Chapter 3 – Planning, Preparation, Pilfering and Panic
Late April – Early May 1881
"It's not that I'm against stealing from criminals you see," explained Jenny. "It's just… maybe we should tell Mr Thackeray or Mr Dawes? About the Scorpions and the banks, I mean. Ain't Mr Dawes already looking at their ledgers?"
"For all we know, Mr Dawes could be checking the work of one of the clerks at the other bank. And there is another consideration: Mr Dawes is the only member of the Bank of England who knew that Thackeray had those ledgers. He could have ordered the robbery attempt."
"Why would he? The ledgers were coming right to him. And the manager at Sherwin knew as well. But I think you're likely right. Someone set up Mr Thackeray to be robbed."
"True. However I think you understand what I mean about not trusting the bankers with this."
Jenny hummed in thought.
"Maybe… we should try and tell the police?"
"You seem reluctant to involve them. Why?"
"Don't really trust them, to be honest. Had a bit of a run-in with them."
"What do you mean?"
Jenny sighed. "When I first found out Da had sold me to the Scorpions, I went to a constable. He was new, but I told him what happened and asked for help. He said I was being silly, making up stories and he tried to take me home. I barely got away." She shook her head. "What hurt was that I tried to tell another one, our local constable. I'd known him for years. Big bloke, not bad, but not very bright. He did the same thing." Jenny looked up. "If I'd trusted the police, I'd have been raped, then whored out for the Scorpions profit." Jenny shivered. "Forget what I said. Police are too hidebound. They don't think much of poor folk, women or children."
Vastra regarded her pet for a long moment. "It sounds as if, before that happened, you trusted the Police."
Jenny nodded. "I did. Now, I don't."
Vastra nodded as well. "Then we will proceed with my plan, and fight the Scorpions together. And I'll deal with anyone who gets in our way!"
Vastra began to investigate how to get into the banks to drain off the Scorpions funds. She was familiar with many of the tunnels, sewers and underground waterways of central London and now began to explore them in more detail.
When she'd first awoken in this strange world of half-evolved, mechanically inclined Apes, the tunnels had been both her refuge and her prison. She'd used them to hide from a world that angered and frightened her, and used them to wreck her vengeance for the murder of her sisters. The workers and commuters of the Metropolitan Railway had learned to fear the thing that lived in the tunnels near the Baker Street Station; that brought death in the dark. But she could not escape from the tunnels. She possessed no understanding of the world around her, and the screams and shouts of the Apes who saw her bare face taught her quickly there would be little chance of peace with them.
It was The Doctor who saved her, letting her travel with him for a time, protecting her from the world, and the world from her. Travelling with him had both strengthened and calmed her, and she'd learned to control her hatred of the humans. He eventually returned her to Victorian London, and introduced her to Henry Gordon Jago, who had not met him yet. The meeting was one of those strange time things that The Doctor was often ensnarled by. Jago was looking for a feature attraction for his travelling show, set up in the grounds of the old Cremore Gardens, and Vastra fit the bill as the 'Amazing Lizard Lady.'
Several years had passed in London since her murderous rampage, and no one connected her to the deaths. Still, the Doctor charged her with protecting the humans. He'd given her time though, simply saying that when she was needed, she would begin. He believed in her.
Her first day with the 'Monstre Gathering', they'd even rescued a little monkey from being abducted by an infamous child-killer. Vastra had tracked their scents, practically tasting the little one's fear in the air. The poor thing was half blinded by tears, half-suffocated by the cloth stuffed in its mouth to prevent its screams and completely terrified by the straight-razor at its throat. Even then, it had managed to land a lucky kick at the right moment, distracting its Ape captor and giving The Doctor an opening to overwhelm the Ape and pull loose its prey. He sent the monkey scrambling away to safety with Vastra; it was more frightened of being lost and winded and tossed around by shouting adults than by Vastra's face. The Doctor, in high dudgeon, had promptly and properly pummelled the paedophile. Vastra had consoled the crying hatchling with calm words and a cup of hot sweet tea from her new tent, while The Doctor turned the Ape over to the authorities and found the monkey's parents. He'd returned it to its family little worse for wear despite the distressing adventure, thanks to their quick work.
