Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [10]
‘You, can come to my studio,’ the sculptor said to Rose, and she suddenly realised the inevitability of what was to come next.
‘I have a commission, a statue of a goddess. You are young and beautiful. You will be her. That is the only way you will get to see my studio – if I make you a goddess.’
‘This is what it had all been leading up to. Arriving in Rome, rescuing Gracilis, being invited to his villa, meeting Ursus – it had always been going to happen, because it was all there to bring them to this moment, to the creation of a statue that would travel across hundreds of years and half of Europe to end up in a basement room in the British Museum in the twenty‐first century.
‘All right,’ said Rose.
* * *
The Doctor had sat down on the edge of the pond and was dangling his feet in the water, smiling at the small shiny fish that swam up to nibble his toes. Rose slipped off her sandals and joined him.
‘So, you’re gonna be a model, then,’ he said. ‘Rose the model. Model Rose.’
She nodded glumly. ‘Yeah, looks like it. You know, I thought it’d be a bit more glam than this – posing for a caveman in a toga in someone’s stables.’
‘It may not be glamorous, but it is important. We need to have a look in that studio.’
‘You think Ursus is dodgy?’ Rose asked.
The Doctor just shrugged. ‘Don’t know. Could be.
I mean, I didn’t like him – but that doesn’t mean he’s dodgy. Although it hints at it, seeing as I’m such a good judge of character. Anyway, best not to neglect any possibilities.’
Rose sighed. ‘I wonder how Vanessa’s getting on with Mrs Gracilis. Poor kid. I reckon that Balbus bloke put her up to this astrology lark and now she’s stuck with it.’
‘You think she can’t really tell the future?’ asked the Doctor.
Rose laughed incredulously. ‘Course she can’t! No one can. I mean, I know mere are some people who see stuff – but that’s, like, aliens and rifts and that. Come on, you could tell she’s a fake!’
The Doctor raised an eyebrow. ‘Remember what they said about her in the cafe. The things she predicted.’
‘You’ve been watching too much Living TV on the scanner, you have,’ Rose said, scarcely believing she had to explain this to the Doctor, of all people. ‘She could’ve guessed about the building thing, or heard rumours. And just ’cause we know the Roman empire really is gonna fall doesn’t mean anyone who talked about it’s a prophet. They’re probably just, you know, pessimistic.’
‘Good logic,’ said the Doctor.
‘Thank you,’ said Rose. She thought for a minute. ‘Mind you, there is something a bit weird about her. I wish she’d told me a bit more about herself. Wouldn’t even tell me where she came from. This TARDIS thing that’s in my head – OK, so I can understand languages, which is, you know, all right, but it don’t half make it tricky to work out accents. I guess she must be speaking Latin, ’cause everyone else can understand her, but I don’t think she’s from Rome, though… She knows about Hadrian’s Wall, but I don’t think she’s British… I’ll keep trying, but –’
The Doctor was suddenly as still as the stone faun by his side. ‘So,’ he said after a moment, ‘you don’t believe this girl can tell the future.’
‘No, I don’t,’ said Rose.
‘So, would you like to explain to me exactly how this Latin‐speaking sixteen‐year‐old is aware of a wall that Hadrian won’t even start to think about building until at least next year? That’s what I call a really good guess.’
Rose just gaped at him.
* * *
The Doctor had gone off to talk to people around the estate, to try to work out when and where Optatus was last seen. He’d asked Rose to find Vanessa and see again if she could get her talking. ‘But don’t let her suspect you know her secret,’ he said. ‘Not for now, anyway.’
‘So, are we thinking she’s dangerous?’ Rose asked. ‘Because she doesn’t seem dangerous. I liked her. Did you like