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The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor - Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle · Adventure Books Library

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The adventure of the noble bachelor the Lord Saint Simon. Marriage and its curious
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termination have long ceased to be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in
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which the unfortunate bridegroom moves. Fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more
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piquant details have drawn the gossips away from this four year old drama. As
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I have reason to believe, however, that the full facts have never been
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revealed to the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable
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share in clearing the matter up, I feel that no memoir of him would
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be complete without some little sketch of this remarkable episode. It was a few
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weeks before my own marriage, during the days when I was still sharing rooms
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with homes in Baker Street, that he came home from an afternoon stroll to
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find a letter on the table waiting for him. I had remained indoors all
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day, for the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain with high autumnal
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winds, and the Jazail bullet, which I had brought back in one of
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my limbs as a relic of my Afghan campaign, throbbed with dull persistence.
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With my body in one easy chair and my legs upon another, I had
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surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers, until at last, saturated with the
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news of the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching
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the huge crest and monogram upon the envelope upon the table, and wondering lazily
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whom my friend's noble correspondent could be. Here is a very fashionable epistle,
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I remarked, as he entered. Your morning letters, if I remember right,
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were from a fishmonger and a tide waiter. Yes, my correspondence has
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certainly the charm of variety, he answered, smiling, and the humbler are
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usually more interesting. This looks like one of those unwelcome social summonses which call
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upon a man either to be bored or to lie. He broke the seal
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and glanced over the contents. Oh, come, it may prove to be
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something of interest after all. Not social, then, no, distinctly professional,
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and from a noble client, one of the highest in England. My
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dear fellow, I congratulate you. I assure you, Watson, without affectation,
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that the status of my client is a matter of less moment to me
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than the interest of his case. It is just possible, however, that
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that also may not be wanting in this new investigation. You have been reading
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the papers diligently of late, have you not? It looks like it,
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said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in the corner. I have
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had nothing else to do. It is fortunate for you will perhaps be able
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to post me up. I read nothing except the criminal news and the Agony
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column. The latter is always instructive. But if you have followed recent events
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so closely, you must have read about Lord Saint Simon and his wedding.
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Oh, yes, with the deepest interest. That is well. The letter
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would which I hold in my hand, is from Lord Saint Simon. I
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will read it to you, and in return you must turn over these papers
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and let me have whatever bears upon the matter. This is what he says,
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my dear mister Sherlock Holmes. Lord Backwater tells me that I may place
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implicit reliance upon your judgment and discretion. I have determined therefore to call upon
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you and to consult you in reference to the very painful event which has occurred
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in connection with my wedding mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard is acting already in the
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matter. But he assures me that he sees no objection to your co operation,
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and that he even thinks that it might be of some assistance. I
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will call at four o'clock in the afternoon, and should you have any other
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engagement at that time, I hope that you will postpone it, as this
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is a matter of paramount importance, yours faithfully, Saint Simon. It is
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dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and the noble lord
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has had the misfortune to get a smear upon the outer side of his right
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little finger, remarked Holmes, as he folded up the epistle. He says
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four o'clock. It is three now. He will be here in an hour.
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Then I have just time, with your assistance, to get clear upon
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the subject. Turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in their order of
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time, while I take a glance as to who our client is. He
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picked a red covered volume from a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece.
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Here he is, said, he sitting down and flattening it out upon
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his knee. Lord Robert Bolsingham. The vere Saint Simon, second son of
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the Duke of Balmoral, come arms Azure three cowtrops in chief over a fest
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Sable. Born in eighteen forty six, he's forty one years of age,
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which is mature for marriage. Was under Secretary for the Colonies in a late
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administration the Duke. His father was at one time Secretary for foreign affairs.
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They inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent and tutor on the distaff side. Ha.
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Well, there is nothing very instructive in all this. I think that
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I must turn to you, Watson, for something more solid. I have
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very little difficulty in finding what I want, said I, for the facts
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are quite recent, and the matter struck me as remarkable. I feared to
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refer them to you, however, as I knew that you had an inquiry
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on hand, and that you disliked the intrusion of other matters. Oh,
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you mean the little problem of the Grosvenor Square furniture van. That is quite
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cleared up now, though indeed it was obvious from the first Pray, give
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me the results of your newspaper selections. Here is the first notice which I
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can find. It is in the personal column of the Morning Post and dates.
