The Case of the Nurse's Bed part two.

Twenty Two Hours Later….

"No, I assure you madam, should I wish to one day accommodate a mistress, it would hopefully be in better luxury than your attic. The young lady is nothing more than a client, in need of temporary help and shelter, this arrangement is quite categorically not a long term or a permanent misadventure. Indeed, this will only be an inconvenience to us all for a matter of days."

"Aye, I've seen some of your so called clients Mr Holmes, a bad lot they were I can tell ya. Took me all day to rinse that rug."

"Those were informants and not clients. The very nature of my work dictates that some of my associates may occasionally be a little unsavoury, Miss Watson is certainly not of that category, see for yourself."

" I'll noo shame myself and I'll nae shame this house. I'll thank ye ta get rid of her."

"I have already attempted to do so madam, however the municipal loggings at Spitalfield have also thrown her out."

"Aye, an ye want me to have her, after she's been outted from a doss-house!"

"Actually that sounds worse than I intended. Nevertheless it was the very fact that she is a lady of virtue and lives by a ridiculously high moral code that I believe caused the altercation with the lodgings. She may have only slept there one night; however she succeeded in witnessing more crime than most ordinary people witness in a year. Admittedly there was an unfortunate incident of suspected child prostitution," he raised his voice here, "nonetheless complaining to the culprits directly was somewhat foolhardy. I may have investigated these matters independently if she had just held her tongue. Consequently if I allow her to move to similar lodgings it is highly likely she will simply disappear, I strongly suspect she is already in grave danger as her name will have been circulated amongst several petty criminals. The lady does not have the common sense to keep quiet and an alarming capacity to stumble upon crime. Surprisingly alarming, indeed it is somewhat habitual. We have just arrested a woman who murdered her lover and deposited the body at the foot of Miss Watsons bed, clearly illustrating how crime appears to miraculously materialise about her, even while sleeping."

"An you've brought her to my house Mr Holmes! A decent god-fearing home that's here ta nestle only a good soul."

I lightly kicked the door in frustration, it had certainly not been as he described. I had indeed encountered several unsavoury characters, but I had not gone deliberately looking for such trouble. Admittedly I had not slept at all well in Spitalfields and had taken to walking about the establishment, but it was difficult to share sleeping quarters without the fear of being spied on. The absolute fear of someone watching...

"At least here I can keep her under observation before she starts more mischief." At those words and with the determination of never again being under anyone's scrutiny, I pushed once more against the closed kitchen door, but he stood firmly behind it and clearly refused to budge. He needed to know my frustration so I gave it a harder kick this time. "Alternatively, if she flees to the streets her fate is sealed; her beauty, her youth and her poor health are all against her, she simply would not last. You have this young girl's destiny in your hands."

"Tis nae fair Mr Holmes, ya kanna blame me for some wee slip that's found herself on the street. An I've noo a mind for silliness."

"I beg to differ, the lady is well educated and rather intelligent, though somewhat naïve in the ways of the city. She could be rather useful, helping with house-keeping, accounting, shopping and, and … and whatever females do in big houses. Admittedly she can be stubborn and argumentative," again he noticeably raised his voice, "but no doubt that is the temporary outcome of her disabilities and frequent lack of sleep."

I now felt it a priority to intervene and took several steps back, then lifting my skirts I took a run at the door.

"But I have help, Mrs Nuggins' Jenny does me fine and there's noo precious pennies for waste'n on more staff-"

Regrettably I had propelled myself with far more force than required so I barely kept my footing once I was through to the other side, however I had fortuitously run straight into the landlady herself and she caught me mid-flow. Once we had both righted ourselves I made an attempt at a dignified pose, "good day to you madam, my name is Jane Watson. I am dreadfully sorry we have not been properly introduced, indeed it is unfortunate of me to impose upon you in this manner, however exigency has driven me to intrude. I do believe my case was being somewhat overstated by this gentleman. I can quite assure you, I am not 'silly', nor will I disappear if I can help it. You do not hold my fate in your hands; I will simply find a suitable hotel with more urgency, I do have my mother's pearls and I can supplement my income by also finding paid work. I have my education, my medical studies and my experiences to fall back on; I'm sure my nursing skills will be useful somewhere, it is merely a matter of identifying the position. Indeed, I am rather looking forward to contributing to the workforce of our great nation again and helping foster a decent economy."

There was a moment of silence as Mrs Hudson looked behind me then raised her hand to her mouth in horror, "lord-help-us, ye've just killed him!"

I turned quickly to witness Mr Holmes slide down the last few inches of the wall behind the door and onto the floor. He lay sprawled against the tiles, his frail white fingers still outstretched in the direction of where he had once held the door knob.

"Oh dear-god, he's out cold." My hands frantically registered his pulse, timed his shallow breath and gauged his temperature. I diligently examined his head and temple for signs of the impact, then I pushed his jacket aside to examine his body, "oh-no, this is quite dreadful, how long has he been starved of food?"

She suddenly straightened and pulled down at her skirts, "now you look here missy, I'll noo ave-ya insinuating that I starve my gentlemen. I always cook for Mr Holmes decent, but he picks at his vittles , Alfies cat gets the most of it."

"Regardless, this body is in no condition to actually be up and walking, he is indeed in a sorry state."

She now had both hands to her mouth, "lord-have-mercy, is he going to die?"

"No. Will you please calm yourself Mrs Hudson, he is simply exhausted. That dashed knock against the wall may have advanced matters, obviously I should have been more careful. It has effectively taken the wind out of him, but I do believe it is a straightforward case of his body weakening to the point of absolute exhaustion; it has been most dreadfully abused. Dear-me Mrs Hudson, this man has not had a decent meal in days. Here, help me pull this off while I better examine his arm, he has been rubbing it rather oddly for two days." We both removed his jacket and as I was rolled up his left sleeve I noticed something quite peculiar, "I say, what are these marks... oh good-lord!" Everything about his actions and manner suddenly became crystal clear and I mentally chided myself for not spotting such symptoms earlier. "Could you please get two persons that will help carry him up to his bed."

"Shall I noo send for the doctor?"

"No, not until I can briefly speak with him, he should come round soon and I doubt he would thank you for exposing this particular illness."

She shook her head but began to shuffle away with some urgency, then as she reached the door she stopped, "stay-put mind an dinna scarper missy, it's the very devil himself of doings this is. Poor Mr Holmes was right, you child are the storm petrel in a safe harbour." She re-shuffled herself out of the room but I could distinctly hear her in the hallway, "An I've noo had a dropping dead under this roof since my dear William god-bless-his-soul and at least he had the gud grace t'nae pop is coil in the kitchen."

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Thank you this year for all reading... a very merry Christmas and a Happy new year!

And proper thanks goes to my Beta Arty Diane

Tegan.