Chapter 1
Tea Time
It took Mrs. Hudson two days to clean up her house on Baker Street after the "accident." The Fire Brigade came out of course, as the neighbors had sent word, but they really had no duty to perform because the fire itself was very small. The smoke, however, well that is a different story, as the plume of dark and noxious smoke that issued forth from Sherlock's upstairs flat was both panic-inducing and superior to its cousins produced by London's factories.
The smell that remained was like an annoying relative who comes to visit and cannot be dislodged without considerable effort. Still, after two days of open windows and a warm potpourri of vanilla extract simmering almost non-stop, the house had returned to a level of olfactory normalcy that suited Mrs. Hudson.
Mr. Holmes was at fault of course; it was another one of his chemical experiments gone awry. He was eccentric before, but now, since the Doctor had gotten married and moved on to live with his new wife, he had become increasingly difficult. Doctor Watson had proven to be an amazing counter to the detective's peculiarities and brought a genteel courtesy and rationality to the world of Mr. Holmes. But, now, the Doctor was busy with patients, and instead of catching criminals, he had become concerned with the fulfillment of Mary Watson's dreams and desires.
Sherlock Holmes was again alone with his experiments, and Mrs. Hudson suspected that he was lonely, or at least he missed the Doctor much more than he let on.
Today, Mr. Holmes had left for Devon, and to his great delight, Doctor Watson was free to accompany him. He had informed Mrs. Hudson that he did not plan on returning to Baker Street until late on the morrow. Thus, with the house aired out and the small mess cleaned up, Martha Hudson decided to meet a friend for tea and perhaps a walk in the park.
The walk to Marylebone Street, then eastward past the famous Madame Tussauds Wax Museum, and on to the small tea shop across from Regent's Park was pleasant, and Martha wished that it took longer as she enjoyed the quiet. Not that the streets were quiet, on the contrary, as Marylebone was a bustling, cab choked, affair with people of all sorts running and hustling about. No, the noise was very typical of any main thoroughfare in London, as the din raised by the crowds of people, horses, steel-rimmed coach wheels on stone, hawkers, buskers, street girls, teamsters and deliverymen, all providing the city with a never-ending backdrop of sound.
Mrs. Hudson paid no attention to the background noise of London's residents. She was enjoying the quiet of anonymity: a state that allowed one to be alone while in the middle of a great party. But reflective moments like this were always too short - aren't they? And before she knew it, Martha Hudson was approaching "Regent Park Tea Shop."
"Martha!"
Mrs. Hudson immediately recognized her friend Ellie, who was standing outside the tea shop and was waving a handkerchief so enthusiastically one could have interpreted her actions as an attempt to surrender. Martha returned her greeting with a smile and a reserved wave.
"Here you are my dear!" said Ellie with a hug and a kiss.
"Ah, so good to see you Ellie, and looking as beautiful as ever," returned Mrs. Hudson, who modestly returned her friend's embrace.
"Mmmm still as enthusiastic as a lady's maid I see," smirked Ellie. Then she opened the door to the tea shop and followed her good friend Martha inside.
Mrs. Ellie Buckley was a friend whose family had been close with Mrs. Hudson's family since their parents were children. Martha had stood up with Ellie as her Maid of Honor when she married her husband, Phillip, who sadly was lost at sea when his ship sank en route from Dublin. Theirs was a dark fate now, as Ellie and Martha were bound by both friendship and their shared status as widows; cast into roles they were too young to play.
The two women had not seen each other for some months, and discussing family news was the first order of business. But it was always covered too quickly, as neither woman had children, Martha's parents were dead, and she was an only child, and Ellie's brother Edward lived in America, and her mother had moved in with Ellie's Aunt in Leeds.
Ellie was her best friend and in many respects her only family, so perhaps that was why their meetings were so bittersweet, as seeing each other was a reminder of how alone they were. Maybe that was why they didn't see each other more often.