An: Three score mile and ten
19th December 1887
It was evening now and Jenny still hadn't returned. Mrs Parker had long since gone home and the urchins dispersed to whatever their usual activities were. Surely Jenny hadn't been that upset about it? Vastra had been pleased that the urchins had been so accepting. It'd increased her opinion of them, beyond just scavenging opportunists.
She stayed up as late as possible, attempting to read a book but midnight came and went and there was no sound but the mantelpiece clock. Perhaps something had happened and that was why Jenny hadn't returned. Motivated by thoughts of a dark alley, Vastra flung her cloak on and walked out into the cold night air.
She shivered continuously, missing her bed warmer that had made wandering London at night unnecessary. She'd told Jenny she could leave, had given her the means but there was a rather large part of her that had been firmly convinced by Jenny's insistence she wouldn't. The only other possibility then was something had happened to Jenny.
Vastra gave up after a few hours, feeling her body shutting down from the cold and realising even if she wanted to look for Jenny, she had little idea where the young woman would've gone.
She curled up in front of the kitchen fire, hissing in pain as she built it back up again and warmth washed over her.
20th December 1887
The Paternoster Irregulars found her still curled up there the next morning. They were agitated and confused that Jenny hadn't returned.
"Why'd she leave jus' cos Jack saw you two kissin'?" Thrupp asked. Vastra didn't have an answer for her.
Jack was inconsolable and Vastra had to prevent him tearing down every piece of mistletoe in the house.
"They are precious to me." She explained gently. "Each one represents a kiss. And more kisses than that."
"Yer love 'er. An' I spoiled it." He sobbed even harder and Vastra left him to Cris and Soljer to calm down. Love after all might be going a bit far. Kissing was fun and she cared about Jenny, of course but… but Jenny was still an ape after all. Besides, Jenny had said "friends" and Vastra was not about to make a fool of herself. Not over an ape.
She sent the Paternoster Irregulars out in the end, telling them to search for Jenny. This was London after all; entirely possible something had happened. And the Irregulars would know more hiding places Jenny might go to.
She tried to catch up on some sleep but found it was impossible to sleep in a bed that was void of Jenny Flint. She laughed cynically at herself; she'd gotten far too used to her. She paced around the house but there was no word from the Irregulars and she curled up by the fire again; at least it was warm.
21st December 1887
The Irregulars returned in the morning, bursting into the kitchen with a rather foul smell following them.
"We found 'er outside." Cris was keeping a firm hold of what appeared to be rags in his fist. "She said Jenny said she could come fer breakfast and also that she might 'ave some explainin' ter do." He scowled angrily.
The hood got tossed back and a grubby face appeared. It gave a slightly apologetic grin.
"I may or may not 'ave made a slight error in that I may or may not 'ave accidentally got Jenny Flint lost somewhere."
The chair screeched against the flagstones and then clattered to the floor as Vastra stood up in one smooth jerk of a movement. Cris released his hold and the Paternoster Irregulars to a person backed off as she stalked towards the unfortunate Peggy.
"Where is she?" Vastra snarled, hauling Peggy aloft. "Where is she?!"
"Well the good news is she should be 'ome soon. Quite soon in fact. On'y takes two days to walk three score mile an' ten an' that's if ye dawdle. An' she 'ad me matches. The light should've guided her jus' fine."
"70 miles?"
"'ow many miles to Babylon?" Peggy sang nervously.
"Thas a nursery rhyme." Ada spat. "Where is she really?"
"Well she should, with any luck, seein' as 'ow I din't fancy bein' murdered by a Silurian so I timed me entrance somewhat, be knockin' on the door round about now. An' I'd be grateful if neither of ye murdered me. Or ate me…"
Jenny stared at the empty space, and then turned a full circle looking to see where Peggy might've run to. Jenny considered herself good at being light of foot but clearly she'd just met a master. Well, there was a mystery, but she supposed it would get solved if Peggy did turn up for breakfast after all. She turned to leave once more but felt a prickle up her spine and whipped back round. The scraps of material seemed to be dancing in a whirlwind. Jenny shook herself. She'd seen such things before; the wind gathered and went in circles, nothing mysterious about it. She turned again and took a step forward…
And the world went dark.
Not the dark of a night on the streets but the dark of a cellar, the dark of a poke hole. The only thing she knew for sure was there was something solid beneath her feet. She knelt down and with trembling hands reached out around her. It was a road, cobble stones. They felt damp and mossy to touch but definitely cobble stones. She reached out further and they didn't end. She inched slowly forward on her hands and knees and then remembered the matches she'd bought off Peggy. She fumbled for them in her pocket and struck one, the sudden glare making her wince.
She held it in her fingers and looked about the small circle the light illuminated. There was nothing to either side but the road. Behind her was a dark and murky river and in front of her a long and winding road that disappeared into the distance, flanked on either side by darkness.
Jenny Flint had fought Kraal, she'd fought Cybermen, and technically she was meant to be half way around the world right now. She could walk down a damn road to see where it went.
The match burnt her fingers and she dropped it. The packet Peggy had sold her was not a large one. Jenny gulped. Walking in the dark it was then.
It was difficult; the sliminess of the stones made her slip a lot and whenever she got too close to the edge of the road, she could practically feel the darkness push her back towards the centre.
