Disclaimer: I do not own American McGee's Alice or Doctor Who, properties of EA and BBC respectively.
Chapter 7: The Golden Afternoon
"Dodgson, meet Richard Hargreaves. Richard, meet Charles Lutwidge Dodgson."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Dodgson." said Richard as he awkwardly extended his hand. "I'm a...new friend of Alice. And this is my grandmother, Winifred Hargreaves."
Dodgson gingerly shook Richard's hand. He spoke enthusiastically, but struggling to speak through his stammer; "It's...it's always a pus...pur...p-p-pleasure, to see Alice make new...friends... Heaven knows she n...needs them."
Richard nodded as Dodgson released his hand. Winifred opened her mouth to speak, but Alice interrupted:
"I apologize for coming by on such short notice," said Alice to her old friend, "but these are some very inconvenient circumstances."
"T...Tell me about it," said Dodgson with a nervous laugh, "My...hesitation's b-been rather annoying these p...past few days. P-plus, I have...ve not seen mm...much success from...The Hunting of the Snark, nor from the re...repe...new publishing of Phantasmagoria. I...I'm st-st-st-starting to wonder if...if the ss..success of the Wonderland books was...due to, luck or something else."
"I hope not," sighed Alice.
"Wait a second," said Richard suddenly. "You were talking about..."
Alice connected the dots almost instantly, and laughed. "I should have mentioned: Lewis Carroll is Dodgson's pen name. He's the one who turned my dreams into fiction."
At this, Richard shook Dodgson's hand once again, this time more passionately: "This is wonderful! I couldn't get enough of your work! I can hardly believe.."
"Y-y-yes, but I har...hardly believe I de...deserve all the...credit. It was...it was Alice..ce's story after all."
"How else do you think they became such fast friends?" said Winifred with a smirk.
"No argument there." said Alice. After all, their very first meeting involved discussions of her dreamworld.
Dodgson smiled, then narrowed his face as he tried to organize his words. "Well...come inside? We can...discuss s...sensitive issues aw...way from...you know..."
Looking inside, it was quite a fancy office: Leather couches, bright gas lamps, transparent drapes, at least three bookshelves, oil paintings on the walls, and an ornate desk at one corner. The desk was the only disorganized part of the whole room, covered with loose papers of all sorts: Student papers, poetry, mathematical scribbles, unanswered letters, and much more.
Immediately after they entered his office and closed the door, Alice and Dodgson sat down on opposite sides of his desk, and he resumed speaking. "So, what b-b-brings you here today?...Your t-telegram said you'd...lost your job."
Alice took a deep breath, and began: "I was working as governess at a gentleman's household, when I had another episode. I still don't know what triggered it, but I somehow wound up having tea with the Butterfly and the Wasp in a Wig. When I came to, the children had all run away. I got after them, hounded by the Jabberwock telling me it was hopeless; and it certainly was, as I only found them with Richard's help."
Richard smiled as Dodgson shot him a surprised glance.
"So, y...you did find them? Were they well?" Dodgson asked, to which Alice nodded. "Th...that's a relief. ...So what then?"
"After we got back, I blamed myself for letting them go, and I punished myself by quitting the job. When I got back to my apartment, I had another episode; the Bandersnatch and Jubjub Bird had destroyed the Hatter's Domain, and...I couldn't fight them. I really tried, but I couldn't. My spirit and self-image are in tatters, and everyone in Wonderland is panicking. What's worse, I can't handle this sort of problem on my own anymore. I need help."
The room was silent as everyone took in Alice's words, and she waited patiently for advice.
Eventually, Dodgson spoke up: "H...how did the b-b-b-Bandersnatch and Jubjub Bird d...defeat you?"
"They took my Vorpal Blade away and hid it."
"Th...That's odd. I...thought the...Vorpal b-Blade couldn't be t-t-touched by anyone but y..ye...you!"
"So did I. Evidently, I thought wrong."
