The front door of number 221b Baker Street shut with a slight click as a young lady made her way out into the busy roads of London. Above her Mr Sherlock Holmes stood at the window to his apartments and watched as she left, paying particular attention to the way in which she walked.
"Well Watson?" he asked his friend, not bothering to turn away from his task.
"Well what, Holmes?" Watson replied, looking up from the paper he held in his hands.
"Well what do you make of our new client? Miss Rebecca Lewis," Holmes clarified.
The doctor thought for a moment before giving his answer. "I think she is very lovely young woman," he stated simply. Holmes sighed exasperatedly but Watson continued as if he had not heard. "She is fairly handsome, with a pleasant smile and seems quite capable."
"Ah yes," remarked Holmes. "I will agree with you on that point Watson. She does seem very capable."
"Especially considering her father saw fit to leave her in charge of his entire estate while he is away," the doctor commented. "Poor child," he said feelingly. "Her father's illness pains her; I could see it in her eyes. She keeps up a brave front though; it is almost as if she is determined not to let her emotions affect her. Not unlike you Holmes. Poor child," he repeated.
"Yes," Holmes replied slowly, still watching the woman in question who had stopped to listen to a musician playing down on the street. "She is proud," he observed, not really directing the observation at anyone other than himself.
"Proud?" The doctor exclaimed. "Proud, Holmes?" He seemed to consider the possibility for a moment and then shook his head. "No I do not think so Holmes. I cannot think of anything she said or did that could give you any such indication. You are wrong Homes, she seemed like a nice young woman to me."
"I said she was proud Watson, not overly so." Holmes said, turning to look at his friend for the first time since he had begun the conversation. "I am not wrong. She is a proud woman but that does make her in any way a disagreeable person."
Dr Watson frowned slightly as Holmes returned his gaze to the window, directing his expression at his friend's back rather than his face. "Oh?" he remarked, making a point of keeping his voice casual. "And how have you managed to deduce that? What was it this time, the state of her shoes? Or perhaps a stain on her cuff? Come on, out with it Holmes! Why on earth do you suppose Miss Lewis to be a proud woman?"
Sherlock Holmes turned again and smiled genuinely at his friend. "Well Watson, you know my methods. What can you deduce having spent ten minutes in the company of Miss Lewis?"
"That's just it Holmes," Watson sighed in frustration. "I can deduce nothing more than what I have already told you and nothing I saw gave me any clue as to the young woman's supposed pride."
"Ah my poor Watson," Holmes lamented sadly. "You really will never further yourself in the art of deduction if you cannot train your mind to pick up on the finer details." The detective quickly glanced out of the window again just in time to see Miss Rebecca Lewis disappear into a crowd as she walked down the street. No longer needing to stand, Holmes moved back over the chair he had previously occupied and took residence in it once again. He closed his eyes momentarily before opening them again and focusing them on his friend. "What did you make of Miss Lewis' disability?" he asked carelessly.
"Disability?" For a brief second Watson was confused. "Oh you mean her cane?" Holmes nodded. "Well, one must suppose that she needs it in order to walk, otherwise she would have had no need to bring it with her. Also she mentioned that she could not quite keep pace with the best of us..."
"Yes," Homes said, continuing where the doctor trailed off. "She walks with a limp, it is very slight but it is there nonetheless."
"Yes!" Watson agreed, suddenly excited. "I noticed that too. Just from looking I could not tell you exactly what was wrong with her but speaking as medical man could tell that she hid it remarkably well."
"Exactly!" Holmes exclaimed, looking Watson keenly in the eye. "Exactly, she did hide it remarkable well and I could tell from a few further observations that she actually relies on her support a lot more than she would want us to believe." He paused and smiled slightly. "You know Watson; you were not far off when you suggested that I may have made my deductions by looking at her shoes."
"Oh?" The doctor looked surprised but rather pleased with himself.
"Actually I was able to make such a deduction by examining the bottom of her cane." Watson frowned, clearly not understanding, Holmes continued. "We have not had much rain lately so you will agree with me when I say the ground is rather firm at present?" Watson nodded. "Had you taken the time yourself to look closely at her cane dear doctor you would have noticed, as I did, that it was marked with up to nearly an inch of mud. From this we can feasibly suppose that the cane has at some point recently been pressed into the ground. For this to happen a considerable amount of weight would be needed, thus Miss Lewis does in fact rely on her cane more that perhaps you or I first supposed. "
Dr Watson sat quietly; thinking through the logic of this argument and it seemed sound enough except..."Hold on a minute Holmes. How do you know those stains were not left over from a time previous, when the earth was perhaps softer and so therefore more yielding?"
"Because Watson," Holmes replied readily, pleased with the question but still easily able to answer it. "She carries that cane with her wherever she goes. She must, as you and I have both agreed that she needs it at least to some degree in order to walk. One does not carry a dirty cane around in polite society Watson and the rest of it was perfectly clean and apparently well kept. Suggesting that the marks made by the mud were made rather recently."
Again Watson sat in silence for some time, supposing his friend must be correct after all, as was usually the case. "And it is from all this that you deduce her pride? The fact that she strives to hide her dependence?"
"Ah, not only this Watson. She disguises herself very well but you might also remember she did not directly speak of her disability in our presence. She alluded to it but did not speak of it openly. It is a subject she tries to avoid if at all possible."
The doctor sighed heavily, admitting defeat. "It seems you are right Holmes. Miss Lewis is indeed a proud young woman."
"Yes proud," Holmes, murmured almost to himself. "Not vain though. Notice how I did not say she was vain. I do not believe she cares for the way she looks, no, I believe she fears what people might think of her if they knew. She does not want to appear weak and so does all she can to try and disguise what she, essentially, sees as her greatest flaw."
"That seems like a reasonable deduction Holmes," Watson agreed. "What led you to form that conclusion?"
Sherlock smiled slightly and avoided meeting the doctor's eyes. "No facts this time Watson, just an educated guess."
Watson smiled, understanding that his friend did not wish to speak on the matter further and so let the subject drop. They sat in silence for a while, both lost in their own train of thought when Watson suddenly realised something. "Holmes?" He said. Holmes didn't reply but raised his head to show that he was listening. "We never asked Miss Lewis what it was that she kept in her safe. We do not know what was taken."
"Hmm," his friend replied, not sounding the least bit concerned. "It is not a problem Watson, will we simply have to make a point of asking Miss Lewis when we see her tomorrow."
Damn I'm good. Three chapters in two days, damn! Or you know not, considering that they're not really that long. Oh well, I'm pleased with myself at least. I'll try and update as soon as possible – I just need to work out what is going to happen next, but after that no problems!