Doctor Who: The Mark of the Rani by Pip Baker, Jane Baker

sir.’
    ‘Hiding out, tha’ said?’
     
    ‘In Redfern Dell.’
    ‘Fetch gun for me, Luke.’
    Complying – the Master had said nothing about guns –
    Luke got the blunderbuss from its rack.
    ‘Get thee to th’office.’ Stephenson took the weapon.
    ‘Tell his lordship I want all the men he can spare.’
    Luke was temporarily disorientated. This instruction did conflict with his mission. But Stephenson, without realising it, resolved the quandary.
    ‘Make haste. ’Tis urgent. I must be off to Redfern Dell.’
    Placated, Luke departed. Methodically, using lead slugs and gunpowder, Stephenson began to prime the blunderbuss. It was a derisory defence for what lay in wait.
    Redfern Dell was verdant with wild berries, ferns and grasses. An inviting, peaceful spot.
    So it would have been but for the Rani’s sinister presence. After setting a dial, she placed a disc on the ground and covered it with leaves.
    She moved a pace to the right, then ’planted’ the next.
    And the next.
    Until the halcyon dell was a minefield of the deadly camouflaged discs...
     
    15

Metamorphosis
    ‘There’s nothing I can do. The men need rest.’ The Doctor’s dismissal was impatient. Certainly Ward and Dobbs, exhausted to the point of collapse, were pitiable, but he wanted to get to George Stephenson.
    ‘Rest?’ Ravensworth did not understand.
    ‘They’ve been robbed of the power of sleep.’
    ‘Robbed of –? Confound it, man! I don’t know what you mean.’
    Ravensworth had Peri’s sympathy. Decoding the Doctor when he was in this mood would have defeated even an expert cryptologist!
    ‘I haven’t time to explain. Peri, see what you can do.’
    Turning to leave, he collided with Luke in the office doorway. ‘Ah, Luke, is Stephenson in his workshop?’
    Luke answered without hesitation. ‘Nay, sir.’
    ‘I must find him. Is he at the forge?’
    ‘Nay, sir.’ Luke’s laconic manner disturbed the Doctor.
    ‘Did he give you any idea where he’d be?’
    ‘Nay.’
    Ravensworth, too, considered this unusual. ‘Not at all?’
    ‘Never said nowt, m’lord.’
    The Doctor, who had been studying Luke intently, exited abruptly.
    A bewildered Ravensworth glanced at Peri.
    ‘Don’t bother to ask,’ she said, resignedly. ‘I haven’t a clue what he’s up to.’
    The Doctor’s destination was the workshop. The taciturn replies had convinced him Luke was lying.
    ‘Primed and loaded.’ He referred to the blunderbuss tucked under Stephenson’s arm. ‘You’re expecting trouble?’
    ‘Likely as not. I’ve had message from Faraday. He’s taken shelter in Redfern Dell.’
    ‘Message?’
    ‘Aye, he’s been attacked. Now out of road, Doct–’
    ‘Luke. He brought you the message.’ A statement not a question.
    ‘How did thee know that?’ Stephenson found this new acquaintance more and more unpredictable.
    The Doctor, typically, ignored the query. ‘Stephenson, it’s too risky for you out there. Let me go.’
    ‘But Faraday–?’
    ‘If Faraday is there, I’ll bring him to you.’
    Stephenson’s resolve wavered.
    ‘I promise.’ The coup de grâce . ‘You could finish assembling your modified steam bypass.’
    ‘Well – then tha’ best take gun.’
    ‘Thank you, no.’ However, he did have a parting request. ‘Stephenson – I can’t explain. But this is important.’
    ‘What is’t, Doctor?’
    ‘Don’t trust Luke...’
    Luke was indeed a changed youth. jack Ward, aching from tiredness and unable to sleep, was writhing in the chair, yet his son regarded him almost dispassionately.
    ‘P’raps sleeping draught’s t’answer.’
    ‘At least it would sedate them.’
    Ravensworth agreed with Peri, but had no means of getting a medicament, short of sending to the town for an apothecary.
    ‘If I had the proper herbs I could make a sedative,’ Pert offered. ‘Trouble is, I know nothing about the vegetation in this area.’
    ‘I may be of use there. Somewhat of an amateur botanist myself.’