Chapter Nineteen:

Kathryn…

It was May 3, 1891. Kathryn hid on her ledge above Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson and watched them at Reichenbach Falls. Presently, Dr. Watson received a letter and he hurried off in the direction from which they had come. Soon after the good doctor had left, the man that Kathryn understood to be Professor Moriarty appeared before Mr. Holmes. They spoke briefly, then Mr. Holmes wrote out a letter. He set his cigarette-box on the letter on top of a larger rock and leaned his walking stick against the rock.

As Mr. Holmes continued on the path, Kathryn readied the particular weapon she had brought with her to dispose of Professor Moriarty with. Professor Moriarty rushed at Mr. Holmes as he reached the last of the path. Kathryn forgot her task for a moment as she watched in growing horror as the two men teetered on the edge of precipice, both threatening to plunge to their deaths in the Falls. Somehow, miraculously, Mr. Holmes found himself out of Professor Moriarty's grip and the ex-Professor fell into the Falls.

Mr. Holmes looked around him for a moment, then began to climb up the almost sheer rock wall in which Kathryn's ledge was located. Occasionally, tufts of grass came out in his hand and he threatened falling, but soon regained his grip on the stone. Soon, however, he reached a ledge below Kathryn's and lay there, gathering his breath as Dr. Watson and a few men returned and examined the site. Dr. Watson, with an air of complete sadness, took up what Mr. Holmes had left behind and left.

Then Kathryn saw a man on the ledge right below her own. He pushed a rather large rock over the edge of his ledge. It struck the ground just a foot from Mr. Holmes' head. Thinking quickly, Kathryn used the weapon she intended for Professor Moriarty on Mr. Holmes' would-be assassin. The man came to his death very quickly and very suddenly. He fell over the side of his ledge and landed on the path far below.

Kathryn backed away from the edge of her ledge and leaned against the rock wall behind her, breathing deeply. She had never killed anyone in her life. Minutes later, she was joined by the dirt-streaked Mr. Holmes who had the look of utter shock on his face. "Miss Bennet!" he said. "What are you doing here?" She said nothing, but held out the letter she had received ordering her to dispose of Professor Moriarty. Mr. Holmes took it from her and read it. "How did you get this? It was sent to Dr. Darcy."

"I wrote the advertisement," she said, shaking her head. "It was sent to me."

Mr. Holmes nodded. "Is that why you've been following me for the past few months?" he asked her. He laughed at her look of surprise. "My dear girl, I knew you were following me. You didn't cover your tracks well enough. But I allowed you to do so. You are not a threat to me. Even still…"

"What?" she asked. He knew something he wasn't telling her.

He looked at her. "You were willing to leave your husband and kill a man for the sake of science?" he asked, handing the letter back to her. "I didn't think Dr. Darcy would be able to do that. That's why I sent the letter."

"There are undertakings in this world that no one fully understands, Mr. Holmes," she replied softly. Then she realised what he had said. "You sent the letter?"

"Yes," he said. "Now, if you wish to receive your payment for your services—"

"But I didn't dispose of Professor Moriarty," she protested.

He held up a hand. "You saved my life," he said. "If you wish payment, you must return to London. Wait for Dr. Watson to return. Then you need to help him spread the news that I am dead. I will keep in contact with you and you will receive your payment. Now, go. And make sure you watch yourself carefully."

Kathryn woke up to the smell of burning flesh. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her chest was too great. She laid down again and looked around her. She wasn't in the protection of the bushes any longer. She wasn't particularly sure where she was. The door of the room opened and Mr. Holmes walked in. "You're awake," he said, opening the window. "Good. Good. How do you feel?"

"What's going on?" she asked, trying to sit up again. Mr. Holmes helped her. "Where am I?"

"The device I gave you was a way to signal me if you needed my help," he said. "I found you lying in some bushes on the side of the road, bleeding and unconscious. How do you feel?"

"I hurt," she answered honestly. "In more ways than one."

Mr. Holmes smiled. "Care to elaborate?" he asked.

"No," she said firmly. "Why do I smell burning flesh?"

"Ah," he said. "Permit me." He pulled her shirt from her chest and removed the bandages, exposing her wound. It looked like a rather nasty scar. "I was able to get the bullet out. But, as I am a Chemist and not a surgeon, I couldn't think of any other way of closing your wound." He replaced the bandages and covered it with her shirt.

"What did you do?"

