On board the Neptune Baines asks how James got the contract for transporting steel plates instead of Frazers – "blood is thicker than water". "So is zinc", James replies, "and that is what contracts are made of". William's relations with Beaumont grow tighter, as he confides his dismay that Elizabeth and Daniel would not give the contract to "his" line. Petulant and demanding, he orders an old Captain to sea, and demands a fast passage, threatening him if he's slow, despite dense fog. Samuel grows increasingly unhappy at the future Robert has planned for him. Parents pass on what they have learned to their children, the children struggle to take on the role of their parents, un-aware of how little they know, but youthful and winning.