Sherlock was alone in the house. His uncles had left for the ball and left him alone with the housekeeper. She was in the kitchen, pretending to be reading but Sherlock had long noticed she was actually sleeping. Of course, that did not bother him. She was only giving him a headache when awake. But still, he was annoyed by the fact that his uncles trusted her to watch over him. At least she was not anywhere near him.
He was in his room, reading. As always, his brother would say, but Sherlock had gone a long way from that introverted bookworm he used to be. All those adventures he lived, the acquaintances he made. But there he was again, alone in a room, reading all sorts of books, trying to forget all about his loneliness. He was thinking about the ball, and everyone else that would be there. Virginia would be there too. He could not get his mind off her. She would be bored there. In a huge room, filled with supposed aristocrats that were just there to show off. Even if there were actually some people of their age in there, she would still not have a good time. She just did not fit in with the other girls of her age. She was different and anyone could tell. But that was what Sherlock liked about her.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He hurried downstairs to open. The last thing he wanted was for the housekeeper to wake up.
"Who is it?" he said as silently as possible.
"Come on, Sherlock. We don't have all day. Open the door!"
"Mattie?"
"Well, aren't you a genius! Hurry up! I'm freezing!"
"Just wait a second!" Sherlock replied and opened the door hastily. Mattie was shaking from the cold.
"Why did it take you so long?"
"I did not expect any visits. What are you doing here?"
"I came to take you to the city."
"To do what exactly?"
"To the ball, of course."
"You must be joking. You and me in the ball?"
"Not at all. And why not after all? Everyone will be there. Even if we do not fit in perfectly, we can just go talk to Virginia and ."
"I was not planning to attend. I…I don't know."
"Oh come on! It will be fun. Just put on a suit and some proper shoes and let's hurry up before it gets too dark!"
"Oh Mattie! I really don't feel like it…And I got no proper clothes for a ball…"
"Don't be silly Sherlock! Even I have such clothes." Mattie said and opened Sherlock's drawers. "Here you are. That should be fine."
"Well alright, alright. Just go downstairs and I will meet you in a minute."
"Hurry up, fancy boy. We don't want to miss Virginia, do we?"
Sherlock looked at Mattie suspiciously. Was that supposed to mean something? Probably not. He should that slip away. He got ready as fast as possible and headed down the stairs.
"Ready!"
"Well, doesn't young Holmes look good in a suit!"
"Stop it, Mattie. Let's just get on with this."
"As you wish, sir."
Sherlock smiled. Mattie was such a baby sometimes. He quickly wrote a note to the housekeeper so that she wouldn't be worried. Not that she would notice. He left it on the kitchen table and they left.