He'd asked Vastra afterwards what it had felt like to make a difference again on her own world. She'd told him it felt…very good.
And now, true to his insight, she was planning to take out a gang of thieves and murderers, and making friends with the Apes. Amazing.
"My god, you stink!"
Jenny was not happy the first day Vastra returned from the sewers. Vastra admitted that her clothes were a foul mess, and treated Jenny to a loaf of fresh bread to make up for the extra laundry. They designated a set of sewer crawling clothes for Vastra, and now when Vastra returned from her underground investigations, Jenny was ready to clean everything, including Vastra herself. Well, Jenny handled the laundry; Vastra took care of her own grooming. Still, there was always a bucket of fresh hot water and a chunk of soap ready when she returned.
Meanwhile, the tunnels and sewers were useful. The city was almost hollow underneath, so riddled by tunnels that Vastra was able to approach all the banks very closely. In one case the sewer could not be more than fifteen feet from the bank's vault.
However, it soon became obvious that Vastra was not alone underground. She was almost spotted by several groups of workers, and other denizens. Some were merely searching for things they could sell to buy another day's survival. Others had more sinister motives. She decided to be more cautious and that an extra pair of hands and eyes might be wise. She needed a helper.
Fortunately, one was readily at hand.
She found Jenny on the roof, practising some of the blade forms she'd learned. Vastra watched her for a few minutes: her pet took the practice seriously, concentrating on her thrusts, cuts and blocks, and checking that her grip on her oversized knife was sure and her stance was correct. She moved slowly, concentrating more on technique than speed at the moment, and Vastra was pleased to see that she was doing well. She was still a beginner, with less than three months training and a great deal to learn, but she was making the most of their lessons. Vastra admitted, at least to herself, that Jenny's idea of giving Vastra something to do by teaching Jenny these skills was a good one. Not only was Jenny learning, but the discipline of instruction required Vastra to give some thought to what she was teaching, and in doing so she was remembering lessons and experiences she'd long ago set aside. They were both benefitting, far more than Vastra had ever thought was possible.
However: "You are still leaning forward too much. Remember to keep your balance centred. If you over-reach, your strikes will not be powerful, and your blocks will be weak."
"Yes, ma'am."
Vastra eyed her pet for a moment, and then suddenly smiled, grabbed one of the short sticks they sometimes used for training and shouted, "Think fast!" as she dove for Jenny.
Vasta threw a quick blow at Jenny's head. Jenny stepped backed and blocked by instinct, wood and metal striking with a dull ring. Jenny recovered her blade to the centre, to block again or cut, but Vastra was already swinging the stick around her own head, using the momentum of the block's rebound to add speed.
She aimed the second blow at Jenny's left side. Jenny pivoted, and was able to block again, thrown only slightly off-balance. Vastra smiled, pleased but amused. The girl would quickly learn to adjust at this rate. She blocked a clumsy cut from Jenny, and swung again, the stick whistling lightly in the air.
For Vastra these were loose lazy strikes, as she only wanted to test Jenny, not hurt her. Much.
She'd promised herself that she wouldn't hit Jenny (except during training) because she didn't want to be anything like Jenny's father. A Gorilla who beat his own child! While kin ties between her people ran differently, someone so malicious as to deliberate hurt a member of their own family would have been confined for study and eventual dissection to help prevent future insanity.
But during training how to control pain and work through it was something that her people's warriors were taught. So Jenny would slowly and carefully learn that too. Vastra had explained this, and Jenny had agreed.
Still, a good sting would do much better than a broken bone right now, especially as she was still not sure about human vets. It was enough that Jenny had a very sharp knife, and Vastra was armed with only her short stick. Vastra knew she was a far better fighter than Jenny; she didn't need to prove it or have the sadistic pleasure of beating up an unskilled opponent.
One who had just blocked her third strike. But it was a feeble block; after an afternoon spent exercising before Vastra returned, Jenny was tiring. Vastra chose her target and delivered another weak but smarting strike. Jenny almost blocked it, catching Vastra's stick on her knuckles by accident. She howled and dropped her knife.
