“We’re going to do something exciting.” Werner had to yell to make himself heard. The wind threatened to carry them away.

Helen recalled what he had said to her last night: that they were going to do something that wasn’t allowed. They were alone up here—not even the sheep would come this far—but Werner didn’t seem to be talking about sex. Quite the opposite. He looked at her tensely. His jaws were clenched, his eyes narrowed. He tapped his stick on the ground.

“What?” she shouted back.

He gestured at the precipice with his chin. “We’re going to lie down on the edge.”

“What?”

“The edge,” he yelled. “We’re going to lie down on the edge.”

Instinctively, she took a step backward. Shook her head.

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against him. “The fear is something to savor, Helen. Looking into the abyss—it’s an incredible kick, by all accounts.”

“I can’t.”

“Of course you can. Nothing will happen. You just stick your head over the edge. Only a very little bit.”

“Werner, you’re scaring me.” She tried to free herself, but he held her with a firm grip.

He grinned. “Scaring you? Don’t you think experiences like this make life more interesting? Doing something every now and then that you’ve never done before? Sometimes you just need a little push in the right direction.”

“Is that supposed to be a joke? I don’t think it’s funny.” She gasped for air and kept shaking her head. “Not funny at all.”

They were standing just a dozen steps from the edge. No grass grew this close to the precipice. The hills rolled onward into the distance: the second, third, and fourth sisters, with cliffs as far as the eye could see, and pale sunlight reflecting off the waves of the English Channel at their feet.

“If you’re so desperate to do it,” she shouted, “then go ahead. But I’m not coming with you. I’m terrified enough as it is.” Her whole body was trembling.

He gave her a piercing look. “I want you to do it, Helen. Go and lie down over there. I’ll hold on to your ankles.”

“Have you lost your mind?” Her voice cracked. “I said no.”

“Don’t you trust me?”

“That’s not the point.”