Dodgson nodded...and then stood up, and walked back around his desk. "I...think I'd like to kne...ng..know, a lit...little more ab-b-out what's...going on. Would you...be willing to...try...the studio?"
Richard and Winifred were confused, but Alice put herself deep in thought, remembering the sessions she had in Dodgson's photography studio, after she moved in with him...
...and eventually she said: "Very well. Lead the way, Dodgson."
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In contrast to his comfy office, Dodgson's studio was as uncomfortable as could be, but not uninteresting. The only source of color in the room, which occupied the attic of the church where Dodgson worked, were the backdrop sheets that were arranged in a corner. In terms of furniture, there were brown chairs, stools, tables and bedsheets, and braces to help subjects sit up straight while they waited to be photographed (the notoriously uncomfortable kind). The rest of the room was full of lighting equipment, mirrors of various shapes and sizes, and of course Dodgson's camera. With these elements, Dodgson could photograph his subjects in whatever setting they desired, and even get some illusory work with the mirrors.
Of course, Alice never participated in photography herself, at least not since she was a small child. She remembered how her father's passion for photography (one of the reasons he was such fast friends with Dodgson) contributed to their disaster, and so had no taste for it.
What she did instead, however, proved invaluable. It was here, after all, that Dodgson provided her a safe space to easily travel to Wonderland, using the mirrors and flashes as pushes. They developed the idea shortly after she moved in, after the Doctor released her into his care. With this method, she was able to quiet the chaos within herself, and task the White Queen's forces with keeping order in her absence, limiting the times when a hallucination might interfere with her daily life. Even though it was a few years since she last used this method to intentionally trigger an episode, both she and Dodgson were still familiar with the elements.
They arranged the mirrors into a half-circle, and set a chair facing them. Behind the chair, they set a frame, which would hold the background.
At this point, Dodgson said: "S...so, I think a vm-vi-...v-volcano, would b-b-be a good...good place to st...start."
"Why?" asked Alice.
"B...because, your J..Jab...berwock likes hot pl-places. If...if its'...spawn are...causing your...problems, then th...the Jabberwock is the source of the p-p-problem. G..go to the...source of the problem. Find out what ...what you can."
Alice tilted her head in disbelief. "You want me to talk to the Jabberwock?"
"I...if you really ….can't fight, y-y-you can bring the W...White ...I...White Queen's force...s along." replied Dodgson. "I'm t-t-terribly sorry, but unt...until we know more about the p...problem, th..ere's not much I can do to help."
Alice sighed. "I know. It's just...I feel like I can't do this on my own anymore. You gave me the chance for a better life all those years ago. Now it's slipping away, and I feel responsible, and at the same time feel that I shouldn't be responsible. I feel so...helpless!"
As Alice struggled to hold back her tears, Dodgson struggled to find an appropriate response; eventually, he spoke up with: "Very few p-p-people get to ch...choose their fate. W-w-we can only react as... best we can. I do want to help, Alice. But first..."
"...I must help you. I understand."
A few seconds of awkward silence followed, before Alice sat down in the chair. Dodgson followed up by setting up a pair of stands containing flash lamps connected to a fuse. Then, he added the most important feature: he draped a large painted cloth over the frame behind her. In the darkened room, Alice couldn't make out most of the details, but the prevalence of red and black certainly suggested the volcano that Dodgson had mentioned. A slight scuffing sound let Alice know that Dodgson had placed another flash lamp behind the cloth backdrop.
"...All set up." said Dodgson. "L...lifeboats at the ready?"
"Yes," said Alice with a shaky voice, as she tightly gripped the sides of her dress.
"Then... cast off."
There was the sound of a striking match. A low hiss followed, the only sound to pierce the thick silence. Alice braced herself as she waited.
And waited.
And waited...
BANG!
And finally, her senses were assaulted as all three flash lamps went off at once. The two positioned at her sides erased the rest of the room, limiting her perception to solely the mirrors in front of her, and the background reflected in it...which now glowed in all its multicolored intensity as the flash lamp shone behind it.
