Page 100 of A Fearless Heart
“Oh? Then he should stay away himself.” Cady flipped over to her other side, denying Bond the view of her face, which was going to be streaked with tears in a moment. “There’s not even any point in firing all of you, is there?”
“No, my lady. We’re here for a reason, and we’re not leaving.”
“Because you’re—what was the word?—disreputable?”
“That’s what we call ourselves,” she said.
“What does it mean?”
“Well, several years ago, in another house in this city, a lady discovered that one of her servants had a friend with an unfortunate past—a criminal record that would have made it impossible to find work in a respectable house, or really anywhere. But this lady was rather unusual, and she decided to take the chance on this person. And a while later, another opening came up and she hired someone they knew who was in a similar bad way. After a few years, nearly every servant in her house was a person of disreputable background. But because they were also trusted by their companions and had the will to do right, the lady never suffered by it. And in time, her servants’ skills often turned out quite helpful to her.”
“You worked for this lady?”
“I did, after escaping a charge of theft and probable transportation to Australia.”
“Were you guilty?”
“Of course, not just of that theft but a hundred more. I’ve got an eye for jewels, and a gift for climbing.”
Cady turned back over, looking at Bond with new eyes. “Really?”
“Indeed, my lady. But I’malsogood at sewing and hair, so when I got the chance to be a lady’s maid, I took it.”
“And Jem?”
“Pickpocketing, mostly.”
“Judith?”
“Petty theft, counterfeiting coins, and inciting riot.”
“Inciting riot? Really?”
“She works with the abolitionists and sometimes the demonstrations grow lively. The law calls it a riot, and who’s to stop them from saying so?”
“Minnie?”
“Ah, she ran a fortune-telling scam with a partner where she kept the mark’s attention on her whilst her partner robbed them blind.”
“And Cook?”
“Oh, she’s actually clean. Just a cook.”
“I see.” Cady thought about it, and decided that she was either too tired to be alarmed, or that the moment for alarm was long since past. “And what’s the Zodiac?”
“Er, best that Mr Courtenay explains that, my lady.”
“Well, Mr Courtenay isn’t getting within hundred paces of me again, so why don’t you do it.”
Bond swallowed nervously. “It’s…um…restricted.”
Cady gave her a disgusted look. “Is it some criminal gang attempting to gather all the poison in England for some nefarious purpose?”
“Of course not! It’s part of the govern—” Bond stopped, then sighed. “Yes, fine, I’ll tell you.”
So that was how Cady learned of the Zodiac, and how Gabe was an agent of it, complete with a code name and a mission and host of lies to tell Cady to gain her confidence.
“How many deaths?” Cady asked at one point, when Bond was explaining the details.
