Joseph Bines had taken the pony trap cart and a horse in the night and salvaged what he could from the wreckage. There was plenty of gold and jewels, but there was a large sum of it missing. Somebody had come back for it. He suspected it was one of the riders. The fall from the horses must have injured them but there was a good chance they were alive. Passers by could have taken it but he was sure it was the riders.

He took his salvage into the wood and hid it beneath some fallen trees. He would return for it as soon as his business with Anne was finished. He had a concern that the riders might report him and the accident. But nobody but Anne knew he was there that night. As long as he got to her first he could evade arrest.

He returned to the farm and hid out behind the barn in the woods out skirting the back yard. He would wait until Anne woke and speak to her, or he'd find a way to get in if anybody left her alone.

...

Gilbert snuck down the stairs past the Tilderlys and Diana having breakfast and stormed out the house into the backyard. It was empty and he was glad. He needed to get some air and be alone. He was upset and he wasn't used to it. He was usually collected and logical, meaning emotional times were nearly always avoided. The last time he felt something big was when he lost his father. Yet Anne always made him feel things - excitement, confusion, admiration - and now she had made him upset.

He kicked up the dust and breathed out. Why did it have to be like this? He wanted them to be friends. While he was away he had thought about her so often he must have planned out every possible reunion they could have and yet none of those had come to pass. Instead, he found her yelling at him and telling him to leave. He had hoped they could put their past behind them and make up. Clearly she meant it when she said she'd never forgive him that day he pulled her hair.

He would have to keep his distance with Anne. Gilbert could see that, despite his growing admiration of her, she obviously despised him. He paced the yard, lost in thought for a long while.

Gilbert suddenly heard a crack of a twig and he frowned. It couldn't be the Tilderlys or Diana - so who was this behind the barn? He moved closer, cautiously. He remembered what Mr Tilderly had said about Anne being stabbed. Had her attacker come back?

"Who's there?" Gilbert called out. "I know you're there. Come out."

...

As soon as Gilbert had left the farm house, Joseph was ready. He scaled the beams up to the window for Anne's makeshift room. He looked through and inside was Anne, still lying on the bed as before. She was alone. Joseph tried the latch and it came open easily. He smiled to himself and opened the window, slipping inside noiselessly.

He crept over the floor, careful not to creak a board and alert anybody of his presence. He could feel his heart beating fast with excitement. He leant over Anne's bed. She appeared to be asleep, a troubled frown creasing her brow as she dreamt.

Joseph drew his knife from his belt and held it out, ready. He pressed his hand over Anne's mouth and she awoke instantly, eyes wide with fear. He held up the knife to signal silence and she stopped struggling.

"You scream, you die." Joseph hissed. "Got it?"

Anne nodded slightly.

"You must listen carefully, for I'll only say this once..." Joseph whispered in a deadly voice. "At first, I thought that you'd be a handy scape goat for the incident last night, but instead you've transformed into a large, difficult complication."

Anne listened, horrified and frozen with fear. Her eyes were on the knife, her ears taking everything in. Her mind was racing. He was here! Joseph was here. He was alive, he had a knife, he was clearly threatening her. Why? What had she done? He was surely evil, or deranged. She had to do something - but what?

"I want you to understand that I know where you live. I know where your family resides and I would happily pay them a visit with my friend here," He brandished the shining blade. "If you don't cooperate..."

Anne was finding it hard to breathe.

"If you tell anybody that I had a part in the crash last night or reveal my connection to it besides exactly what I tell you to say, you will find yourself very alone - I will take everybody that you love, and I will kill them." Joseph had a manic, gleeful look in his eyes.

This can't be happening, thought Anne. When we first met he seemed so nice - now he was threatening to kill everybody? Had he always been like this deep down, and had simply been spinning a facade for her so she'd help him with the wagon robbery?

"You must tell everybody that we were out walking and we were attacked by an unknown assailant - we didn't see their identity, but you were badly wounded and we were separated during the storm."

The sinister blond boy rested the blade upon Anne's thumping throat. His voice lowered into a growl and she could feel his breath on her face as he spoke.

"If you do not do as I say, I will kill them all. Try to tell anybody about my threat, and I will kill you."

