50
h.
"Where have you been?" the Doctor snapped. "We've been worried sick."
Vicki glanced over at him. The Doctor hadn't seemed worried when he entered the room. Catching her questioning glance, he winked at her. Obviously he wanted to teach Steven a lesson.
"I've been... " Steven hesitated for a moment. "... researching the parts we're supposed to be playing."
"And how precisely have you been doing that, hmm?"
Steven winced at the harshness of the Doctor's voice. Even from where she stood by the window, Vicki could smell the alcohol on Steven's breath. "I've been out drinking with Galileo Galilei," he said finally.
The Doctor had the good grace to look abashed. "Well, that's different," he said. "You appear to have made more progress than we have. What sort of person is he, by the way?"
Steven shrugged. "He can drink like a fish and he thinks he's God's gift to science," he said. "But why not find out for yourself? He's invited us round to dinner tonight."
The Doctor beamed. "You see how it's all beginning to fit together?" he said. "We'll get to the bottom of this mystery before you know it, and," he glanced over at Vicki, "along the way we'll find out what was squatting on your windowsill."
Steven looked puzzled, but a knock at the door distracted him. He was closest, so he opened it. Three guards in half-armour were standing outside. Their faces were bland, their expressions fixed.
"We've come to escort you to the meeting," one of them said.
"Excellent," the Doctor said, striding towards the door. "Come on, you two. We don't want to keep the Doge waiting."
"Look," Steven said, "I'm feeling a bit rocky. Mind if I duck out and get some sleep?"
The Doctor fixed Steven with his piercing gaze. "Don't make a habit of it. There are races who would quite cheerfully kill you if you insulted them by missing an important meeting like this." He strode off out of the door, leaving Vicki to follow on.
"How much did you two drink?
