The button in Wolstan's age-wrinkled hand couldn't be more familiar if it had come off of her own dress. With an anchor embossed across its face and a rim that had been textured like braided rope, it was distinctive, memorable, and elegant. Just looking at it brought an echo of her father's voice to mind.
"The family crest isn't something you wear every day, Ashlynn," Rhys told her when she'd asked why the buttons of his coat lacked the sails and harpoon to complete the crest. "The only men who wear their crest on their buttons and embroider it on the backs of their cloaks are petty, insecure and entitled fools who are afraid that people won't instantly recognize how important they are at first sight."
"An anchor on a button respects the family, but it also respects every ship in the harbor, every Lineman or Wayfinder, captain and crew alike," Rhys explained.
