Miles Before I Sleep by M. Donice Byrd

Author:M. Donice Byrd [Byrd, M. Donice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Historical, Victorian, Historical Romance
Amazon: B011YGW3SU
Published: 2015-07-17T07:00:00+00:00

21

Miles and Andrea stepped out of their staterooms into the corridor in near unison. They had caught the sailors on duty off guard by their early appearance, and the men stood gaping as they watched the pair rushed out of sight hand-in-hand.

“Where are we going?” she asked as the slowed to a walk a few minutes later.

“You’ll see,” he said. “We’re almost there.”

“We’re almost where? We’re in the middle of the deck.”

“Right.”

Miles pointedly looked at the large mast they stood next to and allowed his gaze to run up its length to the crow’s nest at the top. Andrea’s eyes followed his and she gasped when she realized what he was planning.

“I bet you’ve never watched the sunrise from the crow’s nest.”

“Oh, heavens.”

“Are you afraid of heights?”

“As much as any sane person, but not overly so. I’ve always wanted to go to the lookout, but no one would ever let me.”

Miles didn’t mind admitting he was a bit nervous about the climb, and even more so the descent. It did not help that it was dark and the ladder was nothing more than boards suspended between knotted ropes, secured to the mast at regular intervals.

“Your father will hunt me down and kill me if something happens to you. I think you should go up a step and I’ll be on the step below you with my arms boxing you in as we go up.”

“That may be less dangerous for me, but I doubt it’s safer for you.”

Miles doubted there was any risk-free way to get to the top, but the pretense made him feel better about taking her into a perilous situation.

“When we get higher up, we will really notice the rocking of the ship. I just want to warn you, so you won’t be alarmed when you feel it. Move one hand then the other, one foot then the other. There’s no reason to hurry.”

“I think you’re more nervous than I am,” she said as she climbed up the first two rungs of the ladder and waited for him.

“What is an adventure without a little danger?”

They barely spoke as they climbed. Miles wondered what the sailors on duty thought of their escapade. Were they making assumptions about Andrea’s virtue or just laughing at their excruciatingly slow ascent.

When they finally made it to the crow’s nest, Miles closed the trap door so they could not accidentally fall through. The floor of the lookout was no larger than five feet by five feet, with the mast protruding through the middle. The walls were easily four feet tall and built sturdily to protect the occupants.

“Miles, this is awe-inspiring. Thank you for bringing me up here to see the stars.”

“Actually, I thought we could watch the sunrise.”

“The sunrise? What time will the sun come up?”

Miles laughed. “Actually, I have no idea. I just thought if we got here early enough, we couldn’t miss it. The closer we got to England the earlier it seemed to rise. Now that we are heading west it seems later in the morning.

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