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As you see some weeks back. A marriage has been arranged, it
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says, and will, if rumor is correct, very shortly take place between
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Lord Robert Saint Simon, second son of the Duke of Balmoral, and Miss
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Hattie Duran, the only daughter of Aloysius Duran, Esquire of San Francisco,
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California. U s A. That is all terse and to the point,
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remarked Holmes, stretching his long thin legs towards the fire. There was a
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paragraph amplifying this in one of the society papers of the same week. Ah
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here it is. There will soon be a call for protection in the marriage
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market, for the present free trade principle appears to tell heavily against our home
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product. One by one, the management of the noble houses of Great Britain
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is passing into the hands of our fair cousins from across the Atlantic. An
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important addition has been made during the last week to the list of the prizes
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which have been borne away by these charming invaders. Lord Saint Simon, who
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has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little God's arrows, has
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now definitely announced his approaching marriage with Miss Hattie Duran, the fascinating daughter of
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a California millionaire. Miss Duran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much
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attention at the Westbury House festivities, is an only child and it is currently
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reported that her dowry will run to considerably over the six figures, with expectancies
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for the future. As it is an open secret that the Duke of Balmoral
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has been compelled to sell his pictures within the last few years, and as
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Lord Saint Simon has no property of his own save the small estate of Birchmoor,
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it is obvious that the Californian heiress is not the only gainer by an
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alliance which will enable her to make the easy and common transition from a Republican
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lady to a British peeress. Anything else, asked Holmes, yawning, Oh,
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yes, plenty. Then there is another note in the Morning Post to
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say that the marriage would be an absolutely quiet one, that it would be
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at Saint George's Hanover Square, that only a half a dozen intimate friends would
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be invited, and that the party would return to the furnished house at Lancaster
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Gate, which has been taken by mister Aloysius Duran. Two days later,
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that is, on Wednesday last, there is a curt announcement that the wedding
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had taken place and that the honeymoon would be passed at Lord Backwater's place near
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Petersfield. Those are all the notices which appeared before the disappearance of the bride,
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before the What asked Holmes with a start, the vanishing of the lady?
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When did she vanish? Then at the wedding breakfast? Indeed, this
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is more interesting than it promised to be, quite dramatic. In fact,
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yes, it struck me as being a little out of the common. They
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often vanish before the ceremony and occasionally during the honeymoon. But I cannot call
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to mind anything quite so prompt as this pray. Let me have the details.
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I warn you that they are very incomplete. Perhaps we may make them
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less. So such as they are, they are set forth in a single
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article of a morning paper of yesterday, which I will read to you.
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It is headed singular occurrence at a fashionable wedding. The family of Lord Robert
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Saint Simon has been thrown into the greatest consternation by the strange and painful episodes
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which have taken place in connection with his wedding. The ceremony, as shortly
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announced in the papers of yesterday, occurred on the previous morning. But it
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is only now that it has been possible to confirm the strange rumours which have
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been so persistently floating about. In spite of the attempts of the friends to
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hush the matter up. So much public attention has now been drawn to it
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that no good purpose can be served by affecting to disregard what is a common
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subject for conversation. The ceremony, which was performed at Saint George's Hanover Square,
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was a very quiet one, no one being present save the father of
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the bride, Mister Aloysius Duran, the Duchess of Balmoral, Lord Backwater,
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Lord Eustace, and Lady Clara, Saint Simon, the younger brother and sister
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of the bridegroom, and Lady Alicia Whittington. The whole party proceeded afterwards to
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the house of mister Allowish's Duran at Lancaster Gate, where breakfast had been prepared.
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It appears that some little trouble was caused by a woman whose name has
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not been ascertained, who endeavored to force her way into the house after the
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bridal party, alleging that she had some claim upon Lord Saint Simon. It
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was only after a painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by the butler
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and the footman. The bride, who had fortunately entered the house before this
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unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with the rest, when she complained
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of a sudden indisposition and retired to her room, her prolonged absence having caused
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some comment. Her father followed her, but learned from her maid that she
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had only come up to her chamber for an instant caught up an ulster and
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bonnet, and hurried down to the passage. One of the footmen declared that
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he had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, but had refused to
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credit that it was his mistress, believing her to be with the company.
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On ascertaining that his daughter had disappeared, mister Alowisius Duran, in conjunction with
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the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with the police, and very energetic
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inquiries are being made which will probably result in a speedy clearing up of this
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very singular business. Up to a late hour last night, however, nothing
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had transpired as to the whereabouts of the missing lady. There are rumors of
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foul play in the matter, and it is said that the police have caused
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the arrests of the woman who had caused the original disturbance, in the belief
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that from jealousy or some other motive, she may have been concerned in the
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strange disappearance of the bride. And is that all only one little item in
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another of the morning papers, But it is a suggestive one, and it
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is that Miss Flora Millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance, has
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actually been arrested. It appears that she was formerly a danseuse at the Allegro,
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and that she has known the bridegroom for some years. There are no
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further particulars, and the whole case is in your hands now so far as
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it has been set forth in the public press. And an exceedingly interesting case
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it appears to be. I would not have missed it for worlds. But
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there is a ring at the bell, Watson, and as the clock makes
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it a few minutes after four, I have no doubt that this will prove
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to be our noble client. Do not dream of going Watson, for I
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very much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own
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memory. Lord Robert Saint Simon announced our page boy, throwing open the door.
