The Doctor put up his umbrella. "Want to visit the Pavilion of the Future?"
"I"m hungry. How about a cuppa and a bun?"
They made their way to a coffee stall where a cheerful little man was polishing tea spoons. A notice over his head read: ME COFFEE SHOP -H. GOLDSTEIN, PROP.
"What can I do you for?" he asked.
"Two teas and two buns, please," said the Doctor.
The little man served their tea and buns. The tea was strong, the buns rich and fruity. The Doctor and Ace ate and drank with great enjoyment.
"Very good cup of tea, this," said the Doctor.
And Ace said indistinctly, "Terrific bun!"
The little man was pleased. "Well, they give us extra rations for the old Festival. Nice to be able to give people something decent for a change.
You gotta admit it, things are getting better slowly. Look, it"s even stopped raining."
The Doctor furled his umbrella.
A couple of yobs slouched over to the stall, jostling Ace and the Doctor aside.
"How about a free cuppa?" said the first.
"And a pound out the till?" said the second. "Come on, all you yids are rolling in it."
Ace clenched her fists and drew a deep breath.
The Doctor touched her arm. "Let him handle it."
The little man leaned over his counter and pointed a warning finger. "You "oppit!" he said. "Before I come round there and clip your ear."
"You and who else?" said the first youth.
Ace tapped him on the shoulder. "Him and me, for a start."
The Doctor sighed and took a firm grip of his umbrella.
A policeman appeared, a large old-fashioned Dixon-of-Dock-Green-type policeman. "Any trouble?"
The little man laughed. "Them? Trouble? I survived old "Itler"s blitz, mate. I should worry about the likes of them."
The policeman looked at the youths.
"Oppit!"
The two yobs hopped it.
The policeman said, "All right, Harry?"
"Fine, ta. Want a cuppa?"
"Later, maybe." The policeman touched his helmet and moved on. Faint hurdy-gurdy sounds floated towards them along the river. Dusk was falling, and coloured lights gleamed in the distance. The Doctor turned to the stall owner. "What"s that music?"
"And what are those lights?" asked Ace.
The little man stared at them in amazement. "Where you bin?"
"You"d be surprised, mate," said Ace.
"Got a funfair, haven"t they?" said the little man. "Over in Battersea Park."
He grinned. "All these years of post-war austerity, now it"s all Festivals and funfairs! Funny old world, innit?"
"I like funfairs," said the Doctor. He looked at Ace. "Do you like funfairs?"
"Yeah, why not? Come on, Professor."
They said goodbye to the coffee-stall man and strolled away. "He"s right, you know," said Ace.
"Who is?"
"The coffee-stall man. It is a funny old world."
"I know," said the Doctor. "But it could have been a lot worse."
"Well, it has been, hasn"t it?" said Ace. "But we sorted that out. Like I say, we done good." She grinned at the Doctor. To her great relief, he grinned back. They walked along the misty riverbank together, on towards the lights and the music.
CODA.
The ent.i.ty that had once been Lieutenant Hemmings of the Freikorps hung suspended in burning darkness. Images of pain and death and destruction washed through his mind. He had been mocked, humiliated, betrayed. The girl had never been broken to his will, and the strange little man had tricked him.
Once they were back in his power he would make them beg for death - and then deny them. They should suffer an eternity of torment. All his enemies would suffer, all those who had scorned and despised him all his life. He would annihilate them all, he would destroy the world . . .
An icily beautiful voice, cold and silvery and metallic, spoke inside his head.
"Congratulations! You are making excellent progress. Soon, very soon, you shall have your revenge. . . "
NEWS: TERRANCE d.i.c.kS, DOCTOR WHO NOVELS AND MORE.
This is a reprinted edition of Terrance d.i.c.ks" first New Adventure, originally published in 1991, which remains one of the most popular in the series.
Since the book - only the second in the series - was published, the New Adventures have become established, have prospered, have had moments of controversy, but have also achieved much acclaim. Terrance d.i.c.ks was by far the most prolific and popular of the Target novelization authors; with this book he demonstrated his ability to write gripping adult Doctor Who fiction too.
Terrance"s work is so well known to fans of the programme of which he was script editor for five years that there"s very little we can add. His second New Adventure, Blood Harvest Blood Harvest, is due out in July 1994 and ties in with that month"s Goth Opera Goth Opera, the first in a series of Missing Adventures. These will be full-length, original stories featuring old Doctors and filling some of the gaps between the television stories. Blood Harvest Blood Harvest is also a sequel to the fourth Doctor story is also a sequel to the fourth Doctor story State of Decay State of Decay set on the planet of the vampires and featuring the return of Romana. set on the planet of the vampires and featuring the return of Romana.
If you liked Timewyrm: Exodus Timewyrm: Exodus you"ll love you"ll love Blood Harvest Blood Harvest take our word for it. take our word for it.
Peter Darvill-Evans & Rebecca Levene Doctor Who Publisher & Editor