Doctor Who_ The Stone Rose - Jacqueline Rayner [7]
He turned to the old man, who nodded eagerly. ‘Yes, yes, if you think that’s best.’ He sighed. ‘I could look in Rome for a year and never find him, even if he is here.’
‘Yeah, it’s not as if you’ve got photos of him you can hand out,’ said Rose without thinking. The Doctor shot her a look. ‘I mean – something to show people what he looks like,’ she said hurriedly.
Gracilis smiled sadly. ‘Ah, if you wish to see what my beloved child looks like – well, just wait till we arrive at the villa.’
Gracilis’s carriage was waiting outside the city gates and they all climbed in. The Doctor indicated by gesture that he wanted Rose to stick closely to Vanessa, but she would have done anyway. The girl had hardly said a word since they’d left the apartment, but Rose was determined to engage her in conversation.
“So, d’you come from Rome?’ she tried, as a nice easy question to start with. But it seemed to alarm Vanessa, who stayed silent. She bad another go. ‘How old are you?’
This time the girl answered. ‘Sixteen,’ she whispered.
‘And how long have you been doing this astrology lark?’
Again Vanessa didn’t answer, but Rose was shocked to see tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. She impulsively grabbed the girl in a hug. ‘Hey, don’t cry! I’m sorry, I won’t ask you anything else, not if you don’t want to tell me.’ But now the girl had started crying, it seemed she couldn’t stop. Rose held her as the sobs heaved through her body, rocking her gently, comforting. Wondering just what had happened to this girl to make her so very scared.
The journey was slow and Rose thought longingly of trains and cars. Still, she supposed a horse‐drawn (well, actually donkey‐drawn) carriage was a lot more environmentally friendly, even if it was a long and bumpy ride. She’d been surprised to learn they wouldn’t get to the villa that day and would have to stay the night at a guesthouse along the way. She hoped it would at least give her a chance to speak to Vanessa with no one else looking on, but slaves went in a different part of the building. Rose wondered what the slave quarters must be like, considering how grotty the bed she was given was – she spent the night half sleeping, half lying awake having worrying thoughts about Roman hygiene and potential infestation, trying to tell herself that any itching was entirely in her imagination…
They left the next morning when the sun was barely up. It would probably take them the whole day to get to the villa, so Gracilis wanted to make an early start. Rose was happy, though, if it meant they wouldn’t be spending another night at a way station.
The old man showed no interest in breakfasting, but as the sun started to climb in the sky the Doctor jumped off the vehicle and picked them all early figs from a tree growing wild by the roadside. ‘Worked out the date. It’s ad 120,’ he whispered to Rose as he handed her some fruit. ‘Hadrian’s the emperor. Don’t worry. I’m picking up all the goss.’
Gracilis was obviously eager to get back and let Vanessa start to track Optatus. Rose felt the girl shiver at that – she was as convinced as she could be that Vanessa had no gifts, no mystical powers, and she wondered what the charming old Roman would do if he discovered he’d spent all that money on a slave for nothing. For now, though, he seemed sweet‐tempered, if worried, sitting over the other side or the carriage talking quietly to the Doctor. Still, Rose began to plan rescue strategies in her head. Just in case.
Despite Gracilis’s expectations, Vanessa seemed more cheerful after a night’s rest and even responded hesitantly to some of Rose’s remarks about the scenery. Encouraged, Rose pressed on. ‘I’m from Britain – Britannia?’ she said. ‘You know, where this Emperor Hadrian bloke built his wall, yeah?’
‘Oh, Hadrian’s Wall. Meant to keep out the barbarians,’ said Vanessa.
‘What, like Celtic football fans?’ said Rose, laughing.
Vanessa looked puzzled, but laughed too. For a moment, Rose thought she was going to