Further Exploits of Sherlock Holmes by Davies David Stuart; Booth Matthew; & Matthew Booth

Author:Davies, David Stuart; Booth, Matthew; & Matthew Booth [Davies, David Stuart & Booth, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, crime, detective, Sherlock Holmes
Publisher: Sparkling Books Limited
Published: 2016-06-30T23:00:00+00:00

The Mornington Scream

Matthew Booth

I have often reflected that my close association with Sherlock Holmes consisted of a series of dramatic episodes which led from one example of his formidable powers to another. In choosing which of those instances to lay before the public, it is natural that I should dwell upon those cases where his powers were displayed to their fullest extent. It is likewise to be expected that his failures do not seem to me to be suitable material for this series of memoirs. In many cases, where he failed it was often the fact that no one else succeeded, and so those particular enquiries were left without any formal conclusion. Occasionally, even when he personally fell into error, the truth was still discovered and I have a handful of notes of such instances. However, there were moments in my friend’s career when he failed to recognize danger until it had shown its face and, as a result of this lapse of judgment on his part, it was impossible to avert a tragedy. I recall the singular persecution of the dancing men and the tragic fate of Mr Hilton Cubitt as one such case. By its side, it is fitting that I set out the facts concerning the fears of Miss Eliza Lanyon and the terrible secret of the Mornington Scream.

It was in the early spring of 1895 that the matter first came to our attention. We had finished our breakfast and were enjoying a leisurely pipe when the landlady announced our young visitor. She was a woman of a little less than thirty, graceful rather than elegant, with a pair of bright eyes which peered at us with a certain degree of anxiety. Holmes waved her to the settee where a new visitor must always sit and offered her a pot of coffee.

‘No, thank you, Mr Holmes,’ said she. ‘I should prefer to state my business as swiftly as possible so that I should not lose an instant in hearing your advice.’

Holmes was appreciative. ‘I am grateful to you, madam, for your desire to do so. It is refreshing to meet a young woman with such a determined approach to business.’

‘You would not be so fulsome if you knew the reason for my eagerness. It is nothing to do with my sense of business so much as my zeal to be rid of this terror which plagues me.’

‘Then, pray, commence your narrative.’

‘My name is Eliza Lanyon and I live with my parents in the small village of Mornington, not far from the centre of Winchester. We lead a happy life, the three of us, or at least we did until I allowed myself to fall in love. You may be surprised to hear a young woman of my age talk about that emotion in such terms, for it should be every girl’s fantasy to find her prince and live happily ever after. For me, however, love comes to me with a devil’s face.

‘About two years ago, I met a young man by the name of Edward Carver.

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