The details of the background bounced off the mirror and imprinted themselves in Alice's mind: A landscape of ash and heat-blackened stones; Rivers of molten rock glowing dull orange; A sky full of smoke, rising from a distant mountain.
And while this was happening, the heat from the flash lamps pressed in on her from every direction... except in front of her.
A blast of hot air thrust her out of her seat, and into the mirror, which she slid through as if it weren't there. She tumbled through empty space, letting out a brief shriek as she tried to maintain her bearings. Seconds later, she landed on an ashy surface, with heat all around her and a sulfurous smell permeating the air.
As it had so many times before, Dodgson's setup had sent her to Wonderland once again.
"Another happy landing," she mused to herself as she brushed off the ash. Then, she regarded the volcano: unlike in Dodgson's background, the rivers were not composed of molten stone, but molten steel that flowed down cast-iron channels.
Furthermore, the peak of the volcano wasn't just spewing black smoke, but bright blue lightning as well.
"A convergence of mechanical waste and total destruction. Just the place I'd expect to find a Jabberwock. However, I dare not go farther without escort..."
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Dodgson carefully closed the door, and turned to his other two guests: "It...It's done. She'll b...be in there fore...for a...while, and we should...should...should not dis...dist-turb her unless...unless she calls for a …. lifeline."
Richard huffed. "Alright. It's all on her. But if she needs me, I'll be there."
"Th...th..thank you," said Dodgson. "I need to g...go get my less...lesson plans. Y...you get first...watch, I suppose."
Dodgson turned the corner, and his footsteps were heard growing softer and softer as he descended the stairs, leaving Richard and his grandmother sitting outside the studio.
"I still wish there was more we could do to help." sighed Richard.
"Indeed. And the worst part of it is that it's a thankless job." said Winifred in a sympathetic tone. "Most people, my son included, would rather she be out of sight and out of mind. If forced, he may donate to a charitable foundation for poor women, but that's about it. If others were to see us doting on her like this...oh, I can't imagine what they'd say."
"Gran, you know I don't particularly care for the opinions of my father or the so-called 'respectable crowd.'"
"True, but you do still care what others think of you. You craft an image that others see; like Thomas in a way, but also very different."
"How so?"
Winifred leaned slightly closer. "You're always trying to sell your latest invention. You want the whole world to know you're an intelligent, trustworthy, hard-working businessman, or else no one would buy from you. And from what I've seen of you, everything you do outside the walls of your house is carefully calculated to project and maintain that image for everyone you meet. Except...for this."
Winifred punctuated her statement by pointing to the studio door separating them from Alice.
"What's your point, Gran?" asked Richard, defensively.
"People would laugh at you for devoting your time to helping this woman. Far below your station, and a madwoman as well. But you don't care. For once, you're not focused on projecting an image to everyone...your sole focus is on her. The woman you love."
In an instant, Richard's face flushed a deep crimson. "Gran, I thought we already discussed this! Alice and I aren't..."
"I'm not saying you are, Richard. What I'm saying is that you want to be. And I think she does as well."
"Alice and I are just friends!"
Winifred let out a silent chuckle. "The way you hold each other as you walk down the streets say otherwise."
Richard buried his face in his hands. "Gran, you read too many of those romance novels. Real life doesn't work out like that! The real world doesn't have love at first sight, or easily-approved marriages between different classes..."
"Couldn't the same be said of hookah-smoking caterpillars? Duchesses with pepper addictions and pigs for children? Mock Turtles, Gryphons, and Jabberwocks?"
As Richard struggled for a response, Winifred continued: "Around that girl, fantasy becomes reality. A life with her would be far from dull. And given the stories she told of the Renfrew kids, she'd be a good mother as well. I think she's a good fit for you, at least."
Richard did not respond. In fact, he refused to look his grandmother in the eye for almost a minute of awkward silence...
