Chapter Ten

When Molly arrived at Rachelle's studio for her fitting the next day – having left Sherlock and the boys enjoying the delights of the hotel swimming pool and a promise of a visit to an ice cream parlour on her return – she was surprised and slightly alarmed to find her dress made up in white muslin-type fabric rather than the grey-blue polka dot material she had chosen. Caro quickly put her mind at ease by explaining that this was what people in the couture industry referred to as 'toiles'. This was the mock-dress that was used to make the fine adjustments of fit to the client's exact body shape. This 'garment' would then be deconstructed and used to make the final pattern from which the actual garment fabric would be cut.

Molly was helped into the toiles by Rachelle's assistant and then stood on a round raised platform while Rachelle herself made the careful nips and tucks to the piece so that it would fit Molly's contours exactly. Once she was certain that the fit was exact, the designer explained that she would make up the actual garment that night and bring it to the hotel for a final fitting the following day. Caro pointed out that this would be a formality as she was quite sure the dress would fit perfectly first try.

Returning to the Palace Hotel, in Caro's car, Molly was quiet and thoughtful. Eventually, Caro ventured to ask if there were anything troubling her.

'I am a bit concerned about how Sherlock might react to what you intend to tell him on Sunday. He's been through rather a lot in recent months. I don't know how much Mycroft has explained to you.'

'Mycroft has told me nothing more than that his brother had been ill and had undergone a fairly lengthy period of convalescence,' the other lady explained. 'He suggested that this trip to Rio was part of his recuperation. Having met your husband, Molly, it is obvious to me that he is a rather intense young man who feels things very deeply but has a great deal of difficulty expressing or even rationalising his feelings.

However, I can also see that you and he have a very symbiotic relationship. He relies on you to be his social compass, to help him understand the emotional nuances of social situations. Therefore, I believe that – whatever emotions are stirred up by my revelations, and I don't doubt that they will be stirred up quite dramatically – he will come to you for help to deal with them.

For that reason, I've written down what I intend to discuss with him and I'll give you a copy on Sunday for you to read, after I've spoken to him. I can't give it to you before – I hope you understand why – but at least you'll know what it is he's dealing with, without him having to tell you himself – which might be difficult for him, under the circumstances.'

Molly was grateful for the other woman's consideration in this matter.

'There is just one problem, though. He does rather have a tendency to bolt when things get too much to handle. He's done that a couple of times and, on both occasions, it needed intervention from Mycroft and all his power and influence to track him down and bring him back. It worries me that, should he do that here, I won't be able to ask Mycroft for help.'

Caro gave Molly a sympathetic pat on the arm.

'Don't you worry about that, my dear. If Sherlock goes AWOL, my husband can wield a considerable amount of clout in government circles here. We'll be able to help you retrieve him. I'm really glad you told me about that, though. Forewarned is forearmed.'

ooOoo

On her return, Molly found her boys – well, two of them, at least – in a frenzy of excitement about the impending visit to the ice cream parlour. Having never even heard of such a thing before, let alone been to one, William was curious to know exactly what to expect. Sherlock's description - it's a shop that sells ice cream - had been less than edifying. Molly was more informative.

'It's like a coffee shop but, instead of selling lots of different kinds of coffee, it sells different kinds of ice cream.'

William nodded, in an appreciative way. He could relate to that, having been to any number of coffee shops with Sherlock who was something of a coffee connoisseur, though William himself had never tried that particular beverage. He preferred milk shakes.

Freddie didn't really have any idea as to where they were about to go or what they would do there but his default position was 'frenzy of excitement' so he joined in anyway.

Sherlock just muttered something about sugar highs and bouncing off the walls but Molly told him not to be such a grumpy old man. She knew his main concern was the prospect of having to walk into a pastel coloured palace where the background soundtrack was Disney classics.

'I'll let you wear your sun glasses and earplugs, OK?' Molly conceded.

As it turned out, the trip was a huge success. Freddie finished up wearing most of his ice cream sundae but that was pretty much par for the course for him when it came to food. William opted for a banana split but chose Rum'n'Raisin, Rocky Road and Lemon Sorbet for his ice cream fillers.

Molly settled for a scoop of Mint Chocolate Chip with a chocolate flake and Sherlock, who was so adamant all the way there that he would just take a black coffee, was so intrigued by the amount of choice on offer that he ended up having a sample spoonful of every flavour on the menu – including the Marmalade on Toast special.

Molly could barely eat hers for laughing at his 'experimental protocol'. Freddie got the joke – well, he laughed along, at least – but William was at a loss to know why Mummy found Daddy so funny. Sherlock simply ignored Molly's mirth and advised William to do the same since paying her attention only encouraged her bad behaviour.

In the end, everyone really enjoyed the excursion and Sherlock accepted that pastel palaces and Disney hits were a fair price to pay for such a gustatory adventure.

