Doctor Who_ The Adventures Of Henrietta Street Part 8

But, as she told Fitz, something she'd seen there had stuck in her mind. At one stage she'd run down a fractured street that had resembled a bleak parody of one of the roads of Charing Cross, and on turning her head she'd seen an opening that had led to a square of some kind. There in the square, she'd seen an entire horde horde of the apes, forming a grey-pelted mob which stamped and scratched at the pavement but which hadn't paid her any attention at all. At the centre of the crowd there'd been a mound of some kind, a platform raised above the animals' heads, stinking of dung. Though Anji had quickly moved on, she was sure that there'd been of the apes, forming a grey-pelted mob which stamped and scratched at the pavement but which hadn't paid her any attention at all. At the centre of the crowd there'd been a mound of some kind, a platform raised above the animals' heads, stinking of dung. Though Anji had quickly moved on, she was sure that there'd been something something mounting that pile as if taking up a position of honour. And now the Countess spoke of an audience with the King of Apes, if such a creature existed: almost a b.e.s.t.i.a.l, idiot counterpart to either the Doctor or Sabbath, an Emperor among beast-elementals. mounting that pile as if taking up a position of honour. And now the Countess spoke of an audience with the King of Apes, if such a creature existed: almost a b.e.s.t.i.a.l, idiot counterpart to either the Doctor or Sabbath, an Emperor among beast-elementals.

For all his faults, Fitz's conclusion once again suggests a mind ahead of its time. That afternoon in the white room, he told the Doctor that he believed the apes now had a leader, whereas before they'd been creatures of sheer mindless malice. More importantly, he explained why why he thought they now had a leader. he thought they now had a leader.

The apes had no existence without humanity. They were reflections of humankind's own animal limitations. Now there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, and the closer the horizon came the more they bred. Yet they were still mimicking, literally aping aping, the human race. In any large group of humans, the most primitive desire was to form hierarchical packs, with a single alpha-male leader usually the strongest or most aggressive member of the pack at the top of the hierarchy.

As the Doctor himself seems to imply in his Ruminations Ruminations, this aggressive hierarchical model enforces conformity and ensures a violent reaction against any form of progress. And the apes were the very embodiment of reactionary values. They mimicked all the tools of human ignorance, and now they numbered in their hundreds they'd begun to mimic the most primitive form of human social structure. They had a leader, a King of Beasts, a vicious, screeching G.o.d-Emperor who ruled from his throne of filth and bones. For the last month the apes would have been busy wors.h.i.+pping and cheris.h.i.+ng him, but the inevitable consequence of such a leader would be a new wave of attacks. Directed Directed attacks this time, ma.s.sed attacks, led by the l.u.s.ts and impulses of the new King. It wasn't so much that they were developing... development was, after all, the ant.i.thesis of their purpose... but they were taking whatever measures were necessary in order to drag humankind back into the dirt. attacks this time, ma.s.sed attacks, led by the l.u.s.ts and impulses of the new King. It wasn't so much that they were developing... development was, after all, the ant.i.thesis of their purpose... but they were taking whatever measures were necessary in order to drag humankind back into the dirt.

Surely the Countess had reached the same conclusion? It would explain the sudden link she made between the King of Beasts and the King of England, because in the final a.n.a.lysis one was just a distorted image of the other. Scarlette offers the following observation: The Beast must wors.h.i.+p its monarch as it might have wors.h.i.+pped that terrible black Eye which forms the sun of its realm. Should the Beast devise religion, it will no doubt hold that its King acts by the will of the Eye just as our sovereign acts in the name of an Anglican G.o.d.

There's one other thing to mention, about that afternoon. Because according to the folklore of Henrietta Street, while Fitz was trying to explain himself to a dazed Doctor there were events afoot back at the forgotten House.

n.o.body lived at the House any more, though technically Scarlette was still responsible for it. So it was largely empty that day, the Doctor's equipment moved to the TARDIS, the last of the small furnis.h.i.+ngs gone. The only person left to look after it was Rebecca. Why she'd become so distanced from the others is hard to say, but while her a.s.sociates spent time in the TARDIS she'd spend it in the abandoned salon, still laying and re-laying her cards on the bare boards with no apparent end to the task.

That afternoon, goes the story, she looked up from the floor and caught sight of a figure in the street outside, standing across the cobbled street from the window of the salon. The figure was female, dressed all in black, and although the newcomer was wearing a veil Rebecca knew at a glance who she was.

Rebecca wasn't at all put out, says the tale. She simply stood and went to the door of the House. There on the step, she met the girl in black and greeted her. They talked for a few minutes, the girl seeming surprised at the state of the House, and concerned when Rebecca casually told her what had happened to the Doctor. The girl asked if there was anything she could do, within reason, but Rebecca said that it was unlikely considering the circ.u.mstances. At this the girl nodded, and made to move away, although before she left she pressed something into Rebecca's hand. Rebecca's last words to the girl in black were that she probably shouldn't show herself in public again: there were forces gathering, especially on St Belique, and should they discover the truth about her then she might find herself hunted to the end of the Earth. The girl acknowledged that this was the case.

The next day Rebecca met with Scarlette, and gave Scarlette her missing gla.s.s totem, the shard which had cut the throat of Mary Culver in 1762. Scarlette must have known there was no point asking where it had come from.

9.

The Threshold Thirty Days It was called 'the b.l.o.o.d.y Code', so once again blood was an important symbol. It was a system of justice which, though not quite quite so ruthless as that practised in France, did everything it could to remind the convicted that the British were still under a King and that the King was a representative of total authority. In Britain, so ruthless as that practised in France, did everything it could to remind the convicted that the British were still under a King and that the King was a representative of total authority. In Britain, all all crimes of property were still theoretically capital crimes. Prost.i.tutes could find themselves on the end of a rope for pickpocketing their sleeping clients, servants could be executed for short-changing their masters, and as for counterfeiters... counterfeiters were not only thieves but crimes of property were still theoretically capital crimes. Prost.i.tutes could find themselves on the end of a rope for pickpocketing their sleeping clients, servants could be executed for short-changing their masters, and as for counterfeiters... counterfeiters were not only thieves but making false images of the King himself making false images of the King himself, and George III was quite convinced that there should be no mercy for such vermin. By the end of the 1780s the doomed were being s.h.i.+pped to the penal colonies as often as they were being executed, but everybody knew that Australia was just a rationalist version of h.e.l.l.