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A gentleman entered, with a pleasant cultured face, high nosed and pale,
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with something perhaps of petulance about the mouth, and with the steady,
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well opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command
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and to be obeyed. His manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance
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gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and
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a little bend of the knees as he walked. His hair, too,
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as he swept off his very curly brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges
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and thin upon the top. As to his dress, it was careful to
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the verge of popping fishness, with high collar, black frock coat, white
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waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent leather shoes, and light colored gaiters. He
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advanced slowly into the room, turning his head from left to right, and
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swinging in his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses. Good day,
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Lord Saint Simon, said Holmes, rising and bowing. Pray, take
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the basket chair. This is my friend and colleague, doctor Watson. Draw
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up a little to the fire, and we will talk this matter over,
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A most painful matter to me, as you can most readily imagine, mister
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Holmes, I have been cut to the quick. I understand that you have
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already managed several delicate cases of this sort, sir, though I presume that
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they were hardly from the same class of society. No I am descending.
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I beg pardon. My last client of the sort was a king. Oh
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really, I had no idea, and which king? But the King of
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Scandinavia. What had he lost his wife? You can understand, said Holmes,
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suavely, that I extend to the affairs of my other clients the same
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secrecy which I promised you in yours. Of course, Very right, very
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right, I am sure, I beg pardon. As to my own case,
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I am ready to give you any information which may assist you in forming
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an opinion. Thank you. I have already learned all that is in the
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public prints. Nothing more. I presume that I may take it as correct.
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This article, for example, as to the disappearance of the Bride.
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Lord Saint Simon glanced over it. Yes, it is correct as far as
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it goes, but it needs a great deal of supplementing before any one could
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offer an opinion. I think that I may arrive at my facts most directly
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by questioning you, pray do so? When did you first meet miss Hattie
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Durant in San Francisco a year ago? You were traveling in the States.
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Yes, did you become engaged then? No, but you were on a
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friendly footing. I was amu used by her society, and she could see
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that I was amused. Her father is very rich. He is said to
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be the richest man on the Pacific Slope. And how did he make his
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money in mining? He had nothing a few years ago that he struck gold,
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invested it and came up by leaps and bounds. Now, what is
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your own impression as to the young ladies your wife's character. The nobleman swung
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his glasses a little faster and stared down into the fire. You see,
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mister Holmes said he. My wife was twenty before her father became a rich
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man. During that time she ran free in a mining camp and wandered through
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woods or mountains, so that her education has come from nature rather than from
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the schoolmaster. She is what we call in England a tomboy with a strong
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nature, wild and free, unfettered by any sort of traditions. She is
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impetuous, volcanic. I was about to say, she is swift in making
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up her mind and fearless in carrying out her resolutions. On the other hand,
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I would not have given her the name which I have the honor to
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bear. He gave a little stately cough, had I not thought her to
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be at bottom a noble woman. I believe that she is capable of heroic
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self sacrifice, and that anything dishonorable would be repugnant to her. Have you
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her photograph? I brought this with me. He opened a locket and showed
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us the full face of a very lovely woman. It was not a photograph
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but an ivory miniature, and the artist had brought out the full effect of
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the lustrous black hair, the large dark eyes, and the exquisite mouth.
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Holmes gazed long and earnestly at it. Then he closed the locket and handed
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it back to Lord Saint Simon. The young lady came to London then,
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and you renewed your acquaintance. Yes, her father brought her over for this
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last London season. I met her several times, became engaged to her,
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and have now married her. She brought I understand a considerable dowry, a
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fair dowry, not more than as usual in my family. And this,
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of course remains to you, since the marriage is a fee accomplie. I
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really have made no inquiries on the subject. Very naturally not. Did you
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see mister rand on the day before the wedding? Yes, was she in
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good spirits, never better. She kept talking of what we should do in
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our future lives. Indeed, that is very interesting. And on the morning
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of the wedding she was as bright as possible, at least until after the
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ceremony. And did you observe any change in her then? Well, to
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tell the truth, I saw then the first signs that I had ever seen
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that her temper was just a little sharp. The incident, however, was
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too trivial to relate, and can have no possible bearing upon the case.
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Pray let us have it for all that, Oh, it is childish.
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She dropped her bouquet as we went towards the vestry. She was asking the
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front pew at the time, and it fell over into the pew. There
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was a moment's delay, but the gentleman in the pew handed it up to
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her again, and it did not appear to be the worse for the fall.
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Yet, when I spoke to her of the matter, she answered me
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abruptly, and in the carriage on our way home, she seemed absurdly agitated
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over this trifling cause. Indeed, you say that there was a gentleman in
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the pew, some of the general public were present, then, oh,
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yes, it is impossible to exclude them when the church is open. This
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gentleman was not one of your wife's friends. No, no, I call
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him a gentleman by courtesy. But he was quite a common looking person.
