When Molly and Jim arrived back at Moore House, Diana swept past and said, "Margaret ran to get the mail and a letter from her beau arrived. I daresay we'll not see her for quite a while." She looked between them and said, "What's going on?"

Molly stood apart from Jim by a few steps, and as Jim stalked up the steps to his bedroom without a word, Molly sighed and said, "It's complicated, Diana." She walked over to where she had left her book on the side table, and Diana followed close behind her, her hands on her hips.

"I've got all day. Tell me so I can help you two sort it out."

Molly went to sit down in the parlor, and Diana took the seat across from her. As Molly took out her handkerchief, Diana noticed that it was damp and her expression changed from confusion to concern instantly. "You've been crying! Whatever happened?"

It took Molly a while to sort out her thoughts. Diana waited patiently across from her. At last she found the right words. "Do you remember, a few days ago, when I told Jim about my medical books, and you said that I was smart enough to be a doctor?"

Diana's confusion lingered. "Of course I remember. And it's still true, whatever my brother has told you."

"He offered," Molly began, "to take me on as his teaching assistant. And if I was his teaching assistant, then he's arranged for me to take classes to be a doctor, and even attempt to become certified."

Diana was dumbstruck, something that rarely happened to her. "What a wonderful opportunity, Molly! I'm sure you'd be fantastic. Were those happy tears on your handkerchief? I'm terribly sorry if I misunderstood."

"No, no, they were not happy tears. Because Jim had just one caveat."

"What was it?"

"He says that I must marry him, and insists that it's the only way this could happen." Molly fumbled with her handkerchief, too afraid to see Diana's reaction to look up.

Diana remained silent for a few minutes while she thought. "I'm assuming that you do not wish to be married, given your previous romantic endeavor. It's completely understandable."

"Yes, it's just," Molly raised her handkerchief to dab at her eyes, "I know what it's like to be loved. I wanted that, but in the end I couldn't have it. Jim loves me like a sister, but he doesn't love me in that way, and we both know that too. I simply cannot marry someone unless they love me, and I them."

"I cannot empathize, but I think I can understand what you mean." Diana leaned forward. "So you're faced with a terribly difficult decision: marry a man who doesn't love you as you should be loved to fulfill a lifelong dream, or remain unattached but unable to follow your dream."

Molly sniffed. "Pretty much."

Diana leaned forward and took Molly's hands in her own. "Well, Molly, whatever you decide, just know that Margaret and I will still love you as the best cousin and adoptive sister we have, and that if you need to talk to someone about this, my door is always open."

"Thanks Diana." Molly managed to smile a watery smile.

When Margaret heard about Jim's proposal, she took Diana's side, offering her support to Molly as well. Relations in the house became strained as Jim was distant, preferring to spend his time outside or in town when the sun was up and in his room when night fell.

Molly kept fluctuating between her two choices, as each time she looked over at her modest stack of books, she thought of how wonderful it would be to study medicine, but then she would think of Jim. As the week passed, Molly caught herself considering more and more Jim's offer, but no matter how long she thought, she simply couldn't imagine herself as Molly Moriarty. She couldn't see herself passionately in love with him. She just couldn't.

But the offer was such a grand temptation. Molly cycled through this reasoning several times a day, but could not find the right answer, no matter how hard she tried.

She still worked Calculus problems, as she did not feel like reading. Jim assigned her problems to do by placing notes on her textbook, and she would leave her solutions on the table by the textbook. She usually got them back the next day, her work impeccable, and Jim liked to write comments on how he liked the way she solved something, or that her handwriting was nice to look at. Molly didn't know what to think.

And so it was with a heavy heart that Molly found herself waking to a bright Saturday morning, and with dread she thought about what she would have to tell Jim as she rose and dressed. She was no closer to a revelation than she had been a week ago.

When Molly descended to the parlor, Margaret noticed her gloom, and said in a quiet voice, "Molly, are you alright? You're a bit paler than normal." Then Margaret's eyes widened. "It's today, isn't it? Oh, I'm sorry for bringing it up. Truly I am. I didn't think and-"

Molly interrupted Margaret, although not unkindly, "It's alright, Margaret, yes, it's today."

"Pardon my asking, but have you made your decision?"

Molly sighed. "No, I can't say that I have."

"Well," Margaret backed away slowly, "I'll leave you to it then. I hope you will be happy, whatever you choose."

"Thanks Margaret." Margaret gave a little smile, then turned and left Molly alone.

Molly did not know when Jim would approach her, and so she took out some fabric she was sewing into a skirt. Although it kept her hands busy, Molly's mind was still free to consider, and her thoughts kept making smaller and smaller circles as she worried over her decision.

By lunchtime, Molly could barely stomach a few bites of Hannah's delicious stew. While Diana and Margaret glanced at her with concern in their eyes, Molly excused herself and went back to her work, her anxiety increasing with every passing hour.

