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About to do it.
“Is it actually safe to go up?” I said, looking at the old, uneven stone steps.
“Yes,” William replied. “I promise. It’s the only one in the area and my family has spent a small fortune preserving this tower. It was surveyed just two months ago and is deemed entirely safe.”
“It’s a thousand years old. Most of these things that old are not safe.”
“Let’s go up to the first watchpoint a little under halfway up,” he said, smiling. “Then if you want to keep going, we can. If not, we can just come back up.”
“Okay.” I looked at my shoes. “I’m not really dressed for it.”
“You go first.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. “Then, if you fall, I’ll catch you.”
“Or we’ll both go tumbling down the stairs.”
“You’re the one who’ll have the soft landing, so go before I change my mind.” He pulled out his phone and turned on the torch. “And you can see now.”
“Okay, okay.” I laughed and started the journey up the stairs. “Go slow, though.”
“Get moving!”
The thick, bronze handrails on the walls seemed to be sturdy enough, and I gripped them tightly as I carefully made my way up the stairs. They were more uneven than they’d looked—every step seemed to have bumps in different spots, and it was tough to navigate them in my heels. Thankfully I didn’t slip, but I knew there was no way I’d be able to make it to the top.
Heck, I was about to take off my shoes and swing it barefoot.
“Just here,” William said, right when I was seriously going to sit down and pull off my heels. “There’s a nook to the right we can get through to get to the viewpoint.”
I stopped, turned, and swiped his phone from him. It was no good it being three steps behind me. I needed the light in front of me.
“Please, use my light,” William muttered.
“I was planning on it, thank you,” I replied brightly, using it to find the nook. “Is that it?”
“Is there a bronze ring hanging next to it? If so, yes.”
“If you’d mentioned that before, I wouldn’t have needed to ask.” I shuffled across the step and onto the ledge, then tucked myself through the little nook into a much roomier space.
I shone the light for him to get through and stepped back to give him space.
“Is this the watch point?”
“Unless you want to go outside,” he replied, holding up the key again.
I hesitated.
It was cold out there, but I did so want to go outside and see it.
“All right. Just a few minutes,” I said, rubbing my hands up and down my arms. “Since we’re here.”
“You say it so nonchalantly.” William inserted the key and turned it, making the lock click open. “Yet I can see you literally shaking with excitement.”
“That’ll be the cold, not the excitement.” My voice was dry. “Unlike you, I am not wearing trousersorsocks, and I’m absolutely bloody freezing.”
He looked over at me before he opened the door. “Would you like my coat?”
“What am I supposed to do with that? Put my legs through the arms of it and wear it like some kind of strange pair of trousers?” I shook my head. “Don’t be daft. Open the door and tell me about the tower.”
With a chuckle, William did just that. He hauled the thick, heavy door open, and motioned for me to step outside.