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I hardly noticed his appearance. But really, I think that we are wandering
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rather far from the point. Lady Saint Simon then returned from the wedding in
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a less cheerful frame of mind than she had gone to it. What did
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she do on re entering her father's house? I saw her in conversation with
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her maid. And who is her maid? Is her name? She is
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an American and came from California with her a confidential servant, a little too
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much. So it seemed to me that her mistress allowed her to take great
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liberties. Still, of course, in America they look upon these things in
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a different way. How long did she speak to this, Alice? Oh,
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a few minutes. I had something else to think of. You did
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not overhear what they said. Lady Saint Simon said something about jumping a claim.
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She was accustomed to use slang of that kind. I have no idea
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what she meant. American slang is very expressive sometimes. And what did your
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wife do when she finished speaking to her maid? She walked into the breakfast
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room on your arm. No alone. She was very independent in little matters
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like that. Then after we had sat down for ten minutes or so,
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she rose, hurriedly, muttered some words of apology, and left the room.
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She never came back. But this made Alice, as I understand the
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poses, that she went to her room, covered her bride's dress with a
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long ulster, put on a bonnet, and went out quite so. And
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she was afterwards seen walking into Hyde Park in company with Flora Millar, a
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woman who is now in custody, and who had already made a disturbance at
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mister Durand's house that morning. Ah, yes, I should like a few
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particulars as to this young lady and your relations to her. Lord Saint Simon
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shrugged his shoulders and raised his eyebrows. We have been on her friendly footing
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for some years, I may say, on a very friendly footing. She
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used to be at the Allegro. I have not treated her ungenerously, and
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she had no just cause of complaint against me, But you know what women
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are, mister Holmes. Flora was a dear little thing, but exceedingly hot
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headed and devotedly attached to me. She wrote me dreadful letters when she heard
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that I was about to be married, and to tell the truth, the
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reason why I had the marriage celebrated so quietly was that I feared lest there
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might be a scandal in the church. She came to mister Durand's door just
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after we returned, and she endeavored to push her way in, uttering very
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abusive expressions towards my wife and even threatening her. But I had foreseen the
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possibility of something of the sort, and I had two police fellows there in
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private clothes, who soon pushed her out again. She was quiet when she
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saw that there was no good in making a row? Did your wife hear
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all this? No, thank goodness, she did not, and she was
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seen walking with this very woman afterwards. Yes, that is what mister Lestrade
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of Scotland Yard looks upon as so serious. It is thought that Flora decoyed
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my wife out and laid some terrible trap for her. Well, it is
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a possible supposition. You think so too, I did not say a probable
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one. But you do not yourself look upon this as likely. I do
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not think Flora would her to fly. Still, jealousy is a strange transformer
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of characters. Ray, what is your own theory as to what took place?
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Well? Really, I came to seek a theory, not a propound
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one. I have given you all the facts since you ask me. However,
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I may say that it has occurred to me as possible that the excitement
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of this affair, the consciousness that she had made so immense a social stride,
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had the effect of causing some little nervous disturbance in my wife, In
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short, that she had become suddenly deranged. Well, really, when I
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consider that she has turned her back, I will not say upon me,
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but upon so much that many have aspired you without success. I can hardly
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explain it in any other fashion. Well, certainly that is also a conceivable
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hypothesis, said Holmes, smiling. And now, Lord Saint Simon, I
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think that I have nearly all my data. May I ask whether you were
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seated at the breakfast table so that you could see out of the window.
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We could see the other side of the road and the park. Quite so,
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then, I do not think that I need to detain you longer.
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I shall communicate with you should you be fortunate enough to solve this problem,
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said our client, rising, I have solved it. Eh, What was
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that? I say that I have solved it? Where then is my wife?
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That is a detail that I shall speedily supply. Lord Saint Simon shook
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his head. I am afraid that it will take wiser heads than yours or
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mine, he remarked, and bowing in a stately old fashioned manner, he
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departed. It is very good of Lord Saint Simon to honor my head by
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putting it on a level with his own, said Sherlock Holmes, laughing.
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I think that I shall have a whisky and soda and a cigar after all
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this cross questioning. I had formed my conclusion as to the case before our
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client came into the room. My dear Holmes, I have notes of several
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similar cases, though none, as I remarked before, which were quite as
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prompt. My whole examination served to turn my conjecture into a certainty. Circumstantial
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evidence is occasionally very convincing, as when you find a trout in the milk,
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to quote Sir Rose example. But I have heard all that you have
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heard, without, however, the knowledge of pre existing cases, which serves
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me so well. There was a parallel instance in Aberdeen some years back,
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and something on very much the same lines at Munich the year after the Franco
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Prussian War. It is one of these cases. But hullo, here is
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lestrade, Good afternoon, Lestrade. You will find an extra tumbler upon the
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sideboard, and there are cigars in the box. The official detective was attired
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in a pea jacket and cravat, which gave him a decidedly nautical appearance,
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and he carried a black canvas bag in his hand. With a short greeting,
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he seated himself and lit the cigar which had been offered to him.