On the first day of November All Saints' Day a girl was hanged until dead at Tyburn, the most fas.h.i.+onable place of execution in England. The exact charges against the girl on All Saints' Day were unspecified, but she was said to have been a prost.i.tute and so pickpocketing and/or 'coin clipping' were generally thought to have been her crimes.

The hanging was unusual in many respects. First, it wasn't officially entered in the public criminal records. This wasn't unknown, however, and generally meant that there was something potentially embarra.s.sing about the case and that monies had been spent to stop anybody paying attention. Secondly, the condemned was taken to the gallows in a hood, her face covered with a cowl of leather. She appeared quite calm as she was led to the noose, with her skinny wrists bound behind her back and her long red hair braided at her neck at the lip of the hood. A tiny white-armed figure under the gallows-tree, she looked little more than a child, but there was a quiet poise in her manner which must have struck the crowd as odd. When the floor was taken out from under her and the rope snapped her neck, she only jerked once, and her body barely struggled as she died. It was said that the corpse was to be given over for medical dissection, a relatively recent horror created by the Code. All but the hardest rationalists held the sneaking suspicion that if their bodies went under the knife then they'd arrive in Heaven in pieces.

By the day of the execution, Scarlette was on St Belique. With exactly thirty days to the wedding, and the wedding guests growing restless on the island, she felt the stress of things more than anyone. She'd lost her House, she'd lost her powerbase, and funds were running out fast. Everybody said that the h.e.l.lfire tradition was a worn-out memory, and it must have irked her to think that 'everybody' was being proved right. Lisa-Beth noted that when she wasn't at the Doctor's bedside, Scarlette would lock herself away in her private rooms (in the TARDIS, or on the island?) and perform angry, impotent rituals. She would 'smash gla.s.s, burn bitter roses, often b.l.o.o.d.ying her hands with shards and thorns'.

It was in the final hours of All Saints' evening when Scarlette realised she simply couldn't go on this way. Ever since the Doctor's collapse, the survivors of the House had just been hoping for the best, trying to convince the wedding guests to stay until December without any real plan. But that night, as she sat by the Doctor's side and listened to his breathing while he slept, Scarlette finally made her big decision.

Yet the other members of the clique were still under the impression that it was all over. On the next morning, the dying Doctor was attended by all his a.s.sociates for the very last time. By eleven o'clock they were all gathered round his bed. Scarlette sat by his side, where she'd been throughout the night. Fitz and Anji hovered nearby. Arranged around the foot of the bed were the three women, Lisa-Beth, Rebecca (how did she come from the House so quickly?) and visiting for the first time in weeks Katya. Dr Nie Who was also present, lurking at the back of the room, head bowed and eyes hidden under his Mandarin-style hat. Somebody, probably Who, had hired a band of the island's local musicians to provide music for the occasion: the visitors were therefore treated to the unusual sight of six followers of obeah obeah, a.s.sembled in the corner of the white room, instruments at the ready. The locals never seemed put out by anything the strange foreigners did, and they don't seem to have found the Doctor's rooms at all perturbing. The band played The World Turned Upside Down The World Turned Upside Down as the Doctor's friends entered, a wilfully ironic choice of tune. as the Doctor's friends entered, a wilfully ironic choice of tune.

It's doubtful the Doctor ever knew they were there. In a later moment of semi-lucidity, the Doctor would ask Scarlette about the 'seven surgeons' who had come to visit him that morning. He was under the impression, even after the event, that these surgeons had come to dissect him following his execution but had arrived early. He believed there was something inside his body they'd wanted for research purposes, and even went as far as saying that they'd started to cut him open. But at the time those present in the room only noticed that the Doctor's eyes were fixed on the painting at the end of the bed, even when the three red-and*black guardians of the House stepped forward, one after the other, to kiss him on the forehead. When the three women had finished, they stood back, at a respectful distance. All fell silent, with only the music softly playing in the background, waiting to see if the Doctor would manage to speak.

He didn't. The party left the room in silence, gazing at their shoes at they went, and as the last of them departed Who quietly informed the band that the performance was over. It was hardly the grand goodbye that some of them might have hoped for.

By now, the island was crawling with representatives of witch-lodges from around the globe. After the Americans and the Maroons had come the British factions, the Masons and the Servicemen. The island's natives reported seeing a 'man with a skirt of colours' around town, unquestionably a member of one of the Scottish Masonic lodges, who claimed descendancy from the Bruce and insisted on the traditional regalia even though it was deeply unfas.h.i.+onable. The Service officially denied sending anyone to the island, but it's known that a rat-catcher rat-catcher was present, posing as an innocent bystander safe in the knowledge that everyone would know d.a.m.n well who he was. An individual with a French accent made a big impact on the locals by walking around the town, loudly proclaiming himself to be a servant of Cagliostro and therefore (logically) immortal. He'd then impress the natives with a wide variety of conjuring-tricks. was present, posing as an innocent bystander safe in the knowledge that everyone would know d.a.m.n well who he was. An individual with a French accent made a big impact on the locals by walking around the town, loudly proclaiming himself to be a servant of Cagliostro and therefore (logically) immortal. He'd then impress the natives with a wide variety of conjuring-tricks.

Though all the foreigners had lodgings around the harbour-town, the focus of their attention was the Church. The guests had arrived at a mutual agreement, perhaps an unspoken one, that n.o.body who represented one of the lodges would set foot inside the Church without a mask. As everybody knew who everybody else on the island was, this was a question of decorum rather than secrecy. The vault was closed to them now, but the main body of the Church (a seventeenth-century building, with stained gla.s.s windows depicting a local Christ-figure whose skin was not quite not quite dark enough for him to be considered a Mulatto) was used as a meeting-point. Often, one of the hooded Masonic guests would be seen standing before the altar alongside a well-dressed man in a masquerade domino, wearing the face of a medieval Satan, discussing lodge politics. Guests tended to wear masks which befitted their own tradition, although it was another unspoken rule that anyone who dared to wear the face of one dark enough for him to be considered a Mulatto) was used as a meeting-point. Often, one of the hooded Masonic guests would be seen standing before the altar alongside a well-dressed man in a masquerade domino, wearing the face of a medieval Satan, discussing lodge politics. Guests tended to wear masks which befitted their own tradition, although it was another unspoken rule that anyone who dared to wear the face of one particular particular animal would be considered to be in bad taste and sent to Coventry. animal would be considered to be in bad taste and sent to Coventry.

