Character and clues

I have been continuing to tell the story of Lucy as she works in the Flag Loft of Chatham Dockyard. I have been trying to concentrate on her as a person and I think one of the best ways to show this is to follow her thought processes through to the resultant actions. In the section I am working on, Lucy is given a new task as the can't sew. This is to 'finish' the signal flags, adding toggles and lanyards. She also has to pack the flags into canvass sacks ready to go out to the ships. This is all explained to her by one of the ladies, Mary, who is only too happy to relinquish the job and get back to her sewing circle. But she is a motherly sort, kindly but a bit scatterbrained. She takes time to help Lucy, but she forgets to tell Lucy which knot to use to tie the neck of the sacks once they have been packed with a full set of flags. Towards the end of the day, Lucy makes up the sets of flags and puts them into the bags, tying the sacks in the way that she believes to be right. But when she goes to put the sacks away in the store room she sees that all Mary's sacks are tied with tight reef knots. She takes one of her own sacks to the supervisor to check that the slip knot she has used is, in fact, the right one. It is, but she doesn't mention that Mary has tied up dozens of sacks in a way that would make them difficult to undo, particularly at sea when the knots would tighten in the damp conditions. She decides to come back when it is quiet and retie all those on the shelves with the proper knot before anyone finds out - particularly Mary who would be very upset. She sees it as a job that can be done quickly and that there is no need to make a fuss. This seemingly minor incident shows something of Lucy's character. She is prepared to work extra time to cover up for a colleague. This shows her as kind, generous, observant and intelligent. It also moves the plot forward as the business of the knots is a clue which may eventually lead to the villan of the piece who, at this stage, is still hiding in the shadows.