After they had returned to 13 Paternoster Row, Madame Vastra had pulled out books. A lot of books. Two books on psychology, two scrapbooks filled with old newspaper clippings, one of birth records, and a large folded map of London, to be exact. Currently, she had instructed Jenny to search the records for any mention of a man named Lewis Burns, as The Yard sent a telegram to inform them they had identified the body as such. Meanwhile, the lady of the house thumbed through newspaper clippings, pinning small dots onto the map as she went.

"Madame," Jenny started, glancing at the woman she had addressed to be sure she had her attention, "I think I found somethin'."

"What is it?" Vastra asked, moving closer to look over the young maid's shoulder.

"Right 'ere, it says that one 'Lewis 'enry Burns' was born to a Captain Abraham and Mrs. Elizabeth Burns, nearly 42 years ago. 'Perantly, 'e found a wife, 'cause this record 'ere says that a bouncin' baby boy was born to 'im and some lady named Lila Burns."

"I'm sorry, 'bouncin baby boy'?"

Jenny waved her hand dismissively. "Doesn't matter, but I got an address from the birth certificate 'ere. Might as well take a peek to see if they're still around?"

"Good idea, Jenny," Vastra nodded, turning away to tidy up some papers before their departure. "Would you fetch my veil?"

When their cab pulled up to the house, Jenny felt crestfallen. Being born to a captain, she rather imagined that Lewis Burns' father's wealth would have continued onto him. Although, by the state of the dilapidated townhouse, apparently not.

"Here you are, Ma'am, miss." The cabbie bid them from the driver's seat, tipping his hat as he attempted to make eye contact from the front of the carriage.

"You sure this is the right place?" Jenny asked in an uncertain voice, shooting a suspicious glace at their destination.

"Sure is, Miss."

"All right." She mumbled, climbing out of the carriage and placing a few coins into the man's hand. Quickly after, she turned to her employer and assisted her down from the cabin.

After a quick nod of thanks, the cabbie rode off, leaving the veiled detective and her apprentice to gaze at the evermore foreboding house. Although made almost entirely of wood, it looked as if someone decided to dip the entire property in a disgusting grey paint. At least that would explain the monocolored tones of the building.

Silently, the pair began walking towards the door. Jenny wasn't even sure that they needed to knock after they had passed through the gate, as the high-pitched squeak the metal made had caused an unseen dog to begin barking madly from inside. As they approached the house, the door swung open. The maid smiled to herself, as she was evidently right. However, her grin quickly disappeared after the large woman standing at the door with a flour-covered rolling pin snarled a less-than-welcome greeting to them. The dog that previously alerted the family of their presence was being herded off in the background by a boy, probably the deceased's son.

Vastra, unphased, responded. "Good day to you, too. I presume you are the woman by the name of Lila Burns?"

The woman let out a snort of amusement. "Yeah, sure I am. And I'm also Her Majesty Queen Victoria, couldn't you tell?"

At a loss for words, the detective looked at Jenny for help, unsure weather to take her seriously or not. Although her true expression remained distorted by her veil, Jenny inwardly smiled at her clear bemusement.

In a small voice, Jenny clarified. "I'm sorry, ma'am. My mistress isn't as familiar with homes as she once was. You see, we are looking for a Mrs. Lila Burns… Do you know where we could find her?"

"Yeah, she's in here. She's not taking any visitors though. Still grievin'."

She shot a glance at Vastra before proceeding. "We are working with Scotland Yard at the moment. The Mrs. wouldn't mind if we just popped in to ask a few questions, now, would she?"

"Scotland Yard?" The woman said in disbelief, looking them up and down, "Humph. Alright. But be quick."

She stepped out of the way, taking the duo's coats, but giving Madame a suspicious glare when she refused to remove her veil.

"This way." She conducted them, leading them through a maze of halls before stopping in front of a closed door. "Wait here." She instructed, vanishing into the room before her curt reappearance. "Go on in."

"Thank you, ma'am." Jenny nodded at her as she lead her own mistress into the room. It seemed to be a study, decorated in tans and yellows with maps and nautical trinkets littering the various surfaces.

"Mrs. Burns?" Vastra called uncertainly, scanning the room for any sign of life.

"Over here, misses."

Both women turned to see a frail creature in her early 40's perched in a chair nearby, nursing a cup of tea.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Burns." Jenny smiled warmly

"Please, have a seat." The recent widower had long brown hair tied into a knot behind her head. Although her apparent youngness, streaks of grey still contaminated her updo. Her face was gaunt, and she looked unhealthily thin, worsened by her dark blue eyes that still swam with tears. It was clear to the lizard woman that the ape was starving far before the death of her husband.

