The verdict brings uproar in the court. They rage and hear-hear and shake their fists, and Erzuli gradually sinks on a weakening knee. The Bwa'chech take custody of her, lashing her to that self-same tree, and spread out to take care of the rescued women too. Rory, I believe, is rather annoyed about this; like he's not doing a good enough job. He doesn't understand what they need those girls for. Anyway, Amy distracts him. This, I think, is the first opportunity they've had to discuss his little encounter with the cottonmouth, so I'll leave them to that for a moment.

Marie comes up to me. Still not speaking much at all. Still looking down at her feet in that oddly reluctant way. She's never reluctant. Everything about her is bright and brassy and forthright, and so this unnerves me more than I can say. So I don't try.

"Marie?"

"Yeah?"

"If I lean on you, do you think you can take the weight?"

"I wanna go back," moans a girl behind me. Cherry Jacuzzi girl.

"Lean on her," Marie murmurs, nudging me, "She's built for it. I… I have to speak to Legba."

Oh, yes, Doctor, I can hardly contain my gratitude, so great it is. It presses forth upon my heart until I feel almost it might burst should I neglect to give it vent.

Think nothing of it, dear girl. The drying of your eyes is thanks enough for me…

Then she goes to speak to Legba. Or rather, he speaks, and she, having no fear of death and no appreciation for the work that goes into keeping her alive, spits at him. Beyond that I can't even watch.

As to me, I'm never doing law again. Never. Never ever-ever-ever-ever-ever not if my life depends on it. It's all stressful and energetic and heavens, the italics! Or whatever the spoken equivalent is. It's hard to calm down now, to stop declaiming and declaring and just speak. That's why I don't say anything when the Ponds come over. Amy takes that as leave to start in on me.

"You let my husband get bitten by a zombie snake."

"I did," I say. Turn to her, take her by the shoulders, and meet her eyes. "Therefore, Amelia Pond, and in this order: I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, thank you, and I'm sorry."

"I think I followed that, but what's the last one for?"

"I want to have one in hand, just in case." Then I hug her, very tightly indeed, the way I should have a week ago. Look up over her shoulder and tell Mr Pond I'm not asking for permission, even, and he can say what he wants about it. He acts all selfless and gracious and I take it. Because Amy hugs back, and I've missed this. Funny how sometimes you don't notice you miss something until you feel it again.

Jessica is out of her tree again. That's not a euphemism, either. Just she's not so comfortable hovering over Erzuli as she was when it was Marie. She's down, lingering near us with a handful of ivory alligator trophies. Not sure how I feel about her taking trophies from those she has had a part in defeating. It implies things that cloud my feelings about her again.

I don't get much time to think about it, thankfully. With Marie apparently back under control, Legba comes to me. Just to head off any argument, I bow before he can congratulate me on victory, instead congratulating him on a battle well fought. Just because I've never liked all this bureaucracy and diplomacy doesn't mean I'm no good at it, you know. "You kept us from making a grave mistake here this morning, Doctor."

"You weren't to know," I allow. From behind him, Marie watches me, the look in her eyes a reminder that I didn't know a thing either.

"You, Doctor, have had your reward today in victory. But those who assisted you have had no thanks." He snaps his fingers and a Bwa'chech comes bowing forward, head hung low before the master. One hand is extended, and hanging from it are two leather strings. Pendant from them, little bundles, like corn dolls, of seared pig hair, each with a miniature iron key hanging from it. He takes these from the Bwa'chech and hands them to the Ponds. Either they're too stunned to say no or they've learned some small lesson about dealing with these red-tape sorts; they just accept them.

Legba, considering his job done, leaves without another word. He's embarrassed too, though it would be rude of me to comment on it. He almost destroyed a woman of true legend today. He wears his shame in his gifts, you see. From either side of me, the Ponds are easing in, thinking how to phrase the question. I wait for Legba to shamble out of earshot and say, "It's called a gris-gris, and you're very very privileged. It's good for one favour from a man who can do just about anything. I'd suggest you don't lose them."

They have more questions, but I have no answers that wouldn't just confuse them further. So in their quiet, I turn my head to the left and say bright, "Just you and me out on our own, then, Jessica." I'm not talking to anybody. "Where's Jessica?"

In the milling, uncertain crowd, all waiting to see what's going to happen to Erzuli, we crane about, trying to spot her. Rory, eventually, shouts, "There!" and points.

The Baron. He's beckoned her off into the still-night shadow of the trees. She stands dwarfed by him in purplish half-light. To my surprise, he actually goes down on one knee in front of her, to address her directly. Places his enormous hands on either side of her head, and for a terrible moment I feel like he's going to crush her. He doesn't, though; he's speaking to her. Either she's nodding or he's moving her head for her. By the time I can put a hand on her shoulder, he's finished. There's a bright blue orchid tucked behind her left ear. She stares at me.

"Oh, don't tell me this one's getting rewarded and all. Now I really do feel left out…"

The Baron stands up again, with easy grace. Head and shoulders taller than me too. "Why?" he smiles, and if he had eyes they would glitter, "You're getting what was for you, Monsieur Docteur."

"Doctor?" Pond is saying, somewhere out of frame on the left. "Doctor, what's happening? Doctor, look."

And first I thought she was talking about Erzuli, but she's not. She's talking about Jessica. She's not under my hand anymore, she's feet away, behind a tree, not looking at anything, and tugging at an earlobe. Between me and her, a scattering of alligator teeth, dropped and forgotten. I pick them up as I make my way towards her, only dimly aware of a rumbling chuckle from Old Uncle Baron as he rolls away.

From the other side of the tree, trying not to sneak up on her, I forget myself and softly call out, "Jessica?" And I'm shocked to see her flinch, towards the sound of my voice. Towards any sound at all. "Oh, he didn't," I breathe. I want to scream it right out at the Baron's back, but Jessica already looks terrified.

Of course she is. Every time she turns around, someone changes all the rules for her. And now it's all crashing in. She doesn't even know that that constant rasping noise that rushes in her ears and will not stop is her own breathing.

"Oh, he didn't! Everybody else gets blessings and this is what he gives me? Heaping trauma upon trauma for the more-trouble-than-she's-worth- -"

Rory's caught on, I think, and puts a hand on my arm. "Maybe you should be watching what you say now, if I'm thinking right?"

"Maybe in an hour or so, Rory, when she starts to make the connection between the moving lips and the talky noises. For now I intend to complain at least one of my pretty red hearts out!"

Not because I haven't been rewarded. I know that's what it sounds like, but that's not it. Because I can't imagine what it feels like to go through what Jessica's going through right now.

I could complain, you know, I'm fully within my rights to do that. I could charge up to the Baron and demand that he do something about this, and if he can do nothing that he give Jessica back the utter silence of her everyday. Could do all that. Watch Amy instead. Amy was doing well. Hadn't said anything at all, and had gone to Jessica, holding her, drawing her head in close. Only now she tries to tell her, 'It's alright', in the very lowest kind of hush, and Jessica shudders as if from a knife.

"We have to get her away from here, somewhere quiet."

"Not the Tardis then," Rory says. Turns away from her to say it and says it through his teeth. "What about Marie?"

I look over my shoulder. The crowd is regrouping. Closer to the tree this time. Close to Erzuli. I know what's going to happen and I want Jessica out of here before the screaming kicks off. "I think she'll probably hang about for the last bit."