Doctor Who - Missing Adventures - 28 - The Plotters by Gareth Roberts

Author:Gareth Roberts
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Science Fiction, General, Mystery & Detective, Fiction
ISBN: 9780426204886
Publisher: Doctor Who
Published: 1996-12-14T08:00:00+00:00

After Hay had gone he tittered at his own spite, and unrolled his speech once again. Quickly he traced his finger down the closely spaced lines of his handwriting until he found the correct section. ‘Ah yes,’ he told himself. ‘This will be easy enough to lodge in my memory. It is a very masterwork of wit.’

The TARDIS key burnt in Vicki’s clenched fist. This was her first direct act of disobedience against the Doctor, and her heart hammered against her ribcage in rhythm with her breathing, which now came in short audible gasps like a suction pump’s. She walked through the gardens, acknowledging the nods of the equerries and courtiers she passed.

She was so preoccupied that as she turned a corner she almost slammed straight into a lithe figure coming the other way. It was Hay. She smiled politely. ‘Good afternoon.’

His superior sneer made her flinch. ‘Good afternoon. You seem in an awful hurry.’

‘Yes, I’ve finished my fitting, and I was looking for the stables.’

Hay threw her a quizzical glance, his hand resting on his hip. ‘What of the loggets game? The King awaits you.’

Vicki thought hard. ‘It’s just I haven’t seen my horse since yesterday, and I wanted to see if he was better. The ride from York was exhausting for him.’

‘How sweet,’ said Hay. The hand that rested on his hip moved with a strange and significant suddenness; absently, as if its movement had no connection with the rest of his body. It scuttled sideways like a spider, towards something tucked into Hay’s belt, a shiny silver object. ‘Devotion to a favourite beast is an admirably boyish quality.’

Vicki sensed a hidden menace in his words, and found herself backing away from him instinctively. Could Hay’s jealousy for James’s attentions lead him to attack her? ‘So, if you could direct me to the stables...’

Hay stalked closer. ‘You’re going in the wrong direction, my dear,’ he purred, his fingers curling around the silver object. Vicki had an awful suspicion it might be a knife.

‘Quite the wrong way. This path leads only to the gate on to King Street. You weren’t thinking of running away, were you?’

Vicki felt the prickles of a hedge behind her back. She had been backed into a corner. ‘Please,’ she whispered. ‘Please, I don’t mean you any harm.’

There was a sound of crunching on the gravel, approaching quickly. Hay muttered a curse and stepped back, his hand slipping from the object at his waist. A moment later a man in the robes of a lord came around the corner with a guard at his heels. He nodded to them both, and Vicki found herself nodding back. Then, without waiting to consider her actions, she slipped behind the old man and his entourage, taking care to stay only a few paces in their wake. She thanked heaven for their interruption. Hay had intended, she felt sure, to kill her in order to reclaim the King’s favour. Another sickeningly primitive act, another reason to be leaving.

She snatched a quick glance over her shoulder, but Hay had already melted away back down the path.

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