Vastra danced back to avoid the falling weapon. Jenny impulsively dove forward, her hand reaching to save the knife. She gasped in surprise when her wrist was suddenly caught by Vastra's tongue. Vastra released her as soon as the knife clattered on the rooftop.
"Never try to catch a falling blade," said Vastra. "The odds are excellent that you'll cut or stab yourself. All novices make that mistake. Once. Some make it more than once. Don't be that novice." She looked up, and saw Jenny had pulled back, glancing at Vastra and nervously inspecting her wrist. "Did I harm you?" asked Vastra.
"No, sorry, just your tongue…" said Jenny worriedly. Vastra looked at her quizzically for a moment, with her head cocked. "That bird t'other day…"
"Ah! That!" Vastra nodded. "My venom sac only engages when I'm angry or very frightened. Usually my tongue is not venomous. I can control it quite easily." She felt embarrassed. "The other day I was distracted, thinking about your notes and I became annoyed that the pigeon was taking so long to catch. The benighted thing was sitting around the corner teasing me until it finally moved. I became too angry, and reacted poorly."
Jenny relaxed, and stopped fiddling with her wrist. She bent and retrieved the knife. "You weren't angry just now?" she continued. "Know I'm supposed to keep hold of this."
"No. I most definitely was not angry. I was worried that you would cut your hand open trying to catch the blade, but I was watching for it." Vastra removed her glove, and showed Jenny her left palm. A thin line crossed the tiny light green scales at an odd angle. "As I said, all novices make that mistake. I was lucky and just received a cut. That knife of yours could easily take a finger off if you caught it badly. Or the point go right through your foot, it's so heavy."
Jenny nodded solemnly as she tucked away her knife in the sheath she'd made for it. She'd remember what Vastra told her.
"Now enough fun," said Vastra. "I need you to come with me tonight. We're going to implement my plan soon and I want you to become familiar with the tunnels."
"Right, then, I'll visit the rag picker again. If we're crawling around in sewers, better dress for the occasion."
"Excellent. I want to check the local access points. I'll meet you back here later."
That evening, Vastra started to enter the flat, but stopped and hissed in anger. A young ape was in the room, wearing the trousers typical of the males and a soft cloth cap. His head was down, looking in a drawer; no doubt intending to rob them. She couldn't see his face. Of Jenny there was no sign, though Vastra could smell that she was recently here. All this Vastra saw in a moment, and she reacted with a thrust of her tongue to kill the interloper.
"Have you seen the…WHOA!" the ape finished with a shout, nimbly dodging the poisonous tongue, which splashed venom on the counter-top.
"Watch it with that thing, it's bloody well loaded!"
"Who are you? Where is Jenny?" hissed Vastra. In her anger and fear for Jenny, she wasn't listening to the Ape's voice.
"What do you mean… oh fer god's sake!" The ape snatched off its cap, its hair fell out, and suddenly Jenny was staring at her, dark eyes filled with anger. Vastra blinked, taking in the slight figure wearing too large trousers, a loose shirt and jacket, a cloth satchel and sturdy boots, all in dark colors. "I told you I was going to get some clothes for crawling around in the sewers. You damn near killed me!"
"Can't you tell girls from boys? Women from men?" asked Jenny, with a fierce scowl. Vastra was impressed; the hatchling was so angry, she was almost breathing fire!
"Ummm, I still have some trouble with that," said Vastra sheepishly. "I usually go by what clothes an A.. a person is wearing." She eyed Jenny hopefully, but the little dragon was only just starting to calm down.
"You and the rest o' the world. And what do you keep telling me about properly identifying your target, ma'am?" Jenny grumbled. Vastra fought down a smile, 'She's so endearing when she's annoyed,' thought Vastra.
"What were you looking for?" Vastra asked, trying for a change of subject
"Damned if I remember!" huffed Jenny.
"Well if you are ready, then come along." Vastra turned to the door, and then looked back.
"And Jenny… bring your knife."
