We had been travelling at least ten minutes before I decided it was safe to remove the hood of my cloak. We hadn't passed another soul, and from what I could see from the brief, subtle glances behind us, no one was following us.
"Wait," Nicholas said, as I reached up for my hood. "Don't take your hood off just yet."
"Why not?" I asked him, disappointed.
"I think we're being followed."
I acted dumb. "Oh?"
"You saw him, too, didn't you? Back at the house?"
He looked at me and I was unable to lie. "Yeah," I admitted. "I didn't want to say anything because I thought you'd be mad at me for turning around."
He shook his head. "No, no. I think he'd been watching us the whole time we were at the Valentines, unfortunately."
"Did you see who he was?"
"He was too far away. We'll just have to be careful, though. We don't want him to recognise you and we don't want to lead him to my father. We'll try to lose him along the way. It'll be fine." He smiled at me, squeezed my hand reassuringly, then turned his attention back to the road.
I felt like I was inside an oven. In winter the cloak would be toasty warm, but unfortunately it was summer and all I wanted to do was throw it overboard.
I wiggled around in my seat, adjusting the cloak off my shoulders a little. "God, this thing is so hot," I grumbled.
"I'm sorry, darling. We'll stop at the next town and find some shade and refreshments. We certainly didn't come packed for a road trip, so we will have to buy some supplies, anyway."
"Maybe I can buy a hat to wear instead? Or a bandana to cover my face."
He chuckled at my suggestion. "I'm sorry you're uncomfortable," he said, sympathetically.
"No, no," I replied, dismissing it with the wave of my hand. "It's my fault I'm running from the law. Although having a top on your buggy would help tremendously," I joked.
"Ah, yes. Fortunately, the buggy was small, light and cheap. It suited my needs perfectly. Unfortunately, it lacks comfort."
"Now I know what people go through who drive convertibles. They must get sunburnt all the time."
"I'm assuming a convertible is something in your time without a top?" I nodded. "So this is a convertible?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "Ah, no. Not even close."
"Oh. Your time sounds confusing. No offence, but I'm glad I was born in this century."
"Sometimes I wish I was born in this century," I said.
"You do? But what about your hot baths and plumbing?"
"Yes, they're wonderful, but I wouldn't miss what I didn't have in the first place, would I?"
"True. However, I wouldn't want you to have been born in this century."
"Oh? Why not?"
"Because Doyle was born in this century. I wouldn't wish that on anyone to be born in the same century as him."
"Do you think Doyle was always such a bastard? Or only after he'd spent fourteen years in gaol?"
"I suppose if I had spent fourteen years in gaol for a crime I didn't commit, I would have some anger issues, too. But I can't help wonder why my father would frame him for stealing? Why would he want an innocent man to be transported and spend fourteen years in gaol?"
"You're right. Maybe Doyle has been a bastard all his life and your father couldn't take it any more. They worked together, after all. Probably saw each other all day, every day."
"It still seems like a drastic action to take, though. Stealing is a serious crime. Why not just get the man fired some other way? Something less serious than stealing."
"Mr. Valentine told me that the second footman wanted Doyle's job as first footman. Do you think it had something to do with that?"
He shook his head. "I can't imagine that being something my father would care about. I mean, he immigrated to Tasmania to become a farmer. From what I could tell, he seemed happy with that decision. So did my mother."
"Well, maybe that is something we can ask him when we find him?"
"Maybe," Nicholas said, quietly.
I glanced over at him. "How are you feeling about going to see him?"
Nicholas shrugged. "Honestly, I'm not sure. It doesn't feel real yet. My head can't quite accept that he is still alive. I won't believe it until I see him standing before me."
"That's understandable. I can't even begin to imagine what you're going through."
He looked over at me once more and smiled. "I'm just so glad you're here with me, Matilda. I would never be brave enough to do this on my own."
I smiled back at him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here with you every step of the way. Speaking of, are you sure that guy is still following us? I haven't spotted him since we were leaving the house."
"I'm sure of it. He'll be far enough back, staying out of sight, but close enough to not lose us. There's an empty house located before the next town, set back away from the main road. I wonder if we should hide there for a while? We can wait for him to pass and hopefully lose us. What do you think?"