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What's up? Then asked Holmes, with a twinkle in his eye. You
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look dissatisfied, and I feel dissatisfied. It is this infernal Saint Simon marriage
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case. I can make neither head nor tail of the business. Really,
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you surprise me. Who ever heard of such a mixed affair? Every clue
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seems to slip through my fingers. I've been at work upon it all day,
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and very wet. It seems to have made you, said Holmes,
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laying his hand upon the arm of the pea jacket. Yes, I've been
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dragging the serpentine in Heaven's name, what for in search of the body of
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lady Saint Simon Sherlock Holmbs leaned back in his chair and laughed heartily. Have
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you dragged the basin of Trafago's square fountain? He asked? Why? What
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do you mean? Because you have just as good a chance of finding this
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lady in the one as in the other. Lestrade shot an angry glance at
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my companion. I suppose you know all about it, he snarled, Well,
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I have only just heard the facts, but my mind is made up.
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Oh indeed, then you think that the serpentine plays no part in the
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matter. I think it very unlikely. Then perhaps you will kindly explain how
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it is that we found this in it. He opened his bag as he
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spoke, and tumbled onto the floor a wedding dress of watered silk, a
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pair of white satin shoes, and a bride's wreath and veil, all discolored
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and soaked in water. There, said he, putting a new wedding ring
26:11
upon the top of the pile. There is a little nut for you to
26:15
crack, Master Holmes. Oh, indeed, said my friend, blowing blue
26:19
rings into the air. You dragged them from the serpentine. No, they
26:23
were found floating near the margin by a park keeper. They have been identified
26:27
as her clothes, and it seemed to me that if the clothes were there,
26:30
the body would not be far off. By the same brilliant reasoning,
26:34
every man's body is to be found in the neighborhood of his wardrobe. And
26:38
pray, what did you hope to arrive at through this? At some evidence
26:42
implicating Flora Millar in the disappearance. I am afraid that you will find it
26:47
difficult, are you? Indeed? Now, cried Lestrade with some bitterness.
26:52
I am afraid, Holmes, that you are not very practical with your deductions
26:56
and your inferences. You have made two blunders in as many minutes. This
27:00
dress does implicate miss Flora Millar. And how in the dress is a pocket.
27:06
In the pocket is a card case. In the card case is a
27:08
note. And here is the very note. He slapped it down upon the
27:12
table in front of him. Listen to this. You will see me when
27:17
all is ready, come at once. F h M. Now, my
27:19
theory all along has been that Lady Saint Simon was decoyed away by Flora Millar,
27:25
and that she, with confederates, no doubt, was responsible for her
27:27
disappearance. Here, signed with her initials, is the very note which was
27:32
no doubt quietly slipped into her hand at the door, and which lured her
27:36
within their reach. Very good, Lestrade, said Holmes, laughing, you
27:41
really are very fine. Indeed, let me see it. He took up
27:45
the paper in a listless way, but his attention instantly became riveted, and
27:48
he gave a little cry of satisfaction. This is indeed important, said he.
27:52
Ha, you find it so extremely so I congratulate you warmly. Lestrade
27:59
rose in his triumph and bent his head to look why he shrieked, you're
28:03
looking at the wrong side. On the contrary, this is the right side,
28:07
the right side. You're mad. Here is the note written in pencil.
28:11
Over here, and over here is what appears to be the fragment of
28:15
a hotel bill, which interests me deeply. There's nothing in it. I
28:19
looked at it before, said Lestrade. October fourth, Rooms eight shillings,
28:25
breakfast two shillings sixpence, cocktail one shilling, Lunch two shillings sixpence, glass
28:32
sherry eightpence. I see nothing in that. Very likely not. It is
28:37
most important all the same as to the note. It is important also,
28:41
or at least the initials are so. I congratulate you again. I've wasted
28:47
time enough, said Lestrade rising. I believe in hard work and not in
28:51
sitting by the fire spinning fine theories. Good day, mister Holmes, and
28:55
we shall see which gets to the bottom of the matter. First he gathered
28:57
up the garments, thrust them into the bag, and made for the door.
29:02
Just one hint to you, Lestrade, drawled Holmes, before his rival
29:04
vanished. I will tell you the true solution of the matter, Lady Saint
29:10
Simon is a myth. There is not, and there never has been any
29:12
such person. Lestrade looked sadly at my companion. Then he turned to me,
29:18
tapped his forehead three times, shook his head solemnly, and hurried away.
