See Part One for story details.
Jenny strode through the backstreets of London's less salubrious areas, Archie trotting beside her. Though still far from a dapper gent, the young man was considerably cleaner and better dressed than he had been when first they met. The latter, Jenny ascribed to his recently coming into some money; the former, to his blossoming relationship with little Mosa. Apparently, her presence in Archie's life suited the lad very nicely.
Jenny smiled at him, "Mosa's got that little place of yours looking very pretty."
"Proper gem she is," he beamed back.
Young love, thought Jenny and wished that she could recall one of Vastra's quotes on the subject. Not that Archie would appreciate it but it would certainly make him blush for a moment and Jenny didn't mind that. Instead, she explained the situation as clearly as possible without saying too much that might be overheard.
Archie picked up the gist of it quickly enough and said, "So I watch this bastard while you and the Madame sort out the letter?"
"Something like that."
"And where we going now, then? Not back to your gaff."
They were heading directly for The Golden Cross but there was no hope of hailing a cab in this warren of alleys so Jenny had determined to cut out on to an open thoroughfare and find one there. Once they were settled into the conveyance, Jenny expounded on the matter at hand.
"Problem is, we don't have much time and it's important that not a breath of this business gets back to the gentleman's father."
"Bit of an old sod, is he?"
"You could say that. There's the risk that this Davager might get tricky and play it both ways."
"Always is with folks like that."
And there's a risk of our losing our pay, Jenny added silently but she said, "I want you to watch this Davager no matter where he goes and just you make sure that word gets back to Madame and me whenever you have anything that looks important."
"Aye aye," Archie knuckled his forehead.
Jenny cuffed his ear, though more from habit than malice. Archie merely laughed and glanced out of the window.
"Here we are," Jenny said as the cab slowed to a halt amidst the bustle of the traffic, human and horse-drawn.
A locomotive's whistle shrieked off on the other side of the railway station and Jenny glanced up, wondering when the new underground railway extension might reach this part of London. She paid the driver and they stepped down on to Charing Cross, moving immediately to the back of the hotel and knocking on the kitchen door that stood ever-ajar.
A pinched faced woman of middle years stuck her head out, ready to give them a piece of her mind. She caught sight of Jenny and the hard expression dropped away, replaced by a welcoming smile.
"Well, as I live and breath, if it ain't our Jenny Flint! Come in, gal, come on in."
She ushered them inside with only a slightly wary glance at Archie, most of her attention on Jenny.
"And how are you doing, Esme?" Jenny said, her tone matching that of her old friend.
"Not too bad, my gal, not too bad at all. That is," her face soured once more, "they weren't until this past two day."
"Wouldn't have somethin' to do with a chappy by the name of Davager, would it?" Archie chanced.
Esme's eyes widened in surprise and she glanced from the lad to Jenny and back again.
"Well, well, young Sir, ain't you in the know?" Esme turned back to Jenny and added, "I heard you'd taken up with that Great Detective of yours, didn't realise you was training up an apprentice."
"Oh, Archie here don't need much training. Archie, this is Esme Wade; Esme, meet my friend and sometime colleague, Archie."
Archie's chest buffed out at the description and he gave Esme a mannered little bow. Esme chuckled and returned it with a curtsey of sorts.
Jenny merely rolled her eyes and said, "Now then, this Davager, what's he been up to?"
"Free with his hands, that one. As if it ain't hard enough to keep gals here as it is!" Esme indicated they should take a seat at the kitchen table, "Let me put the kettle on, gal, and you can tell me what brings you here. One of your cases, I have no doubt; I'd pegged that Davager soon as I clapped eyes on him."
Jenny and Esme spoke as they sipped their tea and Archie scoffed down the plate of leftovers from the inn's recently-served breakfast. Jenny listened attentively as Esme explained just what a difficult man Alfred Davager had proven himself to be and then she impressed upon her old friend the importance of their investigation.
"And what is it you want me to do, my gal?" Esme said.
"Let Archie here hang about, I'm sure he'd be happy to help out around the place," Jenny added with a wink to the glaring lad, "and keep an eye out yourself."
"And?"
Jenny smiled, "And tomorrow morning, you tell your Boots that he's to bring down Davager's things first - without emptying the coat pockets or anything else, mind - and let Archie and me have a little look."
