Author:
Characters: TenII/Rose, Alt Amy/Alt Rory, Jackie, Pete
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery/Adventure/Romance/Historical
Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who
Summary: Sequel to An Unexpected Victorian Holiday. After returning from Victorian London, the Duchess and Rory must acclimate to modern London while the Doctor and Rose realize their relationship was much easier when stranded in time and not facing the expectations of a more domestic life. Adventure is once more afoot as they realize the escaped werewolf is attempting to alter the future. The only solution is to track it through time and stop it from destroying the world the Doctor has grown to love. With Rose, his son, the Duchess and Rory in tow, he travels back to the 1920s to stop it and maybe even solve a murder.)
A/N: A big hug and thank you to
kahki for fixing all my grammar flubs although I changed it afterward so any mistakes are all mine. Also thanks and hugs for Previous Chapters: Here
Rose refused to talk about the Doctor once they had left. Instead, the three women focused on costumes. Rose and Jane insisted Amy try on a gown that had an Egyptian flare. It was a simple long white gown that skimmed her figure with white sleeveless straps and an ornate gold belt studded with various colored stones. Jane found a black Egyptian wig, a gold head piece as well as an elaborate gold Egyptian collar with hieroglyphs on it along with turquoise and other colored stones and matching bracelets. Rose offered to help Amy with her make up to match the look and was quite enthusiastic about it.
“Oh Amy, it will be so much fun! I haven’t done anythin’ like this since me and my friend Shereen were little and practicin’ on each other!” Rose enthused.
Amy looked a little daunted. “Are you sure about this?” she asked, just a little nervous. She had only just become used to wearing more cosmetics after a tutorial by Jackie. This would be substantially more than that. Also, in the back of her mind, was Rory’s reaction. Rose saw that look cross her face and smiled.
“Rory will love it. I promise,” Rose assured her.
“Oh yes!” Jane enthused and put the wig on Amy’s head. “You’ll look smashing! He won’t take his eyes off of you all night. Not, that he isn’t already smitten,” Jane said with delight. “Your Dr. Williams is clearly besotted and perhaps a little Egyptian flare might just push him along a bit.”
Amy blushed. “Jane!” she said, a little scandalized but pleased.
“Oh and I know the perfect costume for him!” she said and ran off into the closet pushing aside clothing and tossing things over her shoulder until she pulled out a roman centurion ensemble. Amy stared at it, confused. It was a wine colored tunic, a burnished brass breastplate and armor. It was, in a word, short and would expose Rory’s legs to a degree that may cause him to have what Rose would call a fit.
“Oh I don’t know, Jane. Rory’s a bit conservative and that…well it exposes…”
“Oh pa shaw!” Jane said waving her hand. “He has to wear it. He’s Marc Anthony to your Cleopatra! It’s a must and I won’t hear another word about it. If he has any issues, I’ll send my husband down to soothe his worried manhood. If my husband can wear a toga, then Dr. Williams can certainly wear the manly Roman warrior costume. Don’t you think so, Rose?”
Rose was biting her lip trying not to laugh thinking of Rory’s expression when he found out what he would be wearing. “Um, don’t worry Amy, we’ll make the boys get ready to together so the Doctor will handle him.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “And he’ll do such a fine job of that,” she said sarcastically. “And you and the Doctor, what will you be wearing?”
“That’s easy, he’ll be Casanova. Seems to fit right now,” Rose said with a slight edge to her voice.
Amy reached over and laid a hand on Rose’s arm as they sat on cushioned chairs in the wardrobe. “Rose, I’m sure…”
Rose stood up, ignoring Amy. “Jane, you think we can put that together?”
Jane smiled broadly at her. “Oh, I’m sure we can find something. Let’s see, tights, britches, ruffled white shirt, ornate jacket and a wig?” she asked Rose with a mischievous look.
“Oh yeah,” Rose said with an evil smirk.
“Definitely, and a really awful wig too,” Amy inserted thinking of the look on the vain Time Lord’s face at having to cover his hair with a wig. He was always preening about his hair and having to wear a powdered white wig would be fit punishment.
