#059: Sherlock Holmes (ACD): Gen
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vocab_drabblesTitle Erudite
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 500
Summary: An erudite prospective client visits 221B.
“Miss Pettigrew, I don’t think I can help you…”
My hackles went up. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was Holmes refusing to aid this young woman? After listening to her dire tale which ended in an impassioned plea, I was prepared to do whatever necessary to assist her.
The prospective client was of humble origins and in even humbler circumstances, to be sure. Her clothing and speech bore that out. Nevertheless, she was pretty, exceptionally pretty without artifice. And she was erudite, quite obviously, an autodidactic, much like Holmes himself on many subjects, and her every phrase conveyed a determination to carve out a better path for herself.
To put it mildly, I was charmed.
She was perched on the edge of the chair like a bird, her purse in her lap.
And Holmes and I weren’t going to help her?
I’d opened my mouth to protest Holmes’s refusal, but he was still talking.
“…unless you are honest about yourself, your situation, and what it is you desire from me and my colleague.”
The look on her face was one of surprise and effrontery.
“My lady,” continued Holmes, “a penurious schoolmistress facing ruin and disgrace might wear such a sartorial ensemble but,” he dropped his head, “those shoes betray your true station.”
I followed Holmes’s gaze and almost gasped.
The boots were exquisite! Only one or two in London could produce such a product. She’d probably got them on the Continent. They were gorgeous. Very, very fine.I almost fell to my knees to get a closer inspection, but I caught myself just in time and simply made a noise.
Holmes caught my movement and interpreted my elation correctly. He smiled and made a gesture in my direction. “My colleague, though a medical man by profession, is, in fact, a greater expert on lady’s footwear than I am. I must congratulate you on your story-telling prowess and your comely and compelling presentation, my lady. Were it not for both, Doctor Watson would have noticed your boots and, in time, a long time, it must be admitted, come to same conclusion: that you are not what you purport to be.”
The young lady’s face changed. It was as if I could see in the softening, and hardening, of her features, the invisible mask falling. She sat straighter in the chair and gave a little nod.
“You are the man I need, Mister Sherlock Holmes.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
“Cards on the table?”
“It would be wisest.”
“My name is Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, and I wish to do a spot of blackmailing. I require your advice on how to proceed.”
My eyebrows rose.
“You intrigue me,” said Holmes. He leaned back in his chair and reached. “Tell me all about it. Do you mind if I smoke while I listen?” He indicated his cherrybriar on the small table.
“Not if you grant me the same courtesy while I talk.”
And with that, she pulled a dainty pipe out of her purse!
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 500
Summary: An erudite prospective client visits 221B.
“Miss Pettigrew, I don’t think I can help you…”
My hackles went up. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Was Holmes refusing to aid this young woman? After listening to her dire tale which ended in an impassioned plea, I was prepared to do whatever necessary to assist her.
The prospective client was of humble origins and in even humbler circumstances, to be sure. Her clothing and speech bore that out. Nevertheless, she was pretty, exceptionally pretty without artifice. And she was erudite, quite obviously, an autodidactic, much like Holmes himself on many subjects, and her every phrase conveyed a determination to carve out a better path for herself.
To put it mildly, I was charmed.
She was perched on the edge of the chair like a bird, her purse in her lap.
And Holmes and I weren’t going to help her?
I’d opened my mouth to protest Holmes’s refusal, but he was still talking.
“…unless you are honest about yourself, your situation, and what it is you desire from me and my colleague.”
The look on her face was one of surprise and effrontery.
“My lady,” continued Holmes, “a penurious schoolmistress facing ruin and disgrace might wear such a sartorial ensemble but,” he dropped his head, “those shoes betray your true station.”
I followed Holmes’s gaze and almost gasped.
The boots were exquisite! Only one or two in London could produce such a product. She’d probably got them on the Continent. They were gorgeous. Very, very fine.I almost fell to my knees to get a closer inspection, but I caught myself just in time and simply made a noise.
Holmes caught my movement and interpreted my elation correctly. He smiled and made a gesture in my direction. “My colleague, though a medical man by profession, is, in fact, a greater expert on lady’s footwear than I am. I must congratulate you on your story-telling prowess and your comely and compelling presentation, my lady. Were it not for both, Doctor Watson would have noticed your boots and, in time, a long time, it must be admitted, come to same conclusion: that you are not what you purport to be.”
The young lady’s face changed. It was as if I could see in the softening, and hardening, of her features, the invisible mask falling. She sat straighter in the chair and gave a little nod.
“You are the man I need, Mister Sherlock Holmes.”
“Perhaps. Perhaps not.”
“Cards on the table?”
“It would be wisest.”
“My name is Lady Alcina Dimitrescu, and I wish to do a spot of blackmailing. I require your advice on how to proceed.”
My eyebrows rose.
“You intrigue me,” said Holmes. He leaned back in his chair and reached. “Tell me all about it. Do you mind if I smoke while I listen?” He indicated his cherrybriar on the small table.
“Not if you grant me the same courtesy while I talk.”
And with that, she pulled a dainty pipe out of her purse!
