Chapter 1

Whoops! The TARDIS Gets It Wrong Again

Rose Smith and her children returned to the TARDIS console room having been to the wardrobe to find clothing suitable for 1888. She was wearing a purple victorian dress, complete with bustle, and a cape with hood. Eyeulf and Jason were wearing brown trousers and jackets, with white shirts underneath, whilst their sister Juleshka was wearing a simple white smock dress.

'So, in "Dad's World", the nineteenth century pretty much ran parallel to how it did in our world?' Rose asked John as she helped him land the TARDIS.

'Pretty much, yeah,' John confirmed, who was wearing his usual brown, pinstriped suit. 'Lots of wars over territory and resources. Namely the Napoleonic wars, and the battle of Trafalgar in europe. American civil war in the states.'

'Sounds delightful,' Rose said sarcastically.

'Cool!' Eyulf declared with childlike enthusiasm, blissfully unaware of the misery and suffering caused by all that conflict.

'Yeah,' John said sadly, and then brightened. 'But don't forget Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, probably one of the greatest and most influential statements of national purpose ever uttered.'

'Oh yeah. What was it? Four score and seven years,' Rose tried to remember from a history lesson at school all those years ago.

'That was it yes. You see, there was the good stuff as well. All that classical music. Beethoven was belting out some of his best tunes. Van Gogh, Monet and Turner were producing some brilliant art, and epic literature from our mate Charlie Dickens, along with Jane Austen and the Brontë sisters.'

'Oh yeah, Charles. He was lovely,' Rose remembered with a fond smile.

'AND SCIENCE!' John almost shouted with enthusiasm. 'Let's not forget the science. The steam age, internal combustion engines and electricity.'

'And the Eiffel Tower Dad?' Eyulf asked, wondering about his school project about the 1889 World's Fair in Paris. The teacher had asked the class to do some online research about the Fair at home so that they could create a collage on the wall of the classroom. "Oh, I think we can do better than online searches" his father had said.

'Yes! Let's not forget engineering. The hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution. Outside of those doors, it's August 1888, and the second stage is being completed. Let's go and have a look,' John said as he made his way down the ramp towards the doors. He opened the left hand door for his wife and children to step outside.

'Are there a lot of open spaces in Paris in 1888?' Rose asked from outside.

'Not really,' John answered as he stepped out to join them. 'They've got some nice parks and gar . . . dens,' he continued with a frown, shutting the TARDIS door behind him. He was looking at heath and moorland. Nothing like the neat and sculptured parks and gardens of nineteenth century Paris.

From behind the TARDIS, they heard the sound of rifles being cocked.

'Kids,' Rose said in a calm but urgent voice, reaching out for them to take her hands. She gathered them to her and backed up against the doors of the TARDIS.

John leaned to the side and looked around the side of the blue wooden police box. 'Oh!'

'Oh?' Rose asked. 'Is that a good "oh" or a bad "oh"? Cos it sounded like it could be a bad "oh".'

'It was an "I think this is 1879 and not 1888" kind of "oh",' John said in a hushed tone.

Rose's eyes went wide. '1879! You don't mean . . ?'

'You will explain your presence,' an authoritative voice interrupted in a Scottish accent. And the presence of this woman and the children,' he added as Rose stepped into view to see if her ears were deceiving her.

'Are we in Scotland?' John asked.

'How can you be ignorant of that?' the soldier on horseback enquired.

Rose rolled her eyes. 'Och. Not again.'

John was about to tell her not to do the accent, as he'd decided not to use it this time around, when he realised what he had heard. He looked at his wife with raised eyebrows. 'That wasn't half bad. You've been practicing.'

'Will you identify yourself, sir?' the soldier asked.

'Of course Captain Reynolds. I'm Doctor John Smith, from London, and I'm visiting the moors with my family,' John told him.

Reynolds looked surprised. 'You know me sir?'

'Yes, I do. And I know whom you are escorting in that carriage.'

Reynolds aimed his revolver directly at John, and the other soldiers pulled their rifles tighter into their shoulders. 'You will explain yourself. Now.'

['John, is this what I think it is?'] Rose thought to her husband.

['Parallel Earth. Parallel Queen Victoria,'] John thought back.

['And parallel Heamovariform. Why has the TARDIS brought us here? Isn't our bein' here gonna mess with the time line?'] Rose queried.

'I would love to explain, but I'm afraid I can't,' John told Reynolds.

'At the moment, you are an unknown quantity sir. You may be friend, or you may be foe. If you really know who is in the carriage, then you know I cannot take the risk that you are a foe. If you do not explain yourself, I will shoot you where you stand.'

'FOR GOD'S SAKE MAN!' Rose shouted angrily. 'I am his wife and these are our children. If he were a threat, would he place his family in danger?'

'Let them approach,' a cultured female voice said from the carriage.

'I don't think that's wise, Ma'am,' Reynolds said.

'Let them approach,' the woman said with authority.

Reynolds holstered his pistol. 'You will approach the carriage, and show all due deference.'

A footman opened the door to reveal the Imperial Widow who was dressed in black.

'Children, might I introduce her Majesty Queen Victoria. Empress of India and Defender of the Faith.'

Eyulf's eyes went wide. 'Wha? Really? THE Queen Victoria?'

The Queen gave EJ a stern look. 'Yes young man. The very same.'

Rose put a hand on her son's shoulder. 'Rose Smith, Ma'am. And my apologies for my son's lack of deference.'