There was a pause, where Anne fought for breath and Joseph grinned at her manically.

"I'll see you soon." He said quietly.

Then he slipped out the window and shut the latch. He climbed silently down the beams and snuck across the yard unseen. He was gone, for now. Anne sat trembling in the sheets, cold sweat soaking her clothes. Nobody was safe. She was so afraid. What was to be done?

...

Out from behind the barn a boy appeared. He was handsome and around the same stature and age of Gilbert, except he was blond and seemed slightly broader and bulkier. He was lean and had a reassuring smile. But something about him made Gil uneasy.

"I'm Joe." Said the boy, looking shifty.

Gilbert looked at him, warily. "What are you doing here?"

"Just looking for my friend," Said Joe. "Anne."

Gilbert frowned doubtfully. "You know Anne?"

"We met recently. Is she here?" The boy moved forward abruptly.

Gilbert stepped into his path, blocking his way. "Why do you want to see her?"

"I'm worried about her - she was hurt. There was an incident, you see. We were attacked on the road." The boy looked sincere, but Gil knew somehow that he was lying.

Gilbert felt himself steel for a fight. This boy was suspicious and he had to be lying - why was he hanging around the Tilderlys barn? No way Anne knew him.

Gilbert bristled as Joe stepped closer. His hand flew up to the boy's chest, stopping him flat on the spot.

"That's far enough, Joe." Gilbert said firmly. "Anne doesn't want to see you."

"There's no need to be hostile, Anne is a good friend of mine. In fact, she told me that I'm her closest companion, so I'm certain she'd always be happy to see me." Joe explained, in a somewhat patronising manner.

Gilbert felt an uncharacteristic jealousy amongst the uneasy defensiveness. Closest companion? That was surely untrue. Diana was Anne's closest companion - right? A thought flickered to Gilbert's mind, an insecure and bitter thought... Anne was never happy to see me.

Gilbert pushed the feeling down, doing his best to ignore it. He didn't like those kind of feelings, they did nobody any good. He was mature, he'd rise above it. He didn't need Anne's approval.

"How did you know she was here?" Gilbert asked. "At this farm? There are many around this area near the road."

Joe hesitated. "A lucky guess."

"Did you follow us here?" Gilbert didn't believe a word he said. "Were you waiting out here all night?"

"Honestly - I didn't know she was here. I hoped. I was desperate to find her." He said.

"You told me you only just met her." Gilbert scoffed. "It doesn't sound like you're close companions after all."

"She's important to me." Joe told Gilbert. "She's a good friend."

"She's never spoken of you."

"Maybe not to you, no." Joseph threw Gilbert a dirty look.

"It seems that you weren't such a special friend of hers. If you were, she would have asked for you."

"I have to see her."

There was a split-second flash in Joe's eyes and it was menacing. Realisation dawned on Gilbert. His heart started thumping hard.

"It was you. You hurt her, didn't you?" Gil accused in a soft voice. Low and full of danger. "Last night."

"I would never hurt her! I lost her in the woods." Joe feigned concern, walking forwards again. "I don't know what happened."

"Stop lying!" Gilbert pushed the boy away and he staggered back, almost falling. "You left her for dead. You've come back to finish the job!"

"You're jumping to conclusions - You need to slow down." Joe held up his hands in defence.

"And you need to stay away from Anne!" Gilbert warned, pointing a finger at Joe.

"I only want to speak to her." He looked shocked.

This innocent facade infuriated Gilbert. They both knew he was lying, so who was he pretending for? Just at that moment, the Tilderlys and Diana emerged from the farm house. Gilbert saw that Diana had her coat on.

"What's happening? Gilbert why are you shouting?" Diana asked, rushing forward.

"This boy hurt Anne." Gilbert said instantly.

"Son, you need to take a breath." Mr Tilderly told Gilbert, seeing how worked up he was.

"The only thing he's guilty of is trespassing." Mrs Tilderly said, looking at the blond boy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trespass -- I was waiting outside the fence but this boy called me over--" Joe hastened to explain.

"Son, who exactly are you?" Mr Tilderly asked Joe.

