'…Sir! This is most irregular…' exploded Lord Fortescue angrily. At the same moment Horace leapt to his feet

'There's something I must see to, Father,' he announced, making for the door. Watson moved to block his path

'Let me through!' he exclaimed, becoming more agitated,

'What is the meaning of this?' shouted Lord Fortescue

Horace stopped trying to shove his way past Watson, waited for a second, then made a dash for the window.

'Stop him, Clarence!' Ida shouted, forgetting her role, and running after him. Clarence gaped in shock. Horace reached the window, but Clarence grabbed him and the brothers fell against the sill, grappling with each other. There was the sound of smashing glass as someone's arm hit one of the panes. Ida reached the struggle and seized Horace from behind. He kicked backwards, catching her knee painfully, but she hung on.

'Well done, Miss Greene,' she heard Dr Watson call out, and she suddenly felt Horace stop struggling. Slowly letting go, she stood back to see that Watson and Clarence had managed to twist Horace's arms behind his back

'What do you think you are doing with my son?' bellowed Lord Fortescue, tugging the bell rope for all he was worth, 'By God, sir, you are going to pay for this…'

'William,' said Professor Hayes, 'calm down,'

'Calm down! You tell me to calm down!'

'William, this man is Sherlock Holmes,' there was urgency in the Professor's voice, 'I'm sure this misunderstanding…hmm…can be cleared up without…too much publicity?'

'Yes,' said Holmes, 'that would be what you would prefer, wouldn't it, Professor?'

Ida saw that Professor Hayes and Holmes were staring at each other, hostility apparent in the professor's eyes, whilst Holmes' were impenetrable.

'Well,' blustered Lord Fortescue, letting go the bell rope 'I suppose we could hear what he has to say…but unhand my son this instant!'

'Only if he makes no further attempt to escape.'

'To escape! Sir, this is my house in which you insult me and my family, and…'

'Father,' said Clarence, desperately, 'I think Horace has been…'

'…shut up, Clarence,' spat Horace

'Horace?' said Lord Fortescue, 'You aren't trying to escape, are you?'

'Of course not! If this oaf would just let go of me, then…'

Watson slowly released his grip on Horace's arm, and Horace shook himself free from Clarence. He slowly moved to the centre of the room, and seated himself on a chair placed near to the fossil cabinet.

'See. I'm not trying to escape…'

'Ida?' someone whispered, urgently, 'is that you?'

Ida turned, to see Clarence staring at her,

'What happened this morning? I came back and you were gone…and…have you done something different with your hair…?'

'Not now, Clarence,' she hissed.

'Lord Fortescue,' Holmes addressed his host, 'I regret to inform you that you have, unwittingly I think, been part of a criminal plot that threatens your good name in the field of fossil hunting…'

'Don't listen to him, father!' interrupted Horace, 'I…'

'…a plot,' continued Holmes, 'which has involved theft, forgery and assault. But the story begins with Professor Hayes, here.'

'I don't think…' said Professor Hayes,

'…you came to me, Professor, with a problem… Some valuable fossil specimens had gone missing from the university collection. You enlisted my help to find the culprit…'

'…I don't deny that,' said Professor Hayes,

'I suspected Grimshaw from early on…'

'Mortimer!' cried Lord Fortescue, staring at Grimshaw,

'a student seemed the most likely culprit,' continued Holmes, 'I discovered Grimshaw had been having some…financial difficulties… and I also discovered his friendship with Horace, and hence his connection to you…'

Lord Fortescues' eyes narrowed,

'…Wait a minute…Mortimer….those fossils…' he said, slowly,'

'Yes,' said Holmes, 'those fossils that Grimshaw sold you were from the university collection.'

'Mortimer!' cried Lord Fortescue, 'how could you! You've been like a member of the family to me!'

Grimshaw just stared, wide eyed at Horace

'Answer me, man!' shouted Lord Fortescue,

'I…' began Grimshaw hesitantly,

'Quiet!' snapped Horace,

'If I may continue,' said Holmes,

'Please do,' exclaimed Lord Fortescue, looking at Grimshaw with disgust

'So, I suspected Grimshaw…But the Professor was insistent that the specimens must have disappeared between 2pm and 4pm on the day before he came to see me, because he had been studying those particular specimens in the morning, and he discovered the theft when he returned after a late lunch. And Grimshaw claimed that he had been playing in a cricket match for that whole time…'

'…but you don't play cricket, Mortimer!' exclaimed Lord Fortescue, 'you can't catch a ball to save your life!'

