Somewhere a clock chimed the hour. Sherlock Holmes stood up to take his coat.
"Let us be off, Watson," he said heading for the door, "Sheffield Hall Mystery awaits us."
Holmes and I took a hansom took Sheffield Hall. The ride was peaceful enough, but rather slow because of what the storm had left behind since last night. Holmes was deep in thought, and I knew better to interrupt him. So, I was left to my own accord to entertain myself.
Sheffield Hall was like any other. At the gate waiting for us was Lestrade and a man of whom I supposed he was the Lord of the manor. After we stepped off and paid the fare, Lestrade introduced us.
"Lord Bartley, this is Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson. Mr. Holmes and Doctor Watson, this is Lord Bartley."
We in turn shook each other's hand. The introduction was made so we made our way into the house. Only, we heard a voice calling each of us by name. It was unmistakably Adeline. All of us turned and saw that it was indeed her. Adeline was running toward us with her bright, heart lifting smile even through the difficulty of the snow. She panted heavily after she had reached us. One finger pulling the knot away from her red cloak to allow her to breathe more freely. When she could breathe normally again, she spoke,
"I saw you guys from my hansom that passed a moment ago. Then, I thought it would be fun to join you all. So, I stopped to hansom and made my way here. I saw that you guys were about to go inside so I called."
Adeline was acting as if we were having a tea party not an investigation on a murder attempt. All of us were stunned, all except Holmes. He was watching her with the same curious and amused look. Lord Bartley, however, was outrageous and annoyed upon being intruded by this crude strange young lady.
"I beg your pardon, miss," Lord Bartley replied rather curtly, "but this is private business. I don't know who you are, but you have no place here. Now, I bid you good day."
Adeline gave Holmes a glance and a smile before speaking again.
"I'm sorry. I never introduced myself." She said to Lord Bartley. "My name is Adeline. I'm a friend of Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson. They were so kind to me so I'd thought I should help them out. 'side, it should be fun."
This time, Lestrade, cut in before things got out of hand.
"We appreciate your kind intention, miss," He said to her, "but like Lord Bartley said, this is private business. We have things under control. Don't worry your pretty little head about this."
Adeline gave Lestrade a look that was unlike her innocence childish nature. Recovering quickly, she smiled a knowing smile saying,
"Really, is that so, Inspector? Then answer me this, why did you seek Mr. Holmes' service and also how do you intend to find your man if the lady of the house won't talk?"
Lestrade stuttered embarrassedly. Holmes was absolutely marveling at Adeline with the utmost interest.
"I supposed you have something in mind," Holmes said to Adeline.
"Absolutely," she replied, "I can talk to her and help her recover from whatever shock she is in. She'll talk to me, I know it, because one, I'm a girl and two I have done similar things to help Pete when he had cases like these."
Lord Bartley was thinking uncertainly. Adeline watched him.
"Listen, um, Lord Bartley," she said wearing her disarming smile, "I already know what's going on from what Inspector Lestrade told Mr. Holmes last night. So, there's no harm in me helping only good thing." Her voice now sounded soft and comforting, which was probably what she was aiming for. "Think of your wife, Lord Bartley. Right now, she is suffering alone. She is holding all of her shock and fear and who knows what else inside. If I can just talk to her and relieve her of all that she is keeping in, think of how much better and happier she'll be. Think about it." Her last sentence was spoken in a mere whisper.
Lord Bartley sighed in defeat. Shaking his weary head, he said,
"You have a way with words, miss. I bet it won't do any harm if you can get my wife to talk. Maybe then she can tell us who the attempt murderer was."
Upon hearing the words, Adeline was literally jumping with delight and excitement. She was so please a person would've thought she was going to a ball not a murder investigation. This eccentric young lady skipped happily into the manor. Lord Bartley shook his head in despair, "The Lord not only works in mysterious ways, but he also has a strange sense of humor."
"I've seen madmen, lunatics, and some strange case, Mr. Holmes," LEstrade told us, "but her case is something I've never seen before. It boggles the mind, doesn't it?"
The two followed Adeline into the house. Holmes still had that twinkling in his gray eyes. "What did I tell you, my dear fellow," Holmes told me as we followed them into the manor, "she is a very peculiar and fascinating person, a worthy challenge for my mind."