Madame Vastra took them into the tunnels at an access off Cheapside just east of the Gin Palace. Madame removed her cloak once inside, twisted it into a thick rope, tied the ends together, and slung it over her left shoulder. Her cutlass hilt gleamed dully at her side. She didn't seem to need a light, but Jenny stopped her, taking a small lantern that she'd borrowed from the Gin Palace from her satchel. It was a cylinder with a lens in the side, and two handles at the back, that only shone in one direction at a time. They could use it to see, but it would not ruin their night vision by putting too much light in their eyes. It was fitted with a wick and a small kerosene lamp. Jenny lit it with one of her matches, and took a moment to look around. Here they were entering a stream, covered over and channelled, in an oval-shaped brick tunnel. It didn't smell near as bad as Jenny had expected.
"There's a river down here!"
"Yes. We will follow it north from here, and then cross into one of the east-west drainage tunnels that parallel the Thames. I warn you; that will be very unpleasant. Make certain that you do not touch your face with your hands at any time. It would be far too easy to become sick as a result. The water there is raw sewage."
They spent the evening exploring. Vastra took Jenny through the tunnels, to each of the three banks they'd been investigating. From time to time, she also pointed out access points to the surface. By the time they were done, Jenny was thoroughly turned around.
They returned to the flat, rinsing off their boots in the underground river, where the water was a little cleaner than the sewers. Just before they stepped on the ladder to the street, Vastra shook out her cloak and put it back on. When they reached the Gin Place, she strode openly into the Area at the back, saw some of the regulars who waved and then wondered where Jenny had suddenly disappeared to. She saw Jenny a moment later, hiding in the shadows of the gate. Vastra puzzled over her behaviour for a moment, and then decided that Jenny was trying to not be seen. She moved to draw the eyes of the others away from the gate and the stairs, and spoke with them a few moments, while Jenny crept into the entrance and started up the stairs.
When Jenny was clear, Vastra bid the others good evening, and followed her up. She found Jenny in the flat, looking a bit shaken.
"Sorry for the bother. Didn't want to attract attention by being seen. Not proper for me to be wearing trousers, you see, as I'm a girl. It'd be strange enough that people might remember me wearing them if the police come round asking questions. Could be trouble after we raid the banks."
"Why shouldn't girls wear trousers?"
"Well, I'm not really sure, to be honest. Don't understand meself. Think it's got to do with trousers being men's clothes, and skirts being women's clothes. Not sure if it's a law or not."
"Men's clothes? How can they be men's clothes? They are your clothes, are they not? You paid for them with money you worked hard to earn." Vastra, shook her head, baffled. "Besides, some of your men wear skirts. The soldiers who chew screaming cats wear them."
It was Jenny's turn to be confused: "The soldiers who do what?"
"Never mind," said Vastra. "It seems to me that for our explorations tonight, and the work we will be doing in the near future, it is a very practical set of clothes. I have my own reasons for preferring skirts and dresses, but you are fine. And well done for identifying that it might be an issue in the future. Bring a long skirt with you next time. Then you can put it on when we're on the streets as I do with my cloak."
"Right ho! Brilliant Madame!" Jenny thought for a moment. "Might need masks too."
"Masks? Battle Masks?" asked Vastra. She remembered the fierce and practical battle masks of her people.
Jenny looked surprised. "Sort of like that, I guess. Something to hide our faces, anyway. In case we're seen in the streets. Make it harder to finger us."
"Finger us?" asked Vastra, surprised.
"For the raids, ma'am. Harder for a witness to say for sure it was us."
"Your language can be very strange," sighed Vastra.
Jenny scrounged up a bag-like mask for Madame Vastra. It wasn't very good; her crests were too obvious through the cloth, but Jenny hoped that it would confuse most of those who saw it. She made a small black cloth mask that tied at the back of her head for herself. In the dark, and dressed as a boy, she hoped that would be enough.
On the night of the first bank raid, Vastra stationed Jenny at the junction of two merging tunnels, which had several access points nearby. Although it was late at night and they didn't need to worry much about the sewer flushers, Vastra was concerned that some of the Toshers might be out late, searching for scrap metal washed into the sewer. Since Jenny was lookout, she could hear Vastra working nearby, but was unable to see what she was doing. Jenny expected that it would take several nights to dig a tunnel through the strong brickwork of the sewers. As it turned out, in less than an hour Vastra returned, and led Jenny into a new, smooth-sided tunnel. Jenny had no idea how Vastra had done it.
