Sherlock Holmes: Repeat Business. Lyn McConchie

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СКАЧАТЬ that position. I have brought with me a number of her letters including in particular the letter in which she recounted to me the pitiful tale of her deception, and asking my advice.”

      Holmes took the letter in his long fingers. “And what advice did you give her?”

      “That she should leave that accursed household at once. What sort of mother allows a man to so trick her daughter? What woman stands as an accomplice to treat her only child in such a way?”

      “A woman whose charms are fading and who is desperate to retain the affections of a younger man, one she knows clings to her for the money alone, which she provides. It was to keep Mary’s income within the house that she permitted Mr. Windibank to pretend to be another and ensnare the affections of Mary. It was ill-done, but if they were desperate to retain her daughter and her income without knowledge of their trickery, would they not have been still more anxious that she should not leave if they believed she now knew of their wicked actions and might publish them abroad to others?”

      Josiah Sutherland nodded. “I fear, sir, that my advice may have placed Mary in danger, since her last letter states that she intended to take my advice and depart the family home, never to return. I deem my cousin to be a woman of determined character, but perhaps not blessed with an ability to deceive. She is straightforward and of a trusting nature. She planned to take rooms in the city, but I received no further letter and I wonder now if she was ever able to leave. In short, I fear that even now she may be imprisoned or dead. It is for that that I have come to beg your aid to discover the truth.”

      “Why do you fear for her?”

      “Ah, that is the crux of my story. It was like this, Mr. Holmes. I arrived by ship at the port of London three weeks gone, took a cab on disembarking, and settled myself, together with my luggage, at a convenient hotel of decent repute. I slept early and rose to eat, after the meal I set out to find my cousin. At the address of the room she rented for her work I was told by the building’s caretaker that Mary had departed some time earlier, leaving only a brief note giving up the room and enclosing a sovereign to cover the lack of notice. I went to the address where she had lived previously, and her mother informed me that my cousin was very sick and could see no one.

      “For eight days I made regular attempts to see Mary, but I was never allowed past the doorstep. Finally, when I would have insisted more boldly, her mother threatened me with violence by her stepfather and with the law. I was told that Mary was ill, and that if I did not go away, they would summon the police and lay charges of attempted house-breaking against me.”

      “Did it not strike you as an extreme measure to threaten against one who was related and concerned only to see his cousin?”

      “It did indeed, Mr. Holmes, so much so that I left looking meek, but began at once to make other inquiries about the neighborhood. It is that which has made my fear for Mary grow. She has not been seen to leave with any luggage; indeed, she has not been seen to come or go at all in the past few months. Her mother and stepfather have told this tale of her illness abroad, but I have heard some suspicion that it is not so.”

      “What, then, is believed?”

      “That my cousin has left the family home, perhaps because of some quarrel with her stepfather. It seems that they remarked her growing coldness to him once she knew the truth. But others think there may have been a man deemed unsuitable and forbidden the house, and that she has run away with him. It is generally known that she has an income of her own, she is well of age, and as one woman expressed it to me. ‘There isn’t any reason for her to be staying if she is wanting to leave.’”

      “That is true.”

      “Then why would they not admit to me that she has gone? Why this tale she is ill and abed? I swear to you, Mr. Holmes, there is some devilry afoot in that house.”

      Holmes looked at me. “I tell you, Watson, at that moment I was certain that he was an honest man, concerned only for his cousin, and that he spoke as he believed, but I feared also that he spoke the truth.”

      “What did you do, Holmes?”

      “I sent the lad back to his hotel to draft an advertisement about his cousin while I read through all of her letters very carefully. That advertisement appeared in the paper several nights ago.” I took up the paper he held out to me and read aloud where he indicated.

      “Missing, a young woman named Mary Sutherland who is sought by her cousin, Josiah Sutherland, who may tell her something to her advantage. The lady is solidly built, some 5 ft. 6 in in height, with a round face, blue eyes, light brown hair, and a sensible manner. A reward is offered for information leading to her latest address.”

      I particularly noted the suggestion of money behind the inquiry. “Did this produce results, Holmes?”

      “It produced a visit from the lady’s mother demanding to have any money coming to her daughter given over to her parents at once.”

      “What did her cousin say to that?”

      Holmes smiled ironically. “It seems the young man has some ready wit. He told Mrs. Windibank that the advantage mentioned was the principal, which reverted to him on Mary’s death, but that in memory of the affection in which his father had held his brother and niece, Josiah was willing to cancel the reversion clause. With that signed and properly notified before a lawyer, Mary would be able to use all or part of the principal if she wished. In addition, he intended to leave a further sum in trust for her here in London to be used in any emergency and at her discretion.”

      I snorted. “And what effect did that have on the fond parents?”

      “They continue to insist that Mary cannot see him, but they have taken him out twice to dine, and they have made suggestions that he should consult with their lawyer and go ahead with the intended reversion and trust. Advised by me, Mr. Sutherland has refused, oh, very politely, but he has insisted he will do nothing in this matter until he has seen and spoken to his cousin alone and in private to ascertain her true wishes.”

      “I imagine that did not please them,” I commented.

      “No, it did not, and they have attempted to change his mind, to no avail. I await their next move with interest. Meanwhile, I too have had inquiries made in the suburb in which the Windibanks live. They bear out what the lad had already discovered, that Miss Mary has not been seen to come or go in four months, and that she was certainly never seen to leave at any time with more than her coat and handbag and a leather folder in which she carries her typing papers.”

      ”So she is unlikely to have moved away from the family home as she intended?”

      “So it would seem.”

      “She could have left surreptitiously under cover of darkness?” I suggested.

      Holmes smiled. “I think not, Watson. The houses in that area—thought completely detached from one another—still lie close enough together that neighbors tend to know almost everything that occurs. I would say that if Miss Mary had packed and departed, then at the very least her parents would have argued with her, reproaching her and trying to persuade her to remain with them, and that any neighbor within earshot would now be able to tell you every word spoken.”

      “Then the girl must still be within the house, surely?”

      Holmes’ mien became very serious. “That may be so, Watson, but we must then ask ourselves, in what condition is she if she does indeed remain there still?”

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