“We will be in sight of Bardsey Island by the morning,” said the master, “if we keep this wind. Is that good progress, Wee Davey?” The boy looked up from his plate. His expression was vacant, the gaze of a halfwit. Then he smiled, and for a second or two his face took on an entirely unexpected beauty, some light-of-God settling on him, and Lacroix was still looking at him when he became aware again of the master’s voice. He turned, shook his head, touched one of his ears.

“I was saying,” said the master, raising his voice, “that Crawley has sailed as far as Greenland. He saw bergs big as Lundy. Every manner of whale.”

“You were on a whaling ship?” asked Lacroix.

Crawley shook his head.

“We might see a whale on our way north,” said the master. “You would like to see a whale, eh, Wee Davey?”

“So long,” said the boy, “as he don’t see me.” It was unclear if he meant it as a witticism but the master laughed and Crawley grinned at his cleared plate.

With no warning, the ship broke its rhythm, juddered, rolled more deeply. It was not alarming, just enough to slide the dishes a few inches towards Lacroix. He caught his own plate as it teetered at the edge of the table.

The master stood up from his stool. “The mate will come down now with the others. You can try their company.”

For two minutes Lacroix had sole possession of a gently pitching room that smelled of stewed chicken and caulking tar. Thoughts seeped in; he hardly bothered to attend to them. The usual phrases, a recitation like the reading of General Orders, punctuated by a voice that seemed to cry for help and sometimes did so, unambiguously.

Then a noise of boots—or at least of feet. Three sailors came in, nodded shyly to Lacroix and sat in a line on the other side of the table. One—Suliman?—was as black as the man with the ship on his head in Bristol. Erikson returned with the serving dish. It was heavy again with food, like a magic pot in a fairy tale.

“Mr. Berryman,” said Erikson, pointing to the tallest of the sailors. “Mr. Suliman and Mr. Fritz.” He served the men, then, with a wink, put another ladleful of the food on to Lacroix’s plate.