A Most Peculiar Gentleman
The village of Swythe, just outside Northampton, was a small one. It was not near to any main roads, nor were there any delights there afforded which were unique. It was oft forgotten when planning which route to take from the Southern comforts of London to the chilly beauty of the North or the reverse. And so the residents of Swythe were most delighted when they received two visitors of note, and both in the same summer!
The first was a young lady of most excellent wit and unerring composure. She came from the South and intented to stay some weeks with a friend of hers in the village. Though unmarried, she seemed to live comfortably enough and enjoyed nothing more than sitting down to write- letters, she professed, although they were of a most excessive length. This young woman's name, it soon came to be known throughout the village, was Jane Austen.
The second visitor was a Jarofvex from Reta-9ii that tried to destroy the world.
Felix leant over the rails in the TARDIS and tried to count every staircase and corridor that he could see. He lost track around two hundred.
"How big is this thing?" Felix asked, leaning even futher forward and risking plummeting into the unfathomable depths.
"About as big as the Library at Alexandria."
"And how big was that?"
"Dunno. Someone burnt it down before I got there."
Felix paused and then looked over his shoulder. "Well, can't you just go back?"
"What?"
"You said it was a time machine."
"Exactly- not a fire engine."
Felix furrowed his brow, and tried to figure out which flaws in this argument to point out first, but he was interrupted by a high-pitched whistling sound from the console. It caught the Doctor's attention too, and he pressed a button, flicked a switch and span a little pin-wheel that was perched next to a monitor.
"What does that do?" Felix asked, pointing at the pin-wheel.
"It makes pretty colours as it spins," The Doctor replied as he looked at the screen.
The whistling stopped and a message popped up on the monitor.
"Ooh! I've got an email!" The Doctor cooed excitedly. His eyes scanned the screen, "Oh, it's from Jane!"
"Who's she?" Felix asked, coming around and looking at the screen.
"Friend from the olden days- a writer. Got a few things published; they even made a couple of movies from her stuff."
Felix paused, "Do you mean Jane Austen?"
The Doctor gawped, "Do you two know each other? What are the chances? Especially with you being born three hundred and ten years apart."
Felix ignored him, not sure if he was being serious. "Jane Austen had email?"
"Sort of," The Doctor had begun to play with more attachments on the console and Felix felt the ship begin to move, "Although, of course, she wouldn't have called it that."
"What would she call it?"
"Electronic mail. Always so formal, is Miss Austen. "
The engines began to wheeze and lights flashed. They were off.
"So what did she write?" Felix asked.
"Um, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Northanger Abbey-"
"I meant to you."
The Doctor scanned the screen again, while still frantically mashing buttons, "An absolute bloody essay, as per usual, but what it boils down to is- the earth's in trouble and she needs a lift into town."
"Right...what order did she put that information in?"
A spectrometer on the console oscillated wildly- the Doctor whacked it with his hand and it settled down. "Well, she only really mentioned the end of the world bit, but I inferred- she only calls me when she's stuck."
The engines stopped wheezing and the TARDIS settled down. Felix looked towards the door, "So outside that door is..."
"1814. A village called Swythe, in Northamptonshire, mostly famous for-"
But Felix wasn't listening- he was running towards the doors, desperate to see a different age. He flung them open and looked around- it was a house, like the ones he'd seen in period dramas, or that his aunt had dragged him around when he was a boy. Behind him he heard a woman gasp; he turned around and was face to face with Jane Austen.