A month before the mythical wedding day, at least eight of the thirteen factions invited by Scarlette had arrived on St Belique, and it was on November 3 that for the first time a large ma.s.s of the guests found themselves in the Church at once. It was hardly a party. Almost everyone present was wary, particularly as Mr Van Burgh of Virginia refused to wear a mask, in breach of all etiquette. The supposedly immortal Frenchman also came unmasked, though this was less surprising as everyone believed he was permanently in character. In the body of the Church, the guests ended up bunching together in small groups and throwing dark glances at those they felt were beneath them. There were grim rumours that the wedding was a sham, that at best this was a waste of time and at worst it was an elaborate trap. Hardly the union of spirits the Doctor had intended.

Yet it happened again the next day, and the next, when a total of sixteen sixteen masked and muttering Individuals found themselves gathered together. Almost certainly, most had come just to get a look at the others, to find out who was talking to whom and what kind of alliances or conspiracies were being forged. But on that third day of the Accidental Conclave, the meeting wouldn't go quite as peacefully. This time, Scarlette was to get involved. masked and muttering Individuals found themselves gathered together. Almost certainly, most had come just to get a look at the others, to find out who was talking to whom and what kind of alliances or conspiracies were being forged. But on that third day of the Accidental Conclave, the meeting wouldn't go quite as peacefully. This time, Scarlette was to get involved.

The guests were arranged in their usual groupings when Scarlette entered the Church. Mrs Gallacher, procuress of a London House of Flagellation who believed (like many medieval monks) that whipping could induce altered states of consciousness, had struck up a quiet friends.h.i.+p with the spider-faced man in the kilt: and the only individual who'd spoken to all all the others was the Frenchman, who was generally considered harmless. Perhaps surprisingly, the only big argument was between the the others was the Frenchman, who was generally considered harmless. Perhaps surprisingly, the only big argument was between the rat-catcher rat-catcher and one of the red-hooded European Masons. Having worked alongside each other for so long, tempers were fraying and the Mason's suggestion that Sabbath be offered an and one of the red-hooded European Masons. Having worked alongside each other for so long, tempers were fraying and the Mason's suggestion that Sabbath be offered an amnesty amnesty was the final straw. was the final straw.

The consequent shouting-match was interrupted when, without warning, the big oak double-doors of the Church were thrown open by the local priest (who had, it seems, been paid a healthy sum for the 'rental' of his House of G.o.d). When those a.s.sembled saw Scarlette stride into the building the first time she'd ever set foot in the Church even the arguing Europeans were cowed into silence. And even the Masonic archive admits that she looked spectacular that day. She strode into the Church 'like a colossus in red', it's said, with her boots hammering on the stone floor, her red tails sweeping all about her and her dark hair flowing from the braid of roses at her neck. She entered like the Queen of Time, and barely seemed to register those around her until she came to a halt before the altar.

So it was that Scarlette made her first address to the Accidental Conclave. Looking around the church, she must have seen all manner of beasts and monsters looking back at her, a masquerade of devils, angels, minotaurs, punchinellos, blank-faced things and even one American. She barely even blinked, though, as she announced to the lodges of the world that the wedding would proceed come h.e.l.l or high water. Before any questions could be asked, she went on to say that the lodges had to stand firm now now, as even as she spoke the King of Apes would be making his own plans.

Then came the masterstroke.

She said that there would be revels, in celebration of the joining that was to come... much like the great games called by Emperors of old to mark any state occasion. Mistress S. left all a.s.sembled parties in no doubt that we were all to take part in this pursuit beginning the following week... her intention being that we should make sport with these apes just as they had made sport with ladies of her profession.

Suddenly, then, Scarlette was determined that somehow the marriage should succeed... in spite of the fact that she was still reluctant to even speak Juliette's name. And had the TARDIS brought her the stories from Tyburn, that a young, red-headed girl had been executed for petty crimes a.s.sociated with prost.i.tution? If so, then she probably wouldn't have believed that Juliette had died on the gallows. She would have interpreted it as a message, perhaps even a perverse warning. In France, for example, it wasn't unknown for a condemned man if he had money and therefore influence to be beheaded in effigy rather than in reality, the law's way of saying that the victim was socially socially dead even if he'd bought his way out of a true execution. Was the peculiar death at Tyburn, with its rumours that the body had never been displayed after the hanging, someone's way of letting Scarlette know that the old Juliette no longer existed? Or was there another explanation? dead even if he'd bought his way out of a true execution. Was the peculiar death at Tyburn, with its rumours that the body had never been displayed after the hanging, someone's way of letting Scarlette know that the old Juliette no longer existed? Or was there another explanation?

It's unclear whether the Doctor knew about Scarlette's address to the Conclave. The following day he was said to be more at peace than before. He no longer clutched at his chest, or woke himself with bilious coughing-fits. Scarlette says in her journals that he appeared almost serene, something she took as a sign that things would go well from now on. Even so, it's interesting to note that the language she uses to describe him makes him sound as if he were a corpse already. Perhaps this was the point when he knew he was going to die, and no longer cared. Perhaps he had found peace. And, as later events were to suggest, perhaps he felt that Juliette had found a kind of peace also.

No Peace To Juliette, my friend, I leave the screwdriver sonique screwdriver sonique. It doesn't work properly, and in her own time I doubt there's much she could use it for anyway... [but] she might like to think of it as a totem, like the gla.s.s of Scarlette's that she used so well. I have so much bric a brac to get rid of but somehow there's so little I can give her.

The doc.u.ment arrived on board the Jonah Jonah on November 8. Information on the movements of Sabbath is difficult to come by, but there are enough fragments of correspondence from his agents and informers Emily Hart chief among them to build up a rough outline. on November 8. Information on the movements of Sabbath is difficult to come by, but there are enough fragments of correspondence from his agents and informers Emily Hart chief among them to build up a rough outline.

It was inevitable that the Doctor would make a will. His TARDIS was said to be overflowing with the things he'd collected on his travels, many of them valuable. The will doc.u.ment, which only survives in part, seems more concerned with dividing up those things that were of symbolic symbolic value as if they were parts of his own flesh. The doc.u.ment contained thirteen articles on thirteen separate pages, dividing the Doctor's estate into thirteen portions: some pages listed reams of items, others single gifts. Once he'd recovered his senses enough to complete the will, the Doctor instructed that his companions should lay out thirteen boxes on the floor around him (these boxes aren't accurately described, but they seem to have come from somewhere in the TARDIS). Then, with the last of his flagging strength, the Doctor ceremonially tore apart the will and asked that each page be put in a different box. The boxes were then to be stored in the catacombs of the TARDIS, never to be opened again. value as if they were parts of his own flesh. The doc.u.ment contained thirteen articles on thirteen separate pages, dividing the Doctor's estate into thirteen portions: some pages listed reams of items, others single gifts. Once he'd recovered his senses enough to complete the will, the Doctor instructed that his companions should lay out thirteen boxes on the floor around him (these boxes aren't accurately described, but they seem to have come from somewhere in the TARDIS). Then, with the last of his flagging strength, the Doctor ceremonially tore apart the will and asked that each page be put in a different box. The boxes were then to be stored in the catacombs of the TARDIS, never to be opened again.

