The Paternoster Irregulars Solve A Mystery And A New One Presents Itself
An: But not really. It's becoming a trope of this fic, Jenny and Vastra being walked in on…
19th December 1887
Jenny had spent a restless night. Even though being held by Vastra was usually comforting, she couldn't settle; her thoughts whirling around what Vastra thought of her and what she felt about Vastra.
All she knew for certain was she was finding it increasingly difficult to stop kissing Vastra whenever they met under the mistletoe. She wondered what would happen if they kept it going all the way to Christmas. She felt a sudden Victorian urge to ask Vastra what her intentions were towards Jenny. The Silurian had professed to liking kissing and her huffy reaction to being declared "at least" friends suggested to Jenny that there might be something going on. But Jenny dismissed it. Whatever Vastra felt, it surely couldn't overcome that big a dislike for humans in general, even if Jenny was an exception to the rule. She couldn't be that big an exception.
The only thing that quieted the buzzing thoughts was when Vastra kissed her. Which she supposed was the reason why she kissed Vastra again under the kitchen doorway mistletoe.
And so, Jack jauntily walked in the kitchen of 13 Paternoster Row, thoughts intent on nothing but a hearty breakfast and froze as he saw Jenny and Vastra kissing, rather oblivious to anything around them, including him.
He would've backed slowly out the kitchen and left them to it, possibly grinning slightly to himself but Cris and Soljer chose that moment to walk in and he merely backed straight into them.
"What's with you Jack?" Cris asked, surprised.
"Shh!" he rounded on them.
Jenny started away from Vastra at the sound of Cris's voice to find three Irregulars staring at her and Vastra. Her first thought was terror at having been seen, her second thought more terror at the realisation that Vastra wasn't wearing her veil. There should've been words, explanations, but although her mouth was hanging open, nothing was coming out.
"So my mistletoe worked then?" Jack grinned guiltily.
Jenny blinked. No questions about a green lizard woman standing in the doorway?
"It's nice to see you without your veil." Soljer said in his slow way.
Even Vastra was surprised at that. The thought occurred to her that Jenny might not be the only ape out there who could see through her veil.
Cris laughed at their expressions. "We're street creatures. We're used to seein' stuff wot other people just let their eyes slide over. We usually are that stuff. An' you do hire us to find things out. We's good at pickin' up 'ints an' clues. So you c'n stop gawpin' in the doorway like we're the police an' yer just got busted sellin' light coins."
"Aye. Some of us're 'ungry." Jack hinted.
"Not that this isn't wunnerful but I'd find yer veil afore Parker comes in. Not that he ain't a straight up gent but…well…he's a straight up gent. Might give 'im a bad turn." Boggin had walked in to find Jenny and Vastra still standing in the doorway, frozen in amazement.
"I'm hungry too, come to think of it." Vastra said airily.
"No eatin' people we employ." Jenny found her voice finally.
"Wos goin' oh!" Dotty and Ada walked through the door together and stopped at the sight of Vastra.
"Finally realised we c'n see through the veil 'as she?" Thrupp piped up from behind them.
"An' then some." Jack snorted.
"Eh?"
"Well you know 'ow Jenny told us that she were this Madame Vastra's maid?" Jack turned to explain.
"Aye." Dotty nodded.
"An' we thought nuffin' of it, if you have got the scales of St George's dragon, we thought you'd prob'ly need a maid." Cris added.
"Aye." Ada agreed.
"They ain't just mistress an' maid." Soljer finished matter-of-factly.
"Oh." Dotty and Ada said in unison.
"If you all want breakfast, you better shuttit right now." Jenny waved a knife she'd been using to slice bread in their general direction. Despite the fact that apparently the Paternoster Irregulars could see through Vastra's veil as well and they seemed to be nothing but accepting of finding her and Vastra kissing she felt like crying.
"Well it explains a lot." Thrupp nodded wisely.
"Aye. No proper maid 'd keep 'er position after bringin' an 'oss into the house." Ada reasoned.
"Well if I ain't a proper maid then I guess I don't 'ave ter make you all breakfast." Jenny slammed down her knife and stalked out past Vastra. Just before she slammed the front door shut she heard Jack ask in a guilty voice "Is she mad at us?" She didn't wait to hear Vastra's answer.
Vastra looked at the little urchin who'd walked in on them in the first place. He looked crestfallen.
"I shouldn't 'ave pulled the stunt with the mistletoe." He stared at his shoes.
"Perhaps. Possibly I shouldn't have either." Vastra mused.
"I jus' thought 'ow it was gettin' along to be Christmas."
"Yes. Well."
"She'll come back though, won't she?" the little ape was practically in tears. How shocking. This entire morning had been rather shocking really. The full gang of them had crowded into their kitchen by now, all looking suitably mournful and hungry.
"I hope so too." Vastra grinned. "Does anyone know how to cook?"
