Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror (18 page)

The Doctor threw back his head and
regarded Lemaitre with keen and searching curiosity.

Lemaitre shrugged. 'I knew that so long
as she was here you too would remain, even though your other two
friends might have escaped ... what were their names ... Barbara
and Ian?'

The Doctor stared down his nose. 'So,
you knew all about us all the time?'

Lemaitre tapped his ear with his cane.
'Listening at keyholes can be very informative,' he remarked with a
grimace of distaste.

There was another pause white the two
sized each other up like a pair of duellists.

'What is it you require from me?' the
Doctor demanded at last.

Lemaitre moved closer and lowered his
voice confidentially. 'You and your friends obviously work with Jules
Renan. I want to know where he operates from.'

'I've never met this man Jules Renan,'
the Doctor retorted. 'I appreciate how much you want to find him and
his associates, but if you are expecting me to betray him then you
are a very poor judge of character, sir.'

Lemaitre stepped even closer so that
his nose was almost touching the Doctor's. 'If you wish your
granddaughter to be released alive, then you will take me to Renan's
hideout,' he said menacingly.

The Doctor stepped back, shaking his
head vehemently. 'I refuse. Never!' he shouted. 'I warn you, Citizen.
You cannot blackmail me!'

As the sultry July heat beat down upon
Paris, the tension had become almost tangible behind the half-closed
shutters of Jules Renan's house. Barbara and Ian had tended one
another's wounds and now they sat listening to the elegant
mantel-clock relentlessly ticking away the minutes as they waited for
Jules to return from his reconnoitre along the street in search of the Doctor and
Susan.

'How much longer can we wait?' Ian
eventually blurted out, breaking the oppressive silence between them.

Barbara wiped her glistening brow.
'Every time somebody walks past the house I think it's going to be
them at last,' she laughed nervously.

Ian fidgeted awkwardly. 'I'm really
sorry about Leon,' he said after another silence, ' but there was no
other way. You must try to believe me, Barbara.'

She nodded glumly. 'I'm just so sick
and tired of death. Ian. But we don't seem to be able to avoid it, do
we?'

Next moment Jules hurried in, sweating
and out oi breath. 'No sign of your friends,' he reported sadly.
'I've left the front door unlatched.'

Ian looked uneasy. 'So anyone can walk
in,' he muttered to Barbara in English.

Jules caught the gist of the remark.
'Please try to be patient,' he pleaded. 'I know what it is like. I
have done my share of waiting too.'

Barbara bit her lip and cleared her
throat. 'Jules ... when I said those things before ... about
making judgements of people ... ' She trailed into embarrassed
silence, searching for the appropriate words in French.

Jules smiled understandingly. 'You said
things because of Leon Colbert, the man,' he said kindly. 'But I had
to deal with what Leon Colbert represented. Barbara, do you ever
wonder why I do these things ... Hiding in alleyways and dark
corners ... Fighting in the shadows ... ?'

Ian looked up. 'We assume that you and
Jean belong to the aristocracy. You are Royalists.'

Jules shook his head very firmly. 'I
have no title, no special status. I am a bourgeois - somewhere in the
middle ... ' He sat down between them, desperate to make them
understand. 'I hate to see order swept up like dust and thrown
carelessly out of the window. That is the Terror: there can be no
loyalty or honour when anarchy reigns

Barbara nodded as if she understood.
'And Leon was your friend.'

Jules shrugged miserably. 'My sister
Danielle always suspected him,' he revealed. 'There are only two
sides today: those who rule by fear and
treachery, and those who fight for reason and decency. Anybody who
betrays us is worse than the Devil in Hell.'

Jules fell silent as the front door
slammed shut. They all rose and turned to the door of the dining
room.

'At last, they're here!' Ian breathed.

The door opened and the Doctor walked
in followed by Lemaitre.

'Lemaitre!' gasped Barbara, her smile
of joy crumpling into an appalled grimace.

Jules's mouth fell open as he stared at
Lemaitre and then at the Doctor. 'Worse than the Devil in Hell ...
' he repeated, turning to the dumbfounded young English couple. 'Your
friend, the Doctor ... he has betrayed us!' Jules snatched out a
pistol and trained it at Lemaitre's head. Slowly Lemaitre raised his
hands in the air.