'If we never open the boxes, we'll never know whether the pages are still there,' he allegedly explained. The same method, perhaps, that he used when he sent the 'family' envelope at Tyburn. Yet the next day, a message did arrive on board the Jonah Jonah, where it was read by Juliette. Shortly afterwards the Doctor's legacy arrived as well, somewhat prematurely as he was still alive. It's doubtful that Juliette found any use for it, though Sabbath may have found it interesting.

Juliette's circ.u.mstances at this point are unclear. She hadn't been executed, that much is clear. When she'd still kept a dream diary she'd often had visions of herself as a body in a grave, or as a specimen to be opened by the dissection-men, like one of the apes in the Doctor's bas.e.m.e.nt laboratory And all ritual initiation revolves around the symbolic death, or sacrifice sacrifice, of the initiate. Sabbath himself had apparently learned his 'magic word' on the brink of death at the bottom of the Thames, but initiations were usually designed with the individual in mind, so possibly the hanging at Tyburn had been Juliette's own final test (though there's no record of the body vanis.h.i.+ng from the end of the rope in front of the audience). If so, then it must almost have been a kind of grim counterpart to the Doctor's wedding ritual. It's not clear whether Sabbath actually, seduced Juliette, whether he took her as his sacrificial 'bride' even for a short while. Perhaps for Sabbath, the public hanging was a much quicker way of getting the same result.

One thing is for certain. When she received the message, and understood what it meant, Juliette cried for the only time in recorded history.

(Incidentally the Doctor's legacy to Juliette was a curious device which he'd created during his early days at Henrietta Street, before the arrival of the TARDIS. The 'screwdriver' was a narrow tube of gla.s.s, mounted on a steel handle and run through with a complicated arrangement of wire, which when activated lit up with what Scarlette called 'hoops of lightning' and produced an alarming warbling sound. The construction of the device had kept the Doctor happy for some weeks, although he'd frequently said that it was only a mock-up metal would have been preferable to gla.s.s, he'd claimed, although the correct alloys weren't available even in London and when it had been completed he'd found very little use for it anyway.) Back on St Belique, the excitement was building. Though the guests still murmured to themselves that the wedding was doomed, all were curious about Scarlette's promise of revels. They were more curious still when, in the following days, she hired a number of local men to begin moving certain items around the island. Most remarkable was the blue wooden box, which Scarlette had transported to the thick forest not fifty yards from the harbour-town. The 'jungle' skirted the town in every inland direction, and the TARDIS was carefully placed at precisely the point where the settlement seemed to meet the wilderness. Furthermore, the natives were becoming less and less visible. Locals were beginning to steer clear of the foreigners, to shy away from the jungle's edge, to shut themselves securely indoors when it wasn't absolutely necessary for them to be outside. Obeah Obeah*Christian religious symbols began to appear, hanging from doors by the dozen.

Finally, on November 10, Scarlette called a meeting of the Accidental Conclave. It was the first time such a meeting had actually been called called. She instructed the guests not to gather at the Church, but at the TARDIS on the edge of the forest, and gather they did. It was a hot day on the island 'November' meant little there so by the time the visitors came together they were sticky with sweat under their masks, grunting and complaining in such a way that the differences between the lodges were all but forgotten. Waiting for them at the TARDIS was Scarlette herself, as majestic (some would say 'superior') as ever, in the same red-and*black garb she always wore when addressing the Conclave.

Even by the Conclave's standards, the claims she made that day were thought to be extreme. She indicated the box behind her, and then...

...she insisted that the box was a lodestone of the highest elemental power, and through it the elemental energies were to be bound to the Earth. Even now the Device's power was of an untold nature. For its weight was such that when activated by correct ritual it would bend and warp the world, in a manner familiar to the Sanskrit-speaking peoples, til every babewyn babewyn in its realm would scream in fury. in its realm would scream in fury.

The reference unsettled her audience, but Scarlette was undeterred. Her a.s.sistants (the archive doesn't specify who) then moved amongst the guests. Each of the masked men and women was given a spear, a weapon of local manufacture but not used even in that region for some generations. Each spear was tied with a length of red ribbon, which many in the crowd felt had probably been blessed, and Scarlette kept one of the weapons aside for herself. The Virginian began to look distinctly unhappy at this point. As those a.s.sembled reluctantly accepted the spears as gifts, Scarlette brought events to a climax.

She turned around from the Convocation (i.e. Conclave) so as to face the lodestone at her back... it was noticed then that many others of her coven were a.s.sembled all around us between the trees, so that we would have feared a trap had not we been armed by her. When she faced the lodestone she brought up her arms in [a grand] gesture, before she spoke the word. The word was _____.

A magic word, like Sabbath's? Or just a piece of showmans.h.i.+p? The Conclave was in no doubt that this was a powerful ritual indeed, as the lantern on top of the blue box began to flash and the forest was filled with 'a terrible wailing, like that of beasts'. As the guests exchanged glances and peered anxiously around the forest, they became aware that something was changing. The overall impression was that there was a sense of movement movement, even though neither the guests nor the TARDIS changed their position. There was the feeling of a summoning being performed, of time or s.p.a.ce being reeled in. At this juncture Mr Van Burgh spoke out, complaining that this kind of 'trick' would only enrage the babewyns babewyns, should there be any observing from their own realm. But it soon became clear that this was the point.

The Scots Rite Mason was apparently the first to see it. He let out a great cry, and all a.s.sembled turned to see the shape emerging from between the trees. At first it must have seemed like a shadow, detaching itself from the darkness of the jungle's edge. It was plainly confused, turning in circles and hissing at anyone who stared at it. It didn't immediately attack, but when Scarlette took an unflappable step towards the creature it finally made its move out of the shade.

It must have been a slap in the face to most of those a.s.sembled, who'd decorously avoided even speaking of the animals openly. To call one wilfully, and in such company... to a ritualist it must have been like publicly discussing one's venereal diseases. Yet the record relates that Scarlette, without even breaking her stride, simply thrust out her arm and speared the animal through the heart.

