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By Root 509 0

begun he’d become thin and frail-looking, and on that morning both Fitz and Nie Who – sharing the role of best man, at this late hour – must have known that to act as if this were his ‘big day’ would be, as it were, a little tasteless. The Doctor had spent the entire morning on the island’s fortifications, looking out to sea, eyes open for once. But shortly before noon, Fitz had cleared his throat and asked whether the Doctor wanted to get ready now. Somehow, the idea of him wearing anything other than his ‘usual’ clothes at the altar had seemed… ridiculous. The Doctor had nodded,and asked to be taken somewhere private so that he could change out of his nightgown and into the green jacket and ruffled shirt he’d worn when he’d first arrived in London.

As far as can be established, the Doctor dressed himself that morning. Reading the notes that survive, it’s easy to get the impression that he simply didn’t want to disappoint Scarlette by turning up to his own wedding as a vegetable. ’But he never rose from the wheelchair as he pulled on his clothing. He only seemed determined to show his strength when Fitz moved behind the chair, to push him to the Church.

At this point, the Doctor refused point-blank. As Fitz and Who looked on, he began to squirm in his chair, trying to pull himself up on to his feet. It must have seemed an impossible task. Even apart from the sickness, the Doctor hadn’t supported himself in over a month. Fitz stayed close at his side, ready to catch him if he fell, but the Doctor was persistent. Thirty seconds later he stood, limbs shaking yet fully upright, finding his balance again.

Many of the accounts of the day tell stories of the Doctor’s long walk to the Church. By that time the guests were assembled inside the building, so they can only have seen him through the doorway: a figure of tragedy, supported by his two friends, but nonetheless insistent on keeping his dignity. They saw him not as a dying man, but as the last survivor of a tradition they could scarcely imagine. As he made his way up the slope, step by painful step, they must have felt as if the universe itself were rejecting his presence and trying to stop him reaching the chapel.

More than once, he had to stop. On one occasion Fitz believed that he was about to collapse, and it seemed as if he were trying to avoid retching. But after a while the Doctor looked up at his companion, and smiled, and carried on as if nothing had happened.

‘This has gone on long enough,’ he’s said to have muttered, as he began the last stretch before the Church. ‘Juliette will be waiting.’

Fitz corrected the Doctor’s error, something which must surely have made him uncomfortable.

‘Yes,’ the Doctor replied. ‘Scarlette will be waiting too.’

When the Doctor reached the grand stone arch of the Church, those assembled inside apparently stepped back, as one man, to allow him entry. He stood on the threshold, unsupported, Fitz and Who standing anxiously behind him in case he should pass out. The Doctor looked puzzled, at first. He took in the Conclave, the myriad of masked, unearthly faces around him, as if he couldn’t understand why he’d suddenly found himself surrounded by so many monsters.

‘So,’ he’s said to have mumbled. ‘You’ve all come for me, at last.’

Then his eyes fell on the figure at the back of the crowd, dressed in red from her neck to her train. The moment when the Doctor faced Scarlette in the Church is another scene which appears in most of the accounts, but the best is probably the record of Lucien Malpertuis. It may be the stuff of legend, but it makes the point well.

The Mistress [Scarlette] moved on to meet her groom… the Doctor’s eyes lit up in flames when he saw her. I heard somebody say later that her countenance had reminded him of why he was here and who he himself had to be. Mistress Scarlette with much ceremony lifted her arm, and there was no expression on her face. All eyes were on the Doctor to see what he would do. There was some relief among his companions when he slowly raised his own arm, allowing Mistress Scarlette to join