...until he sighed, and asked: "Very well. Let's assume I do wish we were more than just friends. How do you propose I win her heart?"
"That's the spirit!" Winifred said as she joyfully clasped her hands together. "What ideas did you have?"
"That's the problem, Gran. I don't think she's ready to let anyone in like that. Her past is full of hurt, heartbreak, and all sorts of struggles. Fate has worn her down to her breaking point several times over, and I'm afraid it's left her...delicate; And if I get too close, I'll frighten her away."
Richard swore he could see his grandmother visibly deflate, as her enthusiasm left her.
"That," he continued, "is why I won't give any romantic overtures. I don't want to ruin the friendship we have right now."
"I see," Winifred sighed, and she turned away...but then she gave him one last look, and asked: "But if she shows an interest in you...what then?"
Richard turned away, deep in thought...and mumbled:
"That...would be nice."
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Alice trudged up the mountain, flanked by a sizable force: four Pawns, a Rook, a Bishop, and the Knight. Their clay feet sometimes struggled to find purchase in the crumbling layers of ash, and they slipped many times (especially the Knight). But eventually, they found themselves close to the volcano's peak, before an elaborately decorated entrance.
Stone idols of the Jabberwock, JubJub Bird, Bandersnatch, and other monstrosities lined a titanic stone archway that seemed less carved into the mountain than it suggested the mountain formed around it. The archway led into a dark tunnel, illuminated only by the rivulets of fiery metal which lined the walls. All along the volcanic rock of the tunnel walls, colorful messages were written in a variety of languages, not all of which Alice knew.
The ones she could read composed of phrases such as ALICE'S FAULT and WORTHLESS and NO PAST, NO FUTURE, and other simple things that nonetheless made Alice's skin crawl.
"We're in the right place. Be on your guard."
"Of course, Alice." nodded the Knight. And with that, the small army stepped over the threshold...
….and immediately heard a scream echo down the vast hallway.
"Someone's in trouble!" exclaimed the White Knight.
Alice expected the crew to run in, but instead they waited...as the Knight handed Alice a rope, tied to both himself and his lance.
"Hold on!" he said, as he threw his lance forward...
….only for it to clatter harmlessly onto the ground.
"What? It was supposed to sprout wings and carry us there! Did I get it wrong?"
"Oh forget about it!" moaned the Rook in frustration.
Reluctantly, the Knight picked up his lance, and the whole group charged in. The hall was quite long, and they heard several more screams as they rushed through to the end.
At last they exited the tunnel, and found themselves in the Jabberwock's lair. The Knight shouted: "Hold it right there you...monsters?"
His voice trailed off as he took in his surroundings. Within the vast cavern, surrounded by rocky walls and rivers of molten metal, there was a massive green field! Trees grew out of the rocks, creating a considerable canopy! There was even a small pond off in the distance! A black metal chandelier illuminated the cavern from on high, dangling the most entrancing multicolored flames.
But most shocking of all were the inhabitants: Snarks jumped in and out of the pool, Boojums floated around the edges of the cavern, and other lesser Jabberwock-spawn crawled all over. And on the green field in the center of the monster-filled cavern were the most monstrous of them all: the half-mechanical monsters known as the Jabberwock, the Bandersnatch, and the JubJub Bird...
….playing croquet!
"Be silent! I'm concentrating." bellowed the Bandersnatch, as its long furry claws gently straightened out the flamingo it was using as a mallet...and within a minute, it swung, striking the hedgehog that served as the ball.
The hedgehog let out a sharp shriek, very much like the ones the group heard down the hall, as it careened through the arches made out of Boojums. It rolled through two arches before it came to a stop.
Then, it uncurled itself and turned towards the Jabberwock. "How many times do I have to tell you, not so hard!" it said, in a voice not unlike a stern matron; "And turn me the other way, unless you want my spines to dig into the ground!"
The Bandersnatch growled in frustration. "I apologize. I must be more out of practice than I first realized."