29:23
He had hardly shut the door behind him when Holmes rose to put on
29:26
his overcoat. There is something in what the fellow says about outdoor work,
29:30
he remarked, So I think, Watson, that I must leave you to
29:33
your papers for a little. It was after five o'clock when Sherlock Holmes left
29:38
me, but I had no time to be lonely, for within an hour
29:41
there arrived a confectioner's man with a very large flat box. This he unpacked
29:47
with the help of a youth whom he had brought with him, and presently,
29:51
to my very great astonishment, a quite epicurean little cold supper began to
29:55
be laid out upon our humble lodging house Mahogany. There were a couple of
30:00
brace of cold woodcock, a pheasant, a pte defago, a pie,
30:03
with a group of ancient and cobwebby bottles. Having laid out all these luxuries,
30:08
my two visitors vanished away, like the genie of the Arabian nights,
30:12
with no explanation save that the things had been paid for and were ordered to
30:17
this address. Just before nine o'clock, Sherlockombe stepped briskly into the room.
30:22
His features were gravely set, but there was a light in his eye which
30:26
made me think that he had not been disappointed in his conclusions. They have
30:32
laid the supper, then, he said, rubbing his hands, You seem
30:36
to expect company. They have laid for five Yes, I fancy we may
30:40
have some company dropping in, said he. I am surprised that Lord Saint
30:44
Simon has not already arrived. Ha I fancy that I hear his step now
30:48
upon the stairs. It was indeed, our visitor of the afternoon who came
30:52
bustling in, dangling his glasses more vigorously than ever, and with a very
30:57
perturbed expression upon him aristocratic features. My messenger reached you, then asked Holmes.
31:03
Yes, and I confess that the content startled me beyond measure. Have
31:07
you good authority for what you say? The best possible? Lord Saint Simon
31:12
sank into a chair and passed his hand over his forehead. What will the
31:17
Duke say? He murmured, When he hears that one of the family has
31:21
been subjected to such humiliation. It is the purest accident. I cannot allow
31:26
that there is any humiliation. Ah, you look on these things from another
31:32
standpoint. I fail to see that any one is to blame. I can
31:36
hardly see how the lady could have acted otherwise, though her abrupt method of
31:40
doing it was undoubtedly to be regretted. Having no mother, she had no
31:44
one to advise her at such a crisis. It was a slight, Sir,
31:48
a public slight, said Lord Saint Simon, tapping his fingers upon the
31:52
table. You must make allowance for this poor girl placed in so unpresented that
31:57
a position. I will make no allowance. I am very angry, indeed,
32:01
and I have been shamefully used. I think that I heard a ring,
32:06
said Holmes. Yes, there are steps on the landing. If I
32:08
cannot persuade you to take a lenient view of the matter, Lord Saint Simon,
32:13
I have brought an advocate here who may be more successful. He opened
32:16
the door and ushered in a lady and gentleman. Lord Saint Simon said,
32:21
he allow me to introduce you to mister and missus Francis Hay Moulton, the
32:25
lady, I think you have already met at the sight of these newcomers.
32:30
Our client sprung from his seat and stood very erect, with his eyes cast
32:35
down and his hand thrust into the breast of his frock coat, a picture
32:38
of offended dignity. The lady had taken a quick step forward and held out
32:43
her hand to him, but he still refused to raise his eyes. It
32:46
was as well for his resolution, perhaps, for her pleading face was one
32:51
which it was hard to resist. You are angry, Robert said she.
32:54
Well, I guess you have every cause to be Pray. Make no apology
33:00
to me, said Lord Saint Simon bitterly. Oh yes, I know that
33:04
I have treated you real bad, and that I should have spoken to you
33:07
before I went. But I was kind of rattled, and from the time
33:12
when I saw Frank here again, I just didn't know what I was doing
33:15
or saying. I only wonder I didn't fall down and do a faint right
33:17
there before the altar. Perhaps, missus Moulton, you would like my friend
33:22
and me to leave the room while you explained this matter, if I may
33:27
give an opinion, remarked the strange gentleman, we've had just a little too
33:30
much secrecy over this business already. For my part, I should like all
33:35
Europe and America to hear the rights of it. He was a small,
33:38
wiry, sunburnt man, clean shaven, with a sharp face and alert manner.
33:44
Then I'll tell our story right away, said the lady. Frank Here
33:47
and I met in eighty four in mc guire's camp near the Rockies, where
33:52
Pile was working a claim. We were engaged to each other, Frank and
33:54
I. But then one day Father struck a rich pocket and made a pile
33:59
while or Frank there had a claim that petered out and came to nothing.
34:02
The richer Pa grew, the poorer was Frank. So at last Paw wouldn't
34:07
hear of our engagement lasting any longer, and he took me away to Frisco.
34:10
Frank wouldn't throw up his hand, though, so he followed me there
34:15
and he saw me without Pa knowing anything about it. It would have only
34:19
made him mad to know, so we just fixed it all up for ourselves.
