Mrs Hudson and the Spirits’ Curse
Page 27
‘Well, Mrs Hudson?’
‘May I speak to you frankly, sir?’
‘Of course, Mrs H. I should expect nothing less from you.’
‘There’s no denying that you tell your story well. But is it your intention that this narrative should be published?’
Dr Watson flushed modestly. ‘Oh, I really hadn’t thought. Of course, if it was considered good enough for publication …’
‘You see, Dr Watson, it’s like this. I don’t mind so much for myself, but Flottie is a young girl with a future ahead of her. I have high hopes for Flottie. How is she supposed to get on in the world if a story like this propels her into the public gaze?’
Watson looked a little shamefaced.
‘My word, Mrs Hudson, I hadn’t thought of that. Dashed insensitive of me. Thought you’d be pleased. And without Flottie there’d be a big gap in the tale.’
‘Yes, sir, I can see that. Of course there will be times, when visitors are being shown in perhaps, or when errands are run, when it will be difficult to have no-one in Flottie’s position. Have you considered a simple substitution? I think perhaps a pageboy would do the trick.’
‘A pageboy, Mrs Hudson?’
‘You could call him Billy. All pageboys seem to be called Billy nowadays.’
‘Well, if you really think …’
‘I do, Dr Watson,’ she replied very firmly. Dr Watson gave me an apologetic look.
‘Well, if it’s for the good of Flottie’s future, I suppose …’
‘And then there’s the question of the address, sir.’
‘The address, Mrs H?’
‘You see, Dr Watson, I believe stories such as this are very popular just now. And Mr Holmes is already set fair to become a very famous man. Do we really want every reader of The Strand Magazine to be able to walk up to our front door any time they feel like it? They’ll frighten off Mr Holmes’s clients. And Heaven knows, we get little enough peace as it is.’
‘But what would you suggest, Mrs Hudson.’
‘Well, I can’t see why you need to mention the true address at all. There are plenty of addresses that don’t actually exist. Something like 221B Baker Street would sound well enough. Those that need us will find us anyway but the passing idlers will be looking in the wrong place.’
Dr Watson nodded sagely. ‘Yes, I can certainly see the sense in that. 221B, you think? Hmm, well perhaps … I suppose it has a ring to it. Is there anything else, Mrs H?’
‘I can’t help thinking that perhaps you overstate my role in proceedings, sir.’
‘But you were central to proceedings!’
‘Oh, you exaggerate, Doctor. I may have been lucky enough on this occasion to have some of the pieces of the puzzle fall into my hands, but a casual reader of your document would be forgiven for thinking that it was me and not Mr Holmes who is the great detective. But my little scraps of domestic knowledge are hardly likely to interest the public, while his scientific principles will surely prove a far greater inspiration. You must show how he led us through events like a great general.’
‘You really see it like that, Mrs Hudson? I confess at the time I thought your actions were rather independent of his. But if that’s what you really feel … His role in my narrative is perhaps on the marginal side.’
‘And is that going to be good for business, Dr Watson?’
‘I say, I hadn’t thought of that, Mrs H.’
‘What the public really needs are cases that show off his genius. And a man with your strengths as a writer will surely be able to oblige.’
‘Hmm, yes. There are a number of cases that might illustrate his talents better than this one. That odd case about blood, perhaps … But this was such a dramatic tale, Mrs Hudson. You see I have called it The Case of the Giant Rat. I feel sure no publisher would be able to resist it.’
‘Of course, sir, I haven’t come to Scraggs yet. It would surely be unfair to drag his name into this until he is considerably older. And then there’s Mr Rumbelow. He has his practice to think about. And then there’s Miss Peters’s reputation. And Mr Spencer is hoping the Earl will sponsor his new laboratory. I can’t believe the Earl will approve of the role that pair played in all this.’
‘Hmm … Perhaps you are right, Mrs Hudson. Perhaps this is a tale for which the Earl is not yet ready. You think another case?’
‘Indeed, sir. Another case may present rather fewer problems. Of course, I have no objection to appearing at the margins, as it were, sir. And Flotsam – well, Flotsam will just have to make a name for herself in another way, won’t you, Flottie?’
But I had drifted away from them, warm and happy enough not to care. Instead I was dreaming into the fire about a future that seemed to burn as bright as the flames and to glow as warm as the fiery embers on Mrs Hudson’s hearth.
ALSO OUT NOW
Mrs Hudson and the Malabar Rose
Don't miss Mrs Hudson's next adventure!
Find out more
First published in Great Britain in 2015 by
Canelo Digital Publishing Limited
57 Shepherds Lane
Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 2DU
United Kingdom
Copyright © 2015 by Martin Davies
The moral right of Martin Davies to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781910859926
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places and events are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Look for more great books at www.canelo.co