Marguerite listens to the sailors’ conversations about shipwrecks and sea monsters. The ship’s navigator, Jean Alfonse, disregards these tales, as he’s more worried about running out of food. Damienne grows calmer as the journey progresses, but at night, her fear returns. Marguerite and Damienne pray together, and Marguerite recalls stories from the book of ladies. She secretly worries she isn’t faithful enough for God to protect her.

Marguerite can’t fall asleep, so she sneaks up to the deck for fresh air. Auguste is also on the deck, and the two talk as they look out on the vast sea. Auguste apologizes for not telling Marguerite about the journey. He suddenly confesses his love for her, which takes Marguerite by surprise. Before she can question him, Marguerite hurries below deck so she won’t be seen. Marguerite believes Auguste is sincere, but she fears Auguste’s feelings are treasonous to Roberval. She tries to ignore Auguste during dinner, but as Auguste plays his cittern, he watches Marguerite.

Roberval continues Marguerite’s lessons aboard the ship, but Auguste’s confession occupies her mind. She believes Auguste’s feelings are true. She never would’ve considered him while on land, but out on the ocean, Marguerite feels free to look at him with interest.

The winds stop, and the three ships sit motionless for days. In their idleness, men fight, and a large brawl breaks out on a sister ship. Roberval decides to hang the men as punishment, and he forces Marguerite to observe the hangings. He takes a small boat to the other ship and leaves Marguerite in the crowd of colonists. As the first body hangs, the crowd’s exhilaration crushes Marguerite against the railing, and she starts to faint. Auguste pulls Marguerite to safety.

Auguste leads Marguerite into the ship’s forecastle. Marguerite asks Auguste how he came to serve Roberval. Auguste learned to read and write from his father before the man died. Auguste’s mother remarried, but Auguste’s stepfather was cruel. Auguste’s younger sister died, and when his mother gave birth to another son, the stepfather sent Auguste to apprentice with a leather tanner. Before Auguste finishes his tale, Jean Alfonse informs them of Roberval’s imminent return. He promises to keep Marguerite’s meeting with Auguste a secret.

Auguste records the hangings in the ship’s log. Marguerite wonders about Auguste’s unfinished story, and in the early morning, she sneaks to the deck hoping to find him there. The deck is completely covered in mist, but Marguerite sees Auguste. She immediately asks him to finish his tale, and he leads her to a darker space before he talks.

Auguste was a bad apprentice, and his master beat him for his mistakes. Auguste ran away to La Rochelle, where he wound up begging near Roberval’s stables. He started as the house’s errand boy, and eventually he proved his writing skills. Auguste worked as undersecretary then secretary, and he lived and travelled with Roberval. He first saw Marguerite at Perigord, and he instantly fell in love with her bold spirit. Marguerite is touched by how much he noticed about her. The two touch hands before Marguerite returns to her chamber.

Marguerite recalls her lessons about virtue but finds them irrelevant to life at sea. The ships continue to stall without wind, which irritates Roberval. One night, Roberval orders Auguste to play the cittern, and he surprises Marguerite by asking her opinion of the song. Marguerite praises both Auguste and Roberval’s playing, but Roberval calls her a flatterer and uses the moment to publicly test her on a psalm.

At night, Marguerite feels restless. Damienne tries to prevent Marguerite from leaving and warns her about gossipy sailors, but Marguerite doesn’t heed her words and seeks Auguste on the upper deck. Auguste holds Marguerite’s waist, and Marguerite traces Auguste’s lips with her fingers. Auguste fears the sailors will catch them, but they linger together before returning to their bunks. They boldly meet again the next night. Marguerite finally learns Auguste’s name, and they speak familiarly about their past and their fears. Auguste and Marguerite kiss. Auguste thinks Roberval suspects them, and he knows Roberval will kill him if he finds evidence. Marguerite is frightened, but she refuses to stop their meeting.

Marguerite and Auguste continue to meet and speak about their future together in the New World. They ignore each other during the day to not draw suspicion, but one day Roberval questions Damienne about Marguerite’s nighttime wanderings. Damienne claims ignorance, and Jean Alfonse tries to disprove the sailors’ rumors. Suddenly, a whale strikes the ship, and they all rush up onto the deck. Marguerite watches the whale swim next to the ship, and five more whales swim around the other two ships. Roberval preaches to the colonists, declaring that God only helps the good. He promises to punish all sinners, and Marguerite understands his pointed threat. Roberval watches Marguerite at dinner, and she ignores Auguste while he plays the cittern. She pricks herself on her sewing needle and silently goes to her room, knowing that she won’t be able to meet with Auguste again.

The winds pick back up, and the ships begin to move again. Marguerite closes her eyes on the deck in relief, and when she opens them, Roberval claps his hands in front of her face. A lookout spots a gull, and in a few more days, Jean Alfonse sees the first sign of land. The tree-lined coast of the Saint Lawrence River soon comes into view.

Roberval takes a small boat out to map the coastline. With Roberval away, Marguerite and Auguste embrace, kiss, and partially undress in Marguerite’s room. Roberval returns early, so they try to appear normally when the man enters with news. Auguste records Roberval’s report in the official log. The men saw three of Captain Cartier’s ships sailing east, deserting the Charlesbourg-Royal colony.

Roberval instructs Auguste and a small party of men to accompany him back to Cartier’s ship, and Marguerite fears Roberval will leave Auguste there. Roberval sees her worry, and in front of the colonists, he accuses Auguste of having an affair with Marguerite. Auguste lunges at Roberval to defend Marguerite’s honor, but a group of sailors capture and bind him. Roberval throws Marguerite down and leaves silently on his boat.

Jean Alfonse urges Marguerite to beg for forgiveness, and Marguerite imagines her and Auguste’s punishment as she waits for Roberval’s return. Roberval returns cheerfully, having persuaded Cartier to stay in New France. Roberval avoids talk of Auguste, but Marguerite cannot hide her tears.

Marguerite can’t sleep, so she goes up for fresh air. As she looks out, she realizes Cartier’s ships are missing. Sailors raise an alarm and inform Roberval, who accuses them of sleeping on the job. The captain thinks Cartier cut his anchors and slipped away in the night. Roberval rages, but he is determined to continue to the colony. Roberval records Cartier’s desertion in the ship’s log himself.

Roberval finally sends for Auguste, and he accuses the young man of betraying him. Auguste doesn’t apologize and only asks Roberval to spare Marguerite. Marguerite too begs for mercy for Auguste. Roberval sees the intensity of their attachment and decides to exile them on one of the gulf’s islands. Roberval allows them to pack their belongings, provisions, and weapons, and he forces them to bring Damienne with them.