"I heated my knife in the fire," he said. "Then I applied it to your wound. You didn't even wake. Usually, when the process is used, the patient wakes and screams because their flesh is being burned with a white-hot blade. You didn't stir. I was afraid I was too late and that you were dead."

"Well, I'm not," she said, adjusting her shirt. "And now, we have work to do." She started to get out of bed, but Mr. Holmes, kept her put.

"I don't think so," he said. "You're not strong enough. Stay here and tell me what happened. Who shot you?"

She could feel her cheeks burn. "I don't feel comfortable telling you that, Mr. Holmes," she whispered.

"Was it one of your new-found comrades?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Yes," she whispered. "It was Mr. Skinner. We were on assignment. Dr. Jekyll and myself were to infiltrate Sir Lucas' manor house, retrieve a particular solution, destroy the documentations of it, then get out."

"What solution?" Mr. Holmes asked.

"We were told that Sir Lucas had managed to create an Elixir of Life," she answered. "At first I didn't believe it. Alchemy hasn't been in practice for hundreds of years. But, Dr. Jekyll and I got into the house and found the laboratory. While searching for the Elixir, I came across several items of interest. Sir Lucas had jars and bottles and vials, dozens of them, all filled with things one would find in an Apothecary. He had Monkshood, Asphodel, Wolfsbane, Wormwood, you name it, he had it. I thought it was odd, since he was a reported Chemist, and everything that I found was used in Alchemy."

"Monkshood and Wolfsbane are the same plant," Mr. Holmes said.

"I know that," she said. "But when we found an entrance to his house, Sir Lucas was in his study, drinking from a vial. At first glance, one would think he was poisoning himself. But, it was unlike any poison with which I am familiar. After finding the Alchemy ingredients, my suspicion was confirmed."

Mr. Holmes raised an eyebrow in interest. "Which was?" he prompted.

"That Sir Lucas wasn't drinking poison," she said. "He was giving himself a Draught of Living Death. A sleeping potion so powerful that it makes it appear the drinker is dead. He's still alive. And he still has the documentations of the Elixir of Life."

"What else happened?"

Kathryn liked her dry lips and continued, "Once we had found the Elixir, I had recognised it from the books on Alchemy that I had read, I sent Dr. Jekyll back to the Nautilus while I searched for the documents. I returned to the study, believing that Sir Lucas had kept them there. When I entered the study, I kept my pistol trained on Sir Lucas' still form. As I began my search, Skinner held a pistol to my head. He ordered me to drop my pistol, the get to my knees and keep my hands where he could see them. Then, keeping the barrel of his pistol tight against my throat, he claimed that the League couldn't trust me if he couldn't trust me, which he couldn't. And anyone from the League that the rest of the members couldn't trust had to be disposed of."

"Good god," Mr. Holmes said quietly. "Please, continue."

"We fought briefly for possession of his pistol," she explained. "It fired, I was shot, and Skinner fled out the window. I had barely enough strength to get out of the manor and to the street before I collapsed. That's when I called for you."

Mr. Holmes nodded. "You've done well, Miss Bennet," he said. "What do you plan to do when you are fully healthy?"

"I plan to return to Sir Lucas' manor and finish my assignment," she said. "Then, I plan to kill him."

"Good god, Miss Bennet," Mr. Holmes said. "You cannot simply poison him."

"I don't plan on it, Mr. Holmes," she said lightly. "If he's taken the Elixir of Life, I'll need to find an antidote to it. Then I plan to shoot him through the head." She sighed, brushed her hair from her face, then looked back at Mr. Holmes. Then she remembered what she had heard that would interest him. "Oh, the League came across Professor Moriarty recently."

"Impossible," he scoffed. "He fell into Reichenbach Falls. You were there; don't you remember?"

"I remember," she said. "But, nevertheless. They found him. You remember a few months ago, the countries were at each other's throats on the brink of war?" He nodded. "The attacks were stimulated by Professor Moriarty, posing as 'The Fantom.' He attacked different countries, and made the weapons that the countries were clamouring for. The very weapons that attacked their countries. He planned to make a significant profit off an arms' race that he himself began."

"But Professor Moriarty—"

"Died at Reichenbach Falls," she interrupted. "But he claimed while the Professor died, he was reborn as 'The Fantom.' Mr. Holmes, believe me, I jest not."

"I believe you," he said finally. "Now, we need to see if you're strong enough to finish your assignment."