Page 23 of The Housebreaker's Assistant
“A test?” Penny asked suspiciously.
Brutus glanced to his brother, then smiled and said, “Prove that you can housebreak as well as pick pockets. Prove that it would be worth the potential complications of The Zagreus Den assuming temporary responsibility for your sister.”
Greer wasn’t sure he liked where Brutus was going with his test, but he noted the change in Penny’s expression when Helen was mentioned.
“How?” Penny asked. “How do you want me to prove myself?”
Brutus looked at his brother again, then said, “We are in need of a certain set of documents currently in the possession of Lord Pennington of Berkeley Square.”
Greer drew in a breath, knowing what the test would be.
“And?” Penny prompted Brutus.
“And if you and Greer are able to obtain them for us, then we will feel confident that we can entrust you with this mission,” Brutus continued. “If we’re confident in your abilities, we will feel secure caring for your sister while you and Greer are in Cornwall.”
Greer shook his head. “I’m not sure?—”
“I’ll do it,” Penny said. “I’ll break into Lord Whoever’s house in Mayfair and steal some papers. As long as you swear to me that you will keep Helen safe here while I’m gone.”
“That is the bargain I am willing to make,” Brutus said with a smile. He extended his hand to Penny.
“It’s the bargain I agree to,” Penny said, matching his smile.
“Wait one moment,” Greer said, wanting to get his opinion in.
But it was too late. Penny and Brutus had already agreed to the plan, and Greer couldn’t do anything but go along with it.
Chapter Seven
The Zagreus Den moved fast. That was the first thing Penny learned on his initial visit to the bizarre, though deeply intriguing, place. Before he left the pleasure den in Tyburnia as the first rays of the morning sun kissed the dusty, smoky London sky, he and Greer had already set a time for their Mayfair housebreak, and Brutus and Titus had provided them with a few tools and a description of the correspondence they had been charged with purloining,
Penny had a day and a half to prepare himself, which mostly consisted of sleeping as much as he could the first day, then preparing Helen for what was to come.
“Are we going to a palace?” Helen asked as she and Penny sat on the floor of their cramped room the afternoon of the heist, taking tea with Miss Kitty and the rest of the dolls.
“It’s something like a palace,” Penny said, nodding slowly. He’d no idea how to describe what he’d seen of The Zagreus Den to someone like his sister. “There are a lot of men, young and old there, but they won’t harm you,” he insisted. Everything he’d observed told him none of the members of The Zagreus Den would be interested in interfering with Helen, and even if theywere inclined that way, Brutus had intimated that he would keep Helen away from the Den’s more nefarious activities.
“Is there a queen?” Helen asked, hugging her ratty old cloth doll tight, her eyes bright with excitement. “Princesses?”
Penny’s mouth twitched into a smile as he thought about the nubile young men he’d watched dancing and fucking, both each other and the older guests who had come for the entertainments. Most of them had been prettied up with cosmetics and powder. He’d always fancied older, rougher men himself, but even he had seen the appeal of soft, pale skin and a bit of kohl around those young men’s eyes.
“I think there might be princesses,” he said, grinning as he remembered. “And pretty princes, too.”
“I want to see the pretty princes,” Helen said, beaming.
“If all goes well, you shall,” he laughed, reaching over to stroke his sister’s hair. “You’ll be one of the princesses in the palace, the prettiest of them all.”
Helen giggled and grinned bashfully. Seeing her so happy, even though she had no idea what they might be walking into, filled Penny’s heart with joy.
Whatever the next few days or weeks held, whatever the dangers he might face, as long as Helen was safe and happy, he would throw himself in harm’s way a thousand times over.
They spent the rest of the day enjoying each other’s company. As the sun went down, Penny helped Helen into bed, told her a story, then kissed her forehead as she fell asleep. He hated leaving her, that would never change, but as he headed out of Mrs. Hunt’s house, avoiding the odious woman on the way out as he did, Penny felt a new surge of hope that the uncertainty in their lives might be over soon.
Even though the housebreaking job was in Mayfair, Penny and Greer had made arrangements to meet in Whitechapel. Penny’s usual patch was more subdued than usual after thepolice raid. So many of the faces Penny was used to seeing every day were gone, perhaps never to return. The Oyster was solemn and half empty by the time he walked through the door and took a seat at one of the tables near the window.
“I’m surprised someone like you is willing to sit where everyone on the outside can see him,” Bart, the pub’s owner, told Penny from where he was rubbing the counter behind the bar. “Too many of your friends are living at Her Majesty’s pleasure at the moment.”
Penny frowned and glanced up at Jenny, the pale-faced barmaid who came over to bring him his usual pint. “Was it that bad?” he asked.