As they walked through the closet picking out something hideous for him to wear, Jane paused and looked at Rose. “Now, let’s not forget you, Rose. I think you are definitely goddess material. What do you think, Amy?”
“Most certainly! What about Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt? She was strong, smart and beautiful just like Rose,” Amy asserted.
Rose’s eyebrows shot up. “I don’t know…. I mean, how would I pull that off?”
Jane just smiled and looked excited. “Oh yes! You must be Artemis! It will be such a hit! Let’s see now…Artemis wore a short knee-length chiton, a bit of armor and….oh, a hunting bow and a quiver of arrows! Yes, this will do nicely!” she exclaimed and began digging though drawers, racks and chests.
Rose walked over to Amy. “Amy, what are you doin? The Goddess of the hunt? Seriously? That’s not subtle now is it?”
Amy giggled. “It’s perfect! Besides, it will get the Doctor’s attention along with every other handsome man there. You deserve a little attention.”
“Yes, but were s’pose to be married, remember?” Rose whispered back even though the idea of a little male attention appealed to her.
“That doesn’t mean you need to spend every waking minute seeing to his needs. Modern women are free to do as they please. Your mother taught me that.”
“Yeah, I can see her sayin’ that. Especially, when it involves shoppin.” Rose looked off into the mess of clothing all around her and wished she could talk to her Mum. She could use a bit of advice right now. Then again, her Mum would probably want to smack the Doctor and give him a good kick in the arse. Jane waltzed back in with Rose’s costume and the three of them chatted about the coming dinner that evening, their costumes and gossiped a bit about the attendees.
Rose absorbed every gossipy tidbit, like how Judge Wimsey had been seen at a bathhouse of ill repute with a certain dashing young barrister who practiced in his court. Rumor had it he was being extorted to keep things quiet and away from any ethics review panel and coincidentally had made a sizable donation to Richard Graveson’s political fund. Apparently, Mr. Graveson was beginning to publicly affirm his desire to run for the presidency. The sudden donation by the Judge was definitely sounding a bit on the shady side.
“Oh I bumped into Graveson when I came up to check on Asher,” Rose revealed to Amy and Jane. “He certainly looked the part of slick politician. Didn’t see his wife around. He’s married isn’t he, Jane?”
Jane poured them each a snifter of brandy. “Oh yes but you’ll never see her around. It’s really a marriage of convenience. His wife spends most of her time at their country house. I hear she’s more interested in gardening than the world of politics. He’s not exactly the country gentlemen type despite his love of the hunt. Actually when you think about it, maybe hunting, being the predator is the perfect pastime for someone who makes a living in politics. Rumor is he’s flexing his political muscles lately and butted heads with the president of a new technology firm, Copper Innovations. They want to build factories and distribution centers across Europe.”
“Wait,” Amy interrupted as she curled her legs beneath her on the settee. “That name is familiar. I think Rory and I read something about them and Torchwood.”
Rose perked up at this. Jane looked at Amy with interest. “Anyone tied to that organization should be suspect. Hmmm that is interesting,” Jane mused staring off across the room.
Rose decided to push things along. “So, Torchwood is what’s got involved in that whole wolf mess. So they’re still around then?”
Jane stared into her brandy pensively before answering. “I know you’ve been out of the country for an extended period and perhaps are unaware of certain taboo topics. Torchwood is one of them. They were involved in some unpleasant business. Many here blame them for the hardships we endured over the past few years. It’s generally not discussed and no one wants to be associated with them.”
“I’m terribly sorry, Jane,” Rose said, trying to smooth things over. Jane obviously was disturbed by the topic. “I didn’t mean to bring up some painful memories.”
Jane smiled gently at her. “No, it’s all right. It’s just my family has an unhappy history with those people. My paternal grandfather in particular stood up to them and was constantly being harassed by them for his refusal to bow down to their totalitarian ways. He was a brave and brilliant man who was involved in one of the battles with those foul wolf creatures who I assure you were very real. He didn’t speak of it often but I read his memoirs. He was chauffer at the time. He writes very kindly of the family that employed and mentored him and arranged for his continued well being and education even after they fled somewhat mysteriously. He even named my uncle after his mentor, Jean Luc.”
