Sir Robert could feel himself being drawn in by his own tale.
The further and longer he had delved into this local legend, the more and more frightened of it he had heard himself beginning to sound.
"My father didn't treat it as a story. He said it was fact. He even claimed to have communed with the beast, to have learned its purpose." He recounted, and was suddenly regretful. "I should have listened."
Daring to looked up and catch a glance of Father Angelo, he watched for a moment as the monk seemed to break with the pretence of being his butler as the man wondered over towards the window.
Turning back to his party, he leaned forward and began to speak in a hushed tone. "His work was hindered. He made enemies." He told them. "There's a monastery in the Glen of Saint Catherine. The Brethren opposed my father's investigations."
Surely one of them would be picking up on his signals?
Again, he glanced back up at Father Angelo. The man was staring out at something, lingering in the moonlight that was shinning in through the paned glass. Was he chanting something?
"Perhaps they thought his work ungodly?" The Queen suggested. "A study that did not sit well with the church?"
"That's what I thought." Sir Robert replied."But now I wonder…"
For a third time he looked behind him, in the direction of Father Angelo. Sitting next to the Doctor, he was almost relieved when he saw the man's own eyes turn towards the monk.
Father Angelo was definitely muttering something.
"Lupus deus est." He chanted. "Lupus deus est."
"What if they had a different reason for wanting the story kept quiet?" Sir Robert continued. "What if they turned from God and worshipped the wolf?"
The Doctor had not turned away from the butler, frowning as he heard what the man was saying over and over again as though it were a prayer. Lupus deus est? He knew Latin well enough to translate it.
The wolf is a god.
"And what if they were with us right now?" He questioned, standing up. "In this very room?"
The Queen and Captain Reynolds had sensed the danger through the Time Lord's tone as they also took note of the man that had served them their dinner.
"What is the meaning of this?" Queen Victoria demanded to know. "What's happening?"
Captain Reynolds had already drawn out his pistol, and was stood protectively besides his monarch. Aiming the weapon at the man, he angrily turned to face Sir Robert.
"Explain yourself, Sir Robert!" He barked. "Now!"
Defeated, the squire turned to face the Queen.
"I'm sorry, Your Majesty. " He apologised. "They've got my wife."
The Doctor had gone over to the man he knew now was part of this Brethren, both worried and angry now as he came to the realisation that the absence of his companions might not after all be down to their choice of clothing.
"Where's Rose and Peter!?" He shouted. "Where are they?"
"Lupus deus est." Father Angelo continued to chant. "Lupus deus est."
With a growl, the Doctor knew he would not get anywhere with him and spun on his heel as he bolted for the door.
"Sir Robert, come on!"
If there was some kind of creature, another wolf in this house, then presence of a full moon high in the sky outside was not a good sign. The myth of the connection could be accurate enough with some species and there wasn't time now to argue over its existence.
He could only hope he wasn't too late.
As soon as the Doctor had gone with the traitorous Sir Robert, Captain Reynolds was swift in putting himself between the Queen and the servant as he kept his gun trained upon him.
"Tell me, sir." He shouted. "I demand to know your intention!"
"Lupus deus est. Lupus deus est."
"What is it that you want?"
He readied himself as the man finally stopped chanting and turned to face him. Now, he decided, now he would get some answers. Stepping forward, he was inches away from pressing his gun into the man's chest.
Father Angelo merely tilted his head in the direction of the Queen as he responded.
"The throne."
He was swift in slamming his fist into the captain's arm as he disarmed him of his weapon before knocking him out with a single strike to the face.
He then looked towards the small women stood in corner of the room.
Admirably, she was unflinching as she stood there facing him, even having the grace to clutch her purse as she did so.
"I take it, sir, that you halted my train to bring me here?" She questioned.
"We have waited so long for one of your journeys to coincide with the moon." He explained. "So very long."
"Then you have waited in vain. After six attempts on my life, I am hardly unprepared."
To his slight surprise, Father Angelo then watched as the Queen pulled out a handgun from her bag. But it was of no consequence, with the rise of the full moon, he knew that their holy work would finally be completed this night.