The underground vault of Wilmott's Bank on Aldridge Lane was dark and silent, but then Saturday night was not usually a busy time for a bank. However if there had been anyone there to listen carefully, they would have heard a slight scratching noise, which slowly grew louder. At last, a small hole appeared in the floor of the vault, and grew rapidly larger. And then for a moment, all was still and quiet again.
Until suddenly, a green scale-covered head popped out of the hole. Vastra surveyed the vault with interest, her excellent night vision allowing her to see silhouettes despite the complete dark. She glanced back down, and quietly whispered, "Pass me the lantern." After Jenny passed it to her she added, "I'm going to go up and look around. You stay here, and keep watch."
"Right."
Vastra pressed herself out of the hole, and scrambled to her feet. The lantern revealed bags of coins, boxes containing stacks of paper bank notes, and a host of small vaults built into one wall.
She noticed a pile of ledgers and daybooks on a shelf, and a quick perusal turned up the ledgers which contained the names they were looking for. Vastra then located the day books for the latest entry for each name. Jenny had been interested in the books when the bank clerks had shown them to her. If they could match up records to the Scorpions they were chasing, they could note the amounts they held at the bank. They could always mail them back to the bank when she was done with them.
Vastra put them to her sack. There was also a small book that had numbers written in it followed by names. The front was marked 'Record of Safe Deposit Boxes.' She added that to her sack as well. Then she grabbed a large bag of mixed coins, and seized a heavy box of banknotes.
She gave a short hiss into the mouth of the hole, and Jenny was there a moment later, taking charge of the lantern first, then helping lower down the various sacks and box and stack them out of Vastra's way. Finally Vastra herself replaced her mask, and then dropped back into the hole.
In total, she'd spent less than twenty minutes in the vault.
They were both on edge, and the trip back through the tunnels seemed to take longer. They stopped once to avoid a pair of Toshers. They waited in a small side tunnel, which also allowed Jenny a short rest from carrying one of the heavy bags. Vastra kept charge of the other two packages.
Eventually, they arrived back near the Gin Palace, took a few minutes to rinse themselves off at a nearby pump, and then Jenny scouted the back entrance with the staircase to the flat. A light rain had started to fall, and the Area was clear. They gained the flat with no trouble.
"How does this work again?" asked Vastra. "Fifteen pence to a shilling, and 25 shillings to a pound, isn't it?"
Jenny looked at her, surprised. "No ma'am! Don't tell me you've been using those numbers! You've been overpaying for everything!"
Vastra shook her head, "I can't understand why Great Britain has never managed to adopt a decimal system of coinage. I've read that the French have one, as do the Americans. Why not here as well?"
"Probably 'cause the French and Americans do it; British will want their own way," replied Jenny, as she sorted coins into neat stacks. "Right now: twelve pence to a shilling, twenty shillings to a pound. So two hundred and forty pence to a pound sterling." She pulled over her school slate, and started counting coins. Vastra decided that the best thing to do was to let Jenny get on with it, and turned to examine the book marked 'Record of Safe Deposit Boxes.'
Vastra looked up sometime later to see Jenny her arms folded on the table, and her chin on her forearms, staring at the table filled with neat stacks of coins, her slate, and a little pile of papers. "Is there a problem?" Vastra asked.
"No, not really. Think I'm just… it's too much. Can't be real."
Vastra put aside the ledgers and papers, then stood and crossed to Jenny's side. Neatly written numbers on Jenny's slate ended in the total: £1300/ 14s/ 5d. Thirteen hundred pounds, fourteen shillings, five pence. She tapped the slate with a talon.
"That's an excellent amount, but hardly… overwhelming."
"That's just the coins, ma'am. Haven't really started on the notes. Pulled out a handful, and stopped at a thousand pounds." Jenny pointed to a stack of notes in the centre of the table. A small stack. It was what she'd been staring at. "It's going to take all day tomorrow to get through that box," said Jenny.
Vastra cocked her head in surprise. If she took the value of the small stack of notes as a sample, and compared the volume of the stack with that of the large box…
Goddess! That promised to be a considerable amount of money!
No wonder Jenny was stunned. Clearly a rest was needed.
