A STRANGER AT THE DOOR- CHAPTER 26- APPERANCE AND OBSERVATION
"Not like other women." Those words echoed in Violet's mind for the remainder of the day. What did Holmes mean? Was she unique or odd? Were those words spoken in admiration? She had no ready memories to guide her in deciphering what he meant. Perhaps Watson could help her. He had been Holmes' friend for a long time. She hoped she would soon have the opportunity to speak with the doctor privately.
On the matter of James Carlisle and the man called Henry, she dug deeply into the recesses of her mind for more memories concerning them. The harder she worked at it, the more frustrated she became. Violet fidgeted and paced the sitting room like a caged animal. She would stop at the liquor bottles and caress them as if they were a loved one, but she did not open one to pour a drink.
Holmes grew annoyed with her behavior and left his chair by the fireplace. He stormed across the room to stop her. Violet's back was to him and when he was a hair's breath away, she turned around to face him. She stood on tip toe with her nose almost touching his. "Mr. Holmes, what do you want of me?"
"I want you to stop fidgeting and pacing the room. It is quite annoying, Miss Carroll!"
"Mr. Holmes, I have observed that you often smoke a pipe when you are thinking on a solution to a problem. Is this not true?"
"Yes, it is."
"You smoke a pipe, I fidget and pace! I can do that or drink to excess. Which do you prefer?" Her face was red and her hands on her hips.
She was in dead earnest as she talked to Holmes. However, Watson could not help but find the scene amusing. His friend and the young woman were alike in some ways.
The detective back away from her and answered quietly, "I prefer you fidget and pace the room much more than seeing you drink to excess."
He returned to his chair and she sat down on the settee, exhausted from her outburst.
Dinner passed in an awkward silence. Violet barely touched her food. When Mrs. Hudson came to take the dishes away, she followed her to the kitchen.
Watson took the opportunity of Violet's absence from the sitting room to ask Holmes what he had meant when he said she was "not like other women".
"Holmes, why do you say that Violet is unlike other women? I've never heard you make a remark like that before."
Holmes made his fingers into a steeple and looked at Watson with his piercing gray eyes. "Miss Carroll seems to have little interest in things that other women deem important."
To Watson, this answer was insufficient. "What do you mean the "things other women deem important?"
"She is not enamored with shopping. Elaborate clothing, hats, jewelry hold no interest for her…" Holmes trailed off and did not finish the sentence.
"Holmes, she may not show interest in those things because she does not remember them," Watson reminded his friend. "However, maybe she just has simple tastes and is a practical woman. That may be her true nature."
"Watson, I mean more than just her lack of interest in finery. She is a very independent and determined young woman."
"Surely Holmes, you have encountered independent and determined women before. But you have never had one living under the same roof with you." Holmes seemed to be struggling for the right words to express what he meant about Violet. Watson sensed it and made a suggestion. "My friend, I see that you are having trouble expressing what you feel. Let us leave this subject for another time."
The ending of the conversation caused a visible wave of relief to wash over the detective. It was troubling to him not to be able to express, much less understand what he was feeling.
Violet had gone down to the kitchen with Mrs. Hudson to get a respite from Holmes' scrutiny of her behavior. "Mrs. Hudson, it must be very difficult for Mr. Holmes to have me here. It is obvious that I make him uncomfortable."
Mrs. Hudson chuckled and replied, "Yes, it is difficult for him. You have turned his ordered world upside down and he does not know what to make of it. However, you have presented him with a new challenge and that is a good thing. He is most impossible to deal with when he is bored."
"Mrs. Hudson, I am intrigued. Please tell me what you mean when you say he is impossible to deal with when he is bored." Violet propped her head on her chin, all attention.
The landlady told her about Holmes making a "VR" in one of the walls of the sitting room by shooting a gun at it. Violet had little memory of guns and their uses, but the thought of someone discharging one inside a house frightened her. "Mrs. Hudson, please forgive my ignorance. What does "V R" mean?"