It seems odd that it should have been so easy to kill one of the creatures, given the fear they generated amongst the ritualists. But then, the ape had been summoned without warning: it would have been bewildered and at a disadvantage. Whatever the truth, it made an impression. As the beast lay twitching in the mulch of the jungle, Scarlette calmly announced to the guests that for too long they'd neglected to seize the initiative. The apes could be summoned; slain; even controlled. As a way of celebrating the Doctor's marriage, she went on, this day would see the beginning of a great hunt no doubt inspired by the small-scale hunts of London in which every guest would have the opportunity to slay the beasts and 'blood' themselves in whatever manner they saw fit. Other weapons could be provided, if the spears weren't sufficient. For the next three weeks the forests would be stocked with the creatures, s.n.a.t.c.hed from their world just as they s.n.a.t.c.hed women and black coffee black coffee pract.i.tioners from this one. pract.i.tioners from this one.

It must have taken a while for that to sink in. The lantern of the TARDIS was flas.h.i.+ng, and those a.s.sembled soon realised that the ape Scarlette had slain wasn't the only one to be called. The lodestone was still attracting the creatures. There was some unease then, as the a.s.sorted ritualists began to notice that there were other shapes moving in the deeper regions of the forest. But once again it was the spider-faced Scotsman, a Mason of the warrior tradition even though from his bulk it's unlikely he'd ever seen actual warfare, who took the initiative. With what the archive calls 'a grand cry of the Craft', he leapt forward into the trees and let fly his spear from his hand.

The story has it that the spear sailed through the branches of a nearby tree, then pierced the skull of another ape which had been waiting in ambush in the branches. As the author of the story was also a Mason, however, this is almost certainly just a way of boasting about the hunting prowess of his own tradition. The important thing was, Scarlette had made her point. The apes had suddenly become prey.

Scarlette's strength always lay in the power of ceremony, and there was no better example than the great November hunt. She'd devised this particular 'spell' quite carefully, and it didn't take the guests long to get into the spirit of the thing. Unsurprisingly, those who came from aristocratic traditions set about the hunt immediately. Within hours of the first kill they'd begun to devise rules of conduct for the sport, and within days they were telling their servants to have their hunting pinks brought over from Europe. Other lodges were more reluctant, and spent the first day or two debating the matter in the Church before realising that if the aristocrats were the only ones to slay the apes, then they might gain a kind of advantage. After all, if they bloodied themselves in the entrails of elemental monsters, who knew what strengths they could gain?

Every day, at noon, Scarlette would stand before the TARDIS and speak the same (sadly never-recorded) word. Every day, more apes would come to fill the forest. By November 12, every lodge represented on the island was taking part in the wedding-revels, either actively hunting the apes or simply observing events. In the first four days, there weren't even any casualties on the human side. The apes would generally be confused and off-balance on their arrival in the world, and faced with armed opposition the first guns were introduced on November 13 few managed to even get close to the hunters before being slaughtered. (As an incidental detail, it became an immediate custom of the hunt to tie a red ribbon around one's weapon, whether that weapon was a spear or a firearm.) While the hunt was in session the islanders would retreat inside their homes, although no ape was ever seen venturing into the town. By sunset the hunt would have mopped up every surviving animal, leaving the forest clear for the next day's 'celebrations'.

It was a brilliant piece of psychology, but then, Scarlette was an exceptional ritualist. She'd given the guests exactly what they wanted: not just a kind of sport, but a sport which every faction could turn to its own ends. The blood and spoor of the apes was religiously collected by the hunters, for use in their own ritualistic activities. Lodges competed to see who could capture the most grey-furred heads, thus satisfying their constant need to outdo each other. Even guests like Mrs Gallacher could become involved in the festival atmosphere which soon developed. The natives too found the hunt to be to their advantage, as a small but lucrative trade began in suitably exotic hunting apparel and livery. Even when there was finally a fatality one of the Maroons, cornered by an ape before his a.s.sociates could come to his aid the survivors simply became hungry for revenge. In one move, Scarlette had found a common ground between lodges; demonstrated the will to fight back against the King of Apes; and, perhaps above all, distracted the guests from actually thinking about the wedding.

She was aware, however, that the hunt had to be watched closely. More than once, hunters came upon certain constructions constructions in the jungle, piles of carefully-arranged rock and marble which didn't appear to have been created by the natives. The significance of these is obvious. Whenever it called more apes, the TARDIS stood at the threshold between the world and the realm of the monsters. Occasionally it would be as if the apes' world were trying to impinge on the island just as it had impinged on London, so that the hunters would glimpse the 'black eye' overhead or see ancient, half-ruined buildings covered by the undergrowth. The piles of rock they found were like those that had been described by Anji, after her experience in the beast-realm. They were monuments to the King of Apes, piles of rubble stuck together with dung in honour of the in the jungle, piles of carefully-arranged rock and marble which didn't appear to have been created by the natives. The significance of these is obvious. Whenever it called more apes, the TARDIS stood at the threshold between the world and the realm of the monsters. Occasionally it would be as if the apes' world were trying to impinge on the island just as it had impinged on London, so that the hunters would glimpse the 'black eye' overhead or see ancient, half-ruined buildings covered by the undergrowth. The piles of rock they found were like those that had been described by Anji, after her experience in the beast-realm. They were monuments to the King of Apes, piles of rubble stuck together with dung in honour of the babewyns babewyns' new G.o.d-ruler. The evidence suggests that the hunters soon realised this, because whenever they encountered such a mound they would destroy it, and those lodges who felt themselves in compet.i.tion with the others would claim bonus points.

They must have known, even then, that the King of Apes would not take kindly to this kind of sacrilege.

Mixed Blessings On November 16, just over two weeks before the alleged day of the wedding ceremony, a new guest arrived in the harbour-town. She was a warrior of the Mayakai Mayakai, the oldest known surviving member of the 'pureblood' Mayakai Mayakai line, who'd been lodged in St James's since the fall of the rest of her kind. It's possible that Scarlette herself had a hand in transporting this elder she-warrior to the island. line, who'd been lodged in St James's since the fall of the rest of her kind. It's possible that Scarlette herself had a hand in transporting this elder she-warrior to the island.

