The Adventure of Hecate House
Chapter 45: Sense and Sunrise
"Good morning." Violet spoke crisply, without obvious constraint.
"Good morning, Violet." I croaked. I found myself unable to meet her eyes. She did not seem unduly troubled by this, and again, spoke quite naturally.
"You look a little subdued. Can I assume I am in some manner responsible for this?"
"You are involved, certainly. I fear the responsibility lies with me." My fingers scrabbled over the shingled ground, and I automatically skimmed the stone I found over the placid surface of the water. We both watched it bounce. Nine. Not bad.
"I am intrigued," said Violet, as the stone sunk beneath the surface, "as to how you have reached that conclusion. For what reason has my autonomy been superseded?"
I turned to face her, daring to return her clear, steady gaze. "I fear I have compromised you, Violet. I am truly sorry..."
"...I am not." She interrupted. "I am sorry if I am spoiling your orgy of remorse, but do you not feel you are being a little overdramatic?"
"I am not sure you fully understand." I spluttered, but she laughed at me. I was startled into silence.
"Oh, Holmes, I may be inexperienced in worldly matters, but I am not entirely naive. If the governors at my school, or polite society in general, were to discover that I had spent the night alone upon an isolated island in your company, certainly my reputation would be in tatters. A similar result could be expected if I were to find myself unwed and with child. Are either of these eventualities remotely likely?"
"Well, no, not at all, but..."
"Precisely. You are experiencing these agonies of spirit now because you are a gentleman, and you feel you have besmirched me in some fashion. You would be better employed in using your famous logic and reasoning. As I said, you are a gentleman, so you will not brag of our adventure. You have in no way placed me at risk of, shall we say, lasting consequences, biological or otherwise, of our stay here. You worry that I shall be emotionally compromised, that I am likely to pine away out of love for you. Well, Holmes, I really am very fond of you, but I hope I have a little more sense than to read too much into the situation, coming as it did after such an emotionally charged ordeal. It seems a very normal reaction." I opened my mouth to reply, yet she cut me off again, almost fiercely. "Sherlock Holmes, I can see in your face you are about to argue with me. Please do not. Especially please do not think you have to do anything to restore my honour. Do not offer for me. I would be mortified to think of being married for such a reason as that."
Violet got to her feet, and began to walk away. She then turned back, to smile at me, and hold out her hand to me. "Come along, Holmes. Let us not mention anything about it until we get back to reality. You will be quite chilled through, and we have yet to conclude the business with Raddison. I am impatient to discover the next chapter."
She was correct, of course. If her equanimity remained undisturbed, what right did I have to continue to agonise? I took her hand, and she pulled me to my feet, then led me off the beach towards the cove. With a heart made lighter from relief, but also, if I was honest with myself, with a sense of emptiness, I composed myself, and followed her.
In a very few moments, we were pushing the rowing boat off from the island. The sun had risen, and the sea was stained a glorious blend of fiery orange and magenta, whilst light pink clouds edged with gold skudded across a powder blue sky. Lestrade and his men would be storming Hecate House at this very moment. Ignoring all extraneous disturbances, we struck out, to harvest the fruit of our endeavours.
Violet remains unflappable! Good to see Holmes back on track. Back to Hecate House!
Please R&R
