I wanted to explore how Holmes and Irene actually began their affair. We all know that she 'bested' Sherlock Holmes in the original story entitled "A Scandal in Bohemia" and that was their first meeting. But how did they meet the second time, and how did that antagonistic relationship turn into love? Well, this is my little take on it, and it takes place long before the Blackwood case. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
The Woman
Chapter One
Sherlock Holmes' first introduction to Irene Adler was exactly as that of so many others - he read about her in the newspaper. She was quite renowned as an actress, as well as for her extraordinarily pure soprano voice. His interest in her went no further than hoping that someday she might appear in London and that he and Watson would be fortunate enough to attend one of her performances.
Eventually Holmes had the opportunity to discover The Woman in person. In a tale which Watson had entitled "A Scandal in Bohemia," the detective was hired by Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormstein, Grand Duke of Cassel-Felstein and the hereditary King of Bohemia, to retrieve an incriminating photograph taken of himself with Miss Adler, preferably to be accomplished before the King's upcoming nuptials. Holmes was not able to retrieve said photo, for Irene Adler had proven herself far more resourceful than he had anticipated. Put bluntly, she out-smarted him. From this remarkable event, Holmes learned never to underestimated this particular woman's cunning. As a reminder, all he had asked in payment for his trouble was another photograph which Wilhelm von Ormstein had in his possession - a portrait of Irene Adler alone.
Over time, in more unsavory newspaper articles, Holmes discovered that loving and leaving men was in actuality The Woman's habit. Of note were a couple of marriages to wealthy bachelors followed almost immediately by divorces, with the abandoned husbands left the poorer for their matrimonial vows. Even more unsavory articles hinted at affaires de cœur with married men. Rumor implied that these besotted fools were left even more impoverished than Miss Adler's former husbands. Blackmail to keep temperamental wives in ignorance was the reason most often cited for their sudden loss of income.
That, Holmes felt, was entirely The Woman's business, and if the men were deluded enough to fall for her deceptive charms then they deserved their punishment.
As time passed, however, he began to notice a peculiar pattern emerging. When with a touring company, Miss Adler was oftentimes located in the same city where a wealthy woman found herself relieved of some expensive piece of jewelry, or some wealthy gentleman screamed thievery because his bank account had been unexpectedly emptied.
Curiouser and curiouser.
For no reason other than his own amusement, Sherlock Holmes began keeping a record of unusual robberies coinciding with Miss Adler's professional appearances in those same cities. He clipped the articles from the newspapers and kept them in a bundle. Certainly she could not be guilty of all these crimes, yet the coincidence was undeniable, and delightfully intriguing.
When he spotted her leaving the Grand Hotel one day, he couldn't help but follow her. She was dressed in an emerald-colored gown trimmed in gold, the bustle layered in emerald and gold ruffles, and at a jaunty angle atop her chestnut curls sat a green hat adorned with golden feathers, long and curving. She was just as lovely as he remembered her from their past acquaintance.
Curiosity set him on her trail. He wondered what nefarious business she might be pursuing here, in London. Naturally his interest had nothing to do with the fact that she had bested him once before. Nor did it have anything to do with her beauty and charm. Of course not for he, Sherlock Holmes, was immune to the base, primal reactions from which other men suffered.
After walking some distance from the hotel as if to obscure her path, she hailed a cab, so Holmes also hailed a cab. She traveled to the banking district. Holmes followed her there. When she exited the cab and entered a quaint-looking corner pub, Holmes followed her inside, keeping to the shadows, and found a seat in a far corner from which to observe her activities.
She sat for a time in quiet solitude, pretending to sip from a glass of dark red wine. It was a ruse - the level of wine in the glass never ebbed. She was clearly waiting for someone to join her, a man no doubt, and did not want her faculties diminished by alcohol. Holmes was proven right when a middle-aged gentleman dressed in an expensive suit approached her table, bowed over her hand, and then seated himself beside her.
He wished he could overhear their conversation, but to come that close to their table would be to reveal himself. So he remained in that far corner, concealed in the shadows, sipping at his own wine, and contented himself with watching.
After only a few moments, Adler removed from her purse a package no bigger than her hand might be if fisted. The man removed an envelope from his coat. An exchange was made and smiling graciously, The Woman bid the man farewell and left. Holmes followed her back to the Grand.
The next day when she exited the Grand Hotel, she was dressed all in burgundy and silver. Seeing her, Holmes sighed wistfully before he could stop himself. His brilliant mind briefly considered the sigh, an automatic reaction to her beauty which frankly surprised him. When she paused in the noonday sun, shining like an ornament, he almost sighed again. Had he been prone to such fancies, which he was not of course, he might have named her a vision of loveliness. Thankfully, he knew such romantic notions never crossed his mind.
Again she walked some distance away from the Grand before hailing a cab. Again, Holmes also hailed a cab. He followed her to a distinctly disagreeable section of London near the docks. When she disembarked her cab, he left his as well. He followed her, frowning in consternation as this lady of obvious wealth and breeding wound her way fearlessly down dark dirty alleys and through clearly dangerous locales even the great Sherlock Holmes might hesitate to enter without Dr. Watson guarding his back. She was fearless. He was intrigued, more so than ever.
Holmes knew it was a mistake when she entered what he knew to be a blind alley. Even as he watched, three men moved in behind her, blocking her exit. When the first accosted her, grabbing roughly at her wrist, Holmes jumped into the fray before he had fully considered the situation.
With a shouted, "Miss Adler, run!" Holmes engaged the first man and took him down before the brute even knew what was happening. Without pause he whirled and had attacked the second and third together when a blow to the back of his head blacked out his vision and sent him spinning into darkness. He felt the impact as he hit the alley floor. After that - nothing.