34:22
Frank said that he would go and make his pile too, and never
34:25
come back to claim me until he had as much as Paw so then I
34:30
promised to wait for him to the end of time, and pledged myself not
34:32
to marry any one else while he lived. Why shouldn't we be married right
34:37
away, then said he, And then I will feel sure of you,
34:39
and I won't claim to be your husband till I come back. Well,
34:43
we talked it over, and he had fixed it all up so nicely,
34:46
with a clergyman already in waiting, that we just did it right there.
34:51
And then Frank went off to seek his fortune, and I went back to
34:53
PA. The next I heard of Frank was that he was in Montana,
34:58
and then he went prospecting in Ours, and then I heard of him from
35:01
New Mexico. After that came a long newspaper story about how a miner's camp
35:07
had been attacked by Apache Indians, and there was my Frank's name among the
35:10
killed. I fainted dead away, and I was very sick for months.
35:14
After PA thought I had a decline and took me to have the doctors in
35:17
Frisco. Not a word of news came for a year, and more so
35:22
that I never doubted that Frank was really dead. Then Lord Saint Simon came
35:27
to Frisco and we came to London and a marriage was arranged, and PA
35:30
was very pleased. But I felt all the time that no man on this
35:35
earth would ever take the place in my heart that had been given to my
35:38
poor Frank. Still, if I had married Lord Saint Simon, of course
35:44
i'd have done my duty by him. We can't command our love, but
35:46
we can our actions. I went to the altar with him with the intention
35:51
to make him just as good a wife as it was in me to be.
35:53
But you may imagine what I felt when just as I came to the
35:58
altar rails, I glanced back and saw Frank standing and looking at me out
36:01
of the first pew. I thought it was his ghost at first, but
36:05
when I looked again, there he was still, with a kind of question
36:08
in his eyes, as if to ask me whether I were glad or sorry
36:12
to see him. I wonder. I didn't drop. I know that everything
36:15
was turning round, and the words of the clergyman were just like the buzz
36:19
of a bee in my ear. I didn't know what to do. Should
36:22
I stop the service and make a scene in the church. I glanced at
36:25
him again, and he seemed to know what I was thinking. For he
36:29
raised his finger to his lips to tell me to be still. Then I
36:32
saw him scribble on a piece of paper, and I knew that he was
36:36
writing me a note. As I passed his pew on the way out,
36:38
I dropped my bouquet over to him, and he slipped a note into my
36:42
hand. When he returned me the flowers, it was only a line asking
36:45
me to join him. When he made the sign to me to do so.
36:49
Of course, I never doubted for a moment that my first duty was
36:52
now to him, and I determined to do just whatever he might direct.
36:57
When I got back, I told my maid, who had known him in
37:00
California and had always been his friend. I ordered her to say nothing,
37:02
but to get a few things packed and my ulster ready. I know I
37:07
ought to have spoken to Lord Saint Simon, but it was dreadful, hard
37:09
before his mother and all those great people. I just made up my mind
37:14
to run away and explain afterwards. I hadn't been at the table ten minutes
37:17
before I saw Frank out of the window at the other side of the road.
37:21
He beckoned to me and then began walking into the park. I slipped
37:24
out, put on my things and followed him. Some woman came talking something
37:29
or other about Lord Saint Simon to me, seemed to me from the little
37:31
I heard, as if he had a little secret of his own before marriage
37:36
also. But I managed to get away from her and soon overtook Frank.
37:39
We got into a cab together and away we drove to some lodgings he had
37:43
taken in Gordon Square. And that was my true wedding. After all those
37:46
years of waiting. Frank had been a prisoner among the Apaches, had escaped,
37:52
come to Fisco, found that I had given him up for dead,
37:54
and had gone to England, followed me there and had come upon me at
37:58
last on the very morning of my second wedding. I saw it in a
38:01
paper, explained the American. It gave the name and the church, but
38:06
not where the lady lived. Then we had a talk as to what we
38:08
should do, and Frank was all for openness, but I was so ashamed
38:13
of it all that I felt as if I should like to vanish away and
38:15
never see any of them again, just sending a line to Pa, perhaps
38:20
to show him that I was alive. It was awful to me to think
38:22
of all those lords and ladies sitting round that breakfast table and waiting for me
38:27
to come back. So Frank took my wedding clothes and things and made a
38:30
bundle of them so that I should not be traced, and dropped them away
38:35
somewhere where no one could find them. It is likely that we should have
38:37
gone on to Paris tomorrow, only that this good gentleman, mister Holmes came
38:42
round to us this evening, though how he found us is more than I
38:45
can think. And he showed us very clearly and kindly that I was wrong,
38:50
and that Frank was right, and that we should be put in ourselves
38:52
in the wrong if we were so secret. Then he offered to give us
38:55
a chance of talking to Lord Saint Simon alone, and so we came right
39:00
away around to his rooms at once. Now, Robert, you have heard
39:02
it all, and I am very sorry if I have given you pain,
39:06
and I hope that you do not think very meanly of me. Lord Saint
39:10
Simon had by no means relaxed his rigid attitude, but had listened with a
39:15
frowning brow and a compressed lip to this long narrative. Excuse me, he
39:20
said, but it is not my custom to discuss my most intimate personal affairs
39:24
in this public manner. Then you won't forgive me. You won't shake hands
39:30
before I go. Oh, certainly, if it would give you any pleasure.