"S'not all bad!" piped up the flamingo in its claws, "Y' actually managed to put a little spin in yer shot! You'll get there!"
At this, the Bandersnatch growled in a manner resembling laughter. "Of course."
As the scene unfolded, Alice and the White soldiers stared in slack-jawed amazement. This was nothing like they were expecting.
It was the Jabberwock, who landed next to them with a hiss of steam, that broke the silence: "I suppose you have a good reason for interrupting our practice game?"
"P...practice game?" said the confused Knight.
"Of course!" squawked the JubJub Bird. "The Red Queen's hosting a tournament, and we're invited! We need to be at our best for our old benefactor."
"Our days of rampaging on the Red Queen's orders may be behind us, but she ever remains our closest friend. It feels...good to associate with old friends from time to time. Doesn't it, Alice?"
Instead of answering the Jabberwock's question, Alice said: "I was under the impression that friendship was a foreign concept to beings born of guilt, self-loathing and fear."
"Not exactly. You can – and have – let down your friends and family in their times of need. It is because of your feelings of friendship that guilt arises."
The Bandersnatch set its flamingo down, and slunk over to Alice. "You have always cared about others more than yourself. You always blame yourself when others suffer misfortune...and more often than not, it's justified. That's why friendship is quite familiar with self-loathing as well."
"And you always worry about hurting your friends again, or becoming a burden to them...especially now, when you feel that you cannot move forward without their help. There's plenty of fear to be found there."
"...I see." said Alice. "So of course you had all the power you needed to destroy the Hatter's Domain."
The half-mechanical monsters regarded her coolly, and looked at each other, their glowing eyes betraying an emotion Alice did not expect: confusion.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about how your spawn, the Bandersnatch, and your cousin the JubJub Bird, tore the Hatter's Domain asunder, and stole the Vorpal Blade so I couldn't fight back."
"Impossible. I've been right here for the longest time." said the Bandersnatch.
"As have I." said the JubJub Bird.
"But I was right there! I cut off your claws-" Alice began, right as she noticed that all of the Bandersnatch's fish-hook claws were still attached to its front paws, as if they'd never been removed.
"I'm pretty sure I'd remember something like that. Painful memories are the hardest to forget, as you know."
"Are you really so lost you turn to baseless accusations? You know that will get you nowhere."
"Don't think you're blameless, Jabberwock!" snapped Alice. "You were there when I was searching for the Renfrew children, telling me to give up! And when I refused you set me aflame!"
"Yet another lie. I've haven't spoken to you since the White Queen came to power. And furthermore, I haven't tried to hurt you since the Weeping Angel's invasion. The White Queen's soldiers made certain of that."
At this, Alice turned towards the assembled soldiers. "This is outrageous. You cannot possibly believe them, after all the damage-"
The Bishop interrupted her: "Actually...I think I can."
This response caught Alice completely off-guard. "What?"
In response, the Bishop tapped its staff on the ground, and glowing lights arose from the steam vents arising from all three monsters, and floated down towards the soldiers. They were Bolterflies, with a peculiar assortment of glowing crystals dangling from their metallic bodies.
"Through those crystals," explained the Bishop, "we tracked their movements. We've followed them as they traveled to this place, Queensland, and back...but never to the Hatter's Domain. Nested inside them as they are, they cannot be removed. If they say they were not involved, I cannot dispute it."
With that, the Bishop commanded the Bolterflies to return to their original positions, inside the engines that fueled the Jabberwock, JubJub Bird, and Bandersnatch.
"Impossible..." breathed Alice. "There must be some mistake..."
"It wouldn't be the first time you mis-identified a threat to your sanity." huffed the Jabberwock.
Alice barely heard it, as she struggled to make sense of this chain of events: "But if you were here...and the damage was real...You had to subvert the crystals somehow..."
Then, suddenly, it hit Alice. "Then again, you were a great deal less verbose, and more hostile, than I've known you in the past...all of you...What if you are telling the truth?"