"Thank you, ma'am." Jenny replied, offering her mistress a seat as she took place behind her.

"If ya don't mind, we'd like to ask you a few questions."

"Of course, but I'm not sure what else I could tell you. I've already given my statement… Lewis went out to meet his friend for drinks, and never…." She wiped her nose on a handkerchief. "He never came back."

"It's ok, Ma'am. Did 'e say which friend 'e was meetin'?"

A shake of the head was her only reply. Jenny looked at Vastra, whose eyes were still trained on the woman.

"Do you know why he went to a bar in SoHo?" The latter questioned.

Again, a shake of the head.

"Was it common for him to leave at night?"

"No!" The woman, now sobbing, replied through her tears. "Lewie was a good man. He had no business to do at night!"

Jenny nodded, understanding. Her intuition told her that no more answers could be coaxed from the woman, if any would be helpful. With a confirmation glace at Vastra, the latter excused them. Clearly she felt the same.

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Burns. Our deepest condolences go out to you."

The inhabitants of Paternoster Row stood, dipping their heads to excuse themselves.

After exiting the house by what could only be the family's beefy cook, the two walked in relative silence, broken only by the dog who had begun barking once more. Neither noticed the face of the woman's son watch them from a window as they exited.

As they rounded the corner, they heard a voice.

"Wait! Wait, please!"

Simultaneously, they turned around to see a boy no older than Jenny running towards them, holding a paper boy's hat and scarf to his body, attempting to keep them from flying off. The chambermaid immediately recognized him as the man who contained the dog upon their entry.

"Please, wait!" He called again as he finally arrived beside them, bending over to catch his breath.

"My name is Elliot Burns," He gasped between breaths, "I'm Lewis Burns' oldest son."

"A pleasure to meet you." Vastra bid.

He nodded. "And you. Look, I want to know something. It's important. Where was my father found?"

The women blinked at his bluntness, but Madame replied anyway. She appreciated his lack of small talk, given the situation.

"In an ally in Soho."

The kid nodded. "That's what I thought… those bastards!" He spat on the ground, finally righting himself. "Look, I don't know how much help my mother was, but I think I have an idea why he was killed. I work on the East End Docks, and while I was there, I heard some blokes muttering in a corner. Shady bunch. They said something about 'orders up top'. Apparently they were to attack certain people at night, making it look like a mugging. They were ordered to dump the bodies in allies in SoHo… I had to leave before I heard anymore. Thought they were just joking to each other. Apparently not... I just didn't know my father was on that list…"

He sighed, and closed his eyes for a moment.

Jenny hesitantly spoke up.

"Thank you, mister. This 'elps a great deal." She put a hand to his shoulder, in an attempt to comfort him. He opened his eyes and smiled. "Don't mention it. Just find the sewer dwellers and lock 'em up for me, alright?"

"We will do our best." Vastra replied.

And with that, the man turned and ran back the way he came. Not another word was uttered between the two until they arrived home.

"No, Jenny. It's just too dangerous!"

"But ma'am, it's the best chance we got! Elliot's sailors, the victims… I looked at the reports about the other recent muggings, as did you! It's no coincidence that they're all connected to the docks! Not to mention disgraced. Easy pickin's! Where else would we get information but the one bar in London known for seadogs more than any other!?"

Vastra paced the length of her drawing room, scaly face contorted into a worried frown.

"I will go with you, then."

"No, ma'am. Your veil… They'd know something was up immediately and then getting information from them would be like trying to get Robin 'ood to shoot a piece of noodle from his bow!."

Sitting down with a hiss, Vastra glared at Jenny, and then the wall to the left of her.

"Alright. I will stay right outside. First sign of danger, get to safety. Immediately. Although you've learned your combat well, I don't want to take any risks. Do we have a deal?"

The small maid nodded enthusiastically.

Out of the frying pan they went.

A/N:

Choppy Chapter :D

Widowers often go by what they did before their partner's death's. So 'Mrs.' Is still correct. If Lila preferred to go my 'Ms.', she would not have been offended. (It took me a little over an hour to figure this out. Interesting read.)

My postings will be slowed. End of summer stuff… I'd like to continue this during the school year but I'm not sure how well that will work out.

Hope you enjoy it so far!