It was a night to remember, that much was certain. The Doctor an' Mary 'ad departed from the table and decided to continue their, well, let's call it a 'debate' in another room. Meanwhile, it was our Jane and Mr and Mrs Banks along with myself left to enjoy the feast laid out before us: I certainly wasn't going to let a few heated words keep me from a warm meal.
The rest of 'em, well, they was a bit reluctant to eat given the circumstances. They all 'ad that sour look on their face as if... well, as if someone 'ad just stepped in and ruined their Christmas supper. I 'ad to feel bad for 'em, and that was the only thing what kept me from my food.
"Aren't you hungry, dear?" Winifred pressed. Like me she couldn't stand seeing it go to waste, especially after all the work cook had put into it.
George was miles away, of course, but like a proper chap 'e snapped right to. "What? Oh, sorry, dear, I appear to have lost my appetite."
"So have I," Jane chorused.
"Oi, come on now, don't be so glum," I chirped with a mouthful of the wing. I swallowed 'ard and looked around. "The Doctor is a good sort, an' our Mary knows how to take care of 'erself, don't you worry. I reckon all o' this'll blow over an' that'll be that."
"To think, Mary Poppins, involved with the war council," George chuckled, though 'e didn't know the half of it. "Well, I must say, I always knew her to be queer, but to keep something like this from us..."
Jane stared down at her plate an' poked a carrot with 'er fork. "I knew a Doctor once, though he was not the man we met tonight."
George's moustache twitched impatiently. There was one bad habit George still clung to, an' that was stifling the imagination. "Jane, if your intention is to indulge us with another fanciful and childish story then I should ask to be excused."
"It's no story, father," she says, but Ol' George still groaned. It seemed that all of 'er 'fanciful and childish stories' began that way. "Back when we were children, Mary Poppins had taken Michael and I to the coliseum in Rome to watch the chariot races, and while we were there we met a man named the Doctor."
"How ridiculous," 'e laughed nervously, but clearly 'e was the only one who thought so. Giving into the collective consensus George Banks decided to stay an' listen to 'is daughter's story, though still with that pinch of skepticism that could be expected from a man of his stature.
Jane continued to regale us with 'er tale: "Caesar was quite taken with her, of course, and asked if she would sit beside him for the event. This man, the Doctor, who looked as though he'd just come from a game of cricket seemed quite upset at this, and after arguing with Caesar found himself fighting with the gladiators."
"I remember that," I chuckled, and got a taste for myself of George Banks' disapproving glare. Brrr.
"If it weren't for Mary Poppins, well, who knows what might have happened! The Doctor may very well have been done for!"
"Ancient Rome," sneered George uncomfortably. "I don't suppose you though to bring back a postcard and holiday snaps. No, no, I thought not."
I piped in. "It's true, gov. Seen it all with my very own eyes, I 'ave! 'Round that time we saw a lot of things that I promise you if you saw for yourself would make your 'ead spin!"
"Well, I very much like my head sitting where it is. Thank you."
A bit o' turkey got caught in my neck as I tried not to laugh. All of these old memories, a thousand stories, and all thanks to our Mary. "I remember there was this one time where me an' Mary flew a hot air balloon all the way to the Orient. Oh, what a sight to behold! From the Himalayas to Mount Fuji and all the way back to London again in the space of a day!"
"But didn't it take eighty days for Phileas Fogg to circumnavigate the globe?" Winifred asked with piqued interest. George groaned, woeful that she should be encouraging us.
I grinned widely. "That it did, ma'am. That it did. Though I imagine it was on account of time zones and daylight savings that Mary Poppins an' I managed to do it in one. It took some very precise calculation on her part. I was just along for the ride, you see."
"I fail to see what this has to do with anything," our host protested, but I was quick to the point.
"Point is there was a Doctor there, too," I explained. "Different bloke again, this time with black hair, bushy eyes and a bushy coat to match. Musical chap, who played the flute along to a group of players. Kabuki, I think they called 'em, with colourful costumes an' masks over their faces. A mite confusin', but oh, they were a laugh."
This talk seemed to stir something in our George as 'e stared vaguely out the window and stood without announcing 'imself. Sure, sometimes 'e could be a bit absent minded, but 'e was always quick to gather 'imself thereafter.
Winifred stood and placed an 'and on 'is shoulder. "Is something the matter, George?" Though he didn't say nothing. Maybe this time the old boy actually 'ad gone off the deep end.