"Then you're wasting your time here."
"Time in which our impostors could wreak further havoc on your mind."
At first, Alice felt like agreeing with them...but then she said: "No, not impostors. The shock of that day...I must have created whole copies of you, from the sheer strength of my emotions!"
She collapsed to the ground, beating at the ashy floor with impotent strikes; "Once again I am my own worst enemy! When will I learn that every time I try to make things better I only make things worse? When will I ever learn?...I am doomed to lose the war with my own mind!"
The Jabberwock leaned in closer, so close that Alice could smell its sulfuric breath...and it said: "Can't find your foe? No surprise. You should always expect a serpent to change its skin."
Alice shot back up. "S...serpent?"
"Yes. Pigeon! Get in here!"
The flames in the chandelier flared, and the pigeon flew in from the top of the cavern. "You won't get away this time, Serpent!"
"No! I'm not a serpent, I swear! Please leave me alone!" wailed Alice, crawling backwards.
"Never! I must protect this world! I must destroy you!"
As the Pigeon dived downwards, rapidly closing the distance, Alice backed up as far as she could...up against the cavern wall.
She looked around for a way out...and shrieked: "Lifeline! Lifeline!"
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"Lifeline! Lifeline!"
"That's Alice!" exclaimed Richard; "She's in trouble again!"
Without a moment to spare, Richard threw open the door and rushed into the studio. He saw Alice sitting on the chair before the mirrors, fear frozen on her face.
Richard grabbed her by the hand. "Alice, I'm here! Your lifeline's here! Get up!"
Dodgson and Winifred followed him inside, as he continued: "Come on Alice, get up!
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"Get up!" came a ghostly voice.
Alice obeyed, and looked around again...and this time, she saw it: the exit for the Jabberwock's Lair had transformed into a mirror, and a hand reached through it.
With only seconds to react, Alice rolled to the side, barely dodging the Pigeon's attack. She scrambled to her feet, and threw herself into the mirror...
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...and she collapsed right on top of Richard.
"Oof!" blurted Richard as her weight briefly crushed him.
Alice rolled off of him, and caught her breath. "Sorry..." she moaned.
"...It's alright. You're alright now."
Dodgson and Winifred helped them to their feet. "G-g-goodness ….gracious, Alice! ….What happened?" asked Dodgson.
Alice opened her mouth to speak, but then stopped..and several seconds later, she moaned:
"I...I don't know."
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The Isis was calm this time of year; so calm, in fact, that some places seemed to stand still. Were it not for the boats moving downstream without being rowed, it would seem as if the river would never make it further south, where it would transform into the Thames. But as long as there has been an Oxford, the Isis has flowed; and as far as any Englishman was concerned, that's the way it always will and should be.
Still, those who went out with boats always brought oars, and always with company. In the progress-driven world of England, even leisure served a purpose: reinforcing social connections, and refreshing mind and body for the following days' toil.
Such was especially the case for the boating quartet of Dodgson, Winifred, Richard, and Alice. But as Dodgson could tell, such purpose seemed to be lost on Alice. She hadn't smiled since she got back from Wonderland the previous day, and despite Dodgson's assumption, the boating trip wasn't helping.
"Alice, p...please try to re...a...relax. You've b-b-been through a lot...a lot...of stress of late."
Alice sighed. "I know. I just wish I could have learned more from the Jabberwock. That beast knows what's happening, I'm certain of it."
"That ma...may be, but you can't... go back...as you are. Take it fr...from someone who c-can't speak clearly without r...rehearsing. Everyone needs …. leisure time."
Alice nodded, but still said: "He knows why the pigeon is attacking me. Maybe where the real serpent is..."
As she spoke, she looked at her hands...briefly gaining an expression of unfamiliarity. As if, for an instant, she felt like her own body was not her own... this expression was immediately followed by one of worry, one that did not escape the other passengers.