'Very true,' said Holmes, 'and a few enquiries soon made it clear that the alibi was worthless…our Mr Grimshaw here is really a most ineffectual criminal.'

'So, have you come here to reclaim the stolen fossils?' said Lord Fortescue, 'is that what all this has been about? Because I can assure you, I had absolutely no idea…'

'I'm afraid that it is not that simple,' said Holmes, 'the trivial matter of the theft would hardly have been worth my getting out of bed, frankly, but there were…complications. For you see, the fossils reappeared.'

'Reappeared?'

'The fossils reappeared in the collection. But they were not the genuine article. These were ingenious replicas, in plaster and laquer…'

Lord Fortescue's eyes widened in shock, and he strode over to a cabinet in the corner of the room. Wrenching it open, he peered closely at the rows of fossils stored in carefully coded rows…

'They're missing!' he exclaimed, 'Clarence! What have you done?'

'Horace asked me to send him the copies!' said Clarence, desperately, 'he said he was going to show them to an art tutor…'

'Is this true, Horace?' Lord Fortescue said, rounding on his older son,

'I don't doubt that it is true,' interjected Holmes, 'I fear that Clarence has been rather naïve, but he is as much of a victim in this affair as you are, sir.'

'But…Horace?' said Lord Fortescue, hoarsely, realisation beginning to dawn in his face. 'Please, go on…'

'I quickly recognised the forgeries for what they were. There is a certain scent to plaster which, to the educated nose, betrays even the most realistic representation… Grimshaw confessed to the theft, and claimed that he had made the forgeries himself. I doubted that, and also confided to the Professor my suspicions that Horace might be involved. I said that I wished to investigate further, but Professor Hayes was most insistent that the matter was closed. He said that Grimshaw had seen the error of his ways, and that he had promised he would come here, to your house, explain the situation, make amends and retrieve the stolen items…'

'But he hasn't said a word!' exclaimed Lord Fortescue, 'Mortimer! You've been here for days and you never said a word…'

'Mortimer!' said Professor Hayes, 'I'm very disappointed!'

'Professor,' said Holmes, coolly, 'you can drop the act. I know perfectly well that you sent Grimshaw here with a very different purpose. I suspected that things were not quite as neatly tied up as you would have had us believe, and so my friend Doctor Watson and I decided that we might also pay a visit to this charming part of the world. When, on the very day we arrived, I saw Grimshaw in town, looking decidedly uncomfortable, I made sure that he spotted me, and saw where I was staying, in case he had need to come and see me.'

Holmes paused here, and shifted slightly in the wheelchair, as though his leg was uncomfortable.

'And?' said Lord Fortescue, 'what happened?'

'I don't think we need to listen to this nonsense,' interrupted Professor Hayes, 'and I've just remembered that I left something important in my room…'

'…nobody leaves,' said Holmes, softly. 'And now I think it is time for Grimshaw to take up the story.'

He looked across at the young man, still standing awkwardly by the fireplace, and raised his eyebrows expectantly. Grimshaw coughed, looked at Horace, then seemed to shake himself. He took a deep breath, sighed, then began

'Professor Hayes said…' he paused, looked at the Professor nervously, then looked at Holmes

'It will go much better for you if you tell the truth,' said Dr Watson

'Professor Hayes said that no one need know about the…incident…if I would run a small errand for him. He said that Lord Fortescue could keep the fossils, because he was going to donate some new specimens to the museum instead. Some exciting new specimens, some fossilized bones…'

'Bones!' said Lord Fortescue in surprise, 'I don't have any bones! Bones are rather your area of interest, aren't they Peter?' he addressed the Professor, 'in fact, your pet theory is all about bones…' his voice trailed off, thoughtfully.

