“But if you’re right about something working to make the story come out, then there’s really nothing to be afraid of, is there?” […] “Only killing Lord Randolph,” said Patrick, with a nasty grin. “In for a penny, in for a pound.”
Chapter 18, The Secret Country
“In for a penny, in for a pound” is an English idiom that dates back to at least the 1600s. The original meaning was an admonition against debt – advising that owing a penny was just as bad as owing a whole pound, or perhaps that it would inevitably lead to owing a whole pound. The expression was cautionary.
Nowadays, the meaning has shifted some and is more often used to encourage someone to take a larger step or more drastic course of action. Another saying frequently invoked in the same or similar circumstances is “Might as well be hanged for a sheep as for a lamb.”
Here, Patrick is being a bit cruel by deliberately naming the action Ted and the others most want to avoid.
