Unending Maze
Claire Watson rushed towards 221B Baker Street with a small carpetbag in tow, risking getting run over by the cabs as she reached the door.
Mrs. Hudson let her in, and the young lady climbed up those 17 steps that the fans of her cousin's friend liked to discuss so much. Whisking off her cumbersome hat, Claire went inside to her employers sitting room.
Watson was standing near the end table, collecting the sandwiches Mrs. Hudson had so cheerily provided.
"Good morning, Claire, nice to see you are up bright and early to see us off."
Holmes reappeared in his country clothes with a cigarette sticking out of his firm mouth.
"Remember, Miss Watson, be patient for an answer from Miss Stewart. Please telegraph the Willow Top Inn where we are staying if anything occurs. And when my brother comes to call please refrain from doing anything scandalous."
His last point made Claire snort, and she handed him his briefcase which he snatched with a huff. Watson hugged his cousin goodbye.
"I'll write to you as soon as we meet Mr. Gardner. Don't fret, Claire, this case should be solved in no time."
Claire smiled slightly. "I hope so, don't forget to enjoy yourself a little bit out in Kent, the fresh air will do you some good!"
The doctor tipped his hat and followed Holmes who was already outside trying to get a cab to the station. Mrs. Hudson watched the carriage take off and then turned to the nice young lady.
"Will you be staying here until Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson come back?" she asked inquiringly.
Claire nodded. "If it's no trouble, John said I could use his room for my stay."
The elderly woman nodded as she set about clearing the breakfast table and preparing the doctor's room. Claire sat behind the paper-covered desk, tapping her fingers on the polished surface; Mycroft Holmes was supposed to call today with Ellis's work name and such. She could only hope that Lestrade didn't catch wind of the kidnapping and come sniffing around Baker Street for information.
Glancing in the mirror, the brunette couldn't help but remember Holmes's harsh words, "It's only a matter of time before he tires of the friendship and goes back to his regular habits."
Silently, she shook it off, for of course Holmes was right in deducing this point - she and his brother had only known one another for a short amount of time. There were only so many more things she could tell Mycroft without feeling self-conscious about her past, and once she had run out of the twists in the maze of her past he could very well tire of her and break off their friendship.
Claire was so wrapped up in her analysis of what Holmes had said that she failed to notice Mrs. Hudson standing in front of her.
"Miss Watson, Mr. Mycroft Holmes is here, should I tell him to wait?"
The young lady's eyes blinked sharply before answering.
"No, of course let him in, Mrs. Hudson."
The elder lady nodded and backed to show the large man in and take his hat.
Claire braced herself for Mycroft to tell her about what he thought about what she had said, but instead he sat down in front of her and placed a folder on the desk.
"It's just as I feared, Jim Ellis had a dual identity. His false name was John Haydon and from what the porters told me he had been in the telegraph office that afternoon. To think such a thing would happen in Whitehall!" he exclaimed, blaming himself for the lack of security.
He looked through the files, thumbing through until he had received a picture inscribed John Haydon and found something odd with it.
"This cannot be the same man, the police sergeant Mr. Holmes interviewed swore that the man he saw had brown hair, this clearly shows his hair is some light colour," Claire stated.
He turned over the picture while pointing out the differences between that picture and the most recent prison photograph.
Mycroft leaned forward and took both photos to compare them side by side.
"You are right, Miss Watson, these two men have almost nothing in common except for the nose - but it is a fairly common trait. This must mean the real John Haydon was in Whitehall and Jim Ellis stole his identity."
Claire shook her head and appeared behind him, and pointed out with her thin hand.
"Your eyes aren't as good as you say they are; look closer - this is the same man but with different hair. Jim Ellis was notorious for disguises and this blond dye could have been easily done for the photo, and then once his job was done he could disappear."
She pointed the features out with her forefinger, and this display dazzled Mycroft Holmes who without thinking brushed her hand while going back over the areas she pointed out.
The pair remained frozen, then Claire's hand had dropped to dangle by her waist, but the rest of her body was turned to Mycroft who was silently damning himself for doing such a scandalous thing.
Luckily, Mrs. Hudson appeared with tea and scones which forced the pair to pretend nothing had taken place. Mrs. Hudson bowed her head before leaving them to sit the uncomfortable silence that they had created. Mycroft, feeling guilty, decided to speak first.
"So, it seems that you are correct, Miss Watson, taking your insight to these photographs contradict my earlier hypothesis."
Claire nodded in agreement, focused intently on the folder Mycroft had given her earlier.
"Quite so, Mr. Holmes, I thank you for this history of Ellis/Smiley - it should help our case greatly," she said calmly, trying to move on from that moment and Mycroft seemed to be willing to do so.
The elder Holmes harrumphed in agreement and took a glance at his trusty pocket-watch while keeping one grey eye set on Miss Watson for any notion that she might give him.
"Well, Miss Watson, since I've done my duty I see no reason to keep you from working."
He started to rise out of the cane chair when she gestured for him to sit back down.
"Please stay, Mr. Holmes, you would be a great help to me by figuring why Ellis, of all the criminals, would kidnap Mr. Gardner," she said, bringing her fingers into a triangle shape like his brother had always done.
The round man almost felt obliged to stay and resettled himself in the chair with a cup of tea.
"As it says in those files, Ellis is the only one with access to Whitehall who could have done it. As for other reasons, it could be money or perhaps he had a disagreement with Mr. Gardner's father."
Claire nodded as she looked out the window wondering what her cousin and employer were up to.
Watson stirred uncomfortably in the train carriage as rolling hills went past his gaze; he couldn't help but wonder what his cousin was up to. His sister was less than enlightening about why Claire had gone to London; she and her daughter hadn't been in contact since Claire started her spy work.
"Watson, you have nothing to fear, Miss Watson is perfectly capable looking after the house and the remainders of this case," Holmes said thickly, peering at the empty seat next to his good friend.
"I'm not afraid, Holmes, it is just that it gets so hard to tell what my cousin is thinking these days. I fear she is going back into her protective shell that we found her in three years ago."
He shook his head as yet another farmland sped past.
"Miss Watson is covering up her emotions because she doesn't want me to reveal her true feelings for a certain person," Holmes said darkly as if hinting towards the person in question
Watson stared at his friend.
"What do you mean, Holmes?" he asked, thinking it was about the case and how it dealt with Claire's former lover.
"My brother has somehow ensnared your cousin into thinking that they have future together. If I know my brother he'll try and find a way to wrestle out of it, he always does."
He snorted and smirked at the utter shock in Watson's face.
"Don't pretend to care about your cousin, Watson, it does you little good to meddle in others' affairs."
Watson shut his mouth and glared at Holmes reproachfully.
"I, unlike you, care about what my cousin is doing and if she heading towards yet another heartbreak then I must do something!" he said, turning his attention back to the landscape before them.
"I apologize, my friend, but I was only testing you to see how much you believed in the relationship between my brother and your cousin."
Watson shook his head, "I'm not sure that I follow, Holmes."
Holmes gave out a short laugh.
"You said that your cousin was destined for heartbreak after hearing my opinion, which means that I win the bet you set almost six months ago!" he said gleefully, holding out his gloved hand for payment.
Watson shook his finger at his friend.
"You twisted my words, Holmes! You think they are romantically inclined towards one another, I think otherwise."
Holmes nodded at his friend's opinion as the train came to its first stop.
"Perhaps I have taken the recent happenings at Whitehall a little too seriously. My brother is too proud to ever admit he'd ever go out of his way to be a friend to a lady," he said, lighting a cigarette as the train began to move again.