"Sure, if you think it will work."
"We can only try. He can't know where we're going. We can't risk anyone knowing my father is still alive. If we can't lose him, we may have to postpone the trip. Turn around and head back home."
"Of course. Your father's safety is our number one priority."
"And yours as well, Matilda. If someone does happen to recognise you and alerts Doyle, we're going straight home to send you back through that painting."
I was praying it would never come to that. When the time came for me to go back home to my own time, I didn't want our goodbyes to be rushed. I certainly didn't want Doyle banging on the front door while Nicholas and I had our final kiss.
* * *
In less than an hour, we had reached the town of where the empty house was located. The driveway had vanished underneath grass and weeds years ago, which poor Ace had to pull us through until we reached the house.
As Nicholas guided Ace towards the back of the house so he and the buggy would be hidden from the road, my eyes scanned the creepy, dilapidated house before us. From what I could see, all the windows had been broken, most likely from vandals, or looters hoping to find anything of value inside.
When I noticed the back door hanging from one hinge, I shivered. Was this such a good idea, after all? Were we safe here?
"Don't worry, I'll take a look inside first," Nicholas said, noticing my worried stare at the broken door. "You stay here," he added, as he jumped down from the buggy.
"Wait, Nicholas, maybe we should go together," I suggested, even though I was quite happy to stay put.
"No-no. If I don't come out in five minutes, call for help."
I glanced around our surroundings. Was he serious? We were out in the middle of nowhere with no other houses, and the tiny town was still kilometres away.
I watched as he reached down into the thick grass and pulled out a long piece of timber. He clutched onto it tightly with his right hand and made his way to the back door.
Peering inside, he called out, "Hello?"
Thankfully, no one replied. Pushing the door aside, Nicholas stepped in, disappearing into the darkness.
I was sure I had held my breath the whole time Nicholas was inside the house. What felt like hours, but was only a few minutes later, he reappeared in the daylight, tossing the piece of timber aside.
"Well?" I asked. "Anything living in there?"
"A couple of rats, spiders. Nothing that will hurt us." I sighed with relief. Rats and spiders I could deal with. I jumped off the buggy, glad I was finally able to stretch my legs and back. "Before we get settled in, I want to find Ace some water. This used to be a farm, so there should be a dam close by," he said, as he started to separate Ace from the buggy.
"Well, I'm coming with you!" I announced, not wanting to be left in the house alone.
"But Matilda, I was hoping you would stay and watch to see if our stalker goes past. You can see the road clearly from the front window."
I shook my head vigorously. "Nah-uh. This house gives me the creeps. I'm not leaving your side."
"All right, but we'll have to hurry." Taking Ace's reins, Nicholas guided him away from the house. I followed closely beside them, lifting the bottom of my dress and stepping through the straw-like grass.
The land would have once been cleared for crops, grass kept short by grazing livestock. But it must have been several years since the place had been occupied, the grass being knee-high and with scattered trees starting to grow, the seeds having been dropped by birds.
"Why is this place empty? Was it abandoned?" I asked, curious.
"The whole family died, unfortunately. About five years ago now. A visitor came to the house and found all five of them dead at the kitchen table. Coroner seemed to think it wasn't suspicious, but rather they accidentally put something poisonous in their stew. They had recently immigrated to Tasmania and knew nothing about farming."
"Oh my god, Nicholas. Not feeling any better about that house now. Poor family, though."
"Because of what happened, people are too scared to purchase this place. They say their spirits still occupy the house."
I shivered. I had laughed at Anna and Hettie with their assumptions that Clay's Cottage was haunted by ghosts. But I had never felt afraid of the cottage. This house, however, gave me an uneasy feeling I couldn't quite explain.
"How long do you think we'll have to stay here?" I asked.
"Hopefully not too long. Once our stalker passes, we'll wait a little longer, then hopefully we'll be able to make it to town safely. We'll need some food and a place to sleep tonight. I was hoping to make it a lot further today, but unfortunately he has put us behind schedule."
"At least with Doyle in Hobart, this guy can't run home and reveal our whereabouts."
"Yes. Doyle on our tails is the last thing we need right now." He raised his arm and pointed. "I can see the dam right ahead."
