He was sopping wet, he should have toed out of his shoes before he jumped in the water because they were soaked-through in a way that was starting to be uncomfortable, and it would be noticed. But with the clouds gathering above them so quickly, and in a pattern Noble didn't entirely recognize — as if they were forming a series of large rings — he didn't trust the outdoors.

The choice was taken away from them by the rain; Noble tugged on his coat not because he thought it would offer him any protection, but because otherwise he was afraid the wind would carry it away. A crash of waves beneath them sent sea-spray blowing into Noble's back. He reached for Miss Cartwright's wrist — they were well-past propriety now.

"We have to go," he said again, with more urgency. He tried and failed to blink the rain again; it was falling so hard Noble couldn't see more than a few feet away from them. He couldn't leave her here.

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