'Which one was your favourite, Daddy?' William wanted to know. After giving the question a great deal of consideration, Sherlock concluded there was insufficient data and he would need to conduct further tests.

'Would you care to be my lab assistant?' he asked and William said he would.

'I think we need to conduct some blind testing so as avoid being influenced by any preconceptions inspired by the appearance of the sample,' Sherlock stated.

'What about the smell, though, Daddy? We need to eliminate that variable, too,' William pointed out.

'How right you are. Make a note, Assistant William, to bring along a swimming nose clip.'

William mimed writing a note on a clip board.

'And the names, Daddy, they could influence our choices, couldn't they?'

'In deed, they could. We need to apply random labelling in order to guarantee sample anonymity. Note that, too.'

Assistant William added that to his clip board memo.

Walking back to the hotel, along the beach front, pushing a very tired and sticky Freddie in his buggy and listening to this role-play exchange between father and son, Molly reflected on the storm brewing on the horizon and wondered whether she had made the right decision advising Caro to reveal her secret. She could only hope that it would not have disastrous consequences.

ooOoo

Molly was on tenterhooks the next day, waiting for her dress to arrive. She insisted that Sherlock take the boys to the beach because she didn't want him to see her in the outfit before the day of the Garden Party. She wanted him to see the finished article, not the work in progress. Caro was the first to turn up and she was as excited as Molly.

'I called in at the spa, Molly,' she announced, 'and I've booked you an appointment on Sunday morning to have your hair and make-up done by their top stylist and beautician.'

Molly was once again lost for words. But Caro waved a dismissive hand.

'Every other woman at the party will have spent hours at a salon beforehand, being powdered and painted, so why shouldn't you?'

'I wouldn't want to look like a dog's dinner, though, Caro,' Molly blurted out then put her hand to her mouth, fearful that she sounded ungrateful.

'My dear Molly,' Caro replied, with a smile and a hug, 'any beautician worth their salt will take one look at your peaches and cream complexion and will recognise immediately that less is more. They will merely enhance your beauty, not try to compete with it.'

Molly blushed to her roots, deeply embarrassed by such compliments but was also reassured by her new-found friend's confidence.

Rachelle and her assistant, Rosa, arrived with the dress in a protective cover but when they took it out Molly gasped. It was lovelier than even the sketch had implied. The waist looked so tiny and the skirt so full, with layers and layers of netting and a silk lining underneath, she hardly dared to put it on but Rosa marshalled her into the bedroom and practically stripped off her outer clothing for her then helped her on with the new outfit.

Along with the dress, there was a little cream coloured pancake hat fitted to a comb, which would secure it to her hair, a pair of summer gloves to match the hat and a pair of nude court shoes with a five-centimetre heel. Once Molly was fully dressed in the whole outfit, she was led back into the sitting room by the smiling assistant to be greeted by approving exclamations from both Caro and Rachelle.

'It fits perfectly, Molly dear, and you look absolutely gorgeous!' Caro enthused. 'What do you think?'

Molly had stood and stared at herself in disbelief, in the bedroom mirror.

'It's beyond anything I could have imagined, Caro. It feels like my wedding day!'

The words were out before she even thought about what she was saying and she felt instantly guilty. Her mouth clamped shut and she blushed, bright red.

'No need to be embarrassed, Molly, we're all girls together here,' Caro interjected, whilst Rachelle and Rosa looked confused, having not understood the words that she had uttered and then bitten back.

The incident was brushed aside and then, having made completely sure that the dress was absolutely the best it could be, Rachelle and Rosa helped Molly to undress and then they left, taking their creation with them. Caro explained that they would bring it back the next day and help her get into it after she had had the hair and makeup done. This made Molly feel even more like a bride and the pang of guilt struck again.

As she and Caro sat and sipped a cup of tea, the other lady asked,

'Does Sherlock know how you feel about getting married?'

'Oh, is it that obvious?' Molly wailed.

'Only to another woman, perhaps. Do I take it that he doesn't?

'I don't know; we've never really discussed the matter but whenever the subject comes up he is so negative about it, I just know he hates the whole concept of marriage. And, in a way, I can see his point. The way he sees it, he's made a commitment to me and me to him and we've had two children together. That's more important than a marriage licence and I agree, it is. But I suppose every girl dreams of her wedding day, no matter how superfluous to requirements it might be.'

'Don't you think that if he knew how much it meant to you, he might change his opinion?' Caro suggested.

'Perhaps, but he has enough to contend with at the moment. I don't want to make matters any worse,' Molly replied.

'You know, Molly, I think he loves you very much and would want to do whatever made you happy,' Caro declared.

Molly shook her head but didn't elaborate further. She didn't know why Sherlock was so dead set against marriage but she imagined it had to do with his parents' relationship so once he knew what Caro had to tell him, she imagined he would be even more averse to the concept. So she would keep her own counsel on the subject. What he did not know could not hurt him, she concluded, and changed the subject.

ooOoo