"Time for bed. This can wait until morning." Vastra ordered.
Jenny just shook her head as she moved to the bed. She'd be lucky if she wasn't counting shillings in her sleep all night. What on earth would they ever be able to do with all that money?
Someone was going to miss it. Someone was going to be livid with rage.
Worse, Jenny knew in her guts that 'Someone' was going to come looking for it.
Dawn and cooing pigeons dragged Jenny from a restless half-sleep. After a poor night's kip, dreaming of unseen things chasing her in dark tunnels, it was a blessing to wake up.
A blessing which quickly felt like a curse, as Jenny rolled over, and saw the stacks of coins on the table.
'Oh Lord, this is real!' Jenny thought.
This wasn't a game anymore, the two of them acting like big children, planning to be like Robin Hood.
They'd robbed a bank. A real bank. Of real money.
As of now, they were bank robbers. Criminals.
Jenny felt sick.
What in God's name would her poor dead mother ever think of her?
Jenny was able to avoid immediately worrying about her new career as it was Sunday morning, and time to clean the Gin Palace. She had no intention of quitting her job; she liked the work and this morning she needed the chance to not think too much. Once the cleaning was done though, she had to face the problem head on, as it was time to count the notes.
A random search through the box produced only notes that were denominated in pounds. So Vastra decided she could help count. She sorted the notes into stacks on the bed by number of pounds, and handed Jenny the stacks to record. By the time they finish counting, they had 376,420 pounds in notes ranging from five to a thousand pounds.
Vastra was extremely concerned that Jenny was going to go into shock; she was shaking so much by the time they were done. The money meant little to Vastra; it was an Ape invention, and to her it only meant that they might have nicer quarters, and some new books; Jenny could have better clothes and both could have good food. But she could appreciate that to a girl who thought six shillings a week cleaning the Gin Palace has a huge raise over the three shillings she'd earned at the match factory; and who had been sold as a whore by her father for the equivalent of twelve shillings, it was an insane sum.
Vastra took the shaking girl up to the roof. Drawing on her experience with her people's young cadets, Vastra made sure to assign only calming, repetitive exercises that Jenny had done before, letting the familiarity soothe the girl. Very soon, Jenny pulled herself together and was ready to talk about the situation.
After the workout, they sat on the roof for a time in the sunshine. Vastra glanced over at Jenny, who was flicking her fingers back and forth. It took a moment for Vastra to realize that she was counting in her head.
Finally Vastra simply asked, "What's wrong?"
"What are we going to do with all that money, ma'am?"
Ah. This Vastra could understand. "First and foremost? Keep it away from the Scorpions. Even if we never spend a penny of it, we will hurt them. And we will keep hurting them."
"All right. That's good with me." However Jenny still seemed worried.
"Jenny, is what bothers you the fact that we have broken A… your peoples laws, or that we will… profit I believe is the word; that we will profit from it?
"Mostly that we're now criminals. You know that, right? We get caught, and it's jail for both of us for a long time."
"Even though we stole those who are themselves criminals?"
"Law won't care. And we didn't steal from criminals; we robbed a bank. I understand what you mean, but we took other people's money too, you see."
"Hmmm. I do see. I had not considered that our actions would adversely affect others. Well, we also have the different sets of records: the ledgers and the like. Let us go and have a look, and see if we can reassure you."
The first order of business when they returned to the flat was to put away the cash and notes. Vastra was worried that the mere sight of them would remind Jenny of the possibility of Jail. Vastra had never seen inside one, but their reputation was such that she could understand why Jenny would prefer to avoid that fate. Vastra secured the money, and put it under the bed for now, hoping that the sheer unlikelihood that they had anything worth stealing would help protect it. Jenny went to make sure they hadn't tracked tell-tale dirt all over the hallways, and to fetch water.
When they were done, Vastra surveyed the neatly made bed and tidied room from several angles, making sure nothing of their adventures was visible. Jenny had rinsed their clothes, getting rid of the sewer dirt, and the window was open to air out any lingering smell. Vastra nodded approvingly.
"Excellent. Now about these ledgers. I've identified the names of some of the Scorpions. Can you look at their accounts, and calculate their holdings? I'd like to know if we have deprived them of sufficient funds."