"That is alright my dear," Mrs. Hudson told Violet as she patted her hand. "V R" stands for Victoria Regina, which is Latin for Queen Victoria. Queen Victoria is the ruler of Great Britain, the country where you are now."
"Thank you for explaining that to me. I might well have known what Victoria Regina meant at one time, but that seems to be absent from my memory now." Violet made what had become a characteristic motion; she raked her fingers through her hair. "My goodness, you have to put up with a lot of odd behavior from Mr. Holmes!" Violet hoped that he did not become bored anytime soon.
"There is something else you should know about Mr. Holmes." The tone of Mrs. Hudson's voice became very serious. "Sometimes, when he is without a case, he will inject himself with dangerous drugs; cocaine or morphine. He says it stimulates the mind, but it causes him to exhibit very erratic behavior. Dr. Watson has told him that if he continues to use it that it will destroy the gifts that make him a great detective. "
Violet recalled the day she found the syringe in Holmes' desk drawer and now understood the revulsion she felt at the sight of it.
"And now, I am the relief for his boredom? What will happened to him when I am gone?" she asked Mrs. Hudson.
"Oh Violet, I cannot begin to imagine what he would be like when that happens." Mrs. Hudson shuddered at the very thought of it.
Later in the evening, Violet entered the sitting room quietly and was about to take her usual place on the settee when she saw Holmes lounging, one arm and leg hanging down on the floor. He looked as if her were asleep, but she had her doubts when she saw him stir ever so slightly. The young woman stood there and made a study of Holmes' form and appearance. He was tall and thin; pale in complexion with a long hawk- like nose. His fingers were long and ink- stained. From her brief encounters with the touch of his hands, she knew he possessed a delicacy of touch that was surprising. Was he handsome? She did not know. She could not remember enough of the appearance of other men to make a comparison.
As she turned away to cross the room and sit in his chair, he rose from the settee. Violet was now embarrassed because she realized he had not been asleep and he knew she had been observing him. If he knew of her discomfort, he did not show it. Instead he asked, "Miss Carroll, what did you observe from watching me while I was lying on the settee?"
She clinched and unclinched her hands into fists and sighed, "What do you mean? Are you referring to your physical appearance or something more?"
Holmes smiled ever so slightly and said, "Tell me what you will."
For the briefest of moments, she closed her eyes. For no apparent reason, Violet felt compelled to make a comparison between the appearance of James Carlisle and Holmes. She summoned a mental picture of James Carlisle. He was tall, muscular, blond hair and mustache and possessed piercing blue eyes. Yes, she believed he could be considered handsome. But she also sensed he was evil. The she did the same thing in regards to Holmes, recalling everything she had observed about him. He was tall, but thin. His hair was dark and his complexion pale. He possessed a hawk- like nose. His eyes were also piercing, but gray in color. She would not say he was handsome, but he was most interesting in appearance. However, it was more than his physical appearance that made him interesting to her. He was for all his oddities, a good and decent man.
Violet decided to keep these thoughts to herself and merely answered, "I observe that you are unique. There is nothing more I wish to say on the matter at this time."
"That is all you have observed Miss Carroll?"
"No Mr. Holmes, I said that there is nothing more I wish to say on the matter at this time." There was much more she could have told him, but she simply did not want to do it for fear of criticism from him. "As far as I am concerned, that puts an end to this line of questioning." She sat down in his chair with her arms crossed giving no indication that she would move from it.
Holmes retreated to his bedroom and slammed the door.
Violet leaned forward and asked Watson, "Whatever is the matter with Mr. Holmes? "
"Violet, he does not know what to make of you and that troubles him greatly. He does not understand what he is feeling and does not yet know what to do about it."
She sat back rather forcefully in the chair, her arms still crossed. "Then he and I have something in common. I do not know what to make of him!"
This writer realizes that this chapter is a study in character and appearance more than anything else. More revelations to come in the next chapter.
Thank you so much for reading!