Upon reaching the top of the staircase Miss Lewis rested for only a brief second before following the directions given to her by Mrs Hudson. Indeed, there was a door right in front her and she approached it cautiously. She knocked, knowing she was expected but not wanting to intrude.
"Come in!" Cried a brisk voice from the other side of the door and a moment later it swung open, held by a gentleman of average height, with a thick moustache and a friendly smile. "Ah, Miss Lewis I presume," remarked the previous voice and the young lady in question glanced up to see a tall, thin man standing over by the mantelpiece. She knew him immediately and bowed her head in greeting.
"Mr Holmes," she said. "A pleasure to meet you."
"Quite," he smiled, also inclining his head in her direction. "This is my friend and colleague Dr Watson, although perhaps you had already deduced as much?" He said smartly, indicating the gentleman still holding the door.
"Indeed I had," she replied, smiling warmly at the good doctor and shaking the extended hand he offered her. In doing so she was forced to swap the cane she carried from her right hand to her left, Homes noticed this with a raised eyebrow but made no comment, neither of his companions seemed to notice.
"Well, Miss Lewis there is no need for you to remain standing in the doorway, please do come in and make yourself comfortable." Holmes indicated a chair with his hand and Dr Watson stood to one side to let the lady pass. She manoeuvred herself carefully around the small amount of clutter that was spread over the floor and then seated herself comfortably across from where Mr Holmes was standing. "You will have to excuse the mess," Holmes remarked, noticing her gaze. "The Baker Street Irregulars, while sometimes invaluable to an investigation are not known for keeping themselves tidy. As I am sure you learned from Mrs Hudson," he said casting a glance towards the doctor.
Miss Lewis suppressed a small smile; guessing the silent joke that was passing between them. "She may have mentioned something of the sort, yes," she glanced up to see both gentlemen watching her keenly, although with completely different looks in their eyes. "However," she continued. "Such matters are of little importance to me. It is your home Mr Holmes; you may keep in such a state as suits your needs."
"Quite," Holmes repeated, his eyes ever present on the form of the young woman. There was a slight pause as the conversation lulled and Mr Holmes seemed to slip into a pensive silence. Yet only a few moments later he seemed to start himself out of his thoughts and brought his mind back to the present. "Now Miss Lewis, I understand you are here to consult me on some matter." The lady nodded. "Then please, do tell me how I can be of service to you."
With that Miss Lewis began her tale. "I live in Kent Mr Holmes," she began as the detective seated himself contentedly in the chair opposite her. He steepled his fingers and closed his eyes meditatively, encouraging her to continue with a slight gesture of the hand. "I am the sole inhabitant, barring the servants, of a small estate that goes by the name of the Fox Groves. I am my father's only child and I stand to inherit the estate upon his death. While my father yet lives ill heath has caused him to seek medical attention on the continent, he left me in charge in his absence. He has been gone for some 2 months now and I do not expect him back any time soon. In those two months I have had no trouble in managing the estate as my father has been unwell for many years now and left most matters to me anyway. However," she paused and Holmes opened his eyes, giving her a questioning glance. "However," she continued. "Last night an incident occurred." She stopped, apparently lost in thought.
"The nature of this incident being...?" Holmes prompted; bringing her back with a start.
"Oh, forgive me Mr Holmes," she replied, looking somewhat embarrassed. "My mind wandered briefly. The incident to which I am referring was a break in. Someone broke into my house last night, after the servants had gone to bed. It was done very quickly and the perpetrator or perpetrators left no trace that I or my servants can discover."
"I see," Holmes remarked, calmly. "And how may I ask are you aware that this break in happened swiftly."
"I know Mr Holmes," she stated, equally calm. "Because 'they', I am afraid I have no clue as to how many of them there were, only had a very short amount of time in which to conduct this crime. The room they broke into was the sitting room, which I, myself, was occupying until someone rang the door bell. The servants were already in bed so I went to answer it myself." She paused again, smiling somewhat ruefully to herself. "As you can most probably guess Mr Holmes, there was no one at the door, it was no doubt a distraction in order to get me out of the room. When I got back the window was open and the safe, hidden in the wall, was empty. That, I am afraid is all I can tell you."
There was silence for a long moment as Holmes sat with a look of deep concentration on his face. Miss Lewis sat quietly, understanding his need for a moment to think, arranging all the facts in his mind. She glanced, once or twice in the direction of Dr Watson and he smiled at her, reassuringly.
"What time was it when this happened, do you know?" Holmes asked suddenly, making the two jump ever so slightly.
The lady considered for a moment before answering. "I believe it was somewhere near eleven o'clock Mr Holmes, perhaps just a little bit after."
The detective nodded and then fell back into silent contemplation.
"Eleven o'clock seems rather late for a young lady such as yourself to still be up and out of bed my dear," the doctor commented, trying to lighten the air while his friend sat in studious thought.
Rebecca smiled at him gently. "My father used to tell me the same thing, when he was well." Her eyes clouded for a brief moment and both gentlemen, now with their attention focused on her, noticed the change. It lasted only a moment however and her expression soon cleared. "I always told him that I never could sleep and so thought it better to stay up and do something productive rather than simply lying in bed, waiting uselessly." Watson nodded his understanding, although she could tell he did not wholly approve, just like her father she thought.
"So you were in sitting room before this act occurred and only left because you heard the door bell ring?" Holmes clarified; bring them all back to the subject at hand.
"That is correct."
"Where, in the house, is the sitting room in relation to the front door?" He asked, looking at her closely.
"The house has a somewhat strange layout and the room is further back than one might expect but I see what you are asking Mr Holmes." There it was again, that small rueful, somewhat self-deprecating, smile. "For most it would take perhaps the space of a minute to walk to the front door and back again. I on the other hand took a while longer, as I am sure you can appreciate." She said, fingers lightly drumming over the cane she still clutched in her hand, even though she was now sitting.
"Of course," Holmes replied, quietly, inclining his head in understanding. "In that case, how long do you suppose it took you to reach the door and then return again?"
"It was unusually cold last night," she commented, thinking back. "Things are..." yet another pause. "...worse for me in bad weather, therefore I would have been even further delayed." Watson nodded sympathetically, knowing exactly what she meant; his knee was the same, especially bad in cold weather. "Perhaps three minutes," she concluded. "Four minutes possibly, but certainly no more than five. I stopped on the way back to correct a flower arrangement but still..." she trailed off into to silence.
Holmes nodded and considered this for a brief moment before standing. The lady tracked his movement with her eyes but remained seated. "Miss Lewis, if I am to help you in this matter I think it best that both myself and Dr Doctor Watson call upon you at the earliest opportunity."
"Of course Mr Holmes," Rebecca replied, now following his example and rising to her feet. "I am afraid I cannot entertain you today as I have other business to attend to here in London, however if tomorrow is convenient for you?"
"Quite convenient thank you," Holmes said, bowing graciously.
"Very well, the room has been locked since last night and I have tried to make sure everything is left untouched. The servants know not to enter and I will tell them to await your arrival tomorrow morning?"
"Yes, we will arrive as soon possible after the first train."
"Thank you Mr Holmes," she shook his hand and then that of Dr Watson before bowing to them one last time. "Until tomorrow then?"
"Until tomorrow," Holmes confirmed. With that she smiled at the two gentlemen, turned on her heel and quietly left the room.
Hey look at this, second chapter up already. Am I on roll or what? This was done especially for SherlockAshFowl
Ok just a last general note – I know where I'm going with this story, I'm just not quite sure how I'm going to get there yet so please bear with me, I'm working on it.