When we got home and opened the front door, I breathed a sigh of relief, I was warm from wearing all my layers and my feet were tired from walking all day. I wanted to dump a bucket of ice water onto my head, that would definitely cool me off. I went upstairs to my room, dressed down to nothing but my underclothes, then put on a short-sleeved dress, like the ones I liked to wear in the summer, and sat down in my comfortable arm chair, grabbing a book off my shelf. I already had most of my stuff packed already so there wasn't much else for me to do. I was only going to bring one suitcase with just the necessities: clean clothes, a hairbrush and I was planning on taking my book with me. I heard Jane in her room packing and talking to Mother. I'm not sure what about since she has the door closed. Maybe they were talking about William, it was almost likely. I didn't want to think about the fact that my sister was soon getting married, not only would the house be a bit more lonely without her, just like when Aunt Daisy left, but my mother would start pestering me about getting married, too and I wasn't exactly ready for that commitment.
I didn't want to dwell on that right now, so I just closed myself off from the outside world, took a deep breath, and dove into the deep pages of my book.
It was starting to get dark outside when Jane and I stepped outside with our luggage in hand and into yet another hansom to take us to the train station. I was tired of being in them after all the traveling we had to do today, and out of that annoyance, I asked my mother if we could just get a carriage of our own and live in it, that way we can just be on the road all the time. Jane and Father thought it would be splendid, that we could just go anywhere we wanted. Of course she thought that it was a preposterous idea and that she didn't want us living like a bunch of gypsies and I couldn't help but take offense to it. She was like that sometimes, always seeing the negative side in everything and making assumptions. She kept chattering on, but I ignored her. I shifted my position so that I would be more comfortable and to keep myself from saying something ill-tempered.
The journey to Paris would take a while, first of all we would have to go on a train, and then take a quick detour on a boat and let me tell you, I was not looking forward to that. Oddly enough, I used to go fishing with my grandfather all the time when I was little and I loved it, I could spend hours and hours in that little boat, just listening to the sounds of the seagulls and then swimming afterwards, but that all changed the last time I was on a boat was when I was sixteen, and we were going to visit Aunt Daisy and Uncle Peter. It was smooth sailing at first, nothing but clear skies and crystal clear waters and I was actually starting to enjoy myself, but about halfway there, a storm came and the huge waves were bouncing the boat up and down wildly, just hours and hours of being tossed around like a pancake and I was practically sick the entire time; that was not fun.
Trains, however, were a lot more predictable, unless of course we ended up falling over a cliff, or someone got murdered. I didn't want to imagine any of those two things happening because it would only make me feel less and less willing to go and I had been excited about this trip for a long time and I wasn't going to let anything spoil it for me, or Jane.
"I know that you're nervous about going on the boat, Charlotte," said Father, reaching across to take my hand into his and patted the top of it gently. "But just try not to think about it and I'm sure you'll be just fine." Feeling like his hat was crooked, he reached one arm up to the top of his head and adjusted it so that it was straight again.
Try not to think about it? Ha! Easier said than done.
"I put some medicine in your bag in case you do feel sick," said Mother. "It's in the bag with your nightgown and hairbrush." I nodded as she said that, and not wanting to think about it anymore, I decided to focus my attention on how beautiful it was outside. The carriage door was open to allow the fresh air to come inside, which was nice because Mother had chosen to have us dress in layers, and though that was practical for when we would be standing outside and waiting for the train to arrive, it certainly was suffocating when we were all sitting together. I was starting to feel a little bit claustrophobic, so I took off my scarf and put it on the spot beside me. That didn't help at all, not knowing what else I could possibly do, I leaned over to my left and stuck my head out the window, sighing with relief and gratitude as the chilly breeze hit my overheated skin.
