The Bitter Taste

Chapter 48: Ferriswheel

Jane didn't know how, but she lost. 

She lost, and now she had to ride the ferriswheel with the Earl. The bad part wasn't the fact that she needed to ride it with the Earl, but instead, it was the thought of how high she'd be from the ground. Jane never admitted it to anyone, but the lady was scared of heights. 

"Hey! You were cheating!" 

"Me? Cheating? I was just telling a joke and you laughed." The Earl said, honestly surprised that his first attempt of making Jane laugh had been a success. 

"Well... gun puns." She said, trying to hide the laughter from seeping through her lips. "That was -" she continued to giggle. "That was the best one I've heard!" 

Lucky for him too, since he's been trying to come up with something since they arrived in the amphitheater. 

"Well, I didn't think you liked fire arms so much. How unbecoming of a lady like you." He said, teasing. 

"Says the noble who entertained a clown." She said, her giggles slowly fading out into mere smiles. "And I could have gotten the fifth one! I was so close. That was the first time I've ever hit four cans in a row." Jane pointed at all the fallen cans, proud that she had done that. 

"I'm fairly impressed too, but now you'll have to come with me." He said, gesturing his chin upwards where it directed towards the extremely large ferris wheel. 

"Ready?" He asked, expecting a bright gleam in her eyes. 

Instead however, she looked rather nervous. 

"Jane, are you alright?" 

The young lady scratched the back of her head anxiously. "Uh... yes, of course. Let's go." She said, and then pulled him by the wrist all the way in front of the ride. She gulped. 

"I'll buy the tickets then." He said. 

"Yeah I-I'll just wait here..." She said, looking up at the Ferriswheel. 

The ride consisted of a horrifyingly wide radius, making it the biggest feature of the Circus fair. It also had around, Jane estimated since there were too many to count, fifty passenger gondolas attached to its rim. It was the largest Jane had ever seen. 

"Here. One for you and one for me." He said, happily giving her one, in which she took with shaking hands. 

The Earl caught this. 

"Jane, are you perhaps... scared of hei-" 

Before he could finish his question, they were pushed inside the next cart by a scrubby old man with greasy hands. "Have a good ride!" Exclaimed the man before shutting it tightly closed. 

There was silence inside the cart, with only the rapid breaths that Jane was making. Her hands had found its way snaking around the poles that held the roof of the cart, tight and sealed with sweat. 

"I-I'm sorry... If I had known that you were afraid, then I wouldn't have made that deal up." 

"Well, you certainly know how to make deals a lot." She said, chuckling in between her lines. Jane didn't look upset, which lifted up the Earl's spirits a bit, but he could still notice the way her eyes strained away from the scene below. They were only a few inches above the ground, but perhaps her fear was that tremendous. 

"Mr.Chichester." She said, grabbing his attention. 

"Yes?" He said, leaning closer. 

"Sit beside me."