My cheeks felt so hot and red from the sun that I was looking forward to washing my face with the cool water. However, the closer we came to the dam, I could see it was about halfway full with murky water. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to wash my face with the dirty water, unless I wanted to use the sludge as a face mask. I felt sorry for poor Ace who was about to drink from it.
I stopped, puffing from the treacherous walk, and watched as Nicholas struggled to pull Ace to the water. Ace dug his feet into the ground, refusing to go any further.
"Don't worry, Ace," I called out. "I wouldn't drink it, either."
"I don't think the water is the problem. Something is spooking him," Nicholas said, rubbing Ace's nose to calm him down.
"Ghosts?" I joked.
"No, listen. Can you hear that?"
We both stood still for around half a minute, listening for who-knows-what before I lost interest.
"Are you trying to scare me or something? Because I can't hear anything."
He shook his head. "No, I'm serious. It's coming from over there," he said, pointing to the other side of the dam. "It sounds like an animal."
I listened again and this time I heard it. A quiet whimpering sound. It did sound like an animal. Maybe one in pain?
"I can hear it now," I said, stepping towards Nicholas. He held out his hand as I approached him and I took it. "Stay close."
Leaving Ace where he was, we continued to step our way through the grass, following the dam around to the other side. The sound of the animal grew louder as we came closer, and I instinctively stopped, causing Nicholas to glance at me.
"Should we go any closer? Is it safe?" I asked him, stretching my neck to see if I could get a glimpse of what animal we were about to encounter.
"Whatever it is, it sounds hurt. Possibly caught in a trap or snare. I think I know what we're having for dinner tonight."
"You'd better be joking," I warned, stomach churning at the thought.
He didn't answer, simply tugged on my arm to encourage me to resume walking.
"Who would place a trap or snare all the way out here?" I asked.
"It most likely has been out here for a long time. The family might have set it up to protect their crops. Something was unfortunate enough to stumble across it after all this time. Maybe a wallaby or thylacine."
"Wait." I stopped again. "Thylacine? You're telling me there could be a Tasmanian Tiger in the trap? We have to save it!"
"Why?" He shrugged, not in the least bit concerned. "It's just a wild animal."
"Yeah, one that is now extinct! I mean, it's extinct in my time. They were hunted down until they were all gone. Or... will be. Please, Nicholas, promise me you'll help it."
"All right, all right," he said, pulling me closer to comfort me. "I promise. I have nothing against them. They never bothered my parents' sheep and I don't have any sheep now to worry about."
"Yes, they were accused of killing sheep, but recent studies show that their jaws were too weak to kill sheep."
"Really?" I nodded. "Come on, then."
We stepped slower and more cautious when we reached the last few metres before the animal.
A part of me hoped it really wasn't an injured Tasmanian Tiger, but another part of me wanted to see the extinct animal.
Nicholas slowly bent over, parting the grass with his hands.
"Careful," I said, softly.
"I can see it. Its hind legs are caught in the snare's rope."
"Oh my god."
He stepped closer and knelt down into the grass, reaching in towards the animal. I couldn't see anything from where I was standing and the suspense was killing me.
"Wait. It's not a tiger," I heard him say.
"What is it then?"
"A dog."
"Oh, no! Can you get him out?"
"I just don't want to be bitten. He's scared. He's shaking like a leaf." The dog yelped when Nicholas reached out to touch him. "It's all right. I won't hurt you."
"Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I'm going to try and pick him up. I'll need you to untie the rope. I'm sorry, but you'll have to climb through the grass as well."
"It's fine." I wasted no time getting down on my hands and knees alongside Nicholas, pushing the long grass aside. I couldn't see the whole dog, just his back legs tangled up in rope like Nicholas said. He wasn't a big dog, about the size of a small terrier. "Hey there, buddy. We're here to help you."
I watched as Nicholas stroked the dog's back several times, earning the dog's trust. Eventually the dog lifted his head and looked our way, and for the first time got a glimpse of his sad, brown eyes. I wondered how long he had been lying there.
Nicholas reached further and scratched him on his chest and under his chin, which the dog seemed to enjoy. Being so dirty and hair so matted, it was hard to tell what breed of dog he was.
