The Armor Regenerates
Holmes opened the door, to see Claire sitting right next to it with Watson standing across from her smoking a cigar.
"Miss Watson, that conversation was none of your business to eavesdrop on! I can't have my assistant behaving rudely in public places!" he said in his usual stern voice whenever Claire did something wrong.
The lady only sighed as she rose, "I wasn't eavesdropping, and the whole floor could hear your opinion of me and your brother's friendship."
Claire's face was still in that marble appearance, which made Holmes furious because it was hard for him to tell what her emotional state was.
Watson stood by his friend.
"Are you ready to leave, Holmes? It seems we will not get any further just standing around in Whitehall," he grumbled, trying to get things moving along.
The thinner man tore his attention away from the granite-like appearance of Claire.
"Yes, of course, thank you Watson."
He inclined his head towards the doctor before the three of them set off for Baker Street. The cab ride was eerily quiet, and Watson for one couldn't take it any longer.
"Claire, what do you know about Lady Gertrude?"
His cousin glanced at him before answering in a bored tone.
"She is the daughter of Sir Edward Steward, that woman hasn't seen anything that wasn't gilded in gold from the moment she was born. But, although she comes from a lot of wealth, Lady Gertrude spends it mostly on charity work for orphans and doesn't flaunt her money like other ladies of her class."
Holmes rolled his eyes at this.
"Anything useful you could tell us, Miss Watson? Such as her enemies or others who would wish her ill?"
The young lady snorted, "Lady Gertrude has no enemies at the moment; her father does, however, so we may have to pay him a visit. His enemies are mostly political; none of them would be as rash as to kidnap his daughter's fiancé in the middle of the night."
Watson nodded in agreement, "It just seems odd to me that the young man was kidnapped instead of the lady."
Holmes smirked at this, "Perhaps there is a gang of women out there who take rich young men as hostages."
Claire laughed sarcastically at this.
"If there were, I would know about it. All-women gangs are very rare. Even if they do exist, women gangs aren't that skilled to kidnap a man off a train."
The two men looked at her, surprised that she didn't think a woman did the kidnapping.
"Whoever did this kidnapping must have access to the stationery in Whitehall. Because Lady Steward told us that William got a note from the office."
Holmes put his hands together in thought.
"True, so this William fellow must have done something to anger a fellow employee, but who, is the question."
The three continued to silently ponder as the cab rolled to a stop and they ambled into the flat.
Once he had sat down on his favorite chair, Holmes finally spoke.
"My brother was kind enough to give me a list of William Gardner's fellow workers during our private chat."
He opened up a piece of paper written in Mycroft's messy handwriting. Claire and Watson looked the names over, trying to see if any of the names were recognizable. At once, three fingers pointed to the name Jim Ellis.
"That name is familiar. Watson, the index!"
Holmes pointed to the newly updated books in his messy bookcase. Watson thumbed through it until he reached a few pages dedicated to this man.
"Jim Ellis, arrested in 1884 for extortion and kidnapping, escaped from prison two years ago and has been working as a janitor at Whitehall. Two weeks ago a policeman on watch near the docks thought he saw a man who looked like Ellis and he was carrying a large sack. It was upon that investigation that he was revealed as working there."
Holmes pointed to the index as soon as Watson's mouth had closed. With daring speed, the detective gave a small whoop.
"The police officer who saw Ellis was Sgt. Fredrick Brown. Come, Watsons, we have no time to lose!"
Claire and John raced after him, leaping into a cab and heading towards where Claire lived. Holmes was rubbing his hands, excited at the thrill of the hunt once again; Claire seemed too preoccupied with familiarizing herself with the layout of the area. The cab came to a sudden halt, jarring everyone from their mindset and Holmes told the cab to wait as they approached a small townhouse.
The man who greeted them was a heavyset man with dark brown hair and a bushy mustache that made Watson's look tiny.
"How may I help you?" his voice boomed like a loud tuba.
"I am Sherlock Holmes, this is my chronicler Dr. Watson, and my assistant Miss Claire Watson."
The two men bowed their heads, and Claire made a small curtsy before the Sergeant let them inside.
"How can I help you, Mr. Holmes?" he asked, leading them into a small parlor.
"I need to ask you about Jim Ellis, I'm doing a case about a kidnapping and I have reason to believe that he was the kidnapper," Holmes said coldly.
The Sergeant nodded his head.
"It was two weeks ago, I was on my regular route near the old marketplace when my eyes caught sight of a short man with curly black hair, carrying a large rucksack, and heading towards the docks. I came to question him, sir, and I tell you he was a shifty fellow, always looking behind him and such. He said he was carrying some potatoes home from a store and that I had no right to question him so late."
Holmes nodded while pacing about the small room.
"What time was it when you questioned Ellis?"
The big man shrugged, "It was half past ten when I checked my watch right after he pushed past me."
