Clerval and I arrived in London. We planned to stay in the city for several months. Clerval wanted to meet many smart and talented people. I had a different goal. I needed to find information to keep my promise. I talked to many scientists in London.
If I had been happy, I would have loved London. But I was very sad. I did not want to be with people. Their happy faces made me feel more despair. I thought about William and Justine. Their deaths were like a wall between me and other people.
Clerval was different. He wanted to learn many new things. He wanted to go to India in the future. He wanted to help the progress of trade there. Clerval was always busy and enjoyed his life. I tried to hide my sadness because I did not want to upset him.
I began to collect the things for my new work. This work was like a torture (a way to cause a person very bad pain). Every thought about the work made me feel sick. My heart beat very fast when I thought about the second creature.
After some months, a friend in Scotland wrote a letter. He invited Clerval and me to visit the city of Perth. Clerval wanted to go. I wanted to see the mountains and the rivers. I packed my tools and my materials. I planned to finish my work in a quiet place in Scotland.
Clerval and I left London in March. We visited Windsor and saw a beautiful forest. We saw many large trees and many deer. Then we went to the city of Oxford. Oxford was a very old and beautiful city.
Clerval and I remembered the history of Oxford. Many years ago, there was a war in England. King Charles I stayed in Oxford during the war. The city had many old colleges (special buildings where students live and study). The streets were magnificent and the river was beautiful.
I liked the city, but I was still sad. I thought about my past and my future. When I was young, I was happy. Now, I felt like a broken tree. I felt that my soul was dead. I thought I was a miserable man.
We stayed in Oxford for a long time. We visited the tomb of a famous man named Hampden. For a short time, I felt better. I thought about freedom and brave people. But then I felt the weight of my secret again. I began to tremble and lost all hope.
Then we went to a place called Matlock. The hills there looked like the hills in Switzerland. Clerval said the name of a place in Switzerland. This name made me shake with fear. I wanted to leave Matlock quickly because I remembered the monster.
We traveled north for two months. We saw many lakes and rocky streams. These sights were familiar to me. Clerval was very happy. He loved to talk to smart people. He said he could live in these mountains forever.
But I was not happy. I had not kept my promise yet. I was afraid of the monster. Maybe the monster was angry. I stayed very close to Clerval. I wanted to protect him from the monster. I felt like I was a criminal.
We visited the city of Edinburgh. Clerval liked the old buildings and the castle. But I wanted to finish my journey. We stayed in Edinburgh for one week. Then we traveled to the city of Perth to meet our friend.
I did not want to talk to strangers. I told Clerval a plan. I wanted to travel in Scotland alone. I asked him to wait for me in Perth for one or two months. Clerval was sad, but he said yes.
I went to the north of Scotland. I chose one of the Orkney islands (a group of small islands in the north). The island was only a big rock in the sea. The ground was barren (too poor for many plants to grow). Only five poor people lived there.
There were only three small houses on the island. One house was empty. I paid to live there. The house was very dirty. The roof was broken and the door was not on its hinges. I fixed the house and bought some furniture.
I worked in the morning. In the evening, I walked on the beach. I listened to the loud waves of the ocean. The ocean was very big and scary. I thought about the quiet lakes in Switzerland. I felt very lonely on this cold island.
The work became more horrible every day. Sometimes I did not go into my laboratory (a room where a scientist does experiments) for days. Other times I worked all night. The work was very dirty. The first time I made a creature, I was excited. Now, I felt sick when I worked.
I was very nervous. I was always afraid to see the monster. I looked at the ground because I was afraid to look up. I did not want to be alone because the monster might come. But I continued my work. I hoped to finish it soon.