"Oh, Davies won't mind that, as long as there's a bob or two in it for him."
"You'll both me looked after, don't you worry about that."
"Well, then -" Esme began but they were interrupted by an old man's shambling entrance into the kitchen.
"Sittin' down on the job again, Esme," he said.
"And what if I am, Ieuan Davies? What if I am? Been here for bleedin' hours and never a bit of help. Terrible problems keeping staff these days," Esme said to Jenny, "Young'n's just won't do the work any more; come in one day and do a flit the next!"
"Can't think who scares them away," Davies muttered darkly.
"Now, then, you, Miss Flint here's offering you cash in hand, if you'll help her and her lad out with a little job."
Davies perked up and listened intently as Jenny explained her requirements. He agreed immediately, apparently no more enamoured of Davager than Esme. Jenny was about to take her leave when Davies suddenly thought of something.
"Ah, you'd be this Miss Flint then," he held up a letter, "It arrived just now and I was wondering why it was addressed to here when we haven't anyone by that name."
Jenny took the letter, recognising Vastra's neat hand. She broke the seal and opened the sheet paper to read her missive.
"My Dear," it read, "Colonel Adams agrees to our request and suggests that we use his club for the rendezvous. I have sent to Davager asking him to meet with the Colonel there at 2pm precisely. I trust you will join us by 1.30pm. Vastra."
Jenny refolded the letter and tucked it into a coat pocket. She glanced up at the kitchen clock and saw that it was closing on midday.
"You delivered the letter to Davager, Mr Davies?"
"That I did," he looked startled, "just now, in fact. Read it twice over, he did, and asked how best to get to Pall Mall. Off to The Rag, he says."
Jenny thanked the man and asked that he install Archie somewhere that would afford him a good view of Davager's movements. A nod to the lad was all that he needed to know his business and he left the kitchen with Davies. Esme glanced at the clock too and gave a shriek of alarm.
"Bleedin' 'ell, look at the time! I've got lunches to make an' all."
Jenny shrugged off her coat and made to roll up her sleeves, "Why don't I give you a hand for an hour before I'm on my way."
Madame Vastra was not used to having her path barred. Certainly not for long. It had been something of a shock then to find that she was, under absolutely no circumstance, to be allowed to step through the main entrance of The Army And Navy Club - sometimes known as The Rag - on Pall Mall. Women were rarely admitted, she had been informed in a very firm tone, and never via the front door.
All of Vastra's height and bearing had not won through the impenetrable wall of male chauvinism and all of her remarkable reserves of patient had been exhausted in the process. So The Great Detective was forced to enter through the back of the club, foregoing the grand Venetian Renaissance style for a small wooden door used by servants and tradesmen.
Madame Vastra was not amused. Neither, in fairness, was Colonel Adams who in his own gentle form of protest, insisted on accompanying Vastra around St James Square and into the building, apologising with every step.
"Really, Colonel," Vastra said, as kindly as she could manage, "you are not at fault. The endlessly regrettable and might I say, stupid nature of your fellow hu-" Vastra coughed to cover her mistake, cursing her lack of attention, "your fellow males is nothing new to me. But, pray be assured, I do not count you amongst the regrettable or the stupid."
"You're too kind, Madame, too kind indeed. I have a good mind to resign forthwith for the terrible insult this place has done to you. And a lackey sent to deliver the message too! Disgraceful behaviour!"
Vastra calmed him as best she could, though it was no easy feat with her own opinion of 'the lackey' positioned closer to the 'tasty breakfast' end of her esteem. She took pains to calm herself too and her temper was better controlled as they stepped into the comforting heat of the The Rag's large kitchens. Most of the servants were too busy bustling about the place to take any notice of them and only the Cook gave them a great deal of attention.
She noticed Vastra's attire and the Colonel's presence behind her before she could say anything of an unfortunate nature and he quickly allayed her fears by giving a curt explanation as to their unusual entrance.
"Daft buggers," Cook muttered but said no more.
The Colonel guided Vastra deeper into the building, where the lackey waited for them with a nervous countenance.
"Really, Colonel, this is most irregular."
"And it'll be more irregular still, Simons, mark my word."
The man twitched even more, "May I ask why, Colonel?"
"Because Madame Vastra's colleague, Miss Flint will be arriving in a hour or so and I would ask you to show her - politely man! - to the room that the Madame and I will be occupying."