She struck another match after a while but she couldn't say how long that while had been. She'd travelled through time; perhaps she was now travelling through a place where time didn't exist. She didn't feel hungry or particularly tired, except of the darkness. She wanted to go home though. Maybe time wasn't passing for her but what if it was in the real world? The thought of Vastra's face when she didn't return by evening hurried her footsteps into a run.
Running in heeled boots on slippery cobble stones was a bad idea, she mused, nursing scraped hands, a bloody knee and what felt like a twisted ankle. Slowly it was then.
She sang to herself to keep her spirits up, the nursery rhyme Peggy had quoted.
"How many miles to Babylon, three score mile and ten. Can I get there by candlelight, there an' back again? Yes if yer feet are nimble an' light, you c'n get there by candlelight. Ha. Not feelin' very nimble an' light o' foot." She grumbled. There was no pain here either and she walked on unimpeded by her foot.
She struck a third match when after an immeasurable amount of time she ran into what felt like a solid wooden wall.
"Wot?!" she exclaimed angrily, banging a fist against the darkness. She turned to look at the road behind her but it was the same as it had been. Apparently she'd reached as far as she could go. She turned back to the wall, holding the match up to it but even the match couldn't penetrate the darkness. She pressed against it, shoved her whole body against it, turned and walked a little way back down the road to take a run up and was merely pushed back again as she had been whenever she'd gone too close to the edge of the road. She turned and slumped against it; it was solid enough she could rest her back on it.
It was very tempting to cry but she was Jenny Flint and 'ard as 'em. She sat there for a while, sternly not crying and then got up. Even if she had to kick and scream at the darkness for an age, she would not walk all the way back to the river. She turned and threw her best punch and staggered into the darkness and out the other side, her fist striking against a door.
"Ow!" she shook her hand. Pain existed again apparently, as her knees and her ankle also handed her receipts.
The door opened and for a split second she wondered what excuses she'd have to come up with for punching a random door somewhere when she found herself looking at Vastra, currently holding up a pile of rags and the faces of all the Paternoster Irregulars.
"See? Told you. Right on time." The rags wriggled out of Vastra's suddenly limp grasp and darted past Jenny. "Be seein' yer then!"
"Jenny!" The Irregulars reacted almost as one and raced out to greet her, tugging at her clothes and hugging her, as if to reassure themselves that she was real. "You came back."
"Why? 'ow long I bin gone?" she asked, bewildered. It hadn't felt that long.
"Two whole days!" Thrupp told her. The young urchin was currently hugging Jenny's knees.
"Madame Vastra thought somethin' 'ad 'appened to yer so she went out lookin' an' then we went out lookin' an' then we found that pile an' she said she'd got yer lost. Where was you lost in London? We c'ldn't find yer." Cris's tone of voice was almost accusing.
"Yeah an' we're good at findin' people."
"I dunno. It was just…two days?"
"Two whole days." Thrupp nodded as Jenny disentangled herself and picked her up.
Jenny looked for Vastra for confirmation but the Silurian had disappeared back inside the house. The Irregulars followed her gaze and fell silent.
"She missed yer." Soljer told her solemnly.
"Wot an' you all din't?" Jenny teased them to cover her discomfort at Vastra's silence.
"I missed yer Jenny." Thrupp hugged her.
"Oi! I did too." Ada complained.
"We all did." Jack sighed.
"Bet yer missed the breakfast more'n me." Jenny sniffed, setting Thrupp down and walking into the kitchen.
"We missed you too!" Dotty exclaimed in mild affront.
As Jenny walked into the kitchen she staggered suddenly, leaning against the doorframe. Her head felt like wool and she fought an urge to be sick; her stomach was churning that much. She looked around at a sea of worried faces that blurred together and was vaguely aware of one of them yelling for Vastra. Her last thought was "I ain't gonna faint am I?"
"Well, not fainting in the Victorian style of it. Two days without sleep or food or water is all well and good if you're travelling in an Underworld but they catch up with you in the real world." A young black woman who had introduced herself as Martha informed her when she came to, lying well wrapped up in bed. "Here." She handed Jenny a glass of water.
"Wot's an Underworld?"
"Separate region of space and time, closed off from the rest of the universe, only accessible through certain rituals. In this case, thrice widdershins." The Doctor sighed from the bedroom doorway. "Very traditional. I'll look into it of course, but there won't be a lot I can do I'm afraid." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Closing it down might anger the owners of it. Vastra mentioned a Peggy?"
"She was right odd she was."
"Coming from someone who knows me, that means something. Anyways! You're up and about now. Vastra's stopped having a heart attack. Your delightful band of Artful Dodgers is waiting to see you. We'd best be off. Coming Martha?"
"Yep. My work here is done." Martha grinned reassuringly at her. "Make sure you rest up for the next few days, drink plenty of fluids. You should be fine. And your ankle is only twisted, so rest that too and you shouldn't have a problem."
Jenny nodded.
"Bye Jenny!" the Doctor waved.
"Hey wait! Where's…Rose…" the question trailed off as she realised that the Doctor had gone and probably wouldn't have answered it anyway. She sank back into the pillows with an uneasy sigh.
An: Turn around thrice widdershins