In London, the old Mayakai Mayakai was considered something of a curiosity. It was well known that the woman could barely move, her joints having succ.u.mbed to a kind of paralysis, her breathing stifled by a growth on her lungs. In London she spent her life laid out in a bed in a spartan room, staring up at the ceiling while her two servants, women who had once been prost.i.tutes in the capital but who had now adopted a puritan lifestyle and wore plain black dresses to match, solemnly attended to her needs. Whenever a visitor would call they'd throw a veil over the was considered something of a curiosity. It was well known that the woman could barely move, her joints having succ.u.mbed to a kind of paralysis, her breathing stifled by a growth on her lungs. In London she spent her life laid out in a bed in a spartan room, staring up at the ceiling while her two servants, women who had once been prost.i.tutes in the capital but who had now adopted a puritan lifestyle and wore plain black dresses to match, solemnly attended to her needs. Whenever a visitor would call they'd throw a veil over the Mayakai Mayakai's body, a silken sheet so fine that more than one visitor described it as 'a spider's web'. It would have been like visiting some kind of living, breathing marble oracle: certainly the visitors never came to watch her do do anything, as the anything, as the Mayakai Mayakai rarely even spoke. And when she did, it would be in a croaking, snapping Polynesian language that barely anybody could decipher. rarely even spoke. And when she did, it would be in a croaking, snapping Polynesian language that barely anybody could decipher.

The Mayakai Mayakai was carried into the harbour-town in a form of sedan chair, a framework of wood long enough to allow her to remain horizontal, surrounded by curtains of the same spider-web which covered her body. A cortege of four black-clad, blank-faced Englishmen carried the chair, and flanking them were the two female servants, who threw grey petals ahead of the procession in disturbing silence. The locals, watching from all sides, must have wondered whether it was a was carried into the harbour-town in a form of sedan chair, a framework of wood long enough to allow her to remain horizontal, surrounded by curtains of the same spider-web which covered her body. A cortege of four black-clad, blank-faced Englishmen carried the chair, and flanking them were the two female servants, who threw grey petals ahead of the procession in disturbing silence. The locals, watching from all sides, must have wondered whether it was a funeral funeral being conducted on the island rather than a wedding. being conducted on the island rather than a wedding.

Scarlette met the procession in the street that led to the Church of Saint Simone, and in the hush which followed she bowed down on one knee in front of the chair. The crowds could only wonder who this web-shrouded foreigner was, if she had the power even to make the English witch-queen bow. There was a long pause after Scarlette knelt, in which the only sound came from the old woman's sickly, rasping lungs. Everyone who witnessed it must have realised that Scarlette was waiting for something, a sign from the elder sorceress, although the old amazon hardly even seemed to notice Scarlette at all. It was some time before the woman finally managed to speak, a single phrase in her own obscure tongue.

Little is known of the dead language, but Scarlette records the meaning of the exchange. In that moment the Mayakai Mayakai, the only individual on Earth towards whom Scarlette felt she had any fealty whatsoever, was giving Scarlette her blessing blessing. In return; the next day Scarlette arranged to have one of the apes from the forest captured alive and taken to the old woman's lodgings, surrounded by chains and gagged with a metal bit. The female servants pressed a knife into their charge's hand, and there on the island the elder warrior made her first kill (albeit with a great deal of help) in some years. No doubt she appreciated the opportunity.

The Mayakai Mayakai wasn't the only new arrival to make her presence felt that week. For days the other wedding guests had told their spies to keep watch on the coast, making sure that none of their kind arrived unexpectedly. In theory the spies were watching wasn't the only new arrival to make her presence felt that week. For days the other wedding guests had told their spies to keep watch on the coast, making sure that none of their kind arrived unexpectedly. In theory the spies were watching all all incoming boats, but amongst the British lodges it was silently acknowledged that there was one vessel in particular to look out for. They knew full well that Sabbath had already been invited to the wedding, and as it wasn't common knowledge that he'd stolen the bride there was still some debate about whether the Monster would show himself on December 1. incoming boats, but amongst the British lodges it was silently acknowledged that there was one vessel in particular to look out for. They knew full well that Sabbath had already been invited to the wedding, and as it wasn't common knowledge that he'd stolen the bride there was still some debate about whether the Monster would show himself on December 1.

As it happened, Sabbath's s.h.i.+p was never sighted. But for certain people, the situation became clearer in the third week of November.

At this point, the women from the House were still on the island. Following the closure of the House, Rebecca, Lisa-Beth and Katya had all intended to return to Britain and go their separate ways. They'd been brought to the island to say their last goodbyes to the Doctor, and now they were having difficulty escaping. Not having the money for pa.s.sage home, the only way they could return to England was via the TARDIS... and that meant asking Scarlette. But either Scarlette refused to send them or, more likely, they were reluctant to ask. There seems to have been an agreement between the women that they'd present Scarlette with an ultimatum on December 1, once the wedding had failed to occur. (Even so, there were efforts to leave before this date. Lisa-Beth records that two days after the Mayakai Mayakai's arrival, she and Katya attempted to seduce Fitz simultaneously simultaneously in an attempt to get him to spirit them away. Sadly, Lisa-Beth doesn't record the outcome.) in an attempt to get him to spirit them away. Sadly, Lisa-Beth doesn't record the outcome.) It must have been particularly hard on Rebecca, who clearly felt guilty about abandoning Scarlette anyway. In the period between 13 and 19 November, she would often take walks in the forest, observing the Revels as the masked wedding guests the British in their full livery, the Maroons in their coats of blood and feathers, the clownish French envoy of the Cardinal de Rohan on his fat grey stallion slashed their way through the undergrowth in search of their prey. As Rebecca carried no weapons, this must have been a hazardous practice. Fortunately she never stumbled across any of the apes, although on November 18 she was very nearly cut down by one of the hunting-parties who mistook her for another kind of prey altogether.

As with any sport, the hunt had generated a culture of its own, and the culture had sprouted its own legends in mere weeks. One of the Masons had already claimed that he'd come face to face with the King of Beasts himself, sitting hunched and slavering on a throne of human skulls, though this was commonly held to be a 'fish story'. Another popular legend held that there was a far more dangerous animal on the loose. It was like one of the beasts, said the tales, but it could take on the form of a beautiful maiden and entice unwary huntsmen to drop their guard. The myth maintained that one hunting-party (whose, n.o.body was quite sure) had pursued this succubus into the dark heart of the island, until the creature had cast a spell and vanished into thin air.

It's a matter of debate whether any of this was based on real events. But on November 20, Rebecca was to meet a 'succubus' of her own.

As Rebecca later related the story, it happened near sunset on the eleventh day of the Revels. The hunt would have been winding down for the evening, and Rebecca noted that she could hear the cries of the huntsmen not far away, collecting the remains of the day's apes. Rebecca herself was some way into the forest, further than she usually travelled, at the point where the darkness of the canopy made it unwise to go on without lamplight. Besides, so many hunting-parties had been past that a series of well-defined pathways had been laid in the forest, and this was the place where the pathways ended.

