Doctor Who_ The Hollow Men - Keith Topping [17]
„You‟re late,‟ he announced at last.
„My apologies,‟ said the Doctor conciliatorily.
„I can‟t do you any food now. Kitchen‟s closed.‟
„That‟s quite all right. We‟ve already eaten. At the local Chinese restaurant. You know it, I assume?‟
Ace noticed the man stiffen. He had an imposing stature and Ace didn‟t like the look in his eyes at all. As the man returned his attention to the hotel register Ace whispered to the Doctor. „Candidate number one for the nasty paint job?‟
„Eh?‟ said the landlord, his head swinging upward.
„My niece was just admiring your magnificent collection of butterflies,‟ said the Doctor, walking towards the nearest of several cases containing specimens. A row of glass-topped cabinets ran along one wall of the pub, up to the bar. „This must represent a lifetime‟s work,‟ he continued.
„It must,‟ snarled the landlord bluntly.
„I used to be a bit of a lepidopterist myself,‟ noted the Doctor. „May I?‟
„Help yourself.‟
The Doctor turned the key and opened the case. His fingers brushed against the closest creatures. He snatched his hand back sharply with a brief exclamation of surprise.
He turned and smiled beguilingly at the publican. „Mr Matson, isn‟t it? Yes, if you‟d like to show us to our rooms, please.‟
Matson grunted and moved towards the stairs, without any indication that the Doctor and Ace should follow.
„What‟s up?‟ asked Ace, again in a whisper.
The Doctor glanced at her quickly. „They were freezing cold,‟
he replied.
„Arrgh!‟ Ace leapt out of the shower, dripping wet, and swore violently under her breath. Typical of a place like this: just when you‟re enjoying yourself, the hot water runs out. Ace shivered as her bare shoulders were caught by a blast of cold air from the extractor fan, and she hurriedly wrapped a towel around herself. Time to ask a few more pertinent questions, she thought, and she marched unceremoniously through the connecting door to the Doctor‟s room. She found him lying on the bed, his hat over his eyes, apparently sleeping.
„This is a right dump,‟ she said moodily.
No response.
„I said -‟
„I heard you,‟ came the muffled reply. The Doctor sat up suddenly, and stretched. „I think it‟s time I set the wheels of time in motion.‟
„Meaning?‟
„The reunion waits for no man.‟
„You want me to do anything?‟ Ace asked eagerly.
„Yes,‟ said the Doctor absent-mindedly. „Put on some clothes, and wait for me here. And try to stay out of trouble, Ace. I don‟t want to come back and find a crater where the village used to be.‟
„You take all of the fun out of life, you know that?‟
The Doctor stood to leave. „Ace,‟ he said simply. „This could be very dangerous.‟
„But you know what you‟re doing, right?‟
The Doctor shook his head. „I‟m stumbling around in the dark, acting on hunches and hoping for the gift of vision.‟ He paused, as though surprised by his own expressed lack of confidence.
„You could still tell me about your hunches, Professor,‟
reasoned Ace, used to these debates.
„I could,‟ said the Doctor with a straight face. „But then I‟d have to kill you.‟ The Doctor gave Ace one of his rare and genuine smiles. „Just in case I don‟t come back immediately, continue the research for me. Stay in the village, though.‟
„You will come back eventually?‟ asked Ace, almost afraid.
„Of course,‟ said the Doctor, after a long pause. „Time will look after us, Ace. It always does.‟
„Be careful, Professor,‟ said Ace as the Doctor left the room.
From the outside, Hexen Bridge village school looked as though it had been torn from the pages of some Wellsian scientific romance. Every block in the great sandstone three-storey building spoke of history and learning, of children running down corridors and of terrifying teachers bearing canes.
Which is ironic, thought the Doctor, walking up the gravel drive, because there are times when you can count the number of pupils