A STRANGER AT THE DOOR- CHAPTER 25- NOT LIKE MOST WOMEN
Sometime during the night, the chill of autumn became the bitter cold of winter. Violet curled herself into a ball in an attempt to keep warm. She began to shiver so violently that the bed shook. She definitely was not used to cold weather.
Holmes had remained in the room after Violet had related the dream to him and was now sitting in the chair next to her bed. "You are cold."
Violet had been lying on her side, turned away from him. She rolled over to face him and sat up. "Mr. Holmes you have a great gift for stating the obvious. Please hand me my dressing gown. It is at the foot of the bed."
Once she had put on the dressing gown, Violet got out of the bed and quickly put on her slippers. She grabbed a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. "I am going to the sitting room. If I cannot sleep,then at least I shall be warmer there."
She quickly made her way to the sitting room and sat down in Watson's chair with the blanket pulled tightly around her body.
"You must have a coat and warmer clothing." Holmes sat across from her. He lit his pipe and began smoking. The smoke encircled both the detective and Violet. The scent of the tobacco teased a memory from Violet's mind and she retreated to it.
There had been many evenings where she sat with a man smoking a pipe. Sometimes they conversed, other times they read. Often, she would fall asleep sitting there.
There was a memory of voices.
"We cannot discuss this now with Veronica in the room," the man with the pipe said
"But she is asleep and cannot hear a word of what we need to talk about."
"Alright Henry, but we are taking a great chance by discussing this matter in her presence."
"Veronica, did you hear me?" Holmes' voice brought her back to the present.
She held up her hand and said, "Not Veronica. Call me Violet or Miss Carroll for now. " For some reason, being called Veronica made her very uncomfortable. "Mr. Holmes you just said something about me needing a coat and warmer clothes. I suppose that should be taken care of without delay."
"Indeed. I shall go with you in the morning to make the purchases of those items."
"But, surely Mrs. Hudson and I could do that."
"I want to make sure it happens without incident."
"Whatever do you mean "without incident"?"
He was silent for several minutes and then answered her. "I mean that there will be no need of any "weapons" to fend off an attacker and no ripped clothing as a result of that sort of an encounter."
Violet smiled slightly at the mention of ripped clothing. "The very idea of it must make the man very uncomfortable," she thought. Yet, this curious man seemed to be concerned for her safety and well being. Her vague memories of other men were very different.
The warmth from the fire and the blanket wrapped around her lulled her to sleep. For a short time she slept peacefully until she became so relaxed that she almost fell out of the chair. Holmes caught her before that happened. He almost directed her to his bed. His only thought was one of practicality. It would be much more comfortable for her to lie down than to continue sleeping sitting up in that chair.
He decided that idea would not do. Instead, he directed her to the settee. She lay down and he covered her up with the blanket she had been wearing. He returned to his chair to watch her sleep. For reasons he could not fathom, Violet's safety and well being had become of paramount importance to him.
Violet groaned loudly when Mrs. Hudson drew back the curtains and sunlight flooded the sitting room. She shielded her eyes by throwing an arm over her face. After a few minutes, she sat up and opened her eyes fully. Out the corner of her right eye she saw a hand extended over her shoulder. The long, pale fingers held a hair brush. She looked up at the owner of the hand before she took the hair brush. Sherlock Holmes seemed to have an inordinate interest in the appearance of her hair.
She took the brush and ran it through her hair until she was reasonably assured that it looked better than it did when she had awakened. It was difficult to be certain without looking at her hair in a mirror, but it was the best she could do at that moment. Evidently, Holmes was satisfied with the result as he left her and sat down at the table.
When Violet joined him at the table, she asked, "Is it to be only the two of us on this shopping expedition today?"
"Yes. Watson has been called out to attend to a patient and Mrs. Hudson has many chores to take care of today."
"I see." Violet was apprehensive about going out with Holmes without the company of someone else. It felt quite awkward, but the trip was a necessity. She did need a coat and warmer clothing. Hopefully, the purchases could be made with a minimum of time and effort.
Less than an hour later, Holmes and Violet were in a shop. She first looked at the coats and found a plain black one. It fit and without further consideration, she declared that it would be suitable.
"Are you certain, Miss Carroll?" Holmes was surprised she had made her selection so quickly. The young woman seemed to be in a hurry to conclude this business and he wondered why. He would ask her the reason for such haste when they returned to Baker Street.
Her other selections consisted of a scarf, gloves and two very plain woolen dresses. Violet had already made up her mind that undergarments and stockings would be purchased at a time when she was not with Holmes. That was a trip that necessitated the company of another woman.
Before they left the shop, Holmes assisted Violet in putting on the new coat. She put on the gloves and wrapped the scarf around her neck. He reached up and pulled her hair out from under the scarf. "My goodness," she thought. "What is it about my hair that he feels he must adjust it all the time?" She supposed she would continue to ponder this question because she certainly would not ask him about it.
The sales clerk had carefully folded the two dresses and placed them in a box. Holmes paid for the purchases and he and Violet left the shop. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the reflection of a man in the shop window. He was blond with a mustache. Without thinking, she grabbed Holmes' arm. As he started to pull his arm away from her grasp, she clutched at him even harder.
In a low voice he asked her, "What is the matter?"
She composed herself and answered, "I saw the reflection of a blond haired man in the shop window. It looked like Jimmy" She hesitated for a moment and then recalled his full name. "James Arthur Carlisle. He was the first man I saw standing across the street looking up at the window of your Baker Street dwelling. Other than his name, I have no recollection of how he may be related to me." Then she let go of Holmes' arm and looked up at him with both fear and confusion showing in her eyes and said, "I should like to return home…to Baker Street… immediately."
On the cab ride back to Baker Street, Violet was silent. She tried to remember anything she could about Jimmy. Was he her husband, brother, uncle, or cousin? He appeared much too young to have been her father.
Then she realized that James Arthur Carlisle was one of the men in her memory. He was the one with the pipe; the one who did not want to discuss something in her presence even though she was asleep.
And who was the other man, the one James called Henry?
Watson greeted Holmes and Violet at the front door. He took the box containing the dresses from Violet and placed them on the hall table. He then helped her remove her coat and scarf.
"Violet, I am surprised that you and Holmes have returned so soon. Most women like to shop for hours."
Holmes then made an observation that surprised both Violet and Watson. "Miss Carroll is not like most women."
What on earth did Holmes mean when he said Violet was not like other women? Hopefully, there will be an answer to this question very soon.
Also, who are James and Henry and how are they related to Violet?
Thank you for reading!
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