The Darlington Substitution (From The Deed Box of John H. Watson MD) by Ashton Hugh

Author:Ashton, Hugh [Ashton, Hugh]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inknbeans Press
Published: 2012-08-18T00:00:00+00:00

Part II – The Disappearance of Lord Hareby

Chapter 10: Bouverie, the butler

IT was about a month later that we had an unexpected visitor. Holmes had just completed one or two somewhat delicate cases that had required tact and diplomacy for their solution, and was taking what I considered to be a well-earned break from his labours, but which he regarded with impatience. We were sitting round the table in the centre of the room, working on updating the large scrapbook that Holmes named his “Index” with newspaper cuttings.

Some of the subjects that Holmes selected were of obvious interest and had a connection with his work. Such items included reports of police court proceedings, reports of unsolved crimes, or some reports of unusual events. I failed to perceive the reasoning that led him to clip out and file a report on copper production in Chile, for example.

“I cannot speak more of this,” he said, in answer to my query. “My brother Mycroft has an interest in this matter, and he is too indolent to find the information for himself. His skills lie in the tying together of threads, rather than the discovery of them.”

I was aware of the shadowy position of Mycroft Holmes in the British government, and contented myself with this enigmatic pronouncement.

As we were seated at our task, Mrs. Hudson knocked on the door and announced that Holmes had a visitor.

“Well, show him up, Mrs. Hudson,” said Holmes. “Why did you not bring him with you?”

“Well, I wanted to warn you, especially you, Doctor, that he doesn’t seem to be in a good way at all. If you want my opinion, Mr. Holmes, he’s more in need of a doctor than your services, to look at him.”

“Show him in, anyway, if you would. Really!” he exclaimed, as the door closed behind her. “ ‘If you want my opinion,’ indeed. When I require the opinion of my landlady, I will ask for it. Until that time...”

The rest of his tirade was curtailed by a knock at the door. The person who entered the room appeared familiar, but it was a few seconds before I recognised him, so distorted was his face with strain and worry. I assisted him with his overcoat and hat, and sat him in a chair near the fire.

“You appear unwell, Bouverie,” I addressed him. “What, may I ask, are you doing in London?”

“I came here special to see Mr. Holmes, I did.” In his agitation, his diction and his accent, which I had noted during my sojourn at Hareby as those of a superior servant, appeared to have slipped a little. “Since I had to come up to London today on another errand, it seemed to me that it would be a good move for me to come and see Mr. Holmes here, seeing as how he put things right a few weeks back. Not that I’m not glad to see you, Doctor. My nerves are all shot to pieces. It’s the wailing and the howling all night that’s doing it.

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