Vastra thought that perhaps, had she been human, she might feel a moment of sympathy for the poor man as he sagged in his stance at this piece of news. Happily, she was not human and had no such weaknesses.
"You will show us to this blessed room now, Mr Simons," she said and it was not a question.
He did as he was bidden and mercifully without comment. When she and the Colonel were safely ensconced far from sight of the delicate flowers that were the British military's officer class, Vastra talked Colonel Adams through his duties as her proxy in this meeting.
"So I get as much out of the blighter as I can and I make sure to get you as much time as possible, eh?"
"Exactly so, Colonel. And, pray, be most careful not to give away any information that may assist Mr Davager in his stated aim."
"Well, Madame, I reckon you've been very careful to avoid giving me that sort of information. And I thank you for it," he added with a firm nod.
A young man in footman's livery entered the room after a polite knock had indicated his presence. He settled a tea tray on the table between their tall leather chairs and offered to pour. Vastra held out a hand to stop him and he took this as the dismissal it was.
Vastra watched the man go and said, "The staff here are trustworthy, yes?"
"Absolutely," Colonel Adams glanced back at the door, "For all that nonsense at the door, I'd stake my life on the discretion of the place."
Vastra hoped he was right - and that they would not need to stake their lives on any of them - but said no more. They sat in companionable silence until another knock came, quickly followed by Jenny's smiling face ushered into the room by the same young footman.
"My dear," Vastra said, "you negotiated the trial of gaining entrance to this place?"
"I heard you'd caused quite a stir. Hello Colonel, how are you?"
"Miss Flint, how lovely to see you again. I hope Simons wasn't too unpleasant."
"Simons? I haven't met him." Vastra and the Colonel looked surprised and Jenny laughed, "I didn't even try for the front door, came in straight through the kitchens and Craig here showed me up."
Vastra beamed at her companion, knowing that Jenny would feel her esteem in that remarkable way she had of judging Vastra's moods and whims. Jenny smiled into her veiled face and gave a faint nod.
"Now then," Jenny said in a more serious tone, "Davager should be here soon so you and I need to get out of the way."
The Colonel stood and showed them to a small door set into the back corner of the room. It opened on to the servants stairs that allowed the maids access to many of the rooms without having to sully the reputation of the place by showing their faces. The little landing was cramped but large enough for both Vastra and Jenny to stand together.
The door was left ajar, just enough to allow conversation spoken in a natural tone to be heard by the two women. Closed, it was of too solid a construction to hear more than the most boisterous repartee.
"It'll be fine, Madame," Jenny whispered to her as Colonel Adams gave the young man some brief instructions, "Davager'll never notice this when he's focused on getting his money."
"I trust you are correct, my dear," Vastra said but had no more time to fret.
Another knock came at the outer door and the Colonel took a moment before bidding them enter. The door opened and a voice that neither woman recognised introduced Mr Alfred Davager in such a dismissive tone that Jenny had to stifle her laughter.
"Mr Davager," the Colonel said in an equally cold tone, "thank you for agreeing to meet with me. I am Colonel Adams and I will be acting as intermediary for the young couple. Please, take a seat. Tea?"
"Reckon not, Colonel, though a nip of something else would not be refused," said a hoarse, flat little voice.
"Francis, would you be so kind?" Colonel Adams said and after the door had closed once more, "Now then, Mr Davager, the matter at hand."
Vastra strained to catch the faintest sight of the man through the thin gap that the door afforded but could see little beyond a narrow strip of the room. She eased back, hopeful that Archie and perhaps her companion might be able to offer any insights that the Colonel may omit.
"The matter at hand, as you say, but I thinks I'll take a drag first. Cigars, Colonel?"
The Colonel's exasperation could be heard in the harrumphing exhale that he gave in response and Jenny hoped that her wouldn't simply grab Davager by the collar and shake the letter out of him. She glanced up at Vastra, knowing from the set of her head that she too had concerns. Still, there was nothing they could do but wait and listen, hoping that their friend and neighbour would play his part.
"Here you are, my good chap," the Colonel said in a tone of forced bon ami.
There came the sounds of a box opened, the rustling of something being removed and then the snap of well-made hinges closing. The striking of a match quickly followed and then a long groan of pleasure from Davager.