She wished there was some sort of third option. An option where she would still be free, but able to pursue her dreams. But that was more wishful thinking than anything productive.

According to Diana, Jim had left early that morning, saying that he would return in late afternoon. As five o'clock came and went, Molly waited for the sound of Jim's carriage pulling up, but all was quiet outside. The grandfather clock rang six times, making Molly jump. She decided that she could no longer just sit in the parlor and sew; she needed to get some fresh air. Perhaps that might help. Molly set down her sewing in its basket, and went out the back door to the garden.

The garden was largely overgrown, with more flowers than herbs or vegetables, and Molly took a seat on a low bench. She gripped the edge of the bench as she tried desperately to formulate an answer for Jim.

Molly wasn't sure how long she sat there. It was long enough that when Molly heard soft footsteps approaching and she looked up, her neck and back were stiff and aching. She saw Jim walking toward her from the house. In the light of the setting sun, Jim's face was gilded and bright. It darkened as he sat down beside her on the bench, and held out his hand. She took it absently.

"You look rather ill, Molly. Are you feeling alright?" Jim asked gently.

She cleared her throat. "I do not feel ill."

"That is good." Jim was silent for a few minutes, idly examining a rose that hung from a trellis beside him. Molly's inner tension did not abate, but she did not want to speak first.

Jim said, "You would be a wonderful doctor, you know. You're beautiful, and brilliant. Would it be so much of a sacrifice to marry me?"

Molly could feel her resolve slipping at his words. He continued, "I know that your engagement to Mr. Holmes left you heartbroken and unwilling to marry again, but I'm not him. I would never deceive you like that, Molly. I would give you every respect, every courtesy."

"But you do not love me." Molly fought back tears.

Jim looked down at their entwined hands. "I do not love you in the way that he did, but I do love you in my own way. Surely you cannot expect me to love you in just the same way? It would be impossible."

A sob escaped Molly. "Is there no way to change your mind?"

"Only if you decided against becoming my teaching assistant."

His blunt words finally broke her, and she let the tears fall. Jim sat patiently beside her, silent as a grave. At last, Molly spoke in a shaking voice, "Jim, I," but before she could finish, she heard a voice cry out.

"Molly!" The voice rang out, and with a sob, it said again it again, quietly.

"Molly."

Molly looked around. Jim seemed not to have heard. "That voice, where did that voice come from?" She stood up suddenly, her legs weak.

Molly knew that voice like none other. Its deep cadence was more familiar than any other. Jim still held her hand, and rose from the bench as well. "Molly, there was no voice. What did you hear?"

Her eyes flickered around the garden, dragging Jim behind her as she looked over the garden wall to the empty road in front of the house. "Didn't you hear it? It was loud as a bell! It said my name, twice! Where is he?" Molly exclaimed frantically.

"I'm concerned for you, Molly," Jim said. He wrapped his other hand around Molly. "Your nerves are under great strain right now, and no voice said your name. Please, sit down and calm yourself. Let me take care of you."

As suddenly as the voice, Sherlock's voice, there could be no doubt, had come, a thought came to Molly, one that was as natural to her as breathing. She had a third option.

The tension and anxiety left Molly as a wave of calm came over her. She took her hand from Jim's. "Jim, I will not marry you."

"You are not in a fit state to make such decisions. Wait until morning to decide, I beg of you." He was confused, not understanding the importance of what had happened.

"I am in a better state of mind than I have been for a long time. I will not become your teaching assistant, nor your wife; I will be leaving in the morning. Someone needs me."

As if he sensed the person of whom she spoke, Jim's voice rose a little in pitch. "There is no way for you to know if he will accept you. Nothing has changed, Molly."

"To the contrary. Everything has changed, and nothing you say or do can sway me from this course." Even if Sherlock did not take her back, she would still be content in herself, and it would be better to be alone than with Jim. Molly walked back to the kitchen door, more at ease than she had been when she passed through it a few hours before.

Jim did not follow her inside. She found Diana and Margaret reading in the parlor, and as she came in, they set aside their books. Diana was the first to speak. "Whatever has happened, Molly? We heard you and Jim outside, but not what you were saying."

Molly couldn't help but grin. She was giddy with relief and joy. "I decided not to marry Jim. I'm going to find Sherlock."

"Sherlock? The same Sherlock Holmes you ran from?" Margaret asked. "Whatever for?"

"I heard him, heard his voice. He needs me, and I am going to find him. And even if he doesn't love me anymore, I still need to know that he's alive and safe."

Diana thought for a minute. "Well, I'm glad that you seem a good deal happier than you have been for the past few days, and I hope that Mr. Holmes will be easily found."

"Thanks Diana." Molly looked at the grandfather clock. It was well past eight. "I'm going to leave on the morrow to find him. I'm not sure when I'll be back."

"We'll be here, no matter how long you are gone." Margaret said encouragingly.

Molly left the room to pack her things for the journey.