Rose almost spit out her brandy at hearing the Doctor’s alias from their Victorian trip. After recovering from her coughing spell and Jane asking her if she was all right while Amy stared at her oddly, she asked Jane the question that burned in her mind. “Jean Luc, that’s an unusual name. So what was your family name then?”
“Oh, Thorne. My grandfather was Charles Thorne; I think I mentioned he designed the zeppelin propulsion system and navigation device. He really was wildly successful and my family still owns interests in an engineering and design company. Not that I have any aptitude for it. My father and brother had continued that family tradition until we lost them. Now my nephew is set to take over from his guardian.”
“What an amazing family history,” Rose commented and grinned. The Doctor would be delighted to hear that Mr. Thorne had been so successful and that they were here at this party with his descendants. Of course, that also meant that this family was once again exposed to the wolves and that was very bad. It reaffirmed Rose’s convictions to stop this thing and prevent it from causing any more harm to time or this family.
Amy was a little in awe of this revelation. This was time travel at its most interesting for her. She had a little twinge of delight at seeing how one small act of kindness could impact so many lives. Like Rose, it spurred her on. She was now more determined to stop this wolf. “So, do you think that Mr. Graveson knows this company has a shady past and is using his position as Secretary of Commerce to make things difficult?”
“Oh, I have no doubt,” Jane said and then leaned over. “Although, he is hardly one to throw stones. He’s hardly the paragon of virtue. There was a nasty rumor about his involvement in a hunting accident. His assistant, a man by the name of John Larimer, disappeared from a hunting party. He was found mauled the next morning.” Rose got goose bumps as she listened to Jane tell the story and learned this happened on Lord Raltham’s estate. It was too much of a coincidence.
“Aren’t you nervous havin’ someone like that here?” Rose asked.
Jane laughed. “Oh no, not at all! Darling, if I was to base invitations on moral character or pension for unruly or scandalous behavior, it would be dull as dirt and quite sparsely attended. Everyone here has a past.”
“That’s true,” Amy agreed smiling. “Mr. Hartsfield’s family are rumored to be smugglers.”
“Oh my, yes! I heard that! He’s a bit of a cut throat scoundrel himself, buying up other smaller companies that are in trouble or making sure they are in trouble so he can get a deal,” Jane confided. “He even went after my family’s business.”
“What did they do?” Rose asked, leaning forward to hear more. Gossip or no, this was interesting.
“Oh, father was ready for him,” Jane said waving her hand. “Father takes care of his people and they are very loyal to him. You see, he gave his key employees a stake in the company and extended certain courtesies to them. The minute that Hartsfield’s people began poking around, the employees informed father. He took measures to assure that Hartsfield knew to leave well enough alone,” she said with a satisfied smile.
“Oh, I like your family more and more, Jane,” Amy said and clinked glasses with her.
“What about Lord Raltham? You was his estate where the huntin’ accident happened” Rose asked.
“Oh not much to tell there. Stuffy aristocratic type. He’s very prejudiced and hates anyone in the zeppelin industry. He has stakes in the railway and zeppelin travel is infringing a bit on his profit. He’s part of the old ways, a dying breed you might say.”
“If he’s so opposed to your family’s business then why attend a social affair here?” Amy asked curiously.
Jane laughed. “It’s all about appearances to him. He’s really not concerned about the charities, artists or the local college he funds and oversees. It’s about how he looks and that he controls them. Men like him like to pretend it’s still the days when they ruled the land and he can still decide someone’s fate simply by what he’ll fund and making them do things his way. Of course, he’d never admit that. It’s why he’s attending this party. He’s above us, after all,” Jane said with a wink.
“And yet you still invite him?” Rose asked, puzzled at whatever social mores or society etiquette was behind this.
“Oh yes! If we invite him and he doesn’t accept, it proves he’s a snob and part of the old regime so he has to show. Very annoying for him, I’m sure,” she said with a grin.
“So you invite him just to cause him grief! I love it,” Rose said and meant it. She’d seen her mum do something similar at one of Pete’s society parties when she’d invited some stuffy conservative prejudiced politician that Pete had bypassed to get something done for Torchwood.
