SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE KING’S
GOVERNESS
Barrie Roberts
In memory of
Mab Shamshoian
Recent Titles by Barrie Roberts
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the RAILWAY MANIAC
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the DEVIL’S GRAIL
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the MAN FROM HELL
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the ROYAL FLUSH
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the HARVEST OF DEATH
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the CROSBY MURDERS
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the RULE OF NINE
SHERLOCK HOLMES and the KING’S GOVERNESS
* available from Severn House
SHERLOCK HOLMES
AND THE KING’S GOVERNESS
Barrie Roberts
This first world edition published in Great Britain 2005 by
SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS LTD of
9-15 High Street, Sutton, Surrey SMI IDF.
This first world edition published in the USA 2005 by
SEVERN HOUSE PUBLISHERS INC of
Madison Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022.
Copyright © 2005 by Barrie Roberts.
All rights reserved.
Introduction
The text of this narrative is an edited version of a document which came into my possession some years ago. It appears to be one of the ‘lost’ or suppressed manuscripts of John H. Watson, the companion and chronicler of Sherlock Holmes. Watson was a contemporary of my maternal grandfather in the Medical Corps during the Great War and it may be through that connection that these papers came into the possession of my family.
I have already put several of these manuscripts before the public - Sherlock Holmes and the Railway Maniac (Constable, 1994), Sherlock Holmes and the Devil’s Grail (Constable, 1996), Sherlock Holmes and the Man From Hell (Constable, 1997), Sherlock Holmes and the Royal Flush (Constable, 1999), Sherlock Holmes and the Harvest of Death (Constable, 2001), Sherlock Holmes and the Crosby Murder (Constable, 2002) and Sherlock Holmes and the Rule of Nine (Severn House, 2003), as well as a number of shorter ones which have mostly appeared in The Strand Magazine (USA).
Before seeking publication, I have made such checks as I have been able on the authenticity of the document. No unimpeachable example of Watson’s handwriting exists, though those who claim
expertise on the point have said that the writing is as likely to be his as not, and certainly the manuscript embodies the usual Watsonian mixture of real and invented personal and place names.
There are matters mentioned in the text which appear to confirm its authenticity, and some of these are discussed in my notes at the end of the book. It is entirely possible that some would bear deeper enquiry than I have been able to give them and that greater expertise than mine would prove the manuscript’s provenance beyond doubt.
At present I can only say that I am as satisfied as I can be that the present narrative is a previously unknown work of Dr Watson, recording a previously unknown case of the world’s greatest consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes.
Barrie Roberts,Walsall
One
The King’s Governess
Despite the astonishing successes which my friend, Mr Sherlock Holmes, frequently had in the most abstruse enquiries, he was never willing to exploit his results to extend his clientele. From the very early days of his practice he was content to let word of his profession and his grasp of it spread slowly by word of mouth.
‘I am well aware, Watson, that I might make myself available to the popular press or publish a small volume of my cases and thereby expose myself to a veritable deluge of enquiries, the greater part of which would be of no interest and many of which would have been invented so that some mindless timewaster might meet me face to face and forever after claim my acquaintance. No, I prefer that those who understand the importance of scientific detection should be aware of me and should recommend me where my skills, such as they are, may be put to useful purposes.’
He was in this mood one morning in the summer of 1897, when Mrs Hudson informed us that there was a lady below who had been recommended to call on him by the manager of an hotel.
‘It seems she has been followed about by strangers since she came to London,’ explained our landlady.
‘And these persons who follow her,’ said Holmes, ‘no doubt they are swarthy persons who appear to be foreign and may have fearsome beards and moustaches? Is that so?’
‘Why, that’s exactly what she told me, Mr Holmes!’ Mrs Hudson exclaimed.
‘It was no great feat of deduction, Mrs Hudson. Every other lady from the country or the provinces who sets foot in the capital rapidly begins to believe that she is being followed about by strange foreigners intent on doing her harm. It is, I regret to say, one of the common fancies of your sex, whereas if any such thing is taking place it will prove to be the activities of Cockney oglers.’
Mrs Hudson’s features tightened. ‘The lady is not from the country or the provinces,’ she said. ‘I believe that she is an American and she tells me that she is in London to meet with one of the guests who is coming for the Jubilee.’
‘A visitor to Britain!’ I exclaimed. ‘Surely it would not hurt to give her the benefit of the doubt, Holmes?’
He eyed me, fishily. ‘Your gallantry does you credit, Watson, if it is not the understandable desire of a widower to meet a new female. However, I confess that a visitor from America who has crossed the Atlantic to meet some royal personage in London might offer a little more interest than I had at first suspected. You may show her up, and please bring us some Ceylon tea, Mrs Hudson.’
He scrutinized the visiting card which Mrs Hudson had handed him while we awaited our caller.
‘Mrs Diana Fordeland,’ he read out. ‘The name has a vaguely familiar ring, and it smacks of invention.
Are we about to meet what is commonly called “an adventuress”, Watson?’
A moment later Mrs Hudson brought in our guest. She was an upright lady in her middle years, who would once have been very pretty despite a rather prominent nose. Holmes showed her to the basket chair and introduced us.
Mrs Fordeland settled herself in the chair and drew off her gloves. ‘You are very kind to see me with no notice, Mr Holmes,’ she said.
‘Ah!’ exclaimed my friend. ‘Forgive me, Mrs Fordeland. My housekeeper had surmised, wrongly, that you are American, however, you are, I believe, British. You are of Welsh ancestry, have lived in the Far East and now reside somewhere in the Eastern Provinces of Canada.’
Our visitor’s eyes opened wide and her mouth tightened for an instant. ‘You seem to know a great deal about me, Mr Holmes!’
‘Not at all,’ he said. ‘I was merely considering the elements that became apparent when you spoke.
Beyond that I can tell you only that you are a teacher, most probably of art, although I do not rule out other subjects.’
She laughed. ‘That is really remarkable!’ she exclaimed. ‘You are entirely accurate. How do you do it?
It cannot all be by my accent.’
Holmes smiled. ‘It is only a matter of observation, madam. You carry yourself with dignity and have an air of one who is used to command. Among men that is commonplace and might indicate a military or naval officer, an important functionary in trade or industry or someone in the public service. These areas are still, alas, largely closed to your sex, and most of the employments available to women are of a subservient nature, except teaching. As to your artistic leanings, you dress in modest grey but wear finely crafted and unusual earrings and a brooch the unconventional placing of which lights your entire costume. You must surely be a person of artistic perception.’