"She had na pu'd a double rose, A rose but only twa, Till up then started young Tam Lin, Says, Lady, thou's pu nae mae. Why pu's thou the rose, Janet, And why breaks thou the wand? Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh Withoutten my command?" Tam Lin Child 39A
"Tam Lin (Child 39)"- Anais Mitchell & Jefferson Hamer
"Generally when one is asked a question, the polite thing to do is answer," the man said.
Molly flushed and shook her head as if to dislodge cobwebs. "I beg your pardon, you startled me."
He raised his eyebrow at her but let go of her wrist, bending down to retrieve the fallen flower. "And as for what I am doing, I was collecting herbs I have need of and attempting to find my way home," Molly said reaching for the flower.
"I meant what are you doing on my land, picking my roses?" his tone accusatory as he held the flower out of her reach.
Molly frowned, "Your land? I do believe you are quite mistaken as this land belongs to my father, Lord Edward Hooper." She placed a finger thoughtfully to her lips, "Which would in fact make them my roses, that you are currently withholding from me."
The young man smirked at her boldness, he bowed mockingly holding the rose towards her as though a token of affection. "You must forgive me then Lady Hooper, for clearly I have been mistaken in knowing whether the land on which I dwell is mine own or not."
Molly huffed and quickly snatched the rose, placing it in her basket with the wormwood. This strange man might be the most gorgeous creature she had ever seen, but he was severely lacking in manners. "If you'll excuse me most kind sir," she sarcastically simpered, "but you are impeding my journey home."
He chuckled, "As my lady wishes," and moved as if to let her pass. As she walked by she felt him reach into her basket and pluck her mother's herbalism journal from it. Outraged Molly turned on him, "You will return my book to me." He ignored her, perusing through the various pages, glancing at the sketches her mother had made long ago, and the additional notations that Molly had added over the years.
"Your mother taught you your craft before she died," he said, his eyes never glancing up from the page. "She was the artist clearly, though your attempts are...admirable. You act as the town herbalist, something your father encourages because of his love of your mother. And you often are called on to work with the local midwife since you have been friends since childhood."
Despite her exasperation with the stranger, Molly was impressed with his deductions. "Wow," she breathed. He glanced up as she spoke. "That was astonishing. You got all that from my journal?"
"Well yes...you really think it's astonishing?" his voice softening as if afraid of her answer.
"Well yes, most people wouldn't have even been able to tell me that it was a book about herbs, let alone everything else you deduced." She looked questioningly at him, "I gather most people aren't usually so impressed?"
He snorted, "No. Though I didn't reveal anything embarrassing about you to a large crowd of your peers so that might have something to do with it."
Molly giggled, "No you didn't. Though you were wrong about the midwife. It's actually the local physic that I assist, though his wife and I are childhood friends."
"Physic, of course...there's always something," he muttered aloud to himself.
"Lady Margaret Hooper, though most call me Molly," Molly offered him her hand, deciding that if this strange man knew enough about her from just her mother's journal she could introduce herself properly.
He smiled widely, "Sherlock, just Sherlock. A pleasure...Molly," he brushed his lips across her hand and she shivered.
"So Sherlock, do you often annoy young women you run into, or am I just a special case?" Molly asked smirking.
He chuckled, "No not usually, though I do believe in this instance you are definitely a special case."