All at once, there was a stir in the
street outside and Ian rushed across to peer through the shutters.

'They've brought the soldiers ... '
he warned.

LemaTtre shook his head emphatically.
'No! We come alone and unarmed,' he declared. 'Ask your friend here.'

The Doctor nodded gravely. 'It is true.
I made a bargain with Lemaitre. Let him speak. He is holding Susan
hostage in the Conciergerie.'

Jules gazed contemptuously at Lemaitre.
'What can you possibly have to say to us?' he sneered, keeping his
pistol levelled.

Lemaitre kept his hands high above his
head. 'Please Renan, I came here as a friend,' he protested.

'A friend!' Barbara exclaimed
sarcastically.

Lemaitre turned to Ian. 'Chesterton
will confirm that what I say is true,' he claimed.

Ian turned from the window. I will?' he
echoed in disbelief.

Lemaitre smiled. 'Surely you realised
that your escape from the Conciergerie was planned? I ensured that
you got the key to your cell and I took care of the gaoler,' he
revealed.

Ian frowned sceptically. 'But why? Why
should you do that for me?'

Lemaitre stepped forward. 'I was
certain that Webster gave you a message to deliver to me, but I had
to be sure. So I gave you the opportunity ... But time is running
short now ... '

The others all stared at Lemaitre as he
slowly lowered his arms.

'Yes,' he announced in perfect English.
'I am James Stirling.'

Ian uttered a mirthless laugh of
derision. 'You? You are James Stirling ... ?'

The tall, noble figure shrugged. 'Is it
really so surprising, Ian? You must realise that to be of any use at
all James Stirling would have to hold a position of authority.'

Ian looked unconvinced. 'But if you're
Stirling, why didn't you ask Webster to give you his message himself
before he died?'

Stirling smiled patiently. 'It was not
safe for me to make myself known ... to break my cover ... ' he
explained. 'But now circumstances are changing rapidly and I need to
move fast.'

Jules had struggled to follow the
incredible revelations in English. 'If you are Stirling why have you
not made yourself known to us here?' he demanded suspiciously.
'Webster knew about me.'

Stirling spread his hands as if
acknowledging how unlikely his story must sound. 'I had to create an
absolutely credible existence as Lemaitre,' he claimed earnestly. 'I
could trust no-one. I have been close to the very highest people.'
Stirling lowered his voice. '1 enjoy the confidence of Robespierre
himself.'

'He does,' confirmed the Doctor.

But Ian was still not satisfied. 'You
could have made yourself known to me in prison,' he insisted.

Stirling sighed and shook his head.
'There are spies everywhere. I could trust no-one,' he repeated
adamantly.

The Doctor suddenly decided to assert
his presence. 'All very interesting, Stirling ... Lemaitre ...
whatever your name is,' he interrupted rudely. 'However, the only
reason I brought you here was to help my granddaughter. I've kept my
part of the bargain.'

Stirling nodded. 'I know, but you must
permit me to explain my position ... '

The Doctor made everybody jump by
banging his stick on the floor several times. 'I most certainly will
not!' he shouted cantankerously. 'I want Susan out of prison
immediately!'

Stirling restrained himself as best he
could. 'I will help you if you will help me,' he declared, trying
hard not to antagonise the irascible old man. 'Don't you see? I can
use my influence to guarantee you a safe passage ... wherever you
want to go.'

Ian and Barbara exchanged glances.
'Stirling's right, Doctor,' Ian suggested gently. Stirling's promise
of a safe passage to wherever they wished to go had suddenly sounded
very attractive to the two travel-weary humans.

The Doctor grunted and wandered over to
the window to take advantage of a slight but unmistakably cool breeze
that had just sprung up. His Time Lord metabolism had been suffering
cruelly in the humid heat, especially under his heavy ceremonial
finery.

'I promise you, no harm will befall
Susan,' Stirling added. 'I gave orders that she was to remain in the
cell.'

The Doctor's nostrils flared. 'I hardly
regard the gaoler as the ideal custodian of my granddaughter,' he
retorted crossly.

'The gaoler would die sooner than allow
that cell door to be opened without my orders,' Stirling assured him.

The Doctor took several deep gulps of
refreshing breeze wafting through the shutters. He knew he had to
give way, but he was reluctant to admit it. 'Very well, Stirling,
tell your story if you must ... ' he sighed.