"Oh, I don't think so, woman." He sneered.
Queen Victoria drew up to her full height as she pointed the weapon at him.
"The correct form of address is Your Majesty."
The sound of the gunshot reverberated all around the dinning room, in the midst of which came the definitive thud of Father Angelo's body hitting the floor.
Rose grimaced as she heard the spine of the man crack as he began screaming at the agony of his transformation.
It was nothing like Peter's. That had happened so quickly that Rose hadn't even seen it. One moment he had been on two legs, and then there was an enormous black wolf stood before her.
No, this was something out of a horror film.
She could actually see the humanoid skeleton distorting itself under the skin as it grotesquely snapped and reshaped itself.
But soon it would reform into something deadly.
Whilst they didn't share an ease of transformation, the two wolves no doubt had in common a lethality. Rose had seen the level of that for herself upon witnessing Peter break a huge monster's neck clean in two with a single bite.
They had to get out of here!
Chained to the wall, however, everyone else was sat transfixed by the unfolding nightmare before them. Even Peter, free of any bonds, was stood rooted to the spot as he gazed down at the horrific sight.
"All of you! Stop looking at it!" She shouted, rounding on her other captives. "Flora, don't look. Listen to me. Grab hold of the chain and pull! Come on! With me! Pull!"
But none of them moved. They were too scared.
Desperate now as she saw the man's face snap into a elongated snout, his ears gaining pointed edges, she turned to her last possible option. "Peter!" She screamed. "Help us!"
Reaching out, she matched to grab ahold of the leather strap that was running up across his shoulder over the scarlet tunic. Pulling the lieutenant back and causing him to stumble slightly, she then seized him by the shoulders.
Turning him around to face her and the other humans that were trapped, she didn't have to repeat herself as he saw the situation and jumped into action.
Quickly following the chain over to were it was fastened to the wall, he broke it away from the stone with a single yank. Threading it through the attachments of the shackles that were keeping them all there, he soon had them all completely free.
"On your feet!" He shouted. "Move!"
But even now they refused to move. Most of the men had stood, but they were not going anywhere as the others sat and stared in terror.
The wolf now looked like a wolf. Thin brown fur coated over the naked skin of the large creature as it sat hunched inside a cage that was rapidly becoming far too small for it. Growling and snarling in protest, it had begun to rattle against the bars, allowing Rose to catch a glimpse of enormous looking claws at the ends of its paws.
"Listen to him!" She screamed as she forced Flora up onto her feet. "Get out of here! That means you too, your Ladyship."
Finally, once Lady Isobel got up, the rest of her ladies followed suit.
"Rose, get them out of here!" Peter instructed. "I'll hold him off!"
Looking at her friend, Rose could see that his eyes were yellow again as he stood protectively in front of the group, ready to transform himself once they were all clear.
But he might have to do that before then, she realised, as with a great crack of wood being splintered, the wolf in front of them made its first attempt to break out of its cage.
"Oh! That is beautiful!"
Rose hadn't even heard the Doctor come in.
Stood with Sir Robert as he gazed with amazement at the creature, the Time Lord was actually choosing this moment to smile with apparent delight.
"Where the hell have you been!?" She bellowed at him.
But there was no time for arguing as a loud clatter of metal hitting the stone floor rang out from the other side of the basement. With a single swipe of its long, powerful arm, the wolf had completely smashed in one corner of the cage.
The bars had bent over as though they were made from tinfoil.
Now the household was fleeing, out of the door and down the corridor as they screamed. Amongst them, Sir Robert grabbed hold of his wife and pulled her to safety.
"Isobel." He cried. "Come on, go. Get out!"
Still stood admiring the wolf, the Doctor turned momentarily and added to this.
"Out! Out! Out! Out!" He encouraged. "Out! Out! Out! Out! Out! Out!"
Ensuring that Rose left too with a push of his arm, the Time Lord was now stood alone with Peter as both men looked over towards the cage.
The damage that had been done wasn't enough to allow the wolf to escape through the gap, but it had weakened the structure enough for what it did next.
