He tries to give her more reasons to come for. New giant Ferris wheel with breathtaking view, truly spooky haunted house, and a rainbow fountain are all constructed with Alice in mind. After she mentions some tea parties she recently attended at Heart Castle and Hatter's Mansion unbeknownst to her Gowland orders all of the cafés at his territory to add to the menu something tea-flavoured.
But he wishes she would come for something more than sweet treats, even if those are some of the best Heartland has to offer.
No, at first Gowland is glad she chooses to come at all; happy when this uptight girl slowly lets her guard down around him and starts giving sincere smiles instead of polite ones; overjoyed when she finally allows herself to let loose and have fun in his park giving him a chance to learn just how nice her laughter is. He always encourages her to try new things out, be it his most recent attraction or a new type of ice cream his vendors serve.
But as time goes by, Mary Gowland wishes she would visit for different reasons.
"Visit soon, Boris is getting lonely", - he tells her when he drops by Clocktower, ostensibly for work-related purposes. From the look Monrey is giving him, Clockmaker is not buying this excuse, but thankfully it is not in the man's habit to interfere.
Alice smiles and promises to pay a call soon, which is not enough for Park Owner. It is not Boris he wants her to seek out when she comes to Amusement park. Gowland can't deny he wants to become the main reason she chooses to visit. He wishes he knew how to ensure that.
She is so peculiar, Gowland finds it difficult to please her. Alice clearly has no pleasant memories of visiting amusement parks as a little girl (strict parents probably being the reason), which makes her at the same time the easiest client to please (for her lack of expectations) and the most challenging one. She observes his kingdom of glitter and cotton candy sweetness with curious and acute eyes and there is simply no telling what kind of attraction would be best suited for her.
It is Park Owner's point to make everyone feel welcome at his domain (except Hatter, of course). But something about Alice makes him want to put double the effort if only he can catch her attention for a bit longer, provoke a laugh, a smile.
He is constantly on the move; you never know where you may run into Park Owner when inside his domain, aside from those hours he takes to spend in his room to create yet another "masterpiece" of his. He knows his land as good as one knows their reflection in a mirror. Indeed, the Park reflects what Gowland is – the joyous, energetic, bubbly with laughter.
Faceless who come work for him are probably the happiest employees – nowhere else would a faceless dare to contradict a Role Holder, let alone make jokes at them right in their face.
But Gowland doesn't seem to mind that outspoken, free manner of his workers.
"You never berate them, do you?", - Alice asks Park Owner curiously.
"Course, I do. When they do a poor job, that is", - Gowland shrugs.
"You know, Vivaldi would have had their heads roll for making fun of her", - Alice supplies, studying his face. Was he that good of a man?
He just waves his hand dismissively. "That's why they are always in need of workers. Red Queen is just too temperamental for her own good"
"And you never feel like shooting your men?", - a strange question, especially considering how nice he seemed to her from the first time their paths crossed.
He grins. "All the time. These devils just know how to tease you"
Gowland notices her expression and his smile is quickly replaced with a more serious expression. "It is not my job to be scary", - he softly says, - "We've got Queen and Hatter for that"
This time around Alice has so much fun she barely notices how the night period starts. The night period means she has to go back to Clocktower, because she doesn't want Julius to be worried about her.
She is about to say her thanks, wave goodbye at her companions, and head for the exit, when the violin in Gowland's hands suddenly turns into a rifle. The sight startles her enough to freeze in one place.
He aims up and shoots casually, the starry sky above them immediately turning into a bright blue morning once again.
"How about some orangeade?", - still too startled to say a word, Alice can only nod.
"Excellent", - Gowland nonchalantly turns to lead the way towards the vendors, the rifle in his hands already transformed back into a violin.
Next to her, Boris stops dead in his tracks, gaping at the retreating form of his friend and landlord with avid disbelief.
"Boris, is something wrong?", - Alice asks, concerned. Few things could surprise Cheshire Cat this much.
"Not like old man to change time periods", - cat boy answers curtly but doesn't add anything else, when Gowland calls out to them, urging them to hurry.
It is dawn period when Alice finally maneuvers her two escorts to the park gates, this time prepared to leave.
"Thank you for today! I had so much fun", - she smiles broadly to show she truly means it.
Gowland looks at her with something indistinguishable flickering behind his glasses.
"I will walk you. Not safe for you to go by yourself", - he suddenly declares.
Again he starts walking before she can think of what to say. Alice can only blink at Boris, who looks equally surprised but gives her a light push on the back, urging her to follow.
It is easy to walk next to Gowland, Alice thinks. He may seem absentminded, but he never forgets to slow his long-legged stride to her pace.
Their walk to Clocktower feels a bit awkward because Gowland makes no attempt to strike a conversation, which is so unlike him, who jokes all the time. But silence in Gowland's company isn't a bad thing, Alice reasons. She just finds herself a bit sad that the distance between Clocktower and Amusement Park is so short.
When they reach the Clocktower Square, Alice turns to her unexpected escort, trying to find some words to thank him properly, reluctant to go inside just yet.
"Thank you. It is very sweet of you to walk me all the way here"
Park Owner watches her, his expression unreadable, which confuses Alice even more because it is Mary Gowland, who is always so easy to see through..
Her heart stops for a second when he takes a hold of her hand. She half-expects him to pull her towards him, but instead, Gowland bends down and brings it to his lips.
"Any time", - he whispers, his breath hot on the back of her hand. It startles Alice to see him go from laid back to suave in less than a second. How does he do it, the girl wonders, dazed. Gowland is his coolest when he doesn't seem to try at all. The look he gives her isn't supposed to make her heart race like this.
But before she can collect her thoughts, Gowland straightens and lets go of her hand.
"Your guest is here, Clockmaker. Brought her back safe and sound"
Alice turns her head, surprised to see Julius standing at the bottom of the stairs, his face emotionless. She didn't hear him coming down.
"Good night, Alice. Come visit soon"
With these words of farewell, Park Owner turns on his heels and makes his way out of the square. Alice can swear she hears him whistling some upbeat tune.
Behind her, Julius clears his throat. Alice hastily turns to him.
"Sorry I was out for so long, I.."
"Gowland likes you"
The comment throws Alice off-balance for several reasons. Julius is the last person she expects to hear this kind of thing from. And.. surely there is no way someone as mature and joyful as Gowland would be interested in her, so inexperienced and gloomy and childish and..
Apparently, her insecurities are written all over her face, because Julius sighs, chagrined he has to spell it out for her.
"Gowland never leaves his park to walk anyone"
It must be true. She saw Gowland lead his customers around the park countless times, but he never made it further than the gates.
The implications are too heavy for her tired mind.