordered lock down. Lady Harriet, conscious of her status as a member of the aristocracy and wife of Sir Rodney and his position as one of Queen Victoria’s representatives, had made her way to Captain O’Neill’s quarters, without consulting her husband. She had barged into the cabin, intent on insisting that the men be punished and the girls locked up for the duration of the voyage. She had been shocked to come face to face with a girl of tawny complexion with lots of black, curly hair.
