Doctor Who_ Silver Nemesis - Kevin Clarke [33]
Mrs Hackensack smiled. ‘I guess you’re on vacation right now?’
Lady Peinforte continued to stare out of the window, intent on the passing scenery.
Richard desperately tried to think of something else to say with which to occupy Mrs Hackensack. ‘Go you far, madam?’ he asked.
‘Me? Oh, I just came over from London.’
Richard nodded. ‘Two days’ ride,’ he said sympathetically.
Mrs Hackensack looked surprised. ‘No, the traffic was pretty reasonable. I left about forty minutes ago.’
‘Forty minutes?’ Richard was astonished.
Mrs Hackensack nodded, agreeing the journey could have been quicker. ‘Well, I’m in no hurry,’ she said. She was warming to this young man with his courtly manners. ‘As a matter of fact,’ she told him, ‘I’m here on vacation, checking out my roots.’
At last, here was a term Richard understood. He nodded eagerly. ‘Tis wise with crops this time of year.’
Mrs Hackensack did not notice. ‘My family came from around here,’ she continued. ‘I traced them way back to the sixteen hundreds.’
Dimly aware at last that there was someone else in the conveyance, Lady Peinforte decided to inform her of the imminent change in the nature of the universe. She leaned towards Mrs Hackensack confidentially. ‘All things,’ she informed her, ‘will soon be mine.’
Richard nearly fainted. Fortunately, Mrs Hackensack seemed undeterred by the news. She patted Lady Peinforte on the hand.
‘I guess they will, honey,’ she
agreed. ‘Education’s the key to the door. Always has been.’
Lady Peinforte gazed at her earnestly. ‘Time past,’ she said with great seriousness, ‘present and future; power invincible; the secret of the heavens.’
Mrs Hackensack nodded, seeming to understand.
‘Connecticut’s heaven, if you ask me,’ she said. ‘My family owns a little land there, just a couple of hundred square miles. They used to own land in these parts too. The Hackensacks of Hackensack Grange?’
Lady Peinforte suddenly bridled, appearing to pay attention to her for the first time. ‘I know them,’ she snapped. ‘Thieves and swindlers all.’
Mrs Hackensack was thrilled. ‘You study history?’ she asked.
‘Dorothea Hackensack,’ said Lady Peinforte with great intensity, ‘did bribe away my cook.’
Mrs Hackensack’s expression clouded. ‘You lost me,’
she said. ‘Let me see, there was a Dorothea. Died around sixteen..
‘... twenty-one,’ interrupted Lady Peinforte with relish. ‘’Twas a slow poison.’
Richard realized he did not know how to open the doors of the car. Escape was impossible. He closed his eyes.
Mrs Hackensack was open-mouthed. ‘This is unbelievable...’ she murmured.
‘Many found it so,’ agreed Lady Peinforte.
‘Here I am driving along and I pick up someone who’s researched my family tree.’
Lady Peinforte smiled at her. ‘We ride to destiny,’ she said.
Mrs Hackensack smiled again. ‘We sure do, honey,’ she agreed. ‘We sure do.’
The building site looked just as ordinary to Ace as it had the first time she saw it. Which, considering the, fate of the universe was about to be decided on it, she thought was perhaps after all only as it should be. The Doctor had no time for such reflections. He hurried out of the TARDIS, rubbing his hands, and looked about himself appreciatively. ‘What fun we had here last time,’ he remarked. ‘Right. The statue should arrive any minute.
Now everything depends on my final calculations.’
Ace looked at him anxiously. ‘It’s OK,’ she said. ‘I promise not to interrupt you.’
A shadow crossed the Doctor’s face. ‘There is a slight problem,’ he admitted, ‘in that we’re likely to be attacked by the Cybermen at any minute. I can’t allow myself to get the figures wrong this time.’
For a moment he looked like a small child. Ace grinned reassuringly. ‘Don’t worry, Doctor,’ she said, and patted him on the hand. ‘I’ll look after you.’ She pulled out her catapult.
‘Ah,’ said the Doctor with enthusiasm. Rummaging through his pockets he produced a small pouch, which he opened and spilled the contents into her hand. A number of gold coins glinted in the watery sunlight. ‘Aim at the chest panel,’ he said. They each