Jules sat down to listen, but kept his
pistol on his knees just in case. Barbara and Ian stood nearby.

Stirling turned eagerly to Ian. 'The
message,' he requested. 'First give me Webster's message.'

Ian hesitated. 'Well, Webster told me
very little. He was badly wounded as you know ... '

Stirling nodded impatiently. 'Yes, Ian,
I read all the reports of arrests in case something like that
happened. That was why I came to your cell. I'd been expecting
Webster to contact me for several weeks.'

Ian still didn't look convinced. 'But
Webster didn't know where you were or how I could find you.'

Stirling's noble face betrayed mounting
frustration. 'Ian ... The message!' he urged.

Ian glanced at Jules and Barbara. They
both nodded.

'All right. Webster said that you were
to return to England immediately,' Ian informed him. 'It seems that
whatever information you may have is urgently needed there.'

Stirling nodded and waited for Ian to
continue. Ian shrugged.'That's all he said.'

Stirling looked deeply disappointed.
'Are you sure?'

Ian thought back. 'Yes ... Oh, he did
mumble a few words when he was losing consciousness, but I've told
you everything he asked me to tell you.'

Stirling went up to Ian and searched
his face in desperation. 'What were the mumblings about, Ian? Please
try to remember.'

'Just odd words ... Ian recalled
vaguely. 'They didn't make any sense. I'm sure he would have told me
if they were important.'

James Stirling looked across the room
at the Doctor's back. 'Well, I've already started planning my return
to England,' he revealed. 'But before I can go and before I can give
Susan and the rest of you a safe passage, there is one more piece of
information I must have.'

Barbara looked deeply puzzled. 'You
asked for our help. But what can we do? You are the one with all the
power,' she pointed out.

Stirling glanced at Jules. 'Robespierre
sent for me today. There is another plot to depose him.'

Jules had been following the discussion
in English as closely as he could. 'Good!' he exclaimed, his eyes
lighting up. 'Will it succeed this time?'

Stirling stared back at the Doctor's
aloof figure, as if he did not trust him. 'Possibly, Jules,' he
replied. 'The First Deputy instructed me to follow Paul Barras to a
secret rendezvous and to report personally to him on what is said at
the meeting.'

Suddenly Ian struck himself on the
forehead with his fist.

'Barras! A meeting ... ' he echoed,
beginning to remember. 'Webster mentioned that to me.'

Stirling swung round and grasped him by
the shoulders. 'What did Webster say?' he demanded, his eyes blazing
with urgency.

Ian pulled a face and bit his lip as he
made an enormous effort to recall the dying man's exact words. 'It
was nothing specific ... He mentioned Barras and ... and a ship .
. . He kept talking about a sinking ship ... The Sinking Ship ...
That was it ... A name of some kind ... '

Jules sprang to his feet, almost
dropping his pistol. 'The Sinking Ship! There is an inn of that name
on the Calais Road!' he cried excitedly. 'I know it. It is a lonely
place, ideal for a secret meeting.'

Stirling's face seemed to shed a
massive, oppressive weight. 'Perhaps we could arrange for the meeting
to be overheard ... ' he speculated. 'Once I know the purpose of
that meeting I shall be ready to return to England ... And free to
help you all.'

'Do you know who Barras intends to
meet?' asked Barbara, trying to remember her French history.

Stirling shook his head. 'Whoever it
is, it could be the next ruler of France,' he declared dramatically.

Ian opened his mouth to suggest a
probable name but was silenced by a sudden sharp warning glance from
the Doctor, who had abruptly swung round from the window. Ian coughed
and smiled sheepishly. 'I still can't see how we can help you,' he
told Stirling.

'Barras knows me by sight,' Stirling
explained. 'My plan, if you agree, is for you and Barbara to "attend"
the meeting, so to speak.'

'Out of the question!' declared the
Doctor, striding into the centre of the room, his plumes waving
magnificently. 'The risk is far too great.'

Jules intervened. 'Why not use your own
people?' he asked.

Stirling clasped his temples as if in
despair of ever making them understand. 'I have no-one. I work
alone,' he replied wearily. 'It is the only way. Then only James
Stirling can betray James Stirling.'