He pulled on the top, and an inner cylinder extended. “A telescope.” He waited, his face expectant.
Elspeth blinked, her own excitement beginning to build. “Truly? A personal telescope?”
Timothy bounced on his bum, like a small child. “Yes! I ordered it from Switzerland before I left America and had it delivered here. I needed to take it back with me. To use it on the ship. I wanted to surprise you then.” He pointed upward. “But the moon is waning. We will be able to see so much tonight.”
She followed his gaze and is pointing finger as he went on. “See, there is Leo, in the south. See the reversed question mark?” He made the outline of the mark with his hand. “And there, overhead, is Ursa Major, the Big Dipper.” He continued to outline the various clusters with his finger. “There, the summer triangle, an asterism of Deneb, Altair, and Vega.” He rattled off more names in a way that made Elspeth’s head spin: Virgo, Corvus, Coma Berenices. Finally, he pointed to a slightly brighter spot to the southwest. “See that one.”
“Yes.”
He held out the telescope to her. “Look at it through this.”
Elspeth took the cylinder, cradling it tentatively.
Timothy smiled. “While it is a precision instrument, it is notentirely fragile. I do not wish to drop it, but you do not have to treat it as if it were the finest crystal.”
Elspeth swallowed and lifted the telescope to her eye. And gasped. The clarity astonished her—and she realized the identity of the bright object. “It is red,” she whispered.
“Mars. God of war, blood red and ready for battle.”
Elspeth stopped breathing, completely absorbed by the details she took in. The variety of reds and the dark shadows, as if they might be continents.
“Elspeth?”
Magnificent. The nearest planet. As she had never seen it.
“Elspeth, my love, you must breathe.”
Elspeth giggled. Then, as she lowered the telescope and turned to Timothy, the giggle became a laugh as an unexpected elation raced through her. She handed him the telescope, then thrust both arms into the air with a squeal. “Yes!”
Timothy placed the telescope back on its pillow, sliding it to the edge of the mattress. “So you are pleased?”
Elspeth lowered her arms and took his hands, moving closer to him. “You are a splendid man. I have been so anxious about this night, I could barely breathe. Women hear a lot of stories about the first time, not all of them kind or encouraging. That men are impatient. Rough. That it will hurt—”
He squeezed her hands. “It does not have to.”
She kissed his cheek. “I tried to prepare for anything. But nothing could have warned me about this.” She raised her arm in an arc toward the sky. “About a man who would bring me to the roof and show me another planet.” She kissed his lips. “And the stars.”
Timothy gazed at her, then slowly eased her back with one arm behind her as the other gather pillows to form a cushioned bank at her back. “I wanted to find a way to make this night as special as you are, my remarkable love. Then the skies showed me that way.”
Elspeth shuddered, a combination of chilly air and anticipation. “I-I am not very attractive.”
Timothy paused, his eyes widening a moment, then his expression relaxed. He stroked her cheek, then reached and brought her braid forward over her shoulder. “My darling, I have a thesis for you to consider.”
“All right.”
He counted off on his fingers. “A. I have been a rapscallion from a rather young age. True?”
Elspeth fought a grin, trying to remain serious. “True.”
“B. And for many years a rogue who bedded some of the most beautiful women in the world. True?”
That one stung. No need to pretend. Instead she stared at her lap. “Yes.”
“C. Therefore I am an impeccable judge of the quality of women’s beauty and character. True?”
She looked up at him, unsure. “I would say that would be a reasonably accurate statement.”
“Then will you accept as truth that I find you one of most ravishing women I have ever known. Your beauty, character, and intellect are beyond compare, and I will tolerate no statements to the contrary from anyone.” He kissed her forehead. “Not even you.”
