Malachi had been rather clear about how he felt about the younger man getting close to him -- yet, as soon as he held up a hand to speak privately, the priest moved in to accommodate him.

Mister Tully's smile went unreturned, but Malachi did raise his brows as he spoke, inviting him to continue when he looked to the door. He wanted to hear it, not wait around for someone else to stumble in and ruin his chance.

"I see," said Malachi, solemn as could be. Oh, he thought plenty about it all, but he did not plan on being pulled into the gossip himself. Even if he was the one who had asked for it and listened so eagerly.

"Do you hear rumors about a lot of the congregants, Mister Tully? Most things are not to be believed, of course, but I do appreciate getting to hear about the people I aim to serve."

Francis shrugged. "People talk and no one takes notice of me. It is amazing what you can pick up when you're a nobody. But you are the first person to ask me about what I know. So I could not resist. "

He was cheerful as if there was no delimma as he stepped back to the stove to resume cooking. "And I get so bored so I like to listen and tie together little details. Especially when it fits so perfectly. Even if it is just a coincidence ." He looked over towars the priest.

"Is there something else you want to know?"

Of course there was something else. He wanted to know everything. They didn't have the time for that, though, and Malachi didn't want to portray himself as desperate as he was to hear it all. It was for good reason that he wanted to know, he thought, whether the majority of the information was true or false. The better he understood his new community, the better he could function as their guide.

"Whatever you would like to tell me," he offered casually, turning once Mister Tully had stepped away.

"My ability to help people is only improved by a better understanding of them. Whatever you know... be it silly or otherwise, it's a glimpse into the way this town works, the way its people relate to one another."

The way information was passed, the way that the community reacted to it...

"Are there many other constables, then, if Constable Crane is the nicest among them?"

"Well, I know of four. " Francis loved being able to talk and be heard. He didn't care if the priest had turned cold on him. He expected it if everyone but this guy also knew his secret.

"There is Crane, the nice but maybe useless one? Hailey who seems like a good guy but sticks to the rules so maybe a bit boring I don't know him very well. Francis.." he scowled at one sharing his name. "Huge and a bit brutal, quick with the fists and intimidating. But then you have Wesley. He is a real monster I hear. Big guy from York."

Crane, Hailey, Francis, Wesley. Malachi nodded, committing the names to memory. Should he ever have the misfortune of having to call on a constable, or deal with them in any form... he would look for the apparent pushover.

"That's unfortunate," he commented, leaning back against the counter out of habit. Typically, he wouldn't dare hold himself so casually in front of anyone, but something told him that Mister Tully would not mind it. "I've heard there's a fair amount of crime, so I suppose I cannot cast judgement if the constables are molded by the things that they encounter."

More likely than not, though, they were just bad people. Malachi would never say as much though.

"Has there been anything particularly concerning, crime-wise? Anything I should be worried about?"

Francis shrugged. "No one knows where the brutish one xame from I think. But that Crane guy was bullied a lot as a kid. Might be why he's so spineless...supposedly. " He chuckled and stirred his soup.

"Well a lot of people disappeared here. Now they did have that dead man at the Pony that they found out had been murdering the girls. But there are others that don't fit with him. But you would be fine, I think most of the people aren't your good straight and narrow types. But you should be careful since it is a very poor town with lots of alcohol and misery so.. you might get people wanting to rob." He looked back with an innocent smile then turned back to his cooking.

Malachi had heard from Father Richards that there was plenty of crime and vice in Whitby, but disappearances? Murders? Possibly multiple murderers? That was a bit more than he had expected, from his fellow priest's vague description. Perhaps he had been trying not to scare him off.

"...Rob?"

He didn't miss the way Mister Tully had looked at him when he'd said that.

"I have nothing anyone would want," said Malachi, and he straightened his back to move away from the counter. That, at least, was true. Besides his vestments and a few meager items he'd arrived with, he had nothing of interest for anyone to steal. The church, on the other hand, he already knew was a surprisingly frequent victim of theft.

"And what about you, Mister Tully?" he asked without looking his way. "Anything I should be aware of, that you haven't already told me?"

Francis looked around the place as he stirred. "You might not, but the church has some small treasures hidden within.." He said smiling pleasantly. He had certainly tried to break into the lock box at one point, and almost ran out with candle sticks but Richards had caught him and gave him a more legal solution to his hunger issues and the bath was so nice.

The other question had him shrug, "Is there? I am always willing to answer a question. But I think I've told you my darkest secret so what else could I have that you'd want to know?" He checked the other's features to see if he could detect anything like distrust. He certainly expected it, but if he played nice that would fade.

Small treasures... right. Malachi raised a brow at the beggar's smile, and said nothing. He had already found a child taking candles from the altar, and now he had this guy to worry about too?

Worry about, he thought, as if he hadn't let the child take the candles anyway. If someone needed something more than the church did, he'd let them have it.

"If your darkest secret is that you loved someone," Malachi started, and his voice was strangely gentle, for how harshly he'd bent it before.

"Then I don't think you give yourself the patience you deserve. I asked because I don't care if there are things for me to worry about, Mister Tully. I just like to know the truth."

Francis rest a hand on his hip as he stirred the soup and then turned his head. "I came here originally to steal from this place, and you can ask Richards about that. He caught me and gave me a second chance. I considered doing it again when you found me. But you guys are giving me food and rest, and so for now I am gaining a lot more by behaving and helping out. It isn't like I have a busy schedule. And I've done bad things. Sell myself, rob places, lie. But I don't care to hurt people, unless it's defending myself. I just don't care about being good." He shrugged very nonchalantly. "So if that is the truth you are seeking, there you go. I am just a vermin on society these days because I don't expect better and no one expects it of me. But I suppose things could change. Is there some other truth you were seeking from me?"