Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [22]
* * *
Vanessa hurried to catch up with the Doctor as he strode out of the house and made his way to the path that led from the villa’s entrance to the road. Here and there the path was muddy, and cart tracks could be seen. The Doctor set off, following them.
‘Shouldn’t we… tell someone?’ asked Vanessa, out of breath from the pace the Doctor was setting.
‘No time,’ said the Doctor abruptly, not slowing down.
But soon he had to stop. The path had joined with the main road. It was a typical Roman road, long and straight. And as everyone knew, all roads led to Rome. What people didn’t always mention was that this meant all roads also led away from Rome.
The Doctor flung himself on his hands and knees, looking for tracks. ‘Here,’ he said after a minute. ‘A cart turned to the left.’
But Vanessa had been searching too. ‘I think one turned to the right,’ she said.
The Doctor got up and joined her. ‘Damn!’ he said. ‘We’ve got to find a place where the tracks cross. Find out which one came first.’
But their search proved fruitless.
‘Right!’ said the Doctor suddenly, springing to his feet in the middle of examining a dry and definitely trackless bit of road for the third time. ‘We’ll have to divide our resources.’
Vanessa looked worried.
‘I mean,’ the Doctor explained, ‘you go one way and I’ll go the other. Look for clues. Talk to people. Find out anything you can.’ He glanced up into the sky, shading his eyes. ‘Wait till the sun’s got down to about – there,’ he said, pointing. ‘Then head back and meet me here.’
‘But… which way do I go?’
The Doctor thought for a second. ‘Rose and I arrived on the Ides of March. That means –’ he counted on his fingers – ‘it’s almost the Quinquatrus. Yes, Balbus mentioned that. A festival that celebrates Minerva’s birthday on 19 March. Which makes her a Pisces,’ he added with a grin. ‘And Minerva is –’
‘Goddess of art and artisans,’ completed Vanessa, catching on.
‘It’s the time when all her devotees bring offerings,’ continued the Doctor. ‘And I don’t mean a bunch of daffs or a box of Milk Tray. If I remember correctly, they gather at her temple on the Aventine Hill. So, Ursus could be taking her there.’
Vanessa nodded. ‘Yes, that makes sense. So he’s taken Rose to Rome.’
But the Doctor shook his head. ‘Not so fast. There were two carts and they’ve gone in two different directions. And we found what is probably a receipt from the carter – to take a statue to Rome. So it could be the other cart that’s gone there.’ He spun on the spot, eyes closed and one arm stretched out. Stopping, he opened his eyes and found he was pointing to the right – towards Rome. ‘I’ll go this way, you go that way. OK?’
But he didn’t give her time to answer. He was already heading off, jogging down the road that led to Rome.
* * *
The sun crept across the sky and the Doctor met nobody. The weather was warm for March – perhaps everyone was having an afternoon siesta. Every now and again he spotted cart tracks – but that didn’t mean a thing, they could belong to any cart. Giving up was not in his nature, but hopeless plans weren’t either. He’d return to the villa, see if Vanessa had had any luck; talk to Gracilis – beg the loan of a cart, or a carriage, or even just a donkey.
He stared fruitlessly into the distance for a final second, as if Rose would somehow be revealed to him. Then he turned and headed back.
* * *
The Doctor beat Vanessa; there was no sign of her either at the road’s edge or on the path to the villa. He was making for the main entrance when he spotted a flash of white among the trees. Optatus’s statue.
His hearts felt heavy. Optatus’s ‘statue’.
He made his way towards the grove and wasn’t really surprised to find Gracilis and Marcia there. They smiled sadly up at him.
‘You must think us sentimental fools, Doctor,’ said Gracilis. ‘But it helps us feel he is still with us.’
The Doctor nodded. He moved over to the statue and looked at it carefully. Then he ran a