In want of a wife (A Dr. Who fanfiction)

Chapter 14

"You do know your father and I will have to give you permission, for you are not one and twenty yet."

"Do you not desire me to marry a wealthy Lord, then? He would be cross I gather, should I remove his gift. He would consider it a sign of unwillingness and may wish to forgo the match altogether."

Rose knew this to be a falsehood off course, but sometimes it was necessary to mislead her mother a little, for the sake of peace. And Mrs. Tyler was very sensitive to the alleged threat, she did not speak of the ring again.

The beautiful dress was brought in and Rose took a deep breath, becoming more and more conscious of the reality of the events. The dress was made of silk, designed with a low square cut, and a simple bodice, only adorned with four bows. The sleeves were measured according to fashion and trimmed with white lace. The skirt was pleated, longer on the back side and here and there decorated with more bows. Its colour was blue. A similar, yet lighter blue than the colour of the shirt she gave her Doctor.

Rose touched the fabric with something akin to anxiety, she had worn the dress for the fitting in the days previous, however this was the day its purpose became fulfilled.

With the utmost care, two maids took the dress and draped it over the elegant haircut, terrified of wrecking it and having to endure their mistresses wrath.

The bodice was secured on the back and the veil placed. The filmy lace was held by a wreath of myrtle leaves, decorated with white pearls and small daisies.

When presented to a mirror, Rose could do nothing but stare and bite her lip. She knew she had been labelled quite beautiful amongst her acquaintances. She had never sat down during a dance against her will and had felt many men stare at her. Nevertheless this was the first time she had ever felt herself to be worthy of the compliments. She smiled softly when her mind took her to the moment the Doctor would see her for the first time. She would now not be so nervous, knowing this was what he would lay his eyes on. There would be plenty of other things to fuzz about, but her outward appearance was no longer one of them.

Turning to her mother, Rose carefully hugged her and whispered: "Thank you, mum."

Blinking away tears, Mrs. Tyler hurries herself to get busy ordering the rest of the household about their business and Rose awaited the moment she could descend herself.

A knock on the door brought a happy interruption in that wait, and Rose was thrilled when Martha came in.

"Oh Rose-"

Martha dared not hug her friend, in fear of forming wrinkles and imperfections. She therefore grasped her hands firmly and smiled excitingly.

"This is the day! I cannot say we have been waiting for it long, but I am so happy it has arrived."

"I have not seen you these past days, have you been well?"

Martha assured her that was the case and a light blush spread over her cheeks.

Rose smiled, recognizing that blush all to well and pulling her friend beside her on the bed, she asked: "So, how are things progressing with our friend Mr. Smith? Please forgive me if I venture to boldly, but there will be very few moments left after now where we can talk in private. You will have to promise me to write. I will give you an address, and you will have to tell me everything, for I do not know how often I shall be able to return here."

"I will miss you terribly, and promise to write wholeheartedly, if you will return the favour."

"I do, I promise. Now tell me all."

"There is one thing that has to come first, for it is the reason I came here so early. It is a morning gift from the Doctor."

"A morning gift?" Rose clasped her hands in anticipation. "When did he give you this?"

"He did not give it to me. He gave it to Mi- to Mr. Smith yesterday and he entrusted it to me, to give it to you before the wedding."

Martha took a small parcel from her purse and handed it to Rose, whose trembling fingers had some difficulty unwrapping it. Her mind was enthralled about the Doctor's knowledge of old customs and she understood now fully his glee about the shirt. He had possibly been expecting one. However knowing her distaste for sewing, he must have had his doubts.

The wrapping was finally discarded and a small blue box was revealed.

"Open it," Martha beckoned, when Rose just sat and stared at the box. For it was no mere blue box. It was an exact replica of the TARDIS, made of a heavy material, with velvety coating and it had a clasp.

Slowly, eyes watery, she opened it and then laughed.

A joyous laugh; not fully understood by her friend, who now looked a little surprised at the small silver key, dangling on a long silvery chain of the most delicate links, interrupted by only the finest white pearls and little sapphires.

When Martha examined the chain more closely, she could not withhold the exclamation: "How remarkable, this must be worth a fortune!"

Rose merely smiled, until her friend inquired as to where the key was for, since the Doctor was not known to have a house.

"And to that I cannot possibly imagine any door that would open with so small a key. It must be from a box or something, do you know? Perhaps his household money?"

Rose laughed along with her friend, not answering and feeling quite relieved when a knock on the door informed the young ladies the moment was at hand for the procession to form and to begin their journey towards the church.

Quickly Rose secured the chain around her neck, the key slipping neatly between her breasts. The cool metal adding to her flustered anticipation.

Downstairs Rose was admired, helped carefully over a pile of broken dishes and then escorted by the young Mr. Jones and her little brother. Other children were cheerfully running back and forth with sticks and ribbons. Martha followed the bride, along with her sister and Miss Noble. Mrs. Tyler and some other relatives preceded the rest of the guests and Mr. Tyler ended the line.

Thus, led by a small band of musicians, the wedding procession set of to church.

With each step, Rose felt her heart beating more loudly as it seemed. The minutes each lasting an eternity, Rose feared they would not reach the church in time and wished fervently she could have used the TARDIS to proceed to the actual ceremony. She expected her feet to fail their steps and held on to the hands of the young men beside her as if her life depended on them.

At a small tug on her right side, she noticed her brothers grimace of pain and a little apologetic, she eased her grip on his hand.

"Sorry Tony, I am a little nervous, forgive me." Rose whispered at him and he grinned.

"Mum had said you would probably squeeze and told me to squeeze back, that would give you a momentarily distraction. But why are you nervous, the Doctor will be there, he said he would."

"You talked to him?"

"I saw him this morning. He came looking for your window, but I was not to tell anyone." He giggled about his secret and Rose smiled.

"So, pray tell, what did he say?"

To this, Antony answered slowly, his brow wrinkled in the utmost concentration to convey each word precisely as the Doctor had spoken.

"He said to assure you, should you be nervous, that he would, should it be necessary, travel to the ends of the worlds and back to be with you. I think he said worlds, though it must have been world."

Rose did not perceive those last words. Her troubled thoughts came to be a little more calm. The feeling of it all being a mere dream, dissipated enough to grant hope access for it all to be as real as the key she felt resting above her heart.