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made for good reason, so the market can be dependable.”
    She should have known better than to fluff it off, when Thomas was being groomed, even at his young age, to take over their father’s company someday. “Be that as it may, this happened all across Europe. The Winds ships showed up in every port that ours did. Rather easy to conclude that it was deliberate, that they were specifically following our line to obtain
our
cargoes. And
that’s
why Father sailed so far from home. He couldn’t compete with The Winds, which was paying unheard-of prices, or he would have made no profit on the cargoes.”
    Thomas frowned. “I think this is where I don’t understand. How was that other shipping company going to make any profit if it was paying so high for its cargoes?”
    “They weren’t. They apparently had money to throw away on this particular tactic. Secure the market first, then worry about getting the prices back to reasonable later. It was merely a ploy, and one that worked. Father couldn’t risk sending his ships back to the same merchants, only to have the same thing happen again, so in that, The Winds line won; they now have those old markets.”
    “Do you think Papa was able to find new markets, then?” Thomas asked.
    “Certainly,” she said, trying to sound confident. “Andhe had planned to expand to the West Indies eventually. So this may turn out to be a very good move in the end.”
    “Though forced on him before he was ready.”
    Often she wished Thomas weren’t so smart and would just accept an explanation when given as most children did at his age, rather than question and point out all the flaws in her logic. “Would you like me to tell you what I think?”
    “Do I have a choice?”
    She smiled. “No, you don’t. I think this is going to turn out very well in the end. I doubt The Winds line will survive very long, and when they go under, Father will be able to get back his old contacts, and with the new ones he gains from this trip, why, he’ll probably have to buy new ships to keep up with it all.”
    “And
I
think you’re just hoping The Winds will go under, when they aren’t likely to, if they had such deep pockets to begin with, to get away with what they did.”
    “Oh, I’m not talking about their finances. I’m talking about the bad will they’ve spread, starting out in such an unethical manner. Consider, the merchants who sold to them for the huge profits know exactly what they were up to, and anyone that underhanded can’t be trusted. But many of the goods involved are perishable, in need of timely delivery—and trustworthy captains to arrive on time. If The Winds line is late in the future, the cargoescould spoil before they are even picked up, and of course, they won’t be bought spoiled. Do you see what I mean?”
    “So you’re thinking that Father’s old contacts will want to deal with him again, because he’s well established and, of course, trustworthy?”
    “I think they will prefer to, yes … and will you look what we’ve done. We’ve put Mara to sleep with all this talk of business that she doesn’t find the least bit interesting. But no wonder, it’s time for your nap as well.”
    “I’m not tired,” he complained.
    “I saw those eyes drooping.”
    “Didn’t,” he grumbled.
    “Did, too. And besides, you need the rest whether you sleep or not. When your fever is completely gone, then we can negotiate an end to these naps.”
    He conceded. He loved to negotiate, which was why she’d mentioned it.
    She headed to the door. But he stopped her there with one last question that she really wasn’t prepared for.
    “Where are we going to put the Christmas tree this year, Rissa?”
    It wasn’t the question, but the quaver she heard in his little voice as he asked it. It was her undoing. She hadn’t even thought about spending Christmas without her father. She hadn’t thought that far ahead, couldn’t, because there was too much grief awaiting her down