The silvery moon looked as if someone had taken a knife and then sliced through it, leaving only a small sliver of it behind. It was the exact same shape as the necklace that I was wearing, a silver crescent moon, a present from my grandmother. There weren't any clouds in the sky, just millions and millions of stars and I spent minutes trying to identify some of the constellations and planets I had learned about in Astrology, but though I was able to point out Venus and what scientific people called the North Star, I couldn't find my favourite constellation, Ursa Minor, the little bear, the one that grandfather once woke me up at one o'clock in the morning to see.
Despite the fact that the stars and moon were indeed shining, we humans were not created to see in the dark, so was hard to see where we were going in the pitch black, but Grandfather led the way, holding a lantern as we made it to the platform where the other passengers were waiting to board or saying goodbye to their family members. I was surprised to see that for once in her lifetime, Aunt Lucy was right on time to wish us a good time. She was standing on the platform, looking as though she was dressed like she was going to a funeral. Only her smile indicated her cheerful nature. She apologized profusely for skipping out on our dinner date, but I assured her that I was alright and that we would go another day, perhaps when it was less rainy. She told me that she would upgrade our ticket to first class.
"Oh, Auntie, you don't have to-" I tried to protest, but she put her hand up to silence me.
"Nonsense, I feel horribly guilty for skipping out on our plans last night, you know how utterly forgetful I can be sometimes and somehow after all these years, you have managed to put up with it." She gave us each a kiss on the forehead and though I wanted to say for the hundredth time that it wasn't necessary and we would be happy as a second or even third class passenger, I didn't want to hurt her feelings, so I thanked her and then Jane and I walked to our mother and father who were both a little teary eyed.
"Stay safe and write to us as soon as you get there," Father said, pulling us both in for a hug. "If you see any danger, you turn and run the other way, do you hear me?"
We nodded and went over to Mother, who forced a big smile. "I love you, my darling girls," she said, and she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief, not caring this time whether or not her makeup had become smudged or not, and holding us briefly before gently shoving us along to the train. We had never been on a trip without Mother and Father before, so walking away from them was a little bit scary, like someone removing the safety net from underneath you and having to walk across the tightrope without it, and for a split second, I wanted to break out of my sister's hold and then run the other way toward them and tell them how much I loved them.
"Come on, Charlotte, the train is about to leave," Jane said, hooking my arm around mine and pulling me along. I nodded, shoving my fears to the very back of my mind where they would hopefully stay and never resurface for the rest of our journey.
Moments later, the conductor led us to Platform 7, a compartment in the first class. I was shocked to see that Watson and Mary were sitting on one side, locked in a romantic embrace. Jane pulled a disgusted face and averted her eyes away from them. I cleared my throat to make our presence known while trying not to be rude. "I hope we're not interrupting," I said awkwardly as the door was opened and they both gasped, whether of embarrassment, breathlessness, or perhaps both. I noticed that the first few buttons of Mary's white blouse were undone and she was rushing to fix them as they quickly pulled away so that they were sitting beside each other.
Jane opened her mouth, about to say something, but I nudged her then gave Mary an apologetic look and shrugged, "All of the compartments are full."
"Not at all, please" Watson smiled, gesturing to the sitting area across from them. "The train is always busy, especially on Friday evenings when everyone is going on a weekend getaway or business trip. I personally like to take the train during the week when it's less chaotic."
"This is London, it's chaotic no matter what," I agreed as we sat down. I gave Jane the window seat this time, then sighed excitedly as the train pulled lazily out of the station. "So, where are you going for your honeymoon?" I asked, hanging our coats up on the hook and placing our luggage on the top shelf, making sure that they were all correctly labelled and they would not get mixed up with each other. Jane was very possessive of her stuff, I'm just surprised that had the decency to leave her clippings at home, or that she didn't put them in an album and try to smuggle it across the French border.
"We were hoping to take a quick trip to Brighton for a couple of weeks," Mary said as I sat down next to Jane. "There's a nice place in the country, it will be nice and peaceful, and-" She was about to finish when there was a knock on the door. "Come in!" She said, not taking her eyes off of us until the door opened and a young waiter came in, holding a bottle of champagne. "Oh yes please!" Mary said, excitedly.
