Sherlock Holmes and The Other Woman by Geri Schear Read Free Book Online Page A

in the right quarters might prove sufficient.
    I must go. Please write soon .
    Your troublesome wife,
    B.
    I replied by return post. I copy my letter here:
    My dear troublesome wife,
    I should not find you half so entertaining if you were docile and meek. It is greatly to your credit that you should want to support your father’s old friend, particularly as he can be irksome at times.
    I confess I am alarmed at the increase of violence in France. Mycroft asks that I plead with you to return. He points out, with some justification, that you are not a nonentity who might blend into the background. You are the Queen’s goddaughter and you are my wife. While the latter remains a close secret, the former is significant enough that it must lend weight to everything you do, even if you do very little - and I know you too well to suspect you would ever do very little.
    Would you despise me if I implored you to return to England?
    I shall ask Mycroft about offering Zola a safe haven, should it prove necessary.
    In the meantime, please take no unnecessary risks. Who else can play Mozart like you?
    S.
    Watson looks rather smug and I’ve discovered it is because Mrs Prentiss sent a joint of beef by way of a thank you for our work in resolving the Camden Town ‘hauntings’. We shall have it for dinner.
    I went downstairs to use the telephone and after some minutes was connected with Mycroft’s office. Gillespie assured me he would have my brother return my call as soon as he is free. While I await his response, I have written up my notes on the Camden Town incident. Watson is engaged in writing another of his tales about my exploits. He promises not to pen this most recent case for the moment. Is it merely my bewilderment that a man could form a romantic attachment to the likes of Connie Kidwell that makes me uneasy? Watson points out that for all my many talents an understanding of romance is utterly beyond my ken. Still, something tells me the business is not yet done.
    Half-seven
    Mycroft just returned my call. (“Talking to you twice in as many days, Sherlock? Isn’t that carrying familial affection too far?”)
    â€œI had a letter from B,” I said. I told him the gist and he heard me out in silence.
    â€œI hope you told her to leave well enough alone and come home.”
    â€œYes, I did, but I’m sure you must realise the impossibility of persuading her to do anything she does not wish.”
    â€œIf she insists on staying, I hope she can keep out of harm’s way. I wish she were not there, Sherlock. The situation is volatile and worsens daily. I hope your letter was persuasive.”
    So do I, but I did not admit it.
    â€œWhat of her query about Zola?” I asked.
    â€œUnofficially, I think we would be delighted to have him, but obviously we cannot extend an official invitation.”
    As I hung up the receiver, I ruminated that the problem with older brothers is they can never forget they are older and one’s brother. Mycroft and I get on well enough most of the time - we have come a long way since our often-tempestuous childhood - but now and then there are frissons of memory. Tonight was one such occasion.
    I must not go to Paris. I gave my word to B that I would never try to manage her. Am I to sit with my hands folded and do nothing?
    Midnight
    I have written an update to B telling her of my conversation with Mycroft and his prognostications. I have told her to do whatever she thinks is wise and I shall support her, come what may. To my own surprise, I found myself writing the words, “Do, please, be careful.”For a moment, I contemplated striking out the sentence but ultimately decided to let it stand. It is not as if it will influence her in any way.
    Monday 28 March 1989
    Despite my fatigue, I had a wretched night. It was considerably after the clock chimed three before I fell asleep. Watson would have his readers believe such nights are due to what he