He finished turning and looked at Vastra.
‘Yes. Perhaps I
did. Do you think it better that I tell
them a reptile woman whose kind ruled these lands a hundred thousand years ago
accidentally woke before her time and shot him dead?’
Vastra winced.
‘I didn’t think so.’
He looked back at the explosives on the ground, and then
turned back to Vastra.
‘We should stand free of the cave. When I set this off, I doubt you’ll have to
worry about anyone finding your family and people for a very long time.’
The walked a distance from the cave, and Vastra watched as
the Doctor pulled his Sonic Screwdriver from his pocket, pointed it toward the
cave, and switched it on. The device
increased in pitch until the sound was piercing, hurting Vastra’s sensitive
ears. Suddenly there was a huge
explosion, followed by deep, bassy rumbles.
She opened her eyes, and the mouth of the cave was sealed off by rocks
and debris. She gave it a few seconds,
and then walked over to look for herself.
There is no way back now, Vastra, she thought quietly. For better or for worse, you have placed your
life in this man’s hands.
The Doctor walked over and wrapped an arm around her
shoulder.
‘Are you OK?’
She looked over to him.
‘Yes,’ she finally said.
‘Yes, I think I am.’
She paused for a moment.
‘Now, as for the rest of your plan…’
The Doctor smiled, and Vastra realized it was the first real
smile she had seen from him in the past two or three days.
‘Oh, you are going to love this, Vastra…just you wait!
~~~
'Explain this to me again, Doctor…I do not quite grasp what
it is you are telling me.’
The Doctor smiled as he leaned back into the overstuffed
chair in the library.
‘It’s quite simple, Vastra…I don’t see what’s so difficult
about this. I nipped back in time to
1694, borrowed a few crowns off a wonderful gentleman named William Patterson,
and started up an account in the Bank of England. It kept accruing interest, and then I willed
it all to my ‘son’…who was me, of course, and jumped forward in time to take
over the account, which I then willed to a cousin of mine…who was, also,
amazingly, me…and so on, and so forth, until I lost it all in a game of cards
with a certain Russian trading magnate named Alexander Vastravosky. Then…’
‘Wait,’ Vastra said.
‘Vastravosky? Who on Earth is
he?’
The Doctor smiled.
‘He’s your husband.’
‘WHAT?’
The Doctor laughed as Vastra looked at him with shock, and
no small bit of anger, on her face.
‘Not really, Vastra…but for the sake of making sure I could
set you up properly, you had to be married.
And so, your husband…’
Vastra glared.
‘OK, your make believe husband, inherited all this money
from me through me and so on and so forth, ad infinitum, ad nausea. And he bought this house here in London for
you and him to live in and then, in a horrible twist of fate, his ship sunk as
he was returning to London from Riga by way of the Baltic Sea. So sad…he seemed like such a wonderful
man. You would have enjoyed him,
Vastra…’
‘He was fake, Doctor!’
The Doctor blushed as he replied. ‘Oh yes, he was, wasn’t he?
Sorry, got carried away with the story. Anyway, in his last will and
testament, he
bequeathed all his earthly belongings, including his wealth and this
house, to
his loving and doting wife.’
Vastra looked at him blankly.
‘Umm…that would be you, Vastra,’ the Doctor prodded.
‘I gathered that, Doctor.
So all of this is mine?’
The Doctor nodded.
‘Along with enough money to keep up a good lifestyle for you
for the rest of your life,’ he added as a second thought.
Vastra thought for a few moments before replying.
‘And where exactly did you come up with your plan, Doctor?’
‘Well,’ he said his voice hedging. ‘I can’t take full credit for it. I…well…actually I saw it in a movie from 1986
and filed it away, thinking I might need it someday.’
He paused and smiled.
‘And look, I did! I’d
say it worked out far better in real life than it did in the movie, too!’
Vastra rose from her seat and started walking around the
room.
‘So this is it, Doctor?
Your ‘plan’ is to keep me locked up in a house for the rest of my life,
since there’s no way I can leave these rooms without someone calling me a freak
or wanting to kill me?’
‘Not at all,’ the Doctor replied. He rose and walked over to her. Standing behind her, he placed his hands on
her shoulders. ‘There will be some
adjustments I know...you’ll have to wear gloves and a hood most of the
time. But I’m sure someone as smart as
you can work around them.’
Vastra looked at him.
‘This will be so hard, Doctor.’
The Doctor held out his arms, not expecting her to walk into
them. He was surprised when she did, and
she quickly wrapped them around her, hugging her close.
‘I now it will, Vastra…but think of this as a way to
continue your education into what makes humans so special, And think of it as a way of continuing to
help those who aren’t helped by anyone else.’
Vastra broke the hug and stepped back. The Doctor could almost see a tear forming in
her eye as she tried to speak.
‘So…this is it then?’
The Doctor nodded.
‘I will see you again, will I?’
The Doctor nodded his head, more energetically.
‘I still have that breakfast tomorrow morning at King’s
Cross Station. I will stop back here
before I leave to get Rory and Amy.
And…’
He paused, deep in thought.
‘…And I don’t think even that will be the last time we see
each other.’
‘What do you mean, Doctor?’
Vastra’s voice broke a little on the last syllable.
‘I don’t exactly know, Vastra…just that I have a feeling our
paths will cross again, at least one more time.
Besides, there’ll come a time that I’ll need to collect on what you owe
me for everything I’ve done for you these past few months.’
Vastra nodded
‘You have changed a lot, Doctor.’
‘Vastra,’ he said, smiling, ‘I only changed what you were
willing to have changed.’
He looked at his watch.
‘It’ll be quicker for me to get to King’s Cross with the
TARDIS than if I took a carriage. I’m
going to head back there, and you can spend the night getting accustomed to
your new home. How does that sound?’
Vastra nodded, her eyes betraying her uncertainty.
‘I will see you tomorrow, I promise.’
He walked to the front door and let himself out. Vastra heard the click as the door
locked. She sighed and began to examine
the library.
Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Nervously she walked over and called out.
‘Who is that?’
Muffled by the wood, the voice was still familiar.
‘Vastra, it’s me.’
She unlocked the door and opened it. The Doctor stood on the front step.
‘I nearly forgot…while I’m out tomorrow, I’ll put an
advertisement in the newspaper that you’re looking for house help. It would do you good to have someone around
here to keep you company.’
‘House help?’ Vastra
asked in shock. ‘Doctor, I…’
The Doctor held up a finger and pressed it against her lips
shushing her.
‘Just use your intuition.
You’ll know when you’ve found the right one.’
The Doctor turned on his heels quickly and started back
toward his TARDIS. Vastra watched him
disappear into the darkness, then closed the door and latched it. He leaned against it heavily, her heart
pounding in a mix of fear and excitement.
‘A new beginning,’ she finally said to the silence in the
house. ‘Now I just need to figure out
where and how to start.’
written by
JULIE KAY
copyright 2018
artwork by
COLIN JOHN
copyright 2018