She was just about to turn back when she noticed a single human figure, standing quite still at the end of one of the pathways, a black silhouette against the sunset. It was the same figure Rebecca had seen through the window of the House during her last afternoon at Henrietta Street, and true enough, the stories are remarkably similar.

Neither woman seems to have been surprised by the other. Rebecca asked the woman in black what she was doing there, and the woman replied that it seemed a good place to be, 'amongst the rest of the hunted things'. Then Rebecca asked whether she'd come to see the Doctor, or perhaps Scarlette. The woman hesitated, then said that there was most probably little she could say to Scarlette, although she asked after the health of the Doctor. When Rebecca informed her that he was dying, the woman hesitated again, before asking whether Rebecca thought it would be acceptable for her to see the Doctor once more.

This time, Rebecca said that it probably was. Things had changed since October: now the Doctor was felt to be not merely sick sick but actually but actually doomed doomed. However, Rebecca made one stipulation. If you see the Doctor, she told the woman in black, then you must make it perfectly clear to him that the connection between the two of you is severed, and that his heart no longer belongs to you you must make it perfectly clear to him that the connection between the two of you is severed, and that his heart no longer belongs to you. At this the woman agreed, before turning her back and vanis.h.i.+ng into the jungle.

Rebecca may have shared the story of the woman in black with someone that night, and it may have spread throughout the island, because when the Revels began the next morning there was a renewed determination to catch the 'succubus'. Those factions who kept a tally of kills even went as far as to put a bounty of a hundred points on the woman's head. As the idea of a succubus hunt spread, new stories emerged about the mysterious creature's powers. She'd once been human, said one story, but she'd made a pact with the Devil and now had the power to become pure vapour and vanish at will. She was rumoured to be the mate of the King of Beasts, a human consort and accomplished witch. The Maroons even held that she was an aspect of the Black Virgin herself, their answer to the Holy Mother of the Catholic slavemasters. It's doubtful whether many of the guests took these stories seriously, but a bounty of a hundred points was nothing to be sniffed at.

And yes, the hunters were becoming increasingly aggressive. Scarlette had been expecting this. As the wedding day approached and there was still still no sign that an actual ceremony would be held, the guests took out their frustration on the apes, or indeed on any other animals of the forest which got in their way. It didn't help that the prey was getting thin on the ground. At the beginning of the Revels each use of the TARDIS had called forth a whole host of animals, but now the apes were becoming scarce. The Hispaniolans proudly declared that they'd very nearly wiped the beasts out, although n.o.body else believed this. It was as though the animals were no longer blindly following the summons. Once or twice those creatures which no sign that an actual ceremony would be held, the guests took out their frustration on the apes, or indeed on any other animals of the forest which got in their way. It didn't help that the prey was getting thin on the ground. At the beginning of the Revels each use of the TARDIS had called forth a whole host of animals, but now the apes were becoming scarce. The Hispaniolans proudly declared that they'd very nearly wiped the beasts out, although n.o.body else believed this. It was as though the animals were no longer blindly following the summons. Once or twice those creatures which did did come failed to attack as usual: they were sighted hiding in the trees, hissing and licking their claws, as if biding their time. come failed to attack as usual: they were sighted hiding in the trees, hissing and licking their claws, as if biding their time.

Then, on November 22, the Frenchman the guest with the closest links to the Catholic Church received news from the Vatican. There was a certain Cardinal there at the heart of the Holy Roman Empire who, according to the Pope's informers, had interests in Satanism. (This may sound shocking, but at the time occultism was often practised by the high-ranking members of the established Church. Cardinals viewed themselves as arbiters of religious morality, and many felt that to truly truly understand the Devil it was necessary to dabble in the Devil's arts. This doesn't mean the Vatican was literally full of Satanists.) The errant Cardinal had somewhat overstepped the line, said the reports, by attempting to call up Mephistopheles and draw up a pact in the style of understand the Devil it was necessary to dabble in the Devil's arts. This doesn't mean the Vatican was literally full of Satanists.) The errant Cardinal had somewhat overstepped the line, said the reports, by attempting to call up Mephistopheles and draw up a pact in the style of Dr Faustus Dr Faustus. The Cardinal had evidently believed he was so pure that G.o.d would forgive him even this.

But one night the Cardinal had turned himself in to the authorities, pale and shaken, pleading for the protection of the Pope himself. The priest had claimed that his summoning of the Devil had been a success... but the Devil hadn't been the suave, intelligent agent of darkness the Church had led him to believe. The Devil had been an idiotic, drooling animal, who sat in court at the centre of a grey, ruinous h.e.l.l. The Cardinal had been dragged through the streets of purgatory by Satan's grey-furred minions, and brought before His Majesty's throne. The Devil had been an ape, muscular and matted with blood, reclining on the throne as if he were one of the crown princes of Europe. He'd worn a crown of b.l.o.o.d.y thorns and human teeth, and held a sharpened femur as his sceptre. As the Cardinal had cowered in fear, Satan had screeched wildly at his demonic minions, which had sc.r.a.ped and bowed in their hundreds around him. Then Satan had pointed at the sky with the bone wand. When the Cardinal had looked up, he'd seen that instead of a sun the scene was lit by something so horrible he hadn't been able to describe it.

All the images here are familiar. Yet, bizarrely, the Cardinal had survived survived and been returned to his rooms in the Vatican. Though he had no idea what it was, the Cardinal now felt sure that some form of bargain had indeed been made. And this must have come as a shock to the huntsmen. Previously the apes had simply been animals, but now... now it was almost as if they were capable of making plans. and been returned to his rooms in the Vatican. Though he had no idea what it was, the Cardinal now felt sure that some form of bargain had indeed been made. And this must have come as a shock to the huntsmen. Previously the apes had simply been animals, but now... now it was almost as if they were capable of making plans.

Over the next few days, more of the apes' ceremonial rock-piles would appear in the forest. Worse, there'd be two more fatalities, huntsmen who'd go missing in the jungle and be found, eviscerated, shortly before sunset. On both occasions the bodies would be found pinned to the rock-piles, guts exposed to the sun, like offerings to the great black thing in the sky that the Cardinal hadn't been, able to describe.

Re-Engagement In London, there was a curious hush. The House on Henrietta Street was deserted, and n.o.body in the neighbourhood seemed to know who owned it or what was to be done with it. Somebody broke the windows in mid-November. The prost.i.tutes of London, who'd spat at the backs of Scarlette's women and started rumours that the House had spread the pox of the King himself, found themselves suddenly uneasy now that Scarlette had vanished from the country. There were no apes or nightmares, but it was as if they were holding their breath, scared that one bad wind would reduce London to bleached grey rubble. These were tough times for everyone. Career politicians like Charles Greville still failed to ally themselves with the new government, and as a result Emily Hart found herself reduced to a state of near-poverty. Twice she wrote to her 'good friend' Sabbath for help, but Sabbath was too concerned with other matters to reply.

