Rat's Alley

Chapter Two; Forest In Secret

"You're here early," Silas leaned against the wooden fence on his porch, hands crossed on his chest. Henry scoffed before looking him up and down in disgust. He held off the urge to block his nose from the stench.

"I see you still didn't take a shower from last week"

"You didn't wait for father to fall asleep this time?"

"I told him I'll be hunting the fox from the reward system"

"And he believed that?" Silas scoffed this time. Unbelievable.

"Of course he did, My father trusts me"

"Must feel nice to be so trusted"

Henry glanced around quickly, his eyes constantly fidgeting around the whole neighborhood before he could utter a single word he made eye-contact with the Abney sisters.

"You live next to the Abney's?"

"Yeah, why'd you ask"

"Let's head inside" Before Silas had a chance to head in first Henry was already pushing past him. Silas went to the cabinet in front of the couch, taking a pack of cigars from inside one of the many drawers.

"So why did you ask?"

"Why is it any of your business?" Henry snapped, he took a seat on the springy couch. He let out a grunt of discomfort "Their parents are good friends of mine,"

"I see" Silas lit up a cigar. He genuinely couldn't care less. Whatever Henry said that wasn't business related it would go out as quickly as it entered his ear. He had no interest whatsoever who he knew or who his parents knew.

"Pass me one," Henry sighed. His heart was beating as fast as it could go without beating out of his chest. Silas threw it in his direction before taking a seat on the other side of the couch. He really needed to invest in another couch to stay as far away from the other male as possible.

"Have they written to you?"

"Who?"

"You're parents" The corner of Henry's lips raised.

"You shouldn't be talking about unrelated matters, you want to be thrown out this early?"

"I was simply curious, aren't we friends?" Silas let out an airy chuckle.

"We both know you nor I think of one another as friends, you're only here for extra gold and I'm only using you to get more people"

Henry smirks, he was glad to see the other man understood the boundaries between the two. Henry was a proper man and Silas... Silas was not. He would not be tarnishing his reputation anytime soon or ever.

Some time passed and Henry was already finished with his cigar yet Silas was only halfway which was highly rare. He appeared to be in deep thought.

"Have you ever spoken to the sisters?" He questioned Henry while blowing out the smoke.

"I thought we shouldn't be discussing unrelated matters" Henry dropped the cigar on the wooden floor, squashing it with his shoe-covered foot. Silas silently stared at the wall in front of the two.

"Simply making small talk, you seem worried"

They got silent after that and Silas finally started to take out the small metal flasks from the drawer next to the sofa. Henry watched him place them in a line.

"They come to the library on occasions. The Abney sisters"

"They know how to read?"

"Lots of women can read nowadays, some even know how to write"