Around the time I was penning the Scandal in Bohemia, the story in which my fantastic friend matched wits with the opera singer, Irene Adler, I realized I must terminate the employment of my less than fantastic maid.
I believe, as does my wife, the final straw was when slovenly, dull-witted Mary Jane invited the orphans to stay with us. Or mayhap it was the time she pitched my boots to the bull pup after trying for the second time to remove all the mud. By the spring of 1888 it became painfully obvious that Mary Jane had overstayed her welcome.
As I had never in my life had the displeasure of terminating anyone's employment, I left the details up to my wife, who handed dear Jane a letter. When my wife returned home, crimson around the ears and hesitantly squeaked open the door, the orphans had fled.
I only realized after the towering blanket forts were gone and the orphan boys sent scuttling out the door and leaving not a trace behind, that I recalled one of their soot stained faces from a previous meeting.
It was Curly, one of Holmes' illustrious Baker Street Irregulars. If Holmes knew we had tossed his boys to the streets and their merciless whims without so much as a shilling's compensation, he would…Oh blast!