Lanval sat at the top of the flight of steps leading down to the quayside, from where he had an unimpeded view of the afternoon’s comings and goings. That morning he had already made two deliveries and now waited for another boat that he would help unload, but that arrival would not be until the next tide, so he had time to contemplate, to gaze down on a place that was his livelihood. Earlier, a captain, who had a longstanding association with Aubert Fils, had given him a wineskin from his cargo, a kind gesture that Lanval graciously accepted – it would have been insulting to have declined the man’s generosity. Friendship and trust existed between sailors since time in perpetuity: a unique munificence of spirit that transcended politics and religion.
Easing the cork from the neck of the w
