Dead of Winter - James Goss [34]
‘How?’
‘I don’t know. But it’s what’s had me so confused these last couple of days. I think I ended up with some of him in my head.’ He grimaced, like he was swallowing cough medicine.
I nodded. Amy, Rory and the Doctor. Three wonderful and marvellous people who have such extraordinary lives. Oh, Mother, when I come home, do you think we can have them to stay?
So the two of us sat in the kitchen until the restaurant was empty, then we went and hid under a table. ‘We’ll just stay here and think of something.’
We stayed there for hours. I think I even slept a bit. I know Monsieur Rory snored gently. But after a while, breakfast came and went, and we were alone. I wondered if we should move out… but Rory wanted to make sure we were absolutely alone.
He was right to worry.
‘Monsieur,’ I breathed. ‘Someone is coming!’
I could hear my heart pounding ever so loudly. Rory stared at me. We could hear footsteps coming closer and closer. We were about to be discovered. My heart leapt into my mouth!
The footsteps stopped at our table!
They paused!
Oh, Mother!
They crouched down!
They lifted back the tablecloth.
‘Rory! Maria!’ cried Amy. ‘I am so pleased to see you.’
Then another face appeared. The Doctor. He grabbed hold of Rory’s ankle, dragging him protesting out from under the table. ‘Rory!’ he grinned, wrapping him in an enormous bear hug that squeezed the breath out of him. ‘I’ve been you!’
‘Right,’ mumbled Rory.
‘You’ve had a gorgeous time, I bet.’
‘Not… especially, no.’
The Doctor stepped back, his eyes were wide and dancing. ‘Did you escape from any monsters? Did you set anything on fire? I’m always doing that. Honestly, one minute it’s Tell Me Your Plans, the next it’s BOOOM! My insurance premiums are terrible.’ The Doctor uses ever such strange words. ‘Anyhow, you’re all back to normal, yes?’
‘Yes.’ Rory was ever so tight-lipped.
The Doctor nudged him with his elbow. ‘Go on then. What was it like being me? Wasn’t it just a bit brilliant? Did it open up your tiny mind?’
Rory looked a little ill. ‘It’s nice to be me, actually. I’m not a hero.’
‘Oh, don’t be modest. You’ve done some wonderful things.’ The Doctor winked at me. ‘You’ve married Amelia Pond and can probably mend a fuse. I’ve never got the hang of that. Very important.’ He turned to me and lowered his voice. ‘It’s OK, Maria, you don’t need to know what a fuse is. They’re rubbish.’ He turned back to Rory. ‘Anyway, Rory, you’ve got your brain back…’
Rory sat on the chair and looked up at the Doctor. For a second he looked angry. ‘And what was it like being me?’ he asked.
The Doctor tugged at his braces, embarrassed. ‘Oh, don’t apologise – I’m sure I’ll get over it.’ He waved it away.
At which point, Amy reached down and took my hand. ‘Come along, Maria, let’s go find some buns. They’ll probably be shouting at each other for a bit.’
Your ever loving
Maria
A Letter from Mr Nevil
St Christophe
7th December 1783
Dear Octavius,
I had an early breakfast with Olivia Elquitine.
‘Aren’t you going to play your violin?’ I asked her, chewing on a pastry (actually, one can get used to those things).
She shook her head, smiling. ‘We never play in the mornings. And my sister doesn’t come down to breakfast. She prefers to sit in her room.’
‘What does she do?’ I asked. ‘What are all those figures she’s always scribbling? Dressmaker’s bills?’
Again, Olivia smiled at me. ‘My sister is quite brilliant with mathematics, Mr Nevil.’
‘To be sure, to be sure,’ I ventured, humouring her, but she was having none of it. There followed a quite exhausting explanation of logarithms and whatnot, but I merely nodded away, all the while thinking that Olivia would look rather good as the mistress of the hunt back home, perched on a horse, leading a charge.
I was aware of a tap at my shoulder. It was Mrs Bloom, all silky charm. ‘Time for your morning treatment, Mr Nevil,’ she oozed.
I glanced at Olivia and noticed her frown. ‘My dear Mrs Bloom,’ I protested.