Chapter 3, and I'm not going to say a lot so just get to reading!

"No," Alice said to herself, leaping off thee horse as its hooves finally stopped along the stone the walkway where, not even ten feet away form them, the ascot manor loamed over them. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no."

"Alice?" Hatter asked but she was already running.

Please let them not be here yet, Alice thought, pulling open the door to the manor and running inside before she could hear Tarrant call out behind her. Please let them be late. And please, please, please keep the horse Hatter stole hidden.

Sure, Alice felt extremely guilty for stealing a horse. Or at least, watching hatter walk over to where the horse was standing, jump on it and run to her before she could even cry out and then scoop her up, pulling her behind him and then leading the horse back the way they came.

And sure Alice wanted to yell at him, she was absolutely furious! You couldn't just steal a horse in broad daylight, no matter the circumstances! But instead this thought was buried by other more prominent thoughts, like what she was going to do when she actually got to the board meeting.

What would Lord Ascot think? Alice wondered. Would he be mad at her for disappearing for, what was it? Three days? A week, she wasn't absolutely sure but she knew that she had to be there for this project to have any significance. She was Charles Kingsley daughter after all, and she had the same mad opinions as her father to prove it.

"Alice?" Someone asked, and Alice turned suddenly, her wild blonde curls obscuring her view for a moment before her gaze settled on Hamish.

Poor Hamish. Alice had nothing against the man, even though he acted quite curiously around her after the first few weeks their engagement was, well declined but now they seemed to get along well enough. Even though he was staring at her like she was something unpleasant and probably a hassle to deal with.

"Alice, what are you wearing?" Hamish asked his eyes wide as he took in her odd blue dress and her long soft matching cloak. It wasn't common London attire, but it couldn't look that odd, at least to Alice. "Aren't you supposed to be-"

"Alice!" someone called from the end of the hallway, and suddenly Hatter was jogging into view, or at least the man who had still had Hatter's unmistakable voice. "Alice why did you run away?"

"Excuse me, sir." Hamish interrupted, and Hatter turned, his eyes landing on Hamish for the first time, and from the way his eyes narrowed slightly, Alice knew that their relationship was not going to be an easy one. "Might I ask who you are and what you are doing in my father's manor?"

Before Alice could blink, Hatter was smiling and held out a hand for Hamish to take. "Tarrant Hightopp, sir." He said, flashing a smile that would serve Chess proud to Hamish. "I'm a friend of Alice's, you see. And she's told me all about the work she's been doing in China so I asked her if I could come along with her to the meeting." He gave Alice a sideways glance which said. Follow my lead and we'll be able to out with this fool and Alice found it hard for her not to smile herself.

"Well," Hamish said, obviously a bit flustered. Apparently he'd never met someone as enthusiastic as Hatter before, but he recovered quickly. "If Miss Kingsley believes it's alright, I'm sure my father will have to comply." He gave Alice a glance that, although quick still made the blood in her veins run cold. "Everyone has to, don't they?"

Alice winced. Maybe he was still bitter about the way she'd handled things in the gazebo, but at least she was honest. And she wasn't being as rude as he was now, in front of a friend of hers no less.

"And what," Hatter said calmly, but his face was fixed in a hard glare. "Is that supposed to mean?"

If Hamish was intimated or surprised by Hatter's suddenness, he did better to hide it then before, because he leaned in slightly and said with utter calm. "It means, my good sir, that Alice is a bully of sorts. She believes that she and only she is always right and deserves to have final say in everything, even things that she has absolutely no business to be a part of. And that because of her arrogance she believes that she can get away with any misdeeds she may do and her wrong doings have no consequences."

Alice felt her jaw drop. How could he say that? She thought, shutting her mouth and taking a calm even breath even though she wanted nothing more to shout at him and do a few other things that Mirana wouldn't exactly approve of. But, Irisa might.

"Hamish," Alice started, trying to be rational but she was interrupted by a low whimper, almost like that of a child. Instantly, she turned and saw that Hatter had grabbed Hamish by the collar and pushed him against the wall, where he was now inches away from the mad man's face. Burt where Hamish's sea blue eyes were filled with utter fear, Hatter's green ones were filled with fury. And if they'd been in Underland Alice was sure his eyes would have been red.

"If you eva…" Hatter started, and "Alice was struck how his Scottish brood had managed to come through his normal mouthy, which just made him seem more like the Hatter she knew. "Say a single one of those things to Alice, again." He pulled Hamish closer and whispered to him, making Alice have to strain her ears to hear, and the fact his voice was so low and harsh just made it all the more frightening. "I'll make you wish that you'd never had the pleasure to walk on your own to feet and I won't give you the chance to do it again. "You imprudently bumbling gurgling banget suckling-"

"Hatter!" Alice whispered furiously, as her friend's voice got louder and Hamish's face got paler.

After a few moments, Hatter blinked and turned back to Alice as if he had forgotten she was there at all, then he turned back to the man he held in his hands.

"Let him go," Alice told him, taking a step closer to the two men. "Just….let him go."

Finally, Hatter released his grip from Hamish's shirt collar and took a step back and Hamish took a step sideways and then, once he was a decent few feet away, slide down the wall and sat on the ground, his eyes still wide and his hand a his rumpled shirt collar.

With one last look at Hatter, whose head was bent and was staring down at his open hands, Alice walked over to Hamish.

"Are you alright?" Alice asked hesitantly, crouching down in front of him.

After a few moments, Hamish pulled his head up and looked at Alice. No he looked past her, as if he saw something behind her and was desperate to focus all of his attention on it. "Down the hall and to the left."

"What?" Alice asked.

"Down the hall and to the left." Hamish repeated, vacantly. "It the last door a the end. That's where the meeting is taking place."

Alice nodded. "Thank you, Hamish. Are you, alright?"

Hamish nodded stiffly. "Just go, Alice."

Silently, Alice strengthened, and walked past Hatter, who looked up and followed behind her wordlessly. They were nearly at the turn in the hall when Hamish called out to them.

Alice paused and turned, watching Hamish expectantly, but he only said few words.

"Don't tell father about this," He said softly, and turned his head, ashamed.

We wouldn't Alice wanted to say, but the words died on her tongue. So instead she nodded and turned away, following Hamish's first request with Hatter following like a silent shadow.

Anyone else enjoying Hatter nearly tearing of Hamish's head? Good, so I'm not alone. And no, I had no real idea about what hatter was saying, but it sounded angry and Scottish-y kind of, so I guess it works. Any-hoo, please review and all that good stuff cause it always makes me happy! C ya!