The Undiscovered Archives of Sherlock Holmes by John Lawrence

Author:John Lawrence
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: authentic adventures, Canonical, short story collection, traditional stories, Sherlockian, pastiche, Victorian London, murder, historical, Winston Churchill, Nazi Party, suffragist, British monarch, American president, President Harding, Norwegian, Talisman
ISBN: 9781787059566
Publisher: Andrews UK
Published: 2022-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

Emily Davison

11 October 1872 – 8 June 1913

The Case of the Duplicitous Suitor

It was just a week before Christmas, 1885, and London was resplendent with the lights and decorations of the holiday season that always brought a degree of gaiety to that bone-chilling time of the year. I had been preoccupied late by a patient: A congested child with a hacking cough and a desperate young mother fearful the lad was taking his last painful breaths. A small amount of brandy dissolved in weak tea had helped relieve the youngster’s distress, and a larger amount calmed the mother. It was shortly before dawn when I climbed into my bed, still shivering from the cold, weary and longing for a few hours’ rest, only to be wakened in what seemed mere moments by a loud knocking on my bedroom door.

“Awaken, Watson!” the familiar voice of Sherlock Holmes cried from the landing. “The day is fast disappearing, and a case awaits!”

A quick examination of the clock on my bedside table indicated it was just after seven, but the damage to my slumber was done. Once awakened, an old army surgeon can never return to sleep, regardless how dark it is, so I quickly conducted my ablutions, dressed, and met Holmes downstairs in our sitting room. I noted that Mrs. Hudson had thoughtfully arranged some evergreens on the mantel above the glowing fireplace to give a touch of the season to our rooms.

Holmes acknowledged my arrival with a nod of his head and a slight smile of greeting. Despite the early hour on a Sunday morning, he was already dressed and, from the stuffy atmosphere of the room, I guessed onto his second pipe of the day. Several newspapers had already evidently been read and their contents digested, along with a breakfast on the table consisting of sausages, scones, and grilled tomatoes. I poured myself a cup of Mrs. Hudson’s thankfully hot and strong coffee and eased myself into a chair by the table.

“What is so urgent as to disturb my very unsatisfactory but essential rest?” I inquired.

“Yes, I heard you go out last night,” Holmes explained. “Not too challenging a case, I hope?”

“I’m surprised you don’t know the precise details of it,” I replied somewhat tersely, waiting for the caffeine stimulant to ratchet me more awake.

“No, I don’t, and for once, I will not engage in that parlour game.”

“The one in which you guess what I have been doing, or with whom, or where I have been?”

“Quite so,” he replied, “but not today. I awakened you because we are due to have a distinguished visitor this morning, and I didn’t think you would want to miss his arrival.”

“I certainly hope he and the case he brings to your attention are worthy of my having sacrificed a decent night’s sleep,” I replied. “Or whatever was left of it.”

Holmes looked at me understandingly and walked over to where I sat, hungrily examining the pile of bangers and tomatoes. “Perhaps this will spark some interest,” he said, dropping a folded piece of paper in front of me.

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