"Not much of a book-keeper, ma'am. Ma only had me help with the household accounts, and we only dealt with pennies and shillings. But let me see what I can do. Will take a while though."
Jenny worked for some time, looking back and forth between the ledgers and the day books. She was able to sort out one man's records, including identifying that he'd had a Safe Deposit Box. She wasn't sure what that was, and she couldn't match any of the deposits to it, so she added it in pencil to her notes. The man had money on deposit in his name, but he also seemed to have several company accounts. Jenny duly noted the most recent balance for each account that she could find. The amounts were larger than she'd ever seen, and the writing, though very clear, was still hard for her to understand. Still, Madame had asked her to try, so she'd do her best. If this was a Scorpion, he owed her for all the trouble he'd caused. But she'd be the first to admit that she was in over her head.
"I still got thirteen other names to check, ma'am." Jenny said a few hours later. "This was going to take some time. Won't be done today."
Vastra simply nodded and refrained from pointing out that while she was certainly better at higher mathematics, Jenny seemed to be better at keeping track of the flow of money. Vastra had looked over one of the ledgers, and could only barely follow it. She was occupying herself by reviewing some of Jenny's old notes about Vastra's investigations, and was leafing through her oldest notes in her tattered copybook.
On a whim, Vastra hunted up the first half of the book, where Jenny had kept her school notes. Jenny's father had torn the book in two along its spine, but Jenny had brought both parts with her when they recovered her belongings from her old flat. The front half was filled with slowly improving childish printing, with a smattering of notes about simple arithmetic, measurements and distances, and no doubt other useful things for a young Ape to remember. Vastra glanced at the inside of the front cover, and took a moment to admire some beautiful clear writing. It was the only sample in the book: a short list marked FLINT, followed by names and dates. Four names, three dates. Jenny's name was at the top, followed by John, Anne and Francis/Frances. The last name had no date. Vastra wondered what it meant, and why part of the date by Jenny's name seemed familiar. She looked up to ask Jenny, but the girl was hard at work, and Vastra thought it better not to break her concentration. Obviously though, Jenny had not written this, and Vastra was curious as to whose writing it was.
After checking two more names over several hours, Jenny declared herself done for the day, as her eyes were crossing. Mrs Brown stopped by for the rent, and Vastra then took Jenny down to the street, and they spent the rest of Sunday watching the Apes of London go by.
Vastra spent the next few days scouting Sherwin and Somes on Paternoster Row. She liked the area; there were a number of publishers and bookstores, and the area was quiet in the evenings. Vastra noticed that the very large building nearby was very busy on Sundays, and quiet the rest of the week. The bank itself wasn't very large, and was tucked into the corner at Canon Alley. Mr Dawes had likely returned the ledgers and day books by now. From what Vastra had seen, she doubted that the banks could be without them for long.
They'd raid on Sunday night this time, Vastra decided. She didn't want poor Jenny cleaning the Gin Palace the next morning after working all night again. And no counting the same night as the raid! She'd learned those lessons at least!
Late on Friday morning, Jenny glanced up from her cleaning, checking what still needed to be done. From the corner of her eye saw movement across the street. Something about it struck her as out of place. She pretended to ignore it, continuing to work. She was almost finished, and had time to think a moment as she looked around.
There'd been a rainy day last week, one of several recently. Madame Vastra had decided that self-defence theory was a good way to spend training time. What had she said?
Right: When you want to be sneaky ('inconspicuous' was the word Madame used, but Jenny understood her meaning) don't look directly at the target if you can help it. It will alert them that you've seen them. Jenny did her finishing-up, meanwhile she kept her target in sight by glancing across it from time to time, seemingly looking elsewhere. After a minute or two she was able to identify it. 'That's the young bully boy from the other day,' she thought.
Was the youth casing the Gin Palace for a future robbery? Was he looking for Mr Thackeray? Or for Madame Vastra? Or even, as unlikely as it seemed, Jenny herself?
Was he here because of the Mr Thackeray and the ledgers? Maybe they'd seen him there in the evenings. But why come looking for him during the day?
Or was he here because of the bank robbery?
And if the youth was across the street…
Where in hell was his old man?