'I travelled up here from Oxford with Horace. Horace…Horace knew all about what I had done. He even found the fake ammonites for me in the first place. I hadn't told him what Professor Hayes had asked me to do, but he seemed to know anyway, and when we reached his house, he gave me the fossils for the museum, all ready in boxes and everything. I was to stay here for a few days, then return to Oxford with the new fossils… But… I became suspicious. Horace had given me false specimens once before, and I didn't want to return to the Professor with more forgeries. So when I saw Mr Holmes in town, I thought I'd ask his advice on whether the bones were genuine…'

'But before I actually examined the fossils,' said Holmes, 'Grimshaw returned to my boarding house. Horace had discovered the fossils' absence and wanted to know what he had done with them.'

'He was frighteningly insistent,' interjected Grimshaw, 'and I feared for my safety. I rushed to see Holmes, and enlist his help. I went by the country roads, and even slipped over and cut my head,' he indicated the half healed scratch.

Holmes took up the storytelling once more

'I intended to go back with Grimshaw to the Fortescue house, and attempt to find out more about what was going on. We set off, but were set upon by a gang…'

'…at least 10 of them,' said Grimshaw.

'More like 6, I think,' said Holmes, 'but armed with sticks. We were taken by surprise in the darkness. I was knocked unconscious, and…'

'…and Horace took me back to this house, where he has kept me under his control for these past two days!' finished Grimshaw, 'Lord Fortescue, I am truly sorry for any wrong I have done you, but your son has threatened me, locked me up, I think he even drugged me…'

'Horace!' said Lord Fortescue, in tones of quiet dismay, 'is any of this true?'

'Father, I don't know how you can listen to these accusations…'

Holmes drew one of the boxes marked 'university museum' that Ida remembered from his bedroom out of his coat.

'This is one of the boxes Grimshaw gave me,' he said. 'I examined the fossils, and found them to be forgeries. Ingenious forgeries,' he said, with a glance at Clarence, 'but forgeries nonetheless…'

'I had no idea that this was what Horace wanted them for!' protested Clarence, 'he said that the art tutor had been impressed with the ammonites and wanted to see if I could do something more challenging, without a subject to work from…'

'Alright,' said Horace, slamming his hand, palm down, onto the cabinet, making the glass rattle. Lord Fortescue twitched visibly

'Alright, so it's true.'

'All of it?' said his father in dismay, 'you set upon Mortimer and this gentleman here like a common thug? You and your no good friends no doubt…Horace, I knew you had a temper but…'

'But you know who paid me to get Clarence to make those fossils?' interrupted Horace, 'I didn't just do this for the hell of it…'

'I know,' said Holmes

'You did this for money?' said Lord Fortescue in exasperation, 'you, who will inherit a vast fortune? Have you built up some sort of dreadful gambling debt…?'

'There is more than one kind of payment, I fancy,' said Holmes, 'eh, Professor?'

Professor Hayes had been gradually turning an ugly shade of purple throughout the revelations.

'I have no idea what you mean, sir…'

'Oh,' said Holmes, 'I think you do. I imagine that you promised Horace you would see to it that he got a first class degree, whatever his academic performance, if he would obtain for you some specimens that prove your controversial theories. You gave him the specifications for the characteristics the bones were to have, so that they could support your theories, and you asked him to arrange the forgery…'

'Oh, this is ridiculous!' exclaimed the Professor, 'I don't have to listen to these baseless accusations!'

'I think that we've all heard enough here to know there's nothing baseless about them… But…It is up to Grimshaw whether he wishes to press charges for assault and kidnapping. Your academic reputation, Professor, is in the hands of your friend Lord Fortescue here. I am just about ready to wash my hands of this whole affair.'

Ida looked around the room, at the assembled faces – shock and dismay written all over Lord Fortescue's, bewildered relief mingled with trepidation on Grimshaw's, fear and anger on Professor Hayes'. Horace had sunk his head into his hands, and exuded bitterness. She scowled at his back, remembering all he had put Grimshaw through. At last her gaze came to rest upon Clarence.

'Ida…' he said, brokenly, 'I'm so confused…'

Ida looked sympathetically at his anguished expression, then noticed something

'Clarence, your arm!'

Clarence looked down, in surprise, to see the patch of red spreading through the linen of his shirt,

'I must have cut it on the glass from the window…' he said, absent mindedly, as his eyes rolled up in their sockets and he fainted dead away.