"Alice, dearie, you mustn't dwell on your troubles all the time." said Winifred. "Try thinking of the good things in your life."
Winifred used her eyes to point to her grandson, busy at the oars. To her disappointment, Alice showed no visible reaction.
"This doesn't really seem to be doing much for her, Mr. Dodgson." said Winifred with a sigh.
"Th...that's a shame. She told me she loves b...boating, and we we...went on s...so many pleasant outings when she was m-m...my lodger. I thought...I thought this would help."
Alice took a deep breath, then said: "So did I. Perhaps I've associated this with Wonderland too much. It was here, after all, where it all began."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Richard.
"It was on t...trips like this, wh...when she was a ...child, that she...she first shared her dreams with m..me, and her sister."
Richard's eyes widened slightly. "And where you first got the ideas for the novels."
Dodgson nodded. Then, he took several breaths, and spoke. "It was in several sessions. The dreams were d...disconnected at first, and not as linear as the novels would su...suggest. Young Alice sometimes repeated p...p-parts of her favorite dreams...or w...was it ...the other way around?"
Dodgson looked at Alice, who couldn't help but crack a smile; a victory, however slight. Satisfied, he took some more breaths and continued: "An-anyway, the idea of making a novel came soon, but after the Liddell fire I p-p-put the idea to rest. It...it was after I met Alice ag...again, in need of money, that I got... to work, organizing these d-d-dreams into a narrative. It wasn't easy."
Dodgson stopped to center himself again, and Alice joined the conversation: "There were plenty of things that didn't make it into the novel. The Torch Gnomes, the Origami Ants, the Insane Children... and we both agreed sensitive readers would probably not want to hear about the Dollmaker or the Weeping Angel."
"I...wanted to include the b-b-bit with the...Wasp in a wig. But...but Tenniel refused to...to illustrate it."
Richard, who up until then had been sitting in rapt attention, tilted his head. "Really? He drew a caterpillar, a lion and a unicorn, and living playing cards...why did he draw the line at a wasp in a wig?"
Dodgson shrugged. "To this day, I...I don't know!"
Everyone on the boat shared a laugh. Alice, however, was the first to stop, lacking the energy required to continue.
But then, she looked at Richard, still enjoying himself despite all the trouble she's put him and the others through...and she found the strength within her to smile.
Then Winifred smiled at her in turn, adding in a knowing wink, and Alice looked away to hide her blush.
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At length, the sun began to set, and Dodgson's party returned to the Christ Church where he lived and worked. After they closed the door, an exhausted Winifred sat herself down on the nearest chair and started fanning herself.
"Thank you, Dodgson," said Richard; "this was a fine diversion."
"You're we..welcome. I only wish it h...helped Alice more." said Dodgson as he sadly watched Alice climb up the stairs to her guest room with nary a word.
With a sigh, Richard followed her, leaving Dodgson all alone with Winifred on the ground floor.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, Winifred decided to take advantage of this situation. "Pity those two. If only-" she started to say, before she was rudely interrupted...
...by a series of insistent knocks on the front door.
"Wha...wh...who could th-that be?" asked Dodgson, only to be answered with more knocks.
"Please, do be more gentle. We don't want to break the door down!" said a feminine voice from outside.
"I know he's in there. And she's with him! I'm through being gentle with that boy!" said another voice...one that Winifred instantly recognized.
"Oh no," she said under her breath, as the knocking continued.
Heedless of the warning, Dodgson stepped up to the door, and waited until there was a pause in the knocking before opening it.
What he saw was a middle-aged gentleman in a black suit, a similarly-aged woman in a silken blue dress, a much younger woman in a maidservant's outfit, and a strange figure in a violet cloak, with a face-concealing lace veil.
"Good evening." said a feminine voice from the cloaked figure. "Am I addressing Charles Lutwidge Dodgson?"
"Y...y-y-yes, of course."
"My name is Madame Vastra, and this is Jenny, and Thomas and Meredith Hargreaves. Now, where's Alice?"
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