Oh. Had he taken that for a compliment, rather than the 'sailor's' own overconfidence? Edwin still couldn’t tell if that pleased Mr. Meijer whatsoever. In fact, he only looked more pinched for it.

What an odd sort.

His eyes grazed the chair, searched the area around him, but caught nothing to suggest that anything but the presumed-sailor’s words had caused the look.

Edwin’s smile didn’t falter as he corrected, “Lei.”

Closer to the English ‘lay,’ if he had to draw comparisons.

One mistake was hardly intentional, but one was all he’d tolerate.

“Excellent,” he continued, stepping away from the books. “I’ll be there. Have you already found the rest of your crew then?”