THAT WAS ACTUALLY A good question. What were they to do? They couldn’t climb back up. The ledge obscured them from their assailants’ view, but it also obstructed their sight. They’d have no way of knowing when or if the men left. Even if they had been certain the men were gone, the climb was barely possible going down. They’d never climb back up safely, not in the dark, which was rapidly closing in.
Stephen stared out at the violet sky and the indigo water. Josie was right. It was a long way down, but they could manage it. He’d done a bit of climbing while in India. The drop looked steeper than it was. All the way down, there were handholds and outcroppings. Once they reached the bottom, the granite boulders that lay there could act as steppingstones back to shore.
The darkness was the problem. They couldn’t climb down in the dark. “The moon,” Stephen said suddenly.
Josie pulled away from his chest and looked over his shoulder. “What moon?”
“Is there one tonight? Do you know?”
“I didn’t look outside last night,” she admitted. “I don’t know where we are in the cycle.”
“I don’t either, but if we get a bit of light from the moon, it should be enough to show us the way down.”
“Down?” Josie sounded like she’d choked on the word. “We’re not climbing down.”
“It’s the only way out of here. Besides, there’s lots of hand and footholds.”
“Westman,” she protested. “It’s a sheer drop.”
“You’re scared. It’s all right. I’ll get us down safely.” With that, he settled back into the dented rock and tried to get comfortable. He liked holding Josie in his arms, but he would have preferred a bit more space. Added to his discomfort, his calf burned where the bullet had scraped the skin. He was fortunate the bullet hadn’t done more damage. Still, it hurt like hell.
Bending his legs to alleviate some of the pressure, he pushed his back against the wall and positioned his body so that most of his weight was there. He pulled Josie between his legs, offering her one knee to sit on. When that grew tired, he would switch her to the other one.
Night’s veil, which had seemed to drop so quickly earlier, now descended slowly, and he watched the sky with impatience for the appearance of more sparkling stars.
“Do you think we’ll ever find the treasure?” Josie asked, her breath on his neck.
“No doubt,” he said. “We must find it now. We can’t go home with nothing. At least I can’t. This is my last hope. This or I pack up my mother and leave for the Continent.”
“Perhaps your mother would enjoy France.”
“Would yours?”
She laughed. “No. And you know I can’t go back without the treasure either.”
“No, then you just might be forced to marry me.”
“And then we could both go live in France.”
He smiled. He had to give her credit. She’d been shaken up after the drop and the shots fired at her. He’d been shaken up too, worried out of his mind that she’d been hit. But now that she’d had her crying jag, she’d recovered. She was no fragile flower.
There was a moment of silence, and he listened hard for the men above them. Only the sound of the wind and waves penetrated their solitude.
“Actually, just about anywhere is better than here,” Josie said. “Did you see the men shooting at us?”
“No. You?”
“Yes.”
“The same ones we met yesterday at the inn?”
“They must have followed us.”
“Or known where we would go.”
“That’s what I was thinking, too.” She sighed.
“And we’re right back where we left off last night.”
