Disclaimer: Don't own Doctor Who

In retrospect, he probably should have taken the cutlery off of the table before attempting to melt it.

He had been using one of his heat rays – which Madame Vastra had confined to 13 Paternoster Row because of their anachronistic properties – to melt down the silver for the treasury of the Sontaran Empire.

What he had not realised, however, was that the ray would also set fire to the tablecloth.

To his credit, he had managed to save the tablecloth, ripping it away just in time for him to be able to put the flames out before the damage extended beyond merely scorch marks and small holes. Unfortunately, while his attention had been focused on the tablecloth, he had neglected the actual table itself, which was now nothing more than a pile of smoking ashes covered with a layer of molten silver.

Strax put his strategic mind to work, trying to work out how best to divulge this information to his mistress. He decided upon showing her the ruined tablecloth first. Then, perhaps, he could tell her that he was so proud of himself for saving the tablecloth that he hadn't realised that the table itself had been in any danger.

It didn't take long for Strax to find Vastra – she and Jenny were in the drawing room, seemingly taking part in the irritatingly human activity of sleeping.

Strax's first reaction was to adopt an annoyed scowl upon seeing their bodies reclined on the sofa, before the dying embers in the fireplace. Vastra was sprawled out across the furniture, her head tilted to the side so that she was facing the fire. Jenny lay on top of her, her small, pale hands clutching at her wife's collar. Both of them had their eyes closed.

Yet the irritation was short-lived, and a smile formed on his lips. If Vastra was asleep, then he was under no obligation to inform her of what had happened yet. He could wait until morning, savouring the few hours of peace that he would get before the Silurian really got angry.

Walking up to the two females, he draped the tablecloth over them and left them alone to sleep.