Jenny took a deep breath, her heart starting to pound. Madame Vastra was away, tracking the senior Scorpions and probing the banks; not near enough to help her. If the big thug was 'round back, she was in trouble. She'd be caught between the two of them, one in the back, and one in the front. They might not know that Vastra wasn't there, and they could do a lot of damage tearing the place apart looking for her.
Jenny glanced at the clock. It was just before noon. Madame Vastra wouldn't be back for a few more hours.
What had Madame told her about a situation like this?
Right: Form a plan. Don't get trapped.
Jenny had her broom, a decent weapon in a pinch. She knew the building. Should she go up to the flat? No, too easy to trap her; there was only one set of stairs, although her knife was there. A good defensive position if one had a ranged weapon, (such as a bloody long tongue) Vastra had said, but no good for a girl with a knife. Down into the basement? Same problem, and no knife. Into Mrs Brown's office or the kitchen? No, don't drag the ever-soused landlady into this. And there was no escape from there anyway; she'd still be trapped.
Go out the front? She knew she might be able to beat the bully boy again; 'though he'd be on his guard this time, he was still a weak spot. Or was he bait?
Worse, Madame had warned her that since Jenny had beaten the boy once, he'd have something to prove. He'd be more violent this time.
Damn.
More like they wouldn't think she was that bright or that well-trained, that she'd see him as a weakness. Or see him at all for that matter.
Hmmm.
Was the back door bolted? It was strong, designed to guard against the local boys who fancied a drink in the night without having to pay for it. It would hold the adult off for a more than a few minutes. Since Vastra wasn't out back, Jenny was fairly sure that it was closed and locked. Good. That would slow the man down.
If she went out back, she could face him directly, and scream bloody murder at finding him in the back. That might keep him from busting up the Gin Palace to get to her. But she'd be fighting an adult half-again her size.
Out front, into the street, was still the best plan. If needed. Jenny listened carefully, and warily moved closer to the door.
Jenny wished she could just disappear and be done with it.
Wait a moment… Could she disappear?
If she walked out front, moving quickly…
Could she reach somewhere safe? Where was safe?
And then Jenny grinned. She could reach one of the safest buildings in all of England. In under ten minutes if she walked. In less if she ran.
Well, Mr Dawes wanted a message if they saw the thugs. He never said how the message should be delivered….
'Course, she'd need to get past the bully boy first.
Author's Notes:
My apologies to any bagpipers and fellow members of the Scots diaspora reading this chapter. You already know why. Vastra doesn't know any better. Yet.
Vastra's early history in the London Tunnels is from The Brilliant Book 2012 again. The book mentions that Vastra "…tunnels into bank vaults using a previously unknown method…."
In the mid 19th Century, the River Thames was an open sewer, with disastrous consequences for public health in London, including cholera epidemics, resulting in thousands of deaths because of raw sewage getting into the drinking water. After the Great Stink of 1858, Parliament realised the need for a modern sewerage system. The Chief Engineer of the Metropolitan Board of Works, Joseph Bazalgette, designed an extensive underground system that diverted waste to the Thames Estuary, downstream of the main population of London. Six main interceptor sewers, totalling almost 100 miles (160 km) in length, were constructed, some incorporating stretches of London's 'lost' rivers. Three of these sewers were north of the river, the southernmost, low-level one being incorporated in the Thames Embankment. The intercepting sewers, constructed between 1859 and 1865, were fed by 450 miles (720 km) of main sewers that, in turn, conveyed the contents of some 13,000 miles (21,000 km) of smaller local sewers. Much of the original brickwork survives to this day. Remember, the majority of that construction was done by hand.
There was no law against women dressing as men in 19th Century England. The few court cases I've read always seem to come about from something else (causing a disturbance, beating the girlfriend, robbery, etc.) at which point the man was 'discovered' to be a woman (whom it tended to be assumed was dressed as a male for economic reasons.) A man dressing as a woman was considered far more serious, as it was assumed that this was solely for sexual purposes, and was more actively prosecuted.
The United Kingdom finally moved to a decimal system of coinage in 1971. If one was a very young tourist that summer, when prices were in a mix of decimal and old system, it was very confusing. Trust me on this.