"All right, let's get you out of there." Placing his hands under the dog's body, Nicholas lifted him up off the ground, resulting in the dog whimpering. I quickly untied the rope from around his limp legs and we were able to stand back up.
As Nicholas held the dog close to his body, I studied him for injuries. "I can't see any wounds through his thick, matted hair. But I don't see any blood, which is a good sign. I really hope his legs aren't broken."
"We'll take him back to the house. Here," he said, as he gently handed the dog to me. "I'll get Ace."
The dog was light and very thin. If he didn't have so much hair, I was sure I would be able to see his ribs.
Even though the poor little guy shivered in my arms the whole way back to the house, his whimpering had stopped, and I felt him snuggle into me.
"You're a little snuggler, aren't you?" I said softly to him. "Just like a teddy bear."
"A what?" Nicholas asked me as he tied Ace's rein to a pole.
"Oh. It's just a toy in the shape of a bear made from material and filled with stuffing. It won't be invented until 1902."
Nicholas chuckled. "Another one of Matilda's fun facts from the future."
"Yes, and plenty more fun facts to come," I said, smiling at him.
"Can't wait. All right, let's get inside." As I followed Nicholas closely through the back door, my eyes scanned the dark and dreary room we had stepped into. Furniture and household items of no value had been left behind, tossed aside by thieves searching only for items of worth. The distinct smell of rats filled the air and possibly the hint of other animals seeking refuge inside. "Through here to the front room. We need to be able to see the road."
We made our way through to the front of the house, into the living room, where Nicholas beelined for the window.
"See anything?" I asked him, joining him at the window, glancing out to the road myself.
"No. I hope we didn't miss him. We'll wait at least half an hour, if there's no sign of him, then it should be safe enough to get going again." He looked at me, then the dog curled in my arms, and said, "I'll fetch him some water. Keep watch."
"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, not wanting to be left alone inside the haunted house.
"Just to the buggy to get some water. I'll be back in half a minute." He squeezed my shoulder in reassurance before rushing out of the room.
As I waited for him to come back, I thought I'd make myself useful and look for something that I could use as a dog bowl. After several minutes of scouring the dirty floor, I found an upturned wooden bowl, about the size of a fruit bowl.
"That'll work," I said aloud, freeing one hand from the dog before picking it up. He wiggled at the disturbance. "Sorry, buddy." I went back to the window and placed the bowl on the windowsill, wrapping my hand back around him. "We're getting you some water, okay? Would you like some water, buddy? What's your name? We should give you a name." His brown eyes looked up at me and it broke my heart to see him in such a terrible condition. "You're just like a teddy bear, aren't you? Yes, you are. We should call you Teddy."
"You've already given him a name?" I jumped at the sound of Nicholas' voice behind me.
"Bloody hell, Nicholas. You scared me."
"Sorry." Going by the smirk on his face, he wasn't sorry. "I have the water," he said, as he held up a stoneware bottle.
"Great. I found a bowl."
He removed the cap, emptied the contents into the bowl, and held it up to Teddy's mouth.
"I don't want you naming him, Matilda."
"And why not, Nicholas?"
"Because you'll get too attached."
Teddy cautiously sniffed the bowl. "And what's wrong with that?"
"He might belong to someone. We have to give him back."
The realisation hit me that he could, in fact, belong to someone in town. Nicholas was right, though. I was becoming attached to him already.
I looked down at Teddy and smiled when I saw him lapping up the water. He didn't stop until the water was almost gone.
"He must have been so thirsty, poor little thing. But look at the condition he's in. Do you really think he belongs to anyone? If he does, he looks like he is being severely mistreated. I don't want to give him back to someone who is being cruel to him, Nicholas."
He nodded in agreement. "We'll cross that road when we come to it. Look! In the distance!"
When I looked out the window I could see a horse and buggy coming from the direction we had just come from.
"Do you think that's our stalker?"
"Possibly. We're too far away to see his face, but he has the same dark, almost black hair."
I was relieved when the man kept going straight ahead along the main road and didn't turn to visit us in the house. Nicholas' plan had worked.
"So, what now?" I asked.
Looking me straight in the eyes, he replied, "Now it's time to confront him."