‘We’re not looking to sign on for ten years,’ Adrana said.

Rackamore moderated the curl of his lips with a smile. ‘I’m not looking to sign a pair of green unknowns on a ten-year contract either. Quindar should have mentioned a six-month term? Shorter than that, and it’s not worth Cazaray training you up. But in six months, you’ll have time to prove your worth, as well as decide whether the shipboard life’s one that suits you. It’s not just about being able to pick up the whispers. A good Bone Reader needs a fair hand, too, to set down transcripts quickly and neatly, and they’ve also got to be able to send as well as receive. The question is, do you want to take your chances in space?’

‘We’re not afraid,’ Adrana said.

‘Quindar wouldn’t have brought you here if he didn’t believe you had potential. What do you think, Cazaray? Could you work with them?’

‘We’ve not exactly been spoiled for choice with candidates,’ Cazaray said. ‘And they’ve got to be better than Garval, at least . . .’ But then he clamped his lips tight.

‘I’ve heard of siblings working the bones on other ships,’ Rackamore said, looking at us thoughtfully, stroking the quoin as he spoke. ‘If these two can work together to pull some sense out of that skull, they might give us an edge.’

I drew the ledger closer to our side of the table. ‘These numbers,’ I said, tapping a finger against one of the columns. ‘Is this what you’d pay one of your crew members?’

‘Per year, and assuming a certain level of success with baubles, yes.’

‘It’s a lot of money.’

Adrana pulled the ledger nearer to her. ‘Divide that number by two, for six months, and then double it again because there are two of us. You don’t get a discount because we’re sisters. That’s already eighty bars worth of quoins. I’m not saying that would undo all our losses, but . . .’

‘Losses?’ Rackamore enquired gently.

‘Our father made some bad investments,’ I said. ‘Sunk money into Malang Lar’s expedition.’

Rackamore’s expression was one of muted sympathy. ‘Yes, a regrettable business all round. We’re cautious – I won’t deny that. But Lar took caution to unheard-of depths, keeping to the shallow processionals, the Sunwards, the well-studied baubles. The trouble is, those are the ones most likely to have given up their prizes already.’ He gave a non-committal shrug. ‘So it proved. Was it really bad for your family?’

‘Our parents came to Mazarile before we were born,’ I said. ‘They’d escaped one economic slump and thought to better their fortunes on Mazarile.’

‘Just as Mazarile was entering a slump of its own,’ Adrana said. ‘The crash of 1781.’