[ Excruciating though this continues to be for Irving, he refuses to let himself continue squirm, particularly in front of a pirate. He has to get a hold of himself again, gather himself of what still remains of his restraint and his dignity and grasp onto them tightly, whatever else it is that he may find himself saying right now.

Or doing.

His jaw tight, teeth grit and grinding through the small part in his lips before he idly and slowly swipes his tongue over the lower one before he speaks again, Irving stares at Jack, forcing himself not to look away this time.

He keeps his voice low, nearly at the level of a hiss, but clear: ]

Clearly it is something about your nature that has... drawn out something that is-- that is within my own. [ And, lower still: ] I do know it to be there, Rackham. A temptation towards desire. But I did speak falsely to you before: perhaps it is my nature that is more at fault for this than yours.

[ Not that Irving is letting Jack completely off the hook, of course, because that anything -- anyone -- could "draw this out" of him to begin with is not normally something Irving ever lets happen, whenever he can help it.

Or maybe it has all to do with God's absence in Duplicity, the growing certainty which is already building in Irving's mind like a storm, that he can no longer be seen by God at all here. ]

There. You wanted the truth and now, you have it.