‘Where?’
She knew the captain expected her to indicate errors in her own work, but she had made marks on the account entries. Tiny dots on the relevant pages. Mutely, she pointed to the first error.
The captain was quick to look, frowning as she quietly stepped back.
‘But that’s…well, that’s… Very well. A simple error in calculation. And it’s in my favour, Lord Wenshire.’
Mutely, she turned the page to another one, pointing. That one was in her father’s favour.
‘Ah. Yes. I see,’ her father said. ‘But they nearly cancel each other out.’ He looked at her. ‘How many of these errors did you find?’
She hated pointing out other’s errors. No one appreciated it, even those it benefited. But she glanced at Lord Domac’s reassuring nod and found her voice.
‘Thirty-seven in all,’ she finally said. ‘All small.’ She flushed. ‘The captain is honest—’
‘Of course I am!’
‘You are!’ she emphasised. ‘But everyone makes mistakes.’
Lord Domac stepped forwards. ‘You didn’t tell them the best part. There’s money,’ he said, pointing to the total. ‘Errors end up in your favour, Lord Wenshire. Enough to buy a small amount of spice without selling any of the tea.’
‘Now hold on here,’ the captain grumbled. ‘Just because I owe you coin, doesn’t mean there’s room in the hold or silver on hand to buy anything.’
‘There’s silver,’ her father said, his expression delighted. ‘And room on the boat somewhere. I should like to watch my daughter buy.’
She smiled. It wasn’t quite a grin, but she was pleased. So pleased that she looked to Lord Domac who was beaming at her as if she’d just won a prize. She felt her cheeks flush and quickly looked away, but the warmth stayed inside her for a long, long time.
There was no logical reason for him to be proud of her. Indeed, it made no sense that he had championed her at all, but the fact that he did stayed with her. It buoyed her that night, and it strengthened her spine the next morning when the real test began.