Yet in his conscious moments, the Doctor didn't seem to understand any of this. He spoke as if the House were still open, as if he had great plans for it. (Sabbath himself once noted that being a creature who depended only on his 'place of power' for food and shelter, the Doctor had no understanding of money even as a concept.) But one morning, the day after the ominous news had arrived from the Vatican, a change seemed to come over the Doctor. He sat bolt upright in bed, apparently understanding where he was and what was going on. Scarlette tried to quieten him, although the Doctor informed her that 'they're all here' and insisted that Scarlette should immediately report to the Church. When she asked why, the Doctor only pointed to the painting of his nonexistent 'grandfather' at the end of the bed.

Thirteen envelopes had been sent out, and most of the groups invited had already arrived on St Belique. The one invitation to which there'd been no response was the one marked 'Family'. The painting had been a poor proxy, but now the Doctor was apparently sure that the genuine article had materialised.

Was there indeed another elemental on the island? Scarlette's journal is typically vague on the matter, and although she went straight to the Church it's not clear who she met there. However, a new guest did indeed arrive that day. Every single account Every single account of the November Revels mentions him, and yet all of them fail to give him a name. of the November Revels mentions him, and yet all of them fail to give him a name.

a.s.sembling a picture out of all the accounts, he's described as a clean-shaved, dark-haired man in distinguished middle age, handsome in some respects even though to some of the British witnesses he came across as 'swarthy and difficult to place'. He was slim and well turned out, and he made an impression on the island by always dressing in tight, straightforward clothing of prim black... apart from the rosette of blue and white which he wore on his lapel. He would often be seen simply standing in the vicinity of the other guests, hands folded behind his back, observing intently without becoming involved in any of the visitors' many disputes. Whenever people would ask each other about him, in muted whispers, the dark-haired gentleman would simply bow his head to them. His accent was English, although some said they detected a little Latin in his features.

In the wedding invitations Scarlette had insisted that House colours were to be observed wherever possible, but this newcomer deliberately flew in the face of this tradition by wearing his rosette at every opportunity. Strangely, Scarlette doesn't seem to have cared, and in the first two or three days they were often seem walking together in the town as if they were 'of one lodge'. A remarkable sight indeed.

The wedding guests were allowed into the vault of the Church en ma.s.se en ma.s.se on November 27, the first time there'd been a large a.s.sembly there. The atmosphere was excited, even aggressive. There'd been almost no apes to kill over the previous days. As a result, the bored guests had begun speaking of the wedding again, now only four days away. As they arrived in the red-decked vault, Nie Who showed them to their allocated seats around the great thirteen-sided table, one guest from each delegation. They sat there in their masks, giving away as little as possible while hoping that the others would give away everything, from the skull-headed priest of Hispaniola to the Russian visitor who'd chosen a rather rude Venetian-style carnival mask with a suggestively long and erect nose. on November 27, the first time there'd been a large a.s.sembly there. The atmosphere was excited, even aggressive. There'd been almost no apes to kill over the previous days. As a result, the bored guests had begun speaking of the wedding again, now only four days away. As they arrived in the red-decked vault, Nie Who showed them to their allocated seats around the great thirteen-sided table, one guest from each delegation. They sat there in their masks, giving away as little as possible while hoping that the others would give away everything, from the skull-headed priest of Hispaniola to the Russian visitor who'd chosen a rather rude Venetian-style carnival mask with a suggestively long and erect nose.

Just after eleven o'clock the man with the blue-and*white rosette entered, unmasked, and was watched by all as he slid into his own seat (the one reserved for 'family'?). But there was no introduction. He was closely followed by Scarlette, who immediately moved to the chair allocated to the h.e.l.lfire Set. It was clear, even before she spoke, that a great announcement was going to be made. The rat-catcher rat-catcher had wagered the Frenchman twenty points from his killing-tally that the wedding would be called off, so Scarlette's announcement must have come as something of a surprise. had wagered the Frenchman twenty points from his killing-tally that the wedding would be called off, so Scarlette's announcement must have come as something of a surprise.

Scarlette's speech survives in full, and it's worth repeating.

Gentleman. Ladies. I hope that you have all been entertained for this last fortnight, and I trust that although a few of you have lost colleagues in this sport you will have considered the experience a worthwhile one. I have showed you, I hope, that we have nothing to fear from the babewyns babewyns except the consequences of our own vision. I have also showed you that no enemy is beyond defeat, not even if that enemy has a King next to which, I fear, even the monarch of all England appears of good temper. except the consequences of our own vision. I have also showed you that no enemy is beyond defeat, not even if that enemy has a King next to which, I fear, even the monarch of all England appears of good temper.Most of you will have heard of my friend, whom we call Doctor. You will have heard of the miracles he has been known to work, the great feats of alchemy and of learning that he is said to perform; and these stories are not untrue. He is an elemental, as are those he has brought with him. I can tell that none of you are surprised by this. Some of you have even met him, I am aware of that. Then you must have realised that the purpose of these celebrations, of this wedding, is a symbolic one. He has great strength, such that I shall not even attempt to convince you of it. Yet he no longer has the authority to involve himself in the affairs of this world. Not being rooted in this Earth, he does not have the power, either in his body or in his intentions, to stand alone against the Beast.It was the intention of this ceremony that the Doctor and the Earth be joined. But I refuse to lie to any of you. Things have gone amiss. Please: hear me out. The intended, whose name I shall not even speak, is not here. She may well be dead. If she is not, then she has at least experienced that little death little death with which every one of us here must be familiar. It was her place to with which every one of us here must be familiar. It was her place to be be the Earth, to which the Doctor would be married, and to this end she was prepared. I can only blame myself for the failure of that preparation. the Earth, to which the Doctor would be married, and to this end she was prepared. I can only blame myself for the failure of that preparation.Gentlemen. Ladies. We have lost nothing, Though there is n.o.body else who has been prepared in the manner of the intended, this ceremony requires only the consent of one who is a part of this Earth and who has an understanding of what is required. Perhaps the Doctor cannot draw as much strength from such a woman as he might like, but nonetheless he will become once again a protector of this Earth. For without him, I a.s.sure you, we can only place our fate in the hands of men you would not