Alec reached through the window and guided me out onto the ladder. I held my breath as I made the terrifying transition from the security of the house to the swaying ladder so far off the ground. “Hold tight,” he instructed, though that was hardly necessary, as I clung to the ladder for all I was worth. He scrambled up the ladder into the basket suspended beneath the airship. I hoped he didn’t expect me to do the same because I wasn’t sure I could. I couldn’t stop a tiny yelp of shock when the ladder began to move. I looked up and saw that it was being reeled upward by a cranking device.

Now I was even higher off the ground, looking down at the roof of the mansion. Wind whipped around me, and I wrapped one arm and one leg around the ladder, in case my grip weakened. My head came up even with the bottom of the basket, and Alec was waiting there at a gate in the basket’s wall. “Give me your hand, Verity,” he said.

It went against every survival instinct I possessed to release my hold while I hung so high in the air, but I pried my fingers off the rope and reached for him. He caught me with both hands and helped me on board. While I sat on the floor of the basket and caught my breath, he pulled the tail of the ladder inside and then closed the gate. “Off we go, Everett,” he said, and I turned to see the dark-skinned man I’d met at the exposition. He nodded to me before he pushed a lever, and then the ship moved forward, over the roof of the Lyndon home and toward the park.

Alec pulled goggles over his eyes, then handed a pair to me. “You’ll need these,” he said. When he helped me stand, I was grateful for the goggles. It was windy this high in the air, especially with the airship moving. I wouldn’t have been able to keep my eyes open, and I wouldn’t want to miss this view.

Alec guided me to the edge of the basket, and I cautiously leaned over to look below. We were above the park, which looked like a dark hole in the middle of the city. Tiny pools of light made curving dotted lines throughout the park where lampposts marked the roads and walking paths. We crossed the park at an angle, coming out on the southwest corner, heading downtown. The city lay below me like a model railroad set. “This is amazing!” I shouted to Alec over the roar of the wind.

“Isn’t it?” He grinned boyishly, reminding me of Rollo in his enthusiasm.