The Beaches and Brides ROMANCE COLLECTION: 5 Historical Romances Buoyed by the Sea

Author:Cathy Marie Hake, Lynn A. Coleman, Mary Davis, Susan Page Davis & Paige Winship Dooly [Hake, Cathy Marie; Coleman, Lynn A.; Davis, Mary; Davis, Susan Page; Dooly, Paige Winship]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781630581053
Publisher: Barbour Publishing, Inc.
Published: 2010-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

Late that evening, Edward bent over the ledgers in his father’s study at home. No matter how many times he went over the accounts, he could find no fault in Daniels’s bookkeeping. Even the price of the painting Jacob had purchased was as he’d represented it. Still, something was amiss. Edward was sure of it. The Prosper had brought a good income to the company on every voyage until his father’s death. Then she had made a run to the Caribbean that should have been profitable, but instead the goods sold barely covered the expenses for the voyage. Edward totaled the sales three times, then compared his figures to those of the schooner’s previous voyages. Perhaps it was poor judgment in the goods purchased in the islands.

The next voyage had brought in a little more but was still far below the amount the Prosper usually earned. He then laid the figures side by side with the earnings of the Falcon and found that the European trade was far outearning the Caribbean voyages.

Edward ran a hand through his hair and looked at the clock. It was late, and he was tired. Perhaps things would make more sense in the morning.

But the next morning, he saw no more logic to the figures than he had the night before. The custom at Hunter Shipping was for the office staff to work a half day on Saturdays unless a ship was docking. Edward carried the ledgers back to the office and called Mr. Daniels into his private room.

“I see what you mean, Mr. Edward,” Daniels admitted after Edward had carefully pointed out the troublesome amounts to him. “I did notice that the last couple of voyages were not so good for the Prosper, but I thought it was just one of those things that happens occasionally.”

Edward shook his head. “I’m at a loss, Mr. Daniels. But I’m not sure the company ought to consider buying another ship if profits are falling.”

“They’ve increased in other areas.”

“Yes. The Falcon and the sloop have both done very well on their recent voyages.” Edward leaned back in his chair. “I just don’t understand it. The Caribbean trade has been our mainstay, and those cargoes were all good products.”

“Not as much coffee as we like to get,” Daniels mused. “Less of the high-profit items, more of low-profit goods like rice.”

“Perhaps you can get me the copies of the Prosper‘s manifests from these voyages,” Edward said. “Now that you say that, I’d like to compare the percentages of different goods she brought back.”

“Yes, sir. Perhaps it’s just a matter of instructing Captain Stuart on what merchandise you want him to trade for.”

Edward flipped the pages of the latest ledger once more. The arithmetic was flawless. Daniels supervised his clerks so closely that Edward was sure they wouldn’t make a mistake or change the figures without the accountant noticing it. Daniels was past sixty years of age, and Jeremiah Hunter had treated him well. He earned a good salary and was now a part owner in Hunter Shipping.