Mrs Parker walked into a kitchen filled with chaos and black smoke.
"Ma'am?" she recognised the tall veiled figure, even if she hadn't exactly spoken to her as such.
"Ah. Yes. Mrs Parker." Vastra wondered briefly if Mrs Parker could see through her veil too. "We were attempting to make breakfast. Jenny is out at the moment."
"Oh."
"'ullo Mrs Parker!" Boggin waved. He was attempting to scrape some blackened eggs off the bottom of a pan. "I fink I need some more of yer cookin' lessons."
Mrs Parker shook her head. "If you c'n get all that clean again, I'm sure I c'n 'elp you make somethin' up. What is it everyone was wantin'?"
The urchins called out the most luxurious breakfasts they could possibly think of and under cover of the noise, Vastra sidled away. She hadn't heard Jenny return yet and she was worried.
In hindsight, Jenny thought, striding down the street, she should've remembered. The Paternoster Irregulars came round nearly every morning these days; the cold weather making them hungry and grateful for the regular meals 13 Paternoster Row provided. But it wasn't so much the fact they'd been discovered, as how everyone already seemed to know. The Irregulars could see through Vastra's veil too? How many more people, walking around London, had seen Vastra? But Cris had said they were used to seeing the things no-one else noticed. Jenny herself had grown up, selling information. If you were in that business it was vital you saw everything in order to have information to sell. A brief flurry of worry struck her that the Irregulars might sell out Vastra but if they'd known this long it was unlikely. But they weren't the only urchins in London, and there were those with far less scruples. Jenny knew that too, having been one of those. Her thoughts ended up a swirling mess once more.
She paused to buy a pie for breakfast, before walking down to the docks. They reminded her of Albie and usually soothed her. Today they merely served as a reminder of the family she'd lost.
"Wot would you think of all this Albie?" she sighed, taking a bite out the pie.
"I ain't Albie." A voice next to her piped up.
"No?" she turned to look at a scruffy heap of rags.
"Nah. Me name's Peggy."
"Short for Margaret?" The world was conspiring to remind her today it seemed.
"Nah. Short for Pegs. S'what I sell. Well in summer. In winter I sells matches." The heap grew an arm that waved a small box at her. "Want one? Ter light yer way 'ome?"
"Sun's still up." Jenny noted.
"Might be longer'n you think. How many miles to Babylon?"
"Three score mile an' ten. I only live on Paternoster Row." Jenny answered the next line of the poem.
"You c'ld still get there quicker by candle light."
"Fink me feet will carry me jus' fine. But I'll take a box anyways." Jenny turned and slumped down beside Peggy. "Fancy some pie?" She noticed the urchin staring at it longingly.
"If yer a fool to offer 'arf a pie to someone, I'll take it." The hand threw the box of matches into Jenny's lap and snatched the proffered pie. A ragged hood was thrown back to reveal matted brown hair and a dirty face.
"You won't sell many matches lookin' like that."
"There's other things to be doin' sides matches." Peggy shrugged.
"You work fer a gang?"
"Might do. Woss it to you?"
"Fancy better work?"
"Such as?"
"Workin' fer a slightly more scrupulous one." Jenny replied honestly. "There's breakfast every mornin'."
"Done." Peggy agreed. "What d'yer want doin'? Want this Albie found? I c'n find 'im I bet." She grinned. "I'll arsk all me lil rat mates. Me lil rat mates go everywhere. They'll know. Albie who?"
"Flint. Albie Flint." Rat mates sounded very dubious but it was always worth a try.
"An' he was last seen in the vicinity of the docks was 'e I take it? Wot with you moonin' over the water an' givin' away perfectly good pie."
"S'far as I know. This was years ago though. Don't fink anyone will know. An' I wasn't moonin' over 'im. 'e was me bruvver."
"Oh. So who was yer moonin' over then?"
"Who said anythin' about moonin'?"
"Yer face." Peggy finished off the pie with satisfaction. "Your loss of the pie though."
Jenny tossed her a coin for the box of matches and stood up.
"Aye. Aye. You get back to 'em. Or don't. If you end up back 'ere with more pie ter be 'andin' out s'all the better fer me." Peggy shrugged.
"Call round fer breakfast if yer that 'ungry."
"We shall see. Woss yer name?"
"Jenny Flint. 13 Paternoster Row. I works there."
"Ooh. Me lil rat mates got such tales to tell about that place." Peggy cackled.
Jenny had met many people during her time on the streets, and off them in various institutions but Penny was taking the prize for the weirdest. "Well I'll be seein' yer then." She nodded, trying to stay polite before turning to walk back onto the street.
"Be seein' yer then." Peggy sing-songed back at her but when Jenny turned back to answer, there was nothing but a few scraps of material where Peggy's pile of rags had been.
An: *X-Files theme*
