benches here, for viewing. That must be pleasant on a summer night.”
“At parties, young gentlemen often invite young ladies up here for that purpose.” And others.
“It appears secure and well maintained. I do not feel in danger of tripping over loose stones. Was the weather wet that night? Was there snow or ice?”
“It was fair.”
“Have you been up here before?”
“On occasion.”
“With him?”
“At times on my own.”
“Or with a young lady during a party?”
“That too.”
He stopped. Someone had painted a thick line on the parapet wall above where the body had lain. Probably the magistrate. It had been done that day before they moved him.
He looked over the wall. His mind imagined his uncle’s body, and blood.
Minerva peered over too, but being shorter could not see much. She rose on her toes and stretched her neck. He stepped around her, grabbed her waist, and lifted her until she sat in the crook of his arm. She turned her body so she had a good seat and held on to his shoulders while she peered down.
Which brought her breast onto his face.
“It is a long fall.” She veered back, as if noticing her own vulnerability, or perhaps the position of her breast. “You can put me down now.”
He did so. She smoothed her skirt, then stepped away from the wall and gave him a good look. “Was he as tall as you?”
“Almost.”
“That wall is far less protective of someone your height than it is of a person like me. I am very secure behind it. But while it ends at my chest, it ends at your waist. It is a critical difference.” She frowned. “I don’t suppose I could entice you to see if it would be possible for you to fall over.”
“Entice me how?”
“Excuse me?”
“You said entice me. I am curious how you would do that.”
“With reminders that you want to know as much as I do.”
“How boring.” He turned to the wall, pressed against it, and tested his balance. He hung his arms over, as if trying to catch something that fell. He leaned farther, seeing if he even felt insecure, as if one more inch would send him over.
Suddenly the edge of the wall slammed his body and he found himself desperately grabbing it while his feet lost contact for an instant with the walkway.
A weight dragged him back. He took a deep breath, staring at the ground below while panic subsided. He stood upright and the weight disappeared.
Furious, he swerved around. “What the hell.”
She dared to look innocent. “You were in no danger. I had hold of your coat the entire time.”
“As if a woman of your size could stop a man of my size from going forward.”
“I did not push you nearly hard enough to send you over the wall.”
“Why did you push me at all?”
“So we would learn what we needed to learn. We now know it is possible to push a man of your size over. No fisticuffs would be needed. No struggle. No need to hit him over the head first. Just one good push when he is at the wall and it could happen. Oh, it might require a bit more help, but a push alone would move his weight forward enough to unbalance him and make it possible.”
“You could have informed me of your experiment first, damn it.”
“We also know,” she continued, as if she did not notice his anger, “that a woman alone could probably manage it. I say probably because if I had really wanted you to fall over, I think I would have had to help more and I don’t think I would be big enough. A woman with more weight and height and strength than I have, however . . .” She just let that hang there.
“You had no idea whether your little push might be more effective than you supposed. I could be dead right now and you would be looking down at my body thinking Oh, dear, it appears I pushed too hard.”
“I would not be thinking that at all.”
“No. You would be thinking of how to convince the magistrate that it had not been deliberate.”
That sapped the confidence out of her expression. “That is not true. I would be too distraught to recognize my own peril. However, you are correct. I should have warned you. You would have been on your guard then, and it would have been a much poorer experiment, but at least you would not believe that I put you at risk