But Watson was suspicious and eyed the man warily. You could never be too careful these days. Drinks could be laced with poison, people on trains could be carrying guns. Just your regular day in Jolly ol' England. "We didn't order that," he said, firmly, involuntarily drawing Mary closer to him, his hand resting on her knee.
"Compliments, sir." The waiter said insistently with a forced smile.
"Thank you. Put it over there," Watson said, pointing to the other side of the carriage.
The man walked in and shut the door. The lights flickered for a moment and I could hear the echoing as the train went into the tunnel. The man turned around towards Watson, a knife in his hand and charged, but he stopped the man before the knife made contact with his skin. Jane and Mary stood back in fright as Watson fought back. The man raised his other arm but Watson blocked it with his other arm. Then he grabbed the hand, that had the knife, stood up and pushed the man against the seat.
Mary aimed Watson's gun at the man and then looked over at Jane and I. She had this odd fire in her eyes. "Open the door, Jane!"
Watson raised an eyebrow at her in confusion, but Jane didn't hesitate, she went to open the other side door.
"It's too heavy!" She cried, tugging vigorously at it. I stood up and went to help her, we counted out loud to three and then pulled the door open, the wind rushed inside and blew the hat right off of my head and out into the open air.
Good, I hated that thing. It made my head itch like mad!
"I think it's time for you to leave," Mary said to the man, watching as Watson pulled the man up by the collar and threw him out of the carriage. He looked over at his wife and helped her to sit down. She did as she was told and he took his gun from her hand. She placed her hand over her mouth, in shock at what she had done, then looked up at her husband, then her eyes shifted over to Jane who was terrified by the whole ordeal, but she took a few deep breaths and managed to calm down.
"I'm glad that's over," she sighed with relief.
"I wouldn't count my chickens quite yet," Watson said warningly and raised his finger to his lips. We could hear thumps and grunts coming from outside our compartment. Watson and slowly placed his hand on the handle of the door. He stood there for a few seconds then opened it and looked around the hallway. He looked over at the other end of the hall and saw a solider walking along and there was a blonde haired woman coming out one of the carriages.
"Should we help her?" I asked, squinting my eyes, trying to get a better look at her. Her movements were so quick, that I couldn't catch a glimpse of her face, though I did notice how tall she was and how muscular her arms were compared to that of an average lady, as well as her broad shoulders. And her movements were slightly less graceful.
Watson nodded, telling Mary and Jane to stay where they were, while he and I were about to go out of the compartment, until the woman grabbed the gun from the soldier and shot at two soldiers that were coming down the other side. They ducked and ran away as another soldier came up behind the woman and grabbed her, but she hit him in the back of the neck.
"Hmm, she seems to be doing quite well on her own," he chuckled, an amused smile crossed his face and he turned back to Mary and Jane who were watching in fear and wondering what the blazes was going on. "It's going to be alright, ladies, just sit tight." He was in soldier mode now, his top priority was keeping his wife safe, as well as the two of us.
The soldier loosened his grip as he started to fall back and the man grabbed his shoulder and then pinned him down on the ground as more soldiers come in and the woman aimed the gun and shot at the soldiers, then headed over to our compartment. Watson popped out of the door and aimed his gun only to meet the woman, but getting a better look we saw that the woman was actually a man dressed up as a woman and that man happened to be the great detective himself. He was wearing an odd-looking hat and pounds of makeup on his face that he must have put on himself. Honestly, I could have done a better job. But I suppose if you're pressed for time it's a little difficult to be precise, though it made me smile a little.
"Holmes?" Watson whispered in shock.
"Hello Watson," He said cheerfully as he walked in, handing the soldier's gun to Watson. Mary didn't seem at all pleased by this unexpected visit, in fact she appeared to be even more worried now that he showed up, which was quite the opposite reaction compared to that of Jane; she was sitting with her mouth hanging open, staring at him out of shock, and I could tell exactly what she was thinking. Her dreams were finally coming true, but I couldn't say whether this was a good thing or a bad thing because of his compromising appearance.
