Footprints At Dawn (Book 2)

Chapter Nineteen

The woman was fast. As she powered ahead of us through the streets of Launceston, Nicholas and I struggled to keep up, lagging well behind her. She would stop every now and then to ask a question and wait for us to catch up, but as soon as she was satisfied with our answer, she was off once more.

When she disappeared out of sight around a corner, I knew she was out of hearing range. "Good god. How much caffeine did this woman have for breakfast?"

"I assume you are referring to her speed?" Nicholas asked, and I nodded. "Yes, she certainly is fast." He wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. "Maybe we should have bought Ace, after all."

"It can't be too much further, surely." I had hoped that were true. "Nicholas, about all these lies we've been telling... What's going to happen when Edie tells your father that a Mr. and Mrs. Lacy is here to see him?"

The look on his face told me he hadn't thought about that. "Yes, that could be a problem, couldn't it? I suppose we could ask Miss Schmitt to only mention to him that a Nicholas is here to see him, and to not mention my last name. As for you, we could say he's never met you, so it's not worth mentioning your name just yet."

"Well, at least that's one thing that's true in this web of lies. He hasn't met me."

We turned the corner and we could see Edie up ahead, hands on her hips, waiting for us.

"Not far now. Come on!" she called out, before she took off again once more.

"Why don't I believe her?" I mumbled, as we made our way along the dirt road that led away from the town.

"Actually, she could be telling the truth. Look up ahead." I looked to where he was pointing, eyes squinting from the early morning sun. "There's a group of cottages there, on top of the hill."

"Of course they have to be on top of a hill," I whined. "It would be too much to ask to be situated at the bottom of a hill."

Nicholas laughed. "I must take note that you become irritable after too much exercise."

"I only become irritated when someone says something is just up the road but we've been walking twenty minutes already."

"Yes, she did say that, but good news is they are now officially just up the road. Let's go."

* * *

When Nicholas and I had finally made it to the cottages, Edie was waiting for us on a garden bench under a big Eucalypt tree.

"Sorry for racing ahead," Edie said as we approached her, barely even puffing from the power walk. "My days are so busy it has turned into a habit to walk fast. There's just not enough hours in the day, sometimes."

"Apologies for taking up some of your precious time, Miss Schmitt," Nicholas said to her.

"No need to apologise, Mr. Lacy. I was heading this way, anyway. The residents will be awake and asking for their breakfast."

While I stood catching my breath, I took the opportunity to take in where we actually were. There were several cottages atop the hill, spread far enough apart from each other to offer privacy from one another. They were made from timber; small, simple, but charming, with manicured gardens around them. We were high enough to be able to look down at Launceston to the south, with hectares of trees and vegetation present in all other directions.

The place was secluded and peaceful, the perfect setting to come rest if you were ill.

"It's beautiful here, Edie. How many cottages do you have in total?" I asked her as she stood from her seat.