'I've had five daughters. It's nothing to me. In fact it's refreshing to see the innocent enthusiasm of youth,' Victoria said to Rose before addressing John. 'And you Doctor Smith. You were about to explain how it is that you knew I was travelling this road, when I myself did not know until a few hours ago.'

John scratched the back of his head. 'Ah. Well. About that . . .'

'Think carefully before you answer Doctor. I may not be able to curtail Captain Reynolds' eagerness to protect me from a perceived threat,' Victoria warned him.

'Blimey. Talk about Hobson's choice,' John muttered.

'Who is Hobson?' Victoria asked. 'Is he the one who told you I would be on this road?'

['John, what do we do? Either way we're gonna change history,'] Rose thought to him.

['Or, maybe we are going to make history.']

['Eh?']

['Think about it. The Torchwood Institute. Founded by this lady here in 1879 to protect Britain's borders from unimaginable enemies.']

['So you reckon we were always goin' to come to this time and place? Even before we first came to this universe?']

['Well if we didn't, there wouldn't be a Torchwood Institute in this world. They wouldn't have developed the dimension buttons . . .'] John reasoned.

['And when I lost my grip on that lever, no one was going to jump in and save me from falling into the breach,'] Rose finished, following his thought processes telepathically. ['Oh God. That's scary.']

['Yep. A paradox. You cease to exist and we all disappear from reality.']

['Tell her! Quick!'] Rose thought at him urgently.

John thought on his feet and quickly concocted a story. 'Very well your Majesty. We were out on the moors, giving our children a taste of adventure. The blue wooden shed contains a few days of supplies, and a tent which we were about to erect when a messenger came galloping towards us with a warning from the Lord Provost, regarding your safety.'

'A warning about my safety?' Victoria asked. 'Why would the Lord Provost choose you to be the recipient of this warning?'

'The Lord Provost, George Jamieson is an old family friend who trusts my abilities in such matters. He received a telegram from an informant which told him of a plot to harm your Majesty. That tree on the line was no accident, and I fear that there is danger for you ahead.'

'You know of the tree on the line? I suppose that means you are telling the truth. Tell me Doctor, does the Lord Provost know what danger lies ahead?'

'He does Ma'am. He believes someone is planning to eliminate you and take your throne.'

'I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Everything around me tends to be planned,' Victoria informed him with a hint of humour. 'I'm quite used to staring down the barrel of a gun.'

'What about the throat of a werewolf?' Rose muttered to herself.

'Sir Robert MacLeish lives but ten miles hence. We've sent word ahead. He'll shelter us for tonight, then we can reach Balmoral tomorrow,' Reynolds informed them.

'Bad idea,' John said. 'You should travel on through the night.'

'Across the moors in darkness? Are you mad sir?' Reynolds asked him.

'No Doctor. We are weary of this carriage. Some respite would be most welcome. We will shelter with Sir Robert . . . Captain, as Doctor Smith seems to have knowledge of a conspiracy to assassinate me, he and his family will travel with us,' Victoria commanded.

'Yes, Ma'am. We'd better get moving . . . it's almost nightfall.'

'Indeed. And there are stories of wolves in these parts,' Victoria said with a glint in her eye as she looked at the children. 'Fanciful tales intended to scare the children. But good for the blood, I think. Come along, climb aboard.' The Smiths climbed into the carriage, with John sitting next to the queen, and Rose sitting opposite with the children. 'Drive on!'

The carriage started to trundle down the dirt road, and Jason turned to his mother. 'Mum. If she's the queen, why isn't she wearing a crown?'

Rose smiled at her son. 'She doesn't wear it all the time. Only on special occasions.'

'Oh,' he said in understanding.

The edges of Victoria's mouth gave the briefest hint of a smile on her stern face, as though it were an unfamiliar and unwelcome visitor there. 'And besides, it's very heavy. You know, I used to be a whole foot taller before I became queen and started wearing it.'

Rose raised a hand to her mouth to hide a giggle. John had a lopsided smile on his face as he looked out of the window.

['Right. We need to prepare for what comes next,'] he thought to Rose. ['Can you remember how things unfold when we get to the house?']

['It's kinda hard to forget somethin' like that. Why, what are y'gonna do?']

['Give the Captain the heads up on what's about to occur.'] He pulled down the window in the door. 'By your leave Ma'am, I would speak with Captain Reynolds and discuss tactics.' Without waiting for royal approval or permission, he stuck his head out of the window. 'Allons-y your Majesty,' he said with his enthusiastic, cheeky grin, and clambered out of sight onto the roof of the carriage. A long, gangly arm reached down and pulled the window shut.

Queen Victoria just sat there, looking at the now closed window. 'A most unusual and remarkable man,' she said out loud.

Rose laughed. 'You have no idea Ma'am.'

'CAPTAIN,' John called out from the roof. Reynolds cantered his horse to come alongside.

'Doctor Smith. What can I do for you?'

'We must make preparations for when we arrive at the home of Sir Robert. There is a rogue sect of monks from the monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. They have a rabid wolf which they plan to release so that it will attack and infect the queen,' John told him, thinking it was probably best not to mention werewolves and aliens.

Reynolds had a confident smirk on his face. 'Then let them release it Sir. We have enough rifles to take down a tiger, let alone a wolf.'

'You reckon? This is no ordinary wolf Captain. And the monks have plans to render your men unconscious and relieve them of their weapons.'

'A conspiracy! It seems the Lord Provost was right to trust you with this message. Tell me Doctor Smith, do you have a plan to protect the queen from these monks?'

John rubbed the back of his neck. 'Wellll. I don't really do plans. But the monks have a plan, and they don't know that I know what it is, so I think we can put a spanner in the works.'