"Why would I trick you, girl? Do you truly think I am so dishonorable as that?" Watching her try and fail was agonizing though. She looked so helpless in the water, like a brick about to sink. Her fear was beginning to set Courfeyrac on edge.

He tried, perhaps in vain, to demonstrate how she should float. "On your back! Lie back, as I have done! I know it is cold but it is the only way! Do not hesitate, girl! You will surely perish if you do not listen to me!"