From Domina Temporis: Letting go


I am pleased to call Sherlock Holmes my friend, and in all our years of solving cases, he accomplished many things I would have thought impossible. His prodigious intellect, coupled with his masterful orchestration of events, allowed him to bring many cases to successful conclusions. However, even Holmes could not control every situation,and even he was subject to the occasional miscalculation.

Which led, in the winter of 1895, to Holmes dangling from the clock tower of the Midland Grand Hotel, supported only by my desperate two-handed grip. Fortunately, Holmes had retained the presence of mind — and soundness of aim — to shoot James Taylor with his free hand as the villain had attempted to finish the job, yet this did little to improve our overall position. Sustaining Holmes' weight was difficult enough; pulling him to safety was utterly beyond my strength. Yet I could not let go. I had spent three years believing he had fallen to his death. I would be damned if I allowed it to happen again.

"Watson," Holmes said, seeming as he always did to read my thoughts. "You are in danger of being dragged over the balcony with me, dear fellow. Let go. There is every chance I will survive the fall."

I did not waste time with this patent falsehood. "Your solution," I ground out, "is unacceptable. Find another."

Holmes looked up at me, reading the determination in my face. I saw him take a deep, steadying breath. "Very well, doctor, if you will not see reason…" His grey eyes swept the surface of the clock tower. "Let us try aiming for that decorative bat."


A/N: Fun Fact: The clock tower of the Midland Grand Hotel is about 249 ft tall. For all that, it wasn't the tallest building in Victorian London. That honor belonged to St. Paul's Cathedral until 1963.