A bird sang in the nearby tree as I waited for him to respond. “They died slower than the butterfly yesterday,” he said eventually. “They tried to survive, tried to escape, run away . . . but they couldn’t. I had them trapped. They fought hard . . . but I had to kill them.”
I wanted a closer look. I crouched down opposite him and smiled when he moved the magnifying glass away from the dead ants. He was watching my face, I could feel it, so I lifted my eyes and smiled really big. “I’m Ellis Earnshaw. I never got to say that yesterday. I live here too.” I pointed to the main house. My house. My papa’s estate.
Heathan didn’t smile back. He didn’t move, didn’t say anything. He just watched me. His eyes moved to the black headband in my hair, then down my blue dress, over my white apron and long white socks to my black shoes. Last of all, he looked at the china-faced doll in my hands. “This is Alice,” I announced and held her out for him to see. She was dressed exactly the same as me. She even had long blond hair and blue eyes too.
“No.” Heathan shook his head.
“No what?”
“You’re Dolly.”
I looked at my doll again. “I don’t understand,” I said, crinkling up my nose. I was so confused.
He pointed at me. “You’re not called Ellis. Your name is Dolly. I decided on it yesterday. You look exactly like your doll. I named you Dolly. I don’t like Ellis. It’s a stupid name. It doesn’t suit you.”
I stared at him in shock, then looked down at my doll. I smiled again. “I like that.” Heathan quickly looked away. “She’s Alice. From Wonderland.” I pointed down at my blue dress, white apron and white socks. “It is my favorite book ever. My mummy got me this doll last year. My papa got me the clothes so I would match.” I hugged my doll close to my chest. “I wanna be just like Alice when I grow up. Go to new places, fall into a strange new world. I wanna meet the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter.” I shook my head. “But not the Queen of Hearts. She’s a monster! She . . .” I leaned in closer. “She scares me.”
“Why do you say ‘Mummy’?” he asked.
My shoulders dropped. “My mummy was English. It’s what they call their mamas in England.” Heathan’s eyes narrowed. I tipped my head to the side. “Well? Do you know that book? Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?”
Heathan shook his head. A piece of black hair fell forward and covered his left eye. I reached up to push it out of the way, but his hand snapped out and grabbed my wrist. I gasped and stared at his fingers on my skin. His hold didn’t hurt me, but . . . but when I looked into his eyes, my heart started beating really fast. “No one touches me,” he said through his teeth.
“Okay.” I swallowed.
Heathan stared at me and stared at me, then he let go of my arm. I pulled it back and rubbed at the spot he had held. Heathan picked up his magnifying glass and brought it back over the pile of dead ants. I never took my eyes off him as the rays of the sun hit the thick glass and began sizzling the black insects once again.
“Why do you wear a waistcoat?” I asked.
Heathan’s hand froze. He looked at me out of the side of his eye. “A waistcoat?”
I pointed at his clothes.
“A vest?”
I laughed and shook my head. “A vest. Silly me. I get the two names confused sometimes.”
“Why?”
My heart suddenly felt heavy, and I dropped my head. I played with my doll’s hair so I wouldn’t cry. “I told you. My mummy was from England. She was from a place called Oxford. I’ve never been there. But she would call things by different names sometimes.” I pointed at his vest. “She called vests ‘waistcoats.’ Called the hood of a car a ‘bonnet.’ Silly things like that.”
“Where is she?” Heathan asked, and I felt the tears in my eyes get bigger.
“She died last year.” I hugged my doll tighter. “Before she did, she told me she would see me in Wonderland someday.” I held up my doll. “She gave me this. She told me it would keep me safe.”
“From what?”
“Bad people.” I stared at Heathan. He didn’t say anything. “She said there were bad people in the world. Some who were close by. She told me that Alice would keep me safe.”
“Have you met any bad people yet?”
I shook my head. “No. I only see my papa and uncles around here. Oh, and my nanny, Mrs. Jenkins. There’s your papa too . . . and now you!”