Meanwhile, our Jane saw fit to be elsewhere, as if something were troubling 'er as well. "Excuse me."
Alone with the 'usband and wife whose affairs I 'ad no right to interfere with I thought best to just keep to myself and enjoy a bread roll. Use some of them to fill you, I thought, and save some meat and veg for the rest of the crew.
Poor George, it was like 'e didn't even know I was there: 'e just kept looking out the window, but it was 'is memory 'e was searching. "Doctor, Doctor, Doctor," 'e said. "I knew a Doctor... once... Winifred."
"Do you need a doctor right now, George?" she inquired with great concern.
"What? No, thank you," 'e stammered. Something was caught between those cogs in 'is head, and I don't think it sat quite right with 'is sensibilities. "It's that... I'm not sure I remember correctly, but I remember as a young boy also meeting a man called the Doctor."
"There are quite a few doctors around, George."
"No, no, Winifred, that was his name! No John Smith, no other title save 'the Doctor'." Marching towards the window 'e stared at the eyes of 'is reflection, searching 'is own soul for answers. "Only that this gentleman was older. He walked with a cane and had smooth, white hair. There was a way about him that I just couldn't put my finger on..."
Again 'is wife fretted. "George, are you feeling quite yourself?"
"No, I... I don't imagine I am." 'E turned and glared at her madly, as though he'd just stumbled on something important. "He was there for the nanny! I... I can't for the life of me remember her name, but... that's who he had come for! She chastised him because he didn't think he had much time for children, and..."
I was almost sorry to see it. Of course 'e didn't remember 'er name, because that's 'ow she wanted it. 'Er name was Mary Poppins and she hadn't aged a day in all the years she'd known 'im, either. She was George's nanny when 'e was a boy, and 'is father's nanny too. An old Banks family secret, that, which not even they know.
"'Scuse me, gov. I think I might just nip out for a spot of fresh air, if you don't mind." As good an excuse as any. I'd probably eaten more than my fill as it was.
In the hallway I could 'ear voices. The Doctor an' Mary hadn't traveled far to have their squabble, an' our Jane was stationed suspiciously around a corner, propped so that she might listen to every word. When she saw me approach she signaled for me to be quiet, so what I did is crept over as quiet on my tip-toes as my old bones would allow me.
She mouthed the words 'be quiet', and who was I to argue? You know, sometimes to look at our Jane and to look at 'ow she acts you might forget that she's supposed to be a fully grown woman with a child of 'er own.
The Doctor, he 'ad some harsh words for 'is former missus. "You should actually count yourself fortunate. The High Council have made it policy to come down hard on deserters. I had to fight tooth and nail to get here so that I might convince you to come back peaceably."
"This, of course, coming from the great Doctor, who, as we know, has always keenly listened to what the High Council tells him," she jabbed. Our Mary wasn't one for taking any lip.
"This isn't about the High Council, this isn't even about Gallifrey. This is about the Daleks and the entire universe." If 'is tone could 'ave turned any darker then it did just then. Suddenly the Doctor was sending chills up my spine: Jane's too. "What if by coming here you lead the Daleks back to Earth?"
Mary counteracted by becoming even more indignant! "I took precautions."
High Council. Gallifrey. Daleks! Oh, I didn't like the sound of any of those, 'specially that last part. You been around like I 'ave, you hear some stories, and some of them will scare your hair white.
"So did I," 'e murmured seriously, "but sometimes things go wrong." It was clear, 'specially to us eavesdropping that this line of reasoning was getting 'im nowhere, so 'e tried another plan. "Mary, I don't take you for a fool..."
"Thank you," she replied expectantly, and right she shouldn't! Our Mary Poppins was practically perfect in every way.
Jane let out a titter, but silenced 'erself: we wouldn't want to be heard this late in the game.
"But coming back here was far too dangerous, even for a couple of dashing rogues like you and I," the Doctor continued. "Perhaps if you helped me to understand then we can work together and think our way out of this mess."
She thought about it for a moment and answered curtly. "Very well." That's about when we heard a sound, like the unfolding of paper. A secret document of some kind, perhaps?
"You mean to change history," the Doctor said.
"I mean," said Mary Poppins emphatically, "to save our daughter's life!"
Both Jane and I blinked. We couldn't believe our ears! The Doctor and Mary Poppins 'ad a daughter!? And why would she be here in the house of Banks!?
No, it couldn't 'ave been... not after all this time! It was about then that my 'ead began spinning. This was almost too much to take in for one evening...
TO BE CONTINUED...