"I thank you kindly, Colonel, for that is a very fine smoke indeed."
"It certainly should be. Now, then, if you don't mind?"
"Don't mind at all, Colonel, don't mind at all. You have the five hundred pounds?"
"I do not."
"Well that is a shame, ain't it?"
"You have the letter upon you?" Colonel Adams asked in surprise.
"I have not. Thought it best, just in case things didn't go to plan. And here it is, not going to plan. The five hundred nicker, Colonel?"
"The amount you will receive upon handing over the letter and signing a legal document attesting to it being the sole copy."
Jenny and Vastra stared at each other in surprise. Apparently Davager was equally taken aback for he gave a startled little chuckle that trailed off into a hacking cough.
"And what good would that do you, Colonel? The young people you speak for would surely not wish such a document to be used in open court."
"They certainly would not but it would settle some of my own concerns in this matter."
There was a long pause, interrupted by Francis' return and Davager's loud slurping of whatever beverage he had been given. The sound of an expensive glass being dropped carelessly to an expensive tabletop made Jenny wince. The pause continued for a moment more and Vastra realised what the Colonel's purpose was just as Davager gave up attempting to work out the same.
"Very well, Colonel, though I must say I do not know why you would think it necessary. I am an honest man and will give my word this moment that I have but one original."
"And your own copies, Sir?"
"Well then, you wouldn't expect me to be without insurance, as I might describe it, eh?"
"How many copies?"
"Just two. Both in the hands of a friend of mine, both to be handed over in return for the money. Or to be sent to the Pall Mall Gazette and his Lordship's club, should this matter not be settled to my own satisfaction."
The Colonel gave another harrumph but merely said, "It will take forty-eight hours to have the document drawn up."
"My eye!" Davager gave a nasty little laugh, "Do I look like the greenest fool you ever did see, Colonel? I'll meet you back here first thing tomorrow. You with the money and me with the letters."
"All three of them?"
"All three of them, aye."
The Colonel made to say something, then stopped as if a thought had just come to him, "Ah," he said regretfully, "there may be a problem with the time you suggest."
"And why would that be, Colonel?"
"I'm afraid I have a prior engagement; a breakfast meeting, you might say. Perhaps we might make it a quarter after eleven?"
Again the long pause as Davager assessed the Colonel, then, "Aye, alright then. A quarter after eleven tomorrow, back here and perhaps even with another of these very fine cigars besides, eh Colonel?"
"Please," the sounds of movement came again, "take one with you, Mr Davager and enjoy it after your evening meal."
"Most kind, Colonel, most kind indeed. I am pleased that I got to deal with such a pleasant gent as yourself and not some hot-headed youth who might get funny ideas in his head."
"I find such matters are best dealt with in a cool, detached sort of way, don't you Mr Davager?"
"I do indeed. So then, Colonel, I'll bid you good day and look forward to our next meeting."
Footsteps on the wooden floor of the room were followed by the door opening and Colonel Adams calling for Francis to see Mr Davager out. Only when the door was closed firmly behind him did the Colonel call Vastra and Jenny into the room.
"Well, ladies, I have rarely had the misfortune to deal with such an ugly, dirty little creature as your Mr Davager! Low in the forehead, flat in the stomach and weak in the legs. The worst sort of human being. Did you hear him well enough? Should I repeat the conversation?"
"You need not, Colonel," Vastra said, "we heard it all most clearly."
"He didn't even attempt to deny any of it. Quite the opposite; revealed in it, he did, positively revealed in it!"
"He's certainly full of himself," Jenny agreed.
"You need to make sure to get hold of all three copies," Colonel Adams said, "or he will most certainly go through with his threats."
"Oh, don't you worry about that," Jenny grinned, "our friend Archie will be watching him like a hawk. He'll work out where those letters are."
"I am relieved to hear it, Miss Flint."
"We really can't thank you enough, Colonel Adams," Vastra said and took his hand, "You have done a great service to a deserving young couple."
"My pleasure," he flushed under his whiskers, "My pleasure indeed, Madame. Should I expect to be back here at eleven tomorrow?"
"You should not, I trust."
"And you will let me know how this business works out? I should be most happy to hear that Davager had got his comeuppance."
"You and me both, Colonel," Jenny said, "You and me both."