The passenger ledger

An original fiction passage set in the nineteenth century.

Mrs Dean waited until the clerk had finished speaking before she placed her ticket on the counter. She laid it down carefully, as if its neat position might make him reconsider.

“My daughter’s name was entered on Tuesday,” she said.

Mr Sorrell drew the passenger ledger towards him. His finger travelled slowly down the column before stopping at an empty line. “Then you may see for yourself, madam.”

Behind Mrs Dean, the queue shifted and sighed. She did not turn. Instead, she planted the point of her umbrella between two floorboards and repeated that the fare had been paid. Mr Sorrell repeated that no name appeared. Each time he called her “madam”, the word became shorter.

As he lifted the ledger to close it, a narrow receipt slipped from between its pages. Mrs Dean recognised her daughter’s name before he covered the paper with his hand.

“The next passenger,” he announced.

Mrs Dean reached across the counter and placed two fingers on the uncovered edge of the receipt. Mr Sorrell kept his palm upon the other end. Neither of them raised their voice, but the queue ceased moving.

Analyse how the writer uses language and structure to present the conflict between Mrs Dean and Mr Sorrell. Support your answer with references to the passage.