Wishing Well Read Free Page A

the woman, offering her hand as Angela introduced them all. Actually, this is a genuine wishing well, if you know what I mean. People used to gather round it in times gone by to make their wishes. Sort of a communal thing, I suppose.'
    'Did it work?' asked the Doctor. At first Martha thought he was being ironic, but then she realised that he was being perfectly serious.
    'Hardly' replied Sadie with a brief, tight smile. 'In those days the wishes were mainly to do with crops and livestock, with this being a farming area. But farmers are nothing if not pragmatists, and the custom soon died out.'
    'Sadie's our expert on wells and restoration and so forth,' explained Angela breezily. 'Together we form the Committee for the Restoration of the Creighton Mere Well. Bit of a mouthful, sorry.'
    'There's been a well here since medieval times,' Sadie told them. 'There must have been natural springs hereabouts, but this particular shaft well has been dry for – oh, well, for as long as anyone can remember. We suspect subsidence or even deep seismic shift is responsible for moving the subterranean springs.'
    'It's a pity,' Martha said. 'It looks charming.'
    'It'll look even better when we've finished,' Angela assured her. 'Not very many people outside Creighton Mere know about the well, but there are a few people who visit it occasionally. Mostly they're just ramblers passing through. If we can properly restore the well, we think it could be quite a tourist attraction.'
    'Well, good luck and all that,' Martha said.
    'The Doctor and Martha were looking for tea rooms,' Angela told Sadie.
    'Oh, that's not fair,' laughed Sadie, suddenly brightening. 'I'm not ready yet!'
    'Sadie runs the bakery here,' explained Angela. 'Her buttermilk scones and toasted tea-cakes are second to none. But she really wants to run a good, old-fashioned tea room!'
    'Once I've got the well sorted out,' Sadie added. 'But it's a great idea: The Creighton Mere Well Tea Rooms. Sounds rather good, doesn't it?'
    'Great,' said Martha, feeling a bit let down. Her stomach was going to rumble any second.
    'In the meantime I'm afraid there's just the Hole,' said Angela.
    'The hole?'
    'The Drinking Hole.' Sadie pointed across the green. 'The pub.'
    'Hence the joke,' Angela said. 'Drinking hole – well.'
    'Actually, I'd love a drink,' Martha said, seeing this as a cue to take their leave. She looked to the Doctor for agreement, only to find him still staring at the well, seemingly oblivious to everything else that had been going on. 'Doctor?'
    They watched the Doctor as he slowly walked across to the well and, with some caution, rested a hand on the parapet. He continued to stare at the dark opening, as if challenging himself to look inside, and then, quite abruptly, withdrew his hand. Martha was just about to ask him what the matter was when he turned to her with a sudden, huge grin. 'Dandelion and burdock!'
    'What?'
    'Dandelion and burdock. Who could resist a drink with a name like that? Dandelion and burdock! Anyway, mine's a large one.' He started across the green towards the Drinking Hole. 'Last one there buys the first round. Come on!'
    Shaking her head in despair, Martha started after him.

THREE
    You mean there's supposed to be treasure at the bottom of the well?' Martha sounded delighted.
    'So they say,' grunted Angela. They were sitting at a small table in the Drinking Hole. Sadie sipped a sweet sherry, Martha had a mineral water and the Doctor had his dandelion and burdock (with a straw). Angela was gripping a pint of Robber's Slake, a local ale named after a highwayman who had supposedly met his fate in Creighton Mere.
    'It's probably a load of rubbish,' Sadie said. They hadbeen discussing the myths and legends surrounding the well, and one of these actually concerned the highwayman's stolen loot. 'Every village has its stories around here. If it's not treasure, it's ghosts, or connections to royalty. You know – Queen Elizabeth I slept here, that kind of