Page 18 of The Housebreaker's Assistant
“I cannot do anything that would cause me to leave Helen alone and unprotected here,” Penny insisted.
Greer dragged his eyes away from Helen and looked at Penny. “You put yourself at risk of being arrested on a daily basis,” he pointed out. “You could have been one of the unfortunate souls picked up tonight.”
“But I wasn’t,” Penny said. “And if I hadn’t been distracted by flirting, I wouldn’t have been anywhere near The Oyster when the coppers arrived.”
Greer frowned, like he resented being blamed for their situation. That frown didn’t last, though.
“I might not know much,” he said, “but I can see this situation is untenable.”
Penny huffed a humorless laugh. “Do you think I am unaware of that?” he snapped. He shook his head. “I need to take Helen away from here. She wants to go to the country. I’ve heard….” He dropped his head, uncertain whether he wanted to make himself so vulnerable to Greer. There didn’t seem to be another way to explain, so he sighed, glanced up at him, and said, “I’ve heard there are places in the country, farms and such, where people like Helen can live happily and be taken care of.”
Greer shook his head. “I don’t know of?—”
He was cut off as Helen stirred.
“Penny?” she asked groggily, turning to her back and reaching for Penny.
“I’m here, love,” Penny said, smiling at her and brushing a hand over her face.
Helen responded with a sweet smile that was filled with so much love it hurt Penny’s heart.
A moment later, that smile vanished and she moaned as she realized they weren’t alone. She sat up and threw her arms around Penny, hiding against him.
“Hey, hey, now, love,” Penny soothed her. “This is a friend. Would you like to meet my friend, Greer?”
Helen moaned again, then nodded and turned her face toward Greer.
“Hello,” Greer said with an uncertain smile.
It took a moment, but Helen smiled back at him. She half hid her face against Penny before saying, “You’re handsome.”
Penny laughed. “I think so, too.”
“I’m not very handsome,” Greer said, inching closer, “but I do think you’re beautiful.”
Helen giggled and hid her face fully against Penny’s shoulder. Penny laughed along with her.
“Tea party,” Helen mumbled into Penny’s shirt.
“You don’t have to host a tea party right now, love,” Penny said, hugging her. “It’s the middle of the night.”
“The middle of the night is time to sleep,” Helen repeated the words Penny had told her dozens of times before.
“That’s right, my sweet,” Penny said. He squeezed her again, then helped her to lie down and rest her head against the pillow. Once he’d tucked the covers up around her shoulders, he asked, “Do you want me to tell you a story to take you off to the land of dreams again?”
Helen nodded hazily and yawned.
Penny glanced to Greer, then smiled at his sister again. “Once upon a time, there was a brave and clever, red-headed thief who knew just how to escape the police.”
It only took a few minutes of recounting his and Greer’s adventures of the night as if they were a fairy story for Helen’s breathing to steady. As soon as he was certain she was asleep, he kissed her cheek, stood, and walked over to the screened off area at the corner of the room so he could wash his hands and body more thoroughly.
“You see?” he asked Greer, glancing over his shoulder at the man before ducking behind the screen.
“I do see,” Greer said, getting up and following Penny to the screen. “I see far more than I thought I would see tonight.”
He might have meant Penny himself, since he slipped behind the screen with him just as Penny removed his shirt. Penny had a feeling it was more than that, though.
The two of them were silent for a bit. Greer took advantage of the wash water and sponge Penny offered him to clean himself up as much as he could. Penny wanted to offer him a spare pair of drawers, but he didn’t have any, and Greer was likely too big for anything that fit him.
