Page 121 - The Midnight Library

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Nora made a face as if to say she knew all this. ‘Sunday seems for ever

away.’
e boat felt like it was turning. Nora was forced to lean a little in her seat.
‘ Twenty years ago there was hardly any open water in Svalbard in April.
Look at it now. It’s like cruising the Mediterranean.’

Nora tried to make her smile seem relaxed. ‘Not quite.’
‘Anyway, I heard you got the short straw today?’
Nora tried to look blank, which wasn’t hard. ‘Really?’
‘You’re the spotter, aren’t you?’

She had no idea what he was talking about, but feared the twinkle in his
eye.
‘Yes,’ she answered. ‘Yes, I am. I am the spotter.’
Hugo’s eyes widened with shock. Or mock-shock. It was hard to tell the

difference with him.
‘ e spotter?’
‘Yes?’
Nora desperately wanted to know what the spotter actually did, but

couldn’t ask.
‘Well, bonne chance,’ said Hugo, with a testing gaze.
‘Merci,’ said Nora, staring out at the crisp Arctic light and a landscape she
had only ever seen in magazines. ‘I’m ready for a challenge.’