"I'm Joe." He said quickly. "I met Anne recently and we were out last night and there was an incident. We were attacked. I'm terribly worried for her. The boy said she's here, is it true?"

Gilbert shook his head, hardly able to believe it. The boy's words sounded so rehearsed. Gil couldn't understand how the others didn't see it.

"Aye. She's upstairs." Said the farmer lady. "She needs to rest up. She'll be up for visits soon I expect, but you'll have to wait."

"Of course." Said the blond boy.

"I can't believe you'd put Anne at risk on the word of a stranger." Gilbert was incredulous.

"She'll be perfectly safe." Mrs Tilderly assured him. "We take no risks."

"I'm going to town to take Diana home." Said Mr Tilderly, turning to Gilbert. "When I get back we're going to discuss taking your Anne back to her family. But for now, she needs rest and support. I don't want you getting her worked up or frightened by tales of her attackers coming back to hurt her."

"She's already frightened - and she should be!" Gilbert felt exasperated. "Whoever did this to her is still on the loose and for all we know it could be this suspicious boy, who just showed up out of nowhere."

"The girl is in shock." Mrs Tilderly said. "She doesn't need you getting worked up."

"Anne's not stupid. She's smart, she knows to be cautious. She clearly can't rely on you to keep her safe!" Gilbert snapped, pointing accusingly at the farmers.

"Gilbert! Diana scolded. She turned to the farmers apologetically. "I'm so sorry - he's just upset. It was a long night and--"

"It's fine, lass." Said Mr Tilderly curtly. "The boy obviously cares a whole lot about young Anne and it's clouding his judgement. Perhaps if--"

"Clouding my judgement?" Gilbert scoffed. "Wait, I don't care a lot about Anne, I just-- that's not how it is... I just think it's--"

"If you're taking Diana here to town, perhaps it's a good idea to take him too." Suggested Joe. "He's showing you great disrespect and clearly has an awful temper."

"It's not a bad idea." Mrs Tilderly said. She was looking at Gilbert disapprovingly.

Gilbert wasn't used to adults disliking him. He was nearly always polite and all adults were fond of him. He felt even more furious that Joe was managing to successfully turn it all around on Gilbert.

"This outburst and disrespect would be a great cause of shame to his father." Joe said, looking at Gilbert.

Gilbert felt his heart drop at the mention of his father. He was unprepared for this comment and the thought of his father being ashamed of him was a sore topic of common over thinking. Gilbert spent many hours wondering what his father had truly thought of him.

"Don't talk about him--" Gilbert cried out and his words caught in his throat. "Don't you dare..."

"His father has passed away." Hissed Diana, glaring at Joe wide eyed.

"Then he'll be turning in his grave." Joe said softly.

Gilbert felt blindly furious and sad at the same time at that moment. He gazed at that blond stranger who had appeared moments before and he never felt more blazingly angry than he did then. He took a deep breath and did his best to gather himself.

"I'm going to wait with Anne if you're letting him stay here till your return." Gilbert said softly, eyes heavy with mistrust as he looked at Joe.

"Do as you will son, Joe here can wait in the yard. We'll be back shortly." Mr Tilderly said.

Diana hurried to Gilbert and siezed his hands reassuringly. She spoke quickly and quietly, so only Gil could hear. Her words were passionate and he felt grateful they were friends.

"I'm so sorry about what he said - it isn't true, Gilbert your father would be proud of you. I wish I could stay, but I'm already bound to be in nightmarish trouble. Keep Anne safe... I know you will stay with her. You're a good person, Gil." Her dark eyes were sincere. "Visit me as soon as you can and bring news of Anne's recovery. Wish me luck with my parents."

"I will stay." Gilbert promised. "Good luck Diana."

Mr Tilderly helped Diana up onto the horse and they rode away, kicking up dust in their wake. Mrs Tilderly said something about cleaning linens to do and that left Joe and Gilbert standing yards apart, tension hanging thick in the air like fog. Gilbert stared at him fiercely.

"You won't see her." He said firmly. "I'll make sure of it."

Then Gilbert turned and went into the farmhouse, taking care to lock the door. Gilbert took up residence outside Anne's door again, true to his promise to Diana. As he sat, his mind buzzed with questions about this mysterious, suspicious Joe.