Prompt from Riandra: "Dear me, Mr. Holmes."
Broken Silence
He stood, frozen in embarrassment. All eyes were upon him. Men in dark suits with newspapers, journals or books in their hands. Men of substance, MPs, professors, surgeons, even an ambassador. Men of wit and intelligence. Men who sought these halls for the quiet and solitude they could find nowhere else. Not to equal this place, at any rate.
Mycroft felt the crumpled letter in his fist. Saw the neatly penned envelope at his feet. He had made the gravest of errors. The most indiscrete of indiscretions. It had been nothing more than a hiss. An irrepressible reaction. Unforgivable. In spite of all his years and his position on the board, it could mean the end of his tenure in the club. Given the news he had just received, he could accept that without regrets.
Appearing at his side like a phantom out of a mist, Hollinger, the club steward, met his gaze and mouthed the words, "Dear me, Mr. Holmes."
Cheeks burning, Mycroft could not bring himself to respond. Hollinger's expression changed, eyes narrowing for the briefest instant and then growing suddenly wide. From an inner pocket, the steward produced a neatly folded kerchief and offered it to him. Stunned by the man's acumen, Mycroft blinked at the silk cloth, hesitating only an instant before plucking it from Hollinger's fingers and plying it rapidly to his nose. When he had gone through the necessary pantomime, Mycroft placed the "soiled" kerchief on the silver salver the steward held up and nodded his thanks.
Hollinger lowered his lids and gave a sedate nod then bent to retrieve the fallen envelope. Passing it to Mycroft, he departed as silently as he had appeared.
A glance told Mycroft the other members had returned to their reading and he made his way coolly to the door beyond which was the only room in the building where speech was permitted. Once inside he drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly before smoothing the crumpled letter and reading the words. Two simple words. He spoke them aloud for the sheer joy of hearing them.
"I live."