“What about the posh Mr. Parker?” Rose asked and grinned.
“Oh you’ve met Mr. Parker haven’t’ you?” Jane drawled and swirled her drink as she curled up in her own chair. “Don’t hold out on us, Rose.”
Amy arched an eyebrow at Rose in question. Rose smiled and sipped her brandy. “Well, I sort of ran into him, literally at the same time I met Mr. Hartsfield. Although, I have to say, runnin’ into him was no hardship.”
“He is dashing isn’t it and quite the rogue. He’s known for torrid affairs and seems to enjoy escorting multiple women in one evening. Oh, but he is a naughty one!” Jane confessed.
“A regular wolf?” Amy asked.
Rose shot her a look, unable to believe Amy would say that. Jane giggled and agreed that he was certainly a wolf where romance was concerned.
It wasn’t long before it was time to get ready. Jane sent a maid to inform her husband, the Doctor and Rory that they three of them had prepared their ensembles and to deliver the mens’ costumes along with directions on the chosen attire. Rose confided the only drawback to this plan was missing the look on the Doctor’s face when he saw what she had picked for him. Still, she was enjoying this time with Amy and Jane. The three of them got on like a house on fire and it had been so long since she’d just spent time with women close to her own age doing girly things and not worrying about aliens, the end of the universe, taking care of Asher or teaching Victorian friends how to fit in. Even knowing the wolf was at the door, so to speak, this was relaxing and nice. She’d forgotten how much she missed just doing feminine things and not having the weight of the universe on her shoulders. She smiled, sipped her brandy and sighed. The Doctor could just handle everything for a while. She was kicking back and having some fun.
******************
After bonding over shared romantic problems and how to fix issues with their respective significant others, the Doctor began running through their suspects and discussing what he and Rory and had learned at the party.
“So, we have Mr. Parker, the rich useless playboy; the pompous Lord Raltham who if he’s the wolf, I’ll eat my sonic; the obviously slick and suspicious politician, Mr. Graveson who I automatically put at the top of my list.”
“Why?” Rory asked, interrupting the Doctor mid rant.
“Why? Oh come now Rory, he’s a politician, most likely corrupt and in a position of power. He’s got wolf written all over him! Did you see him on the prowl, seeking anyone with influence and the way he smirked? Ohhh, and the way he snatched up all the meat pasties. Definitely a carnivore!”
“No, I didn’t because you had me socializing with the women of ill repute, remember?” Rory answered sarcastically.
The Doctor just grinned, hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heals. “As if that was such a loathsome task!”
“Aunty Duchess not gonna be happy,” Asher shouted out and then went back to his work constructing something that looked like the atomic structure of hydrochloride.
Rory looked at him stunned and a little afraid the boy had spoken the truth. “How does he do that exactly?” he asked the Doctor.
“He’s my son,” the Doctor said and then grinned madly. “He’s brilliant!” Asher smiled up at his father.
“Right so if the politician is it, should we focus on him? I mean, what about Parker and Hartsfield, not to mention the Judge?”
“Oh the Judge is on the way out,” the Doctor said beginning to pace. “I heard that banker fellow, Mr. Hoskins, sniffing and acting all judgmental while commenting that someone was about to sweep up the judiciary and dispose of certain ethically questionable individuals and he looked right at the judge. Nooo, I don’t think our wolf would be that sloppy. Now Hartsfield, he has potential. Several people were looking at him and few muttered things like thief, brigand and worse. I do believe he’s made a few enemies. He certainly exhibits the classic power hungry behavior.
“What do you mean?” Rory asked. “He seemed a perfect gentlemen at the party.”
“Perfect gentlemen!” the Doctor scoffed. “Don’t let that smooth, well mannered exterior fool you! Underneath, is a greedy, clever, manipulator, ready to pounce on any weakness he can find, business or otherwise. I overheard that he has quite the temper and is not the man to cross. Even the servants looked nervous around him.”
“Violent you mean?” Rory asked, now more interested. If this Hartsfield fellow was dangerous, he needed to keep an eye on him and keep Amy out of his way.