39:34
He put out his hand and coldly grasped that which she extended to him.
39:37
I had hoped, suggested Holmes, that you would have joined us in
39:42
a friendly supper. I think that there you ask a little too much,
39:45
responded his lordship. I may be forced to acquiesce in these recent developments,
39:51
but I can hardly be expected to make mary over them. I think that,
39:54
with your permission, I will now wish you all a very good night.
39:58
He included us all in a sweet bow and stalked out of the room.
40:02
Then I trust that you at least will honor me with your company,
40:06
said Sherlock Holmes. It is always a joy to meet an American, mister
40:08
Moulton, for I am one of those who believe that the folly of a
40:12
monarch and the blundering of a minister in far gone years will not prevent our
40:16
children from being some day citizens of the same world wide country under a flag
40:22
which shall be a quartering of the Union. Jack with the stars and stripes.
40:27
The case has been an interesting one, remarked Holmes when our visitors had
40:30
left us, because it serves to show very clearly how simple the explanation may
40:36
be of an affair which, at first sight seems to be almost inexplicable.
40:40
Nothing could be more natural than the sequence of events as narrated by this lady,
40:45
and nothing stranger than the result, when viewed, for instance, by
40:49
mister Lestrade of Scotland Yard. You were not yourself at fault at all.
40:52
Then, From the first two facts were very obvious to me, the one
40:58
that the lady had been quite willing to undergo the wedding ceremony, the other
41:02
that she had repented of it within a few minutes of returning home. Obviously
41:07
something had occurred during the morning, then, to cause her to change her
41:10
mind. What could that something be. She could not have spoken to any
41:14
one when she was out, for she had been in the company of the
41:16
bridegroom. Had she seen some one, then, if she had, it
41:21
must be someone from America, because she had spent so short a time in
41:24
this country that she could hardly have allowed any one to acquire so deep an
41:29
influence over her that the mere sight of him would induce her to change her
41:32
plans so completely. You see, we have already arrived by a process of
41:37
exclusion. Had the idea that she might have seen an American, then who
41:42
could this American be and why should he possess so much influence over her?
41:46
It might be a lover, It might be a husband. Her young womanhood
41:51
had I knew been spent in rough scenes and under strange conditions, so far
41:57
I had got before I ever heard Lord Saint's Waymond's narrative when he told us
42:01
of a man in a pew, of the change in the bride's manner,
42:05
of so transparent a device for obtaining a note as the dropping of a bouquet,
42:09
of her resort to her confidential maid, and of her very significant allusion
42:14
to claim jumping, which in miners parlance means taking possession of that which another
42:19
person has a prior claim too. The whole situation became absolutely clear. She
42:23
had gone off with a man, and the man was either a lover or
42:27
was a previous husband, the chances being in favor of the latter. And
42:31
how in the world did you find them? It might have been difficult,
42:36
but friend Lestrade held information in his hands, the value of which he did
42:38
not himself know. The initials were, of course of the highest importance.
42:44
But more valuable still was it to know that within a week he had settled
42:47
his bill at one of the most select London hotels. How did you deduce
42:52
the select by the select prices? Eight shillings for a bed and eightpence for
42:58
a glass of sherry point to one of the most expensive hotels. There are
43:01
not many in London which charge at that rate. In the second one,
43:06
which I visited, in Northumberton Avenue, I learned by an inspection of the
43:10
book, that Francis h. Multon, an American gentleman, had left only
43:15
the day before, And on looking over the entries against him, I came
43:19
upon the very items which I had seen in the duplicate bill. His letters
43:22
were to be forwarded to two twenty six Gordon Square. So thither I traveled,
43:28
and being fortunate enough to find the loving couple at home, I ventured
43:30
to give them some parental advice, and to point out to them that it
43:35
would be better in every way that they should make their position a little clearer,
43:38
both to the general public and to Lord Saint Simon. In particular,
43:42
I invited them to meet him here, and as you see, I made
43:45
him keep the appointment, but with no very good result. I remarked,
43:50
his conduct was certainly not very gracious. Ah Watson, said Holmes, smiling.
43:55
Perhaps you would not be very gracious either, if, after all the
43:59
trouble of wooing and wedding, you found yourself deprived in an instant of a
44:02
wife and a fortune. I think that we may judge Lord Saint Simon very
44:07
mercifully, and thank our stars that we are never likely to find ourselves in
44:13
the same position. Draw up your chair and hand me my violin. For
44:16
the only problem we have still to solve is how to while away these bleak,
44:21
automal evenings. End of Chapter ten, The Adventures of the Noble Bachelor.