Strax stared at them with a mixture of anger, confusion, and amusement. All three of the Claras also stared at each other, Oswin and present-day Clara not as surprised but still surprised. Jenny entered the room and adopted a look of bewilderment. Strax cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"Ma'am, if I may interrupt this…interesting meeting, may I suggest you all sit down for tea?"
"Thank you, Strax. That would be most welcoming right now," Vastra replied, promptly standing up and following Strax and Jenny out of the door. The doctor, who seemed the most muddled, seemed to be deciding between joining the Vastra himself or inviting all three Claras. Finally, he gruffly stated, "I'm certainly in the mood for a jammie dodger right now."
They turned to look at him all at once, and with the eerie occurrence of three sets of chocolate brown eyes piercing into him, he cringed slightly. "You know what, how about you...you three...come with me and we'll sort this all out. Okay?" They stared at him, then at each other; then, in a peculiar silence that the Doctor was not accustomed to and didn't want to have to get accustomed to, they followed him.
When they entered, Jenny and the Vastra were engaged in a conversation about the security of the country. Strax stood in the corner and warily eyed the doctor and his companions. They sat down, and for a few minutes, no one spoke.
Victorian Clara carefully measured sugar into her tea with a shiny silver spoon. Oswin munched thoughtfully on a biscuit. And Clara, the one and only Clara, sipped her tea pensively. Without thinking, the Doctor blurted out, "Clara." Both Claras answered, and Oswin looked up.
"Yes?"
"Sorry. Actually, never mind." There was more silence, which left an awkward feeling in the air; the doorbell rang and Strax stalked off to answer it. Meanwhile, Jenny sat, looking uncomfortable, next to the Vastra.
"Doctor," wondered Vastra after another long silence. "Do you have any idea what is going on here? Is it dangerous Should we be on our guard?" As she spoke, Strax returned with a folded piece of paper on a silver platter.
"Sorry to interrupt again, but this telegram just came from one of our contacts." sighed audibly, Madame Vastra whipped a gloved hand from under the table and snatched it, quickly scanning the small message. She read aloud:
BE CAREFUL STOP ENEMIES OF THE DOCTOR HAVE FORMED AN ALLIANCE STOP THEY GATHER WEEKLY AT POPHAM'S SQUARE STOP PLEASE ADVISE STOP BARNABAS WESLEY AT 123 POPPAM'S SQUARE STOP.
"Well," said the Doctor after another long pause. That explains a lot."
"Sir, I advise that you take the three young boys to a safety point, then blow the meeting place of the rogues to smithereens with a type four blasting device."
"Oi!" Interjected Clara, speaking for the first time. "Are you blind? I'm not a boy!"
"Strax, haven't we talked about this before?" The Vastra warningly raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, sorry Ma'am."
"Then I suppose we're off to Popham's Square?" said Oswin, smiling mischievously at Victorian Clara beside her.
"We're on!" shouted the Doctor. Everyone looked at him. He straightened his bowtie, scowled, and began to walk out of the door. "Yeah, never saying that again." All three of the duplicates grinned and followed him.
Sorry the chapters have been so short! I hope to make them longer once some excitement ensues in the next chapter. Thank you to the people who have reviewed, I hope to see more soon!