“Apparently, his business practices are ruthless. He’s destroyed more than one small business and there’s a few instances of destruction of property and maybe a scuffle or two, all silenced by a bit of bribery or threats.”
Rory nodded. “That leaves Parker unless you consider Ms. Striker a potential suspect.”
“The singer? Nawwww, I’m sure it’s one of her sponsors. You spent time with Parker. What did you think?” the Doctor asked, pacing back and forth, picking up the odd bauble and examining it.
Rory shifted uncomfortably. “He’s certainly no gentlemen and was very evasive when I pressed him about The Wolf Trap.”
The Doctor stopped playing with the paper weight he was tossing up in the air and stared at Rory. “You did what?”
“He was being discourteous, insulting and making lewd comments about your relationship to Rose and your indiscrete disappearance on the arm of the Contessa. I had to do something to wipe the smarmy look off his face.”
The Doctor pocketed the paper weight, much to Rory’s horror and then began tugging at his hair as he frantically paced. “So you just informed one of our suspects that we were there and saw them effectively erasing our anonymity?” the Doctor asked, clearly agitated.
Rory was shaken out of his stupor at the Doctor’s obvious theft of the paperweight. “How exactly does one interrogate a subject about his presence at the club without placing him there?”
The Doctor stopped and stared at him. “Not be telling him you were there and saw him!”
Rory flushed and stood up. “Now see here, I did what had to be done. Our goal is to flush out the wolf and the best way to do that is to observe reactions of our suspects to provocative comments.”
“That may be, but it also reveals you and all of us to him. If he is the wolf, then you just told him you were at the club, saw him and are suspicious,” the Doctor shot back in a quiet but firm voice and walked over to Rory. “It knows now and it knows you suspect something, are a threat and what do you think it will do, Rory? You’re the one that pointed out that it was about to make a snack of you and Amy before Rose and I rescued you. Any anonymity we had is gone now.”
Rory paled as the Doctor’s comments sunk in. He had felt so confident and, truth be told, irritated at the suave playboy and just wanted to put him in his place. The Doctor was right, at least about this one thing, if Parker was the wolf, he’d just put Amy and all of them in danger.
A knock sounded and Rory jumped a bit.
“Hello!” Asher called out.
“I doubt the wolf would knock first before coming to devour us,” the Doctor said sarcastically and walked to the door.
Asher laughed. “Huff and puff and blow down the house!” he squealed and then proceeded to knock down the atomic structure he’d built in a frightening representation.
Rory swallowed hard and looked at the Doctor who looked from Asher to Rory to the door. He cleared his throat. “Right then,” he said and yanked open the door, startling the maids outside.
“Dr. Smith, Mrs. Smith and Ms. Pond sent us with your costumes for this evening. They asked us to let you know they will be dressing with Mrs. Layton this evening.”
The Doctor looked from the maids faces to what they were carrying and furrowed his brow. He stepped back and let them in and reached back to nervously scratch his neck. Rory walked over and looked at the clothes the maids carefully laid out for them.
“Um, excuse me, what….what are these again?” Rory asked them, staring worriedly at the outfits.
“Your costumes for the party tonight, Sir. Ms. Pond picked out yours herself,” The maid informed him and pointed to the Roman Centurion costume. Rory’s mouth opened and closed a few times as he looked at it before he spit out, “But where’s the rest of it?”
The maids smiled and then regained their calm demeanor. “That would be it, Sir. Mrs. Layton said she would send her husband by later to check on you bein’ he’s dressing as Caesar.” The maids then curtseyed and turned to leave. The Doctor, hands in his pockets walked up to his costume and let out his breath in a woosh. He picked up the ruffled shirt, white tights and frowned at the wig and then looked over at Rory who was holding up his costume and practically sputtering.
“All right, maybe Rose is a bit more than a little annoyed,” the Doctor stated, staring at an outfit he would never willingly wear.
“At least yours covers you up,” Rory retorted looking at the leather armor and short skirt-like costume he would be donning for the evening.
The Doctor looked at him and Rory looked back at the Doctor. “Yeahhhh,” the both said in unison.
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Comments
Also, HEHEHEHEHE, the costume Rose picked for the Doctor! And the slight realisation that she might be upset... HOPELESS!