“Just what I’ve been telling her all evening, sir!”interjected the bobby as he walked past to take up his beat again.
Penny’s eyes focused on Crispin, narrowing with determination.“At least I have his name now.”
“It looks to me like you have a story, too,” guessed Crispin shrewdly.
Her face brightened.“And I have a story!Whata story!“ She punched his arm in glee, then recoiled.“You smell like that vile stuff.What on earth were you doing in that awful place?Oh!”She looked him over, her nose scrunching in distaste.“Are you doing that thing that men do?”
By unspoken agreement, they were walking slowly back to a main road in search of a cab.
“What thing that men do?”Crispin asked.
“Sowing wild rice.”
“It’s wildoats, Penny.”
“I don’t care which cereal it is, it’s disgusting and hypocritical, and I thought better of you than that.When I think of the wayweare expected to behave!How would you feel if you foundmein a place like that, I ask you?”
Crispin decided not to point out the obvious and focus on the underlying issue, which was Penny’s understandable dismay at finding her brother in a seedy situation.
“It’s a treatment,” Crispin said, as casually as he could.
“A treatment?Immorality in general, or opium in particular?”
Crispin rolled his eyes.
“Oh,” faltered Penny, embarrassed.
Penny was often embarrassed by the accoutrements and limitations of his asthma.She always had been, so he tried to avoid the subject in her presence, which wasn’t hard, since he disliked speaking of it anyway.
She let out a nervous laugh.“Is there anything you haven’t tried to get rid of that wretched thing?”
“Death?”offered Crispin.
“Oh!”Penny said, clutching her pink cheeks in dismay.
“What is it now?”asked Crispin.“Have you remembered your umbrella?Did you leave it in a gambling hell, because the night is still young…”
“No, I left it at the bottom of the Thames, with Joki’s motor, and now I’m really going to have to kiss him—if I can find him again.”
Penny got a funny look on her face at this, as if she hadn’t quite made up her mind how she felt about the prospect.
Crispin carefully put his glasses in his pocket before he spoke.“Am I supposed to act the protective brother and demand to know who this Joki is and why you are expected to kiss him?Or is he one of the people I need to locate and sit on until you arrive?”
Penny looked at him thoughtfully.“You know, most of the time you are absolutely infuriating.But sometimes, you are almostnice.”
“My one ambition,” confessed Crispin.
“Do you really like sitting in a government office all day, just like Father?You used to say you’d rather die than do it.You wanted adventure.”
“Perhaps I’ve found it,” Crispin said with a gesture at their surroundings.
“Then we both have,” said Penny, with a small nod of satisfaction.
If she only knew.For the first time, he longed to tell her.The impulse surprised him.As far back as he could remember, there had been an unspoken competition between them.He had no idea which of them had started it, or how it might end.
“Better go in the back door at home and get cleaned up,” Crispin warned.“There’s one of Mother’s things on tonight.”
Penny groaned.