Watson wrote down every word, as Claire watched the Sergeant for any indication to see if he was lying.
Holmes leaned forward, almost touching the Sergeant's nose with his own.
"Why didn't you arrest Ellis?"
The large man shirked back, try to get out of range of the cold eyes before him.
"He wasn't causing any trouble and he even showed me a potato from the sack, I didn't know who he was until later when the station chief mentioned someone matching his description."
Holmes turned away from him and headed towards the door.
"Thank you, Sergeant Brown, you have been a great help to us."
Watson and Claire hurried after him and boarded the cab in silence.
"Well, what do you make of it Watson?" the calculating man asked his foremost helper.
Watson shook his head, "It's beyond me how Ellis could dare to get a job with Whitehall with his background - as for the sergeant, he made a common mistake."
Claire rolled her eyes at this.
"Mr. Brown wasn't lying when he told us of what happened at the docks. What worries me is that Ellis is probably employed under a false name."
The thin detective suppressed a look of surprise on his face and nodded glumly.
"You may be right, Miss Watson. I'll have Mycroft send me his work name and see if he was working when Mr. Gardner was kidnapped."
The cab stopped and the threesome hurried up to the study to sit and plan things out.
Watson consulted his notes, "I think we would get a better start if we question Miss Stewart's father, see if anyone could have helped Ellis get a new identity and orchestrate the kidnapping. Also, we need to wait and see if Miss Stewart writes us within the next day or so."
Holmes nodded, lighting his pipe hurriedly.
"I don't think asking the girl's father will be necessary; remember it was her fiancé that was kidnapped and from what Miss Watson told us it was a match orchestrated on both ends. I think we had better pay Basil Gardner a visit."
The thin man turned to Claire, who was sitting on the couch beside Watson.
"Miss Watson, since you have a history with this man's son I strongly discourage you from going to see him with us. I recommend that you instead stay here just in case Miss Stewart contacts us, and you will also be getting the file from my brother and your new friend Mycroft."
His hazel eyes flashed at hers when he mentioned her budding friendship.
Claire looked at him with indifferent eyes.
"Mr. Holmes, you are right to ask me to stay here, and if I came it would not be pleasant. I will stay but I expect you both to write me about the new developments. Mr. Holmes, you don't like this sudden change of your brother associating with me and it is understandable for you to feel this way. But I must stress the point that not everyone can live their lives the same way you have. Change is inevitable, and the sooner you realize that the sooner you will accept my friendship with your brother."
She took a deep breath and looked at her employer, well aware that this friendship could cost her job. Watson looked from the pair of them, watching for some indication of what was to come.
Holmes turned away from Claire's unwavering gaze, and faced the window.
"Miss Watson, I appreciate your insight in this affair, but it is in your best interest to keep out of my personality and its inner workings. As for your friendship with my brother, I only see him getting unsatisfied with your company and going back to his regular habits."
Watson cleared away the china, afraid that his cousin would throw something at his good friend, but to his surprise Claire just sat there like a marble statue.
"Claire, aren't you going to defend yourself and the concept of change that you are talking about?"
His cousin turned her face towards his.
"John, it is impossible to predict what Mr. Holmes's brother is going to do, but he may be right. I am just going to enjoy the friendship while it lasts."
Holmes seemed to agree with her and turned his attention back to Watson.
"We will leave tomorrow to Mr. Gardner's estate. Until then I suggest you both leave me to thinking out this case."
Holmes turned from them and sat in his favorite chair and gazed deeply into the empty fireplace. Watson went to his notes of the case so far and began to write it out in his romantic styling. Claire looked at her pocket watch - it read ten till seven. She sighed and then rose to take the dishes from lunch to Mrs. Hudson.
After returning up the stairs, Claire bent her mouth down to Watson's ear.
"I'm going to go home now, John. Have a good night, and I should see you tomorrow before you leave for Pemberley."
Watson followed her down the stairs, still curious about the dialogue between her and Holmes.
"I will keep an eye on Holmes, and tell you if he mentions anything to me. Claire, don't feel like your friendship is going to end with Mycroft. Holmes, as you observed, is very set in his ways and when something changes it he can act like a child."
Claire suppressed a laugh.
"Thank you, John, but I'm fine really; your friend may be correct in his prediction, though. Mr. Mycroft Holmes is pleasant towards me, I just keep getting the feeling that he wants to know all my secrets and once I've told him everything he may not want to see me."
She shook her head as if dismissing the thought.
John waved her off, waiting until she got into a cab and drove away. He watched the street for a moment before going slowly back to his position on the couch; Holmes was still sitting in his meditative pose not even noticing that his assistant had gone.
The doctor shook his head, returning to writing down the adventure that he was sure would reveal more than Holmes intended.
AN: Thank you to every one of my reviewers! This Fic is becoming a lot more popular than I thought. As for the romance between mycroft and claire i'm trying to show it gradually. Please R&R!
