“I have heard a rumour that he suffers from a mental illness.”
“I would prefer not to talk about that, it is too private and delicate a matter. Yes, he is not healthy, but he is not crazy, as some people say.”
“Do you really have no notion of where your brother is now?”
“No,” she said, lowering her eyes. “He sent his last telegram from the continent, just before Christmas.”
That did not surprise us.
“From Italy?” asked Holmes.
“Yes, how did you know?” said the lady with surprise.
“We recently met there with his... business partners,” Holmes coughed, glancing at me quickly. “May I see the telegram?”
“Certainly,” said Alice.
She jumped up and took a leather folder tied with a ribbon from the bureau. It contained several telegrams, which she gave us to examine. Holmes looked them over and then handed them to me.
They did not contain anything that could lead us to him. As the lady said, they were all sent from somewhere else around the world. They contained only a few printed words about his health or that he was still not considering coming home, a few orders for the servants and a request to his sister not to try to find him. When the time came he would contact her again.
“These business associates whom you mentioned, they do not know anything about him?” Alice inquired.
“Unfortunately they do not have his address either,” said Holmes. “We hoped that we would be able to contact him through you. We need him to confirm a few things.”
“I cannot help you with that,” said Lady Darringford, wiping away the tears that were running down her round cheeks. “Rupert’s whereabouts are just as much a mystery to me as they are to you.”
We had accomplished the task for which we had come. I was disappointed that we no longer had a reason to remain in the presence of this gentle creature, but on the other hand it was also a kind of liberation. Were I to remain longer in her company I might not be able to control my infatuation.
“Allow me to ask one last question,” said Holmes as we were leaving. “Has your brother ever mentioned the names Minutti or Bollinger?”
“The first of these is unfamiliar to me,” said the lady, searching her memory. “By the second do you mean Albert Bollinger? Everyone knows that his sister, Emily, is my good friend. He was last in this house as a guest together with his sister a few weeks ago. Why?”
“I think that your brother came into contact with them recently.”
“But Emily certainly would have told me! You must be mistaken.”
The detective bowed his head and kissed her on the hand. I must admit that I was slightly jealous; it seemed to me that his lips lingered on the smooth skin of her white hand longer than was strictly necessary. But I immediately expelled such nonsense from my head and chided myself for it. I was acting like a smitten schoolboy.
On the way back to London Holmes was again wrapped in silence, nor was I in the mood to discuss our case. Neither did it surprise me when he perfunctorily asked the coachman to stop on Victoria Street and got out without a word. He only mumbled something about having to stop somewhere due to Miss Pankhurst and that he would only return late in the evening.
Then it was true: his imagination had been captivated by the Pankhurst girl. Well, you can’t argue about taste, I said to myself, and drove home.
But the real fun was about to start.
I changed into a housecoat, lit the fireplace, poured myself a glass of whiskey and settled into my favourite armchair. I had a lot of paperwork to do in connection with my clinic, which was now being overseen by a medical student. I had not gotten any work done since Holmes’s coronary and now seemed like an opportune moment to catch up.
I worked until night fell and the streetlamps came on. At that point the paperwork began to bore me. I put it aside, took up a magazine, and promptly dozed off.
Around nine o’clock I was awoken by the doorbell.
It occurred to me that it must be Holmes. Our housekeeper was on holiday during my wife’s absence, so I got up to open the door for my companion.
But instead of the detective I found Alice Darringford.
“Has something happened?” I said with surprise.
“Forgive me for disturbing you at such an hour, but I did not know where else to go,” she whispered.
She seemed disturbed. Her eyes gazed wildly from side to side and she was trembling all over.
I could not leave her standing at the doorway. A female visitor while my wife was away would certainly attract a great deal of attention in our street full of curious eyes. But I did not want to turn her away. I apologised for my informal attire and invited her in.
I directed her to the drawing room and bid her sit on a comfortable sofa at the fireplace.
“From the moment when you left yesterday afternoon I cannot rid myself of these feelings,” she whispered, wringing her hands nervously. “I must always think of my brother. Mr Parker’s questions upset me greatly.”
“I understand,” I said nodding, and sat down next to her.
Having her near me, so defenceless and seeking comfort, made my heart beat furiously. My mouth was dry and I had to drink some water in order to be able to speak.
“It occurred to me that as a doctor you could give me something to calm my nerves,” she continued. “My personal doctor is away on holiday and I would rather not share my family problems with a complete stranger.”
“Of course, I am glad to be of service!” I assured her.
I brought her a calming pill from my medical bag and placed it in her open palm.
She looked at me thankfully with her large eyes, which shone in the light of the fire. Then she blinked and turned away from the light.
“Forgive me, my head is pounding,” she said, putting the back of her hand on her forehead.
I immediately dimmed the lamps.
“Is that better?”
“Yes,” she said, sighing.
The room was immersed in romantic shadows. Everything was right for me to reveal my feelings to her.
But I remained steadfast. In spite of her beauty I would not threaten my marriage to satisfy short-term lust. In the depths of my soul I knew that my infatuation was nothing more than that.
But Lady Darringford chose to ignore my official union. She suddenly turned towards me and passionately kissed me!
Instinctively I returned her embrace.
IX: One Woman for Two Men
I was in heaven for about sixty seconds, although it seemed like much longer. When Alice Darringford’s lips met mine the world around me ceased to exist. Everything fell silent. The room seemed to float far away from my conscious awareness, together with my resolve not to succumb to the lady’s allure.
Never have I experienced a sweeter kiss. Alice smelled like a mixture of exotic scents, which pervaded my nose up to my brain, where they burned an indelible trail, while her white and silky hands played with my hair. She slid her fingers over my neck, caressing and kneading it with her hands, running over my Adam’s apple, and sometimes pressing it so that I almost ceased breathing. There was something so unbelievably exciting about this that I shuddered and trembled. I would not have believed that at my age I could experience something so intense.
In my ecstasy I did not hear the door opening or the footsteps leading to the drawing room. I only came to my senses when I heard a loud outraged gasp.
The lady, sitting with her back to the door, felt the presence of someone else in the room and broke away from me. But it was vain to pretend that nothing had happened. We had been caught in flagranti.
“Watson!” cried Holmes, holding a dossier in his hands. “What is the meaning of this?”