Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [37]
Gracilis broke eye contact.
‘I think Rome may become a bit too hot for Ursus in the near future,’ continued the Doctor. ‘Not counting what might happen when I catch up with him. I am, it’s true, known for my forgiving nature, but even so…’ He raised a hand to stop Gracilis speaking. ‘I don’t want to hear what should happen to these slaves. I only want to hear what will happen. I think you’re a good man. So I think what’s going to happen is you’re going to make sure they’re all all right.’
Beaten, Gracilis nodded.
The Doctor slapped him on the back. ‘Good man!’
* * *
Soon there was only a tiny amount of the glistening green potion left, and the Doctor guarded it as though it was the most precious thing in the universe. Right at the moment, it was.
‘I never thought I should see such magic,’ said Gracilis in awe, as the Doctor replaced the stopper once again, and sent Juno – and her bewildered peacock – to wait by Gracilis’s carriage outside the city gates, where the other slaves were congregating.
‘Not magic,’ said the Doctor, more to himself than to the old man. ‘Science.’ But he didn’t admit, even to himself, that he had no idea how science had created the miraculous liquid – or where it had come from.
As they roamed through the streets they heard talk of festival tricks, of magic, of gods walking in the world of men. The Doctor grinned at the words, but Gracilis grew more and more nervous, convinced they would be arrested at any moment – but determined to carryon to the bitter end.
‘What are they going to do to us?’ said the Doctor, trying to reassure him. ‘Unless it’s Opposite Day, they can’t charge us with bringing people back to life.’
Finally there was just one statue to go, and, according to Gracilis’s contacts, it was to be found in a grove of trees near the Theatre of Pompey. But there was a shock in store as they arrived. The grove was entirely surrounded by armed guards.
The Doctor sauntered over. ‘What’s going on?’ he said, innocent curiosity shining from his face. ‘Someone has been nicking all the statues by the sculptor Ursus,’ a guard told him. ‘But they’re not getting this one. See them getting it past us!’
The Doctor tutted. ‘What is the world coming to?’ He was thinking hard as he wandered casually back to Gracilis. Only one statue to go, compared to the dozens already liberated. If they risked this and got into trouble, what would that mean for Rose and Optatus?
But through the trees he’d spotted the gleam of marble. The statue of a young girl standing on a pedestal. A girl of about Rose’s age, her whole life ahead of her.
So of course he couldn’t leave.
‘How are you going to get past all those men?’ Gracilis asked, worried.
The Doctor thought for a moment. Then his face lit up. ‘Getting in isn’t the problem,’ he said. ‘What they’re worried about is someone getting out with the statue. Well – I wasn’t planning on doing that! Now, I just need you to engage a couple of them in conversation, distract them while I slip in…’
The Doctor crept into the grove. Most of the guards were around the perimeter, but there was one actually standing by the statue itself. Luckily he had his back to it, but even so…
Carefully, quietly, the Doctor padded closer. The statue was that of an Earth goddess, a buxom young woman who radiated comfort and solicitude even in stone form. The Doctor drew the stopper from the phial, then reached up to place a hand over her marble mouth. A single drop and she was whole again, a human being. The panic rose in her eyes as the Doctor swung her down from her plinth, but something in his expression must have reassured her. He put a finger to his lips as he took her hand, and they stumbled off into the trees together.
‘Hiya, Gaia,’ the Doctor whispered to