Prompt: Dancing, from SheWhoScrawls

When I first took rooms with Sherlock Holmes and he explained his unusual profession to me, he assured me that his role was that of a consultant rather than that of an active detective. "Such things are for Scotland Yard," he said, rather grandly. "The perfect criminal reasoner can uncover the motives and solutions for a crime from the facts alone." He claimed he only occasionally needed to stir himself to visit a crime scene, and then only to confirm some theory that required him to personally see the scene.

Later, when Holmes declared to me that criminal investigation was something his brother Mycroft could not do because it would require "legwork," I wisely refrained from reminding him of his own early description of his profession. Yet in those early days, it is true that we hardly needed to leave Baker Street in many cases and rarely engaged with criminals face to face.

By the summer of 1883, Holmes had a thriving business as private investigator, though perhaps not all the cases were unusual or grotesque enough for his liking. He frequently bemoaned the lack of ambitious criminals to test his formidable intellect against, though we were on a case nearly every week. By this time, I was accompanying him as a matter of course and even Scotland Yard no longer remarked on my presence. It was on one of these early cases that Holmes and I found ourselves on the tail of a man disguising himself as a chimney sweep to gain entry to wealthy homes in order to abscond with their jewels. "A simple enough case, Watson," Holmes had said with a sniff. "Though there are factors of interest. The fellow certainly chooses his targets with care, for not every home that invited him to clean their chimneys found their jewels stolen." In order to catch him in the act, Holmes had followed him to more than one house, only to find that he had taken nothing. Tonight, he was sure that the fellow was planning to commit a theft and so had asked me to accompany him. "I would feel easier in my mind knowing you and your service revolver were behind me," Holmes admitted. "This fellow is quite twice my size." Then he turned his formidable gaze on me. "Though I beg you, remain out of sight until I give you the signal. It is quite possible you shall not be needed, for I have some small skills of self-defense myself."

I agreed, and we waited among the bushes of the house next door until our jewel thief appeared. I reflected that it was hardly the most dignified (or indeed, comfortable) position for a gentleman to be in, but I was caught up in the excitement of the case and at that moment, cared not at all if the Queen herself were to find two seemingly respectable gentlemen crouched among bushes like criminals ourselves.

It was some time before the thief left the house, and Holmes silently emerged from our hiding place, trusting to the dark and the ever-present fog to hide his presence from the criminal. I followed, though at some paces behind, and for a time, we seemed invisible to our quarry. The man led us down one street, then another, until at last I no longer recognized what part of London we were in. After turning one last time, we found ourselves in a deserted alleyway, and I realized the fiend had trapped us. The thief turned around, and through the fog I could see his cruel grin. "I was warned against you, Mr. Holmes," he said. "It wasn't hard to tell you were tailing me. Seems you're not so clever after all, to get yourself trapped here."

Holmes never turned around, merely waved me aside with the barest movement of his hand, and I realized the fellow had not seen me, concentrating as he was on Holmes. I stepped back into the shadows, watching with some trepidation. The fellow was quite as tall as Holmes, though considerably heavier, and I slipped my hand into my pocket to find my service revolver, should it be needed. "I wager you have the family collection of jewels in your pocket," Holmes said pleasantly. "The Tidwells are said to have a marvelous collection with many varied pieces and much history. Surely it proved too great a temptation for you."

"It will fetch a pretty price on the market," the fellow said, smiling. With no warning, he then lunged at my friend, who ducked so that the fiend should overbalance. But he righted himself more quickly than I anticipated, and returned for a second blow. I held my breath, watching the fight unfold vigorously before me. I tightened my grip on my revolver, but Holmes had not yet given me the signal, and so I could do nothing, even though it seemed to me that he was coming off the worse in this fight. At one point, the jewel thief nearly had my friend around his neck, were it not that Holmes managed to slip out of his grip. Each landed a few blows, though neither seemed ready to give up, and I began to contemplate whether I should intervene, signal or not. I even opened my mouth to cry out a warning to Holmes when I saw the thief prepare for what looked like a rugby tackle, sure than my friend should end up slammed against the brick well. But Holmes had apparently anticipated this, for he executed what, to my eyes, was a near-perfect pirouette, so that the thief slammed into the wall instead and stood up looking dazed. Before he regained his bearings, my friend landed a last blow on his head so he crumpled to the ground, and at last Holmes straightened his collar, looking satisfied.

I, however, was aghast. "I thought he had the better of you more than once!" I said.

"Nonsens, Watson," Holmes replied. "I knew exactly what I was doing, and was never out of control. You know I have some training in the martial arts, particularly boxing and baritsu."

"And singlesticks," I added, for my friend had often discoursed to me about the usefulness of such skills.

"Precisely," he said. "You must have recognized that he was exerting himself to a greater degree. I knew if I could simply tire him out, I would have my chance, and so I did."

"You led him here," I said, realizing that the various turns we had taken to get to this dark alley were not the thief leading us, but my friend driving him where he wished to go.

"You are improving, Watson," Holmes said. "I required a dead-end street for this trap to work, and so I merely allowed him to think he was leading us, while in fact I was taking us exactly where I needed to go."

"I thought we were lost," I said, for I still did not recognize the area we were in.

"I am never lost in London," Holmes said. "We are merely four blocks from Charing Cross Road."

This was welcome news, for I did not relish wandering London for the rest of the night. "But, Holmes, there is one thing I do not understand," I said. "That pirouette was surely not anything you learned in your study of martial arts."

"It was not," Holmes said. "I do not claim great skill in the area, but in my youth I was trained to dance, as many gentry boys are. I have found the skills useful on occasion and have kept in practice for exactly this reason."

"Dancing?" I repeated. My friend had no artistic whims or interests, save for his violin playing, and I confess I had difficulty in imagining him dancing. Though by this point, I supposed I should no longer have been surprised when he revealed some skill I was previously unaware of. I shook my head. "You have fewer limits than I thought, my dear Holmes."

"It seems to me there has been little development in the art of dance, Watson. It is most disappointing, for it bears much similarity to the martial arts, and I am sure that it could be developed into a very efficient form of fighting in its own right," Holmes said. "Perhaps I shall do so one day."

"There is a monograph I am sure will sell well," I said dryly. I had yet to see Holmes sell any of his monographs, and the copies he was given by his publishers littered our sitting room until I had hardly any room for books I actually wanted to read.

Holmes merely laughed and took my arm to lead me to Charing Cross Road. "Come, Watson, there is a decanter of brandy waiting at Baker Street for us. I have only to send a telegram to Lestrade informing him of the jewel thief's whereabouts, then we shall have our nightcap and a late start the morning.