He looked over at me, shaking his head. "It's not my best disguise, I'll admit." He muttered.
"John, shut the door." Mary said, looking a little pale. I was worried she would faint.
"They'll only shoot through it, love." Watson replied as he stood by the door and aimed his gun and began to shoot.
"He's right." Holmes sat between the two ladies. "I understand."
"Do you?" Mary asked, viciously.
"We don't have much time!" Holmes shouted and he walked over to the opened door and looked out.
"How many are we expecting?" Watson asked as he kept lookout near the entrance.
"Half a dozen." Holmes replied.
"Who are they?" I asked.
"A wedding present from Moriarty." Holmes said as he kept looking outside. Moriarty. I knew that man was dangerous, I just didn't know how so. Mum would be thrilled to hear that the man she was fussing over just hours ago happened to be a world class criminal!
"Lovely ceremony by the way. Many tears shed in joy," he added to Mary.
"Oh, John!" Mary pleaded as Watson shot another soldier.
"Just a minute, darling," he said, as he continued to shoot people.
"Do you trust me?" Holmes asked Mary as he grabbed her by the arms.
"No," she replied firmly.
"Then I suppose I should do something about that." And he threw her out the door.
"Who's up next to bat?!" Watson shouted as he continued to shoot at the soldiers.
I shrieked and my stomach lurched as I heard Mary scream out and land in the water with a loud splash, and I started shouting, "Are you crazy?! How could you-" I pushed past him and looked down, seeing a lifeboat being rowed by Mycroft, making its way toward her. I put a hand to my chest, greatly relieved that Mary hadn't fallen to her death at the bottom of the cliff. "You were lucky, what if there hadn't been water at the bottom of that cliff? What if she actually died?"
"Trust me, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't know what I was doing." He answered, then turned to Watson. "John, do shut the door," he ordered as the doctor looked around cautiously then shut the door. He turned around and just saw the three of us. "It had to be done." He raises his hands up. Watson, eyes widen in fear, ran to the open door and looked out. "She's safe now, Watson."
Watson, however, wasn't so sure about that. He looked over at him with anger. Holmes started to explain but Watson charged at him and grabbed him by the neck and pushed him down on the seats, making Jane shriek.
"Did you kill my wife?!" He asked as I went over and tried to separate the two grown men who were fighting like schoolboys on the courtyard.
"Of course not!" Holmes shouted then Watson punched him across the face.
"How can you know when you just threw her off a train?!" He exclaimed.
"I told you, I timed it perfectly!" Holmes shouted back as he tried to shove Watson off of him.
"What does that mean?!" He asked, angrily, accidentally tearing off part of Holmes' shirt, exposing his chest. Jane giggled and I turned to the window, wondering how this could get any more awkward. Before Watson could make his next move, his knees were wrapped around his neck.
"Calm down! By the time we explain the four of us will be dead!" Holmes shouted just as the door opened and another soldier came up and aimed a gun at us.
The soldier looked at them oddly, before he took aim and fired, but instead of shooting a bullet, the gun backfired and caught the soldiers on fire. Watson and I stared in horror and I covered Jane's eyes.
"That was no accident. It was by design," Holmes said and handed Watson some sort of chain and some knobs from what I could only assume was a toilet and sink. He took one end of the chain, which had a grenade at the end, and put it on one of the bars of the luggage rack then took the white oval knob and wrapped it around the handle of the door.
"Look!" Jane said, pointing out the window. Watson got off of Holmes and looked down to the water where Mary was safe and sound in a lifeboat with two gentlemen and a lantern.
"Now do you need me to elaborate?" Holmes asked Watson. "Or can we just crack on?" Then he walked out of the open door, grabbed on the edges and shimmied along. "Come on!" He shouted as Jane, Watson and I exchanged a look.
"We've got to be out of our minds!" Jane said, then the three of us followed suit and shimmied along the sides of the train.