"Oh my…" Peter gasped. "Bloody hell!"
The remains of the cage were obliterated as the wolf rose up to its full height. At least three meters tall, it was stood completely upright on its hind legs as the powerful muscles across its lean figure flexed themselves.
The black eyeballs had retracted into pupils that were now encircled by cold, steely blue irises.
Snarling as it spotted the Doctor and Peter, it grabbed hold of a remaining pallet of its cage and launched it furiously at them.
"Okay, time to move!" The Doctor called, ducking out of its way. "After you, soldier."
Pushing Peter ahead of him and out of the basement, the Time Lord grabbed hold of the handle and yanked the door shut.
Pulling out his sonic screwdriver, he started on trying to lock it shut.
"It's no good." Peter told him. "I broke it getting in."
Knowing it wouldn't have made much of a difference anyway, the Doctor soon abandoned his task and set off down the corridor at a run.
That was when the first howl rang out.
As clean and crisp as a winter's morning, it echoed throughout the whole estate as the wolf expressed its delight at being free at last.
With the haunting sound ringing through his ears, the Doctor had made it nearly halfway down the corridor when he saw that besides him, Peter had suddenly stopped and turned back around.
Skidding to a stop himself, the Time Lord saw that the younger man's eyes were bright yellow as he stood rooted to the spot, as though compiled to stay by the howl.
"Peter, move!" He hissed into his ear. "Now."
Pulling on his arm until he began moving again, his eyes gradually turning back to grey, the Doctor then led him around the corner and an entrance hall which contained a large staircase that led further on into most of the rest of the house.
It was here that the household, Sir Robert, his wife and Rose had congregated.
There was a flurry of activity as the men were scrabbling for a variety of pistols and rifles from a nearby gun cabinet.
"Arms, and you five. Ready, everyone?" The steward instructed. "Lady Isobel, take the girls. Get them out through the kitchen."
Terrified, the lady of the house turned to her husband.
"I can't leave you." She insisted. "What will you do?"
"I must defend her Majesty." Sit Robert told her. "Now, don't think of me, just go."
Sealing this with a passionate kiss, Lady Isobel then began rounding up the woman of the household.
"All of you, at my side." She called out. "Come on!"
Using the sonic screwdriver to remove the shackles still locked around Rose's wrists, the Doctor was still trying to grasp what exactly it was that they were now up against.
"It could be any form of light modulated species triggered by specific wavelengths." He decided. "Did it say what it wanted?"
"The Queen, the Crown, the throne. You name it." Rose replied. "But talked to Peter more, it was saying all this stuff about migrating and carving out…"
She stopped when she saw how how pale Peter had turned again. He looked to be in shock, as though the idea of the other wolf being present was scaring him.
The Doctor his taunt expression too.
"You alright?" He asked gently, laying a hand on his shoulder. "Nice uniform by the way."
The tactic worked enough as the soldier returned a meek smile.
"Yeah, you know how it is." He began. "Royalty being present and all."
Bang!
All of the commotion stopped as everyone looking in the direction of the corridor the led down towards the basement. The silence that followed was deafening after so much chaos.
Motioning that no one was to follow as he headed across the room, the Doctor approached the corner with some caution and peered around it before stepping through.
Faint growls and the splintering of wood echoed down towards him. The creature responsible had broken the heavy door clean off its hinges and had to duck down very low to squeeze in through the stone archway. But now, standing at full height, it stopped for a moment as it spotted the Doctor. For a few seconds both wolf and Time Lord stared each other down.
Then the wolf growled and launched itself forward.
Running back the way he had come, the Doctor wasn't surprised to see that Rose had ventured over to the corner of the entrance hall to see where he was. Taking hold of her hand as he ran past, he guided her back behind the line of men whom were stood ready with their guns.
The wolf emerged a few seconds later.
"Fire!" The steward yelled. "Fire!"
Hit with a bombardment of gunfire, however, the alien did not fall. But it did turn and flee back towards the basement.
Perhaps wounded by the attack, for now at least, it was gone.