by Don Jacobson
Holmes nodded in agreement, “Lady Eleanor strikes me as an uncommonly wise woman. That is precisely my conclusion. The letter was supplied as a misdirection to delay a more successful search.”
Then he abruptly stood and went over to his worktable where he lifted a large magnifying glass through which he scrutinized the offending missive.
“A question, Lord Fitzwilliam. What does Miss Bennet use as a writing device? What type of pen does she favor?”
Fitzwilliam paused, pondering, and then replied, “She recently received one of Waterman’s new fountain pens…the one with the refillable reservoir.”
Again, the silence lengthened into minutes as the detective perused the letter. Suddenly, Holmes launched into a flurry of activity. Turning to the shelves lining the wall, he began rifling through stacks of papers until he found several tied together with a carmine ribbon. Pulling one free, he compared it to the letter of the fourth. Then he grabbed a blank sheet of foolscap and, after rummaging through the workspace, found a pencil sharp enough to compose a note.
He strode over to the door as he folded the paper. Pulling it open, he called down the stairs, “Mrs. Hudson. Find one of the Baker Street Irregulars and give him this note to deliver to Lestrade. Promise him tuppence.”
That part of his mission accomplished, Holmes returned to his seat and explained himself.
“A fountain pen like the Waterman carries enough ink to compose more than one letter of this length. This particular item is one of the cleverest forgeries I have seen—certainly in the last five years. Watson, do you recall the contretemps over the Lackworth Codicil?
“After I looked into that matter, Lord Fitzwilliam, I discovered that a supposed handwritten codicil to Sir Maurice Lackworth’s will which shifted bequests from his children to an utterly fraudulent charity was a rank fabrication. However, we could never pin the deed on the ultimate mastermind rather having to be content for Her Majesty’s Court to try the craftsman responsible and send him away for a five-year sojourn at Wandsworth.
“These old hands rarely change technique once they have perfected their methods. Your letter, for particular instance, was produced using an old-style steel nib dipped in Wagner’s anthraces writing ink.[xxv] While the hand was undeniably that of a master, there is always an unavoidable thickening of the script when a freshly dipped nib is returned to continue writing…often in mid-sentence.
“The same tools which were used to forge the Lackworth Codicil!
“Watson, would you be surprised to know that old Hoskins was turned out of Wandsworth just six weeks ago? That note I just sent implored Lestrade to bring in Hoskins for a session at the Yard. I doubt if he will be able to add much, but there may be a few crumbs of interest.”
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If you found this work of fiction in the Bennet Wardrobe Universe to be interesting and you do not wish to read any of the End Notes, please “flip” to the final page of this ebook and leave a review. Your fair and honest appraisal will be graciously received.
DJ
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About the Author
Don Jacobson has written professionally for forty years. His output has ranged from news and features to advertising, television and radio. His work has been nominated for Emmys and other awards.
In 2016, he published the first volume of The Bennet Wardrobe Series—The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey a novel that grew from two earlier novellas. The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle Époque is the second volume. Henry Fitzwilliam’s War and Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess are novellas that “fill in blanks before, within and between the primary novels of which six are planned. Other Pride & Prejudice Variations include the paired books “Of Fortune’s Reversal” and “The Maid and The Footman.”
Jacobson holds an advanced degree in History with a specialty in American Foreign Relations. As a college instructor, Don teaches United States History, World History, the History of Western Civilization and Research Writing.
He is a member of JASNA-Puget Sound. Likewise, Don is a member of the Austen Authors collective (see the internet, Facebook and Twitter).
He lives in the Seattle, WA area with his wife and co-author, Pam, a woman Ms. Austen would have been hard-pressed to categorize, and their rather assertive four-and-twenty-pound cat, Bear. Besides thoroughly immersing himself in the JAFF world, Don also enjoys cooking; dining out, fine wine and well-aged (if you are thinking about a gift, 18 year old) scotch whiskey.
His other passion is cycling. Most days from April through October will find him “putting in the miles” around the Seattle area (yes there are hills). He has ridden several “centuries” (100 mile days). Don is especially proud that he successfully completed the AIDS Ride—Midwest (500 miles from Minneapolis to Chicago) and the Make-A-Wish Miracle Ride (300 miles from Traverse City, MI to Brooklyn, MI).
Other Works by Don Jacobson
If you are interested in reading other Kindle-friendly works by Don Jacobson please consider these titles:
The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey (Volume 1 of the Bennet Wardrobe Series)
https://www.amazon.com/Keeper-Bennets-Extraordinary-Journey-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B071LH9M8L/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1509208009&sr=8-2&keywords=don+jacobson
The Exile: Kitty Bennet and the Belle Époque (Volume 2, Part 1 of the Bennet Wardrobe Series)
https://www.amazon.com/Exile-Kitty-Bennet-Epoque-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B072C876Q1/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1509208009&sr=8-3&keywords=don+jacobson
Lizzy Bennet Meets the Countess (A Bennet Wardrobe Novella)
https://www.amazon.com/Lizzy-Bennet-Meets-Countess-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B075YPTWB5/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1509208009&sr=8-1&keywords=don+jacobson
Miss Bennet’s First Christmas (a Bennet Wardrobe novella)
https://www.amazon.com/Miss-Bennets-First-Christmas-Wardrobe-ebook/dp/B019NZ4YYK/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472005504&sr=1-5&keywords=don+jacobson
The Bennet Wardrobe: Origins (a Bennet Wardrobe novella)
https://www.amazon.com/Bennet-Wardrobe-Origins-Novella-ebook/dp/B019R5S12W/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472005504&sr=1-3&keywords=don+jacobson
Of Fortune’s Reversal (A Pride and Prejudice Variation novella)
https://www.amazon.com/Fortunes-Reversal-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B01JDBO6HO/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472005504&sr=1-4&keywords=don+jacobson
The Maid and The Footman (A Pride & Prejudice Variation novella)
https://www.amazon.com/Maid-Footman-Pride-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B01N9ASKE9/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1509208009&sr=8-6&keywords=don+jacobson
For more on Don Jacobson and to follow his blog, please visit his author’s page http://donjacobsonauthor.com/
He is also a member of the Austen Author’s collective. Follow his activities at http://austenauthors.net/
End Notes
* * *
[i] Field Marshal Sir John French, British Expeditionary Force (BEF) Commander 1914-15 http://www.firstworldwar.com/bio/french.htm accessed 6/16/16.
[ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemical_weapons_in_World_War_I accessed 6/15/16.
[iii] See The Ode of Wickham’s Stand in “The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey, p 243-247.
[iv] See “The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt” by Edmund Morris (1979).
[v] A Chicken Nabob was one who returned from India or the Indies with 50,000 to 60,000 pounds. A Nabob extracted more than 100,000 pounds. The 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, originally by Francis Grose. http://www.fromoldbooks.org/Grose-VulgarTongue/c/chicken-nabob.html accessed on 6/20/16.
[vi] Training camp to process new soldiers fresh from Great Britain. Located in Be
lgium, Beverloo was one of dozens of camps designed to familiarize civilian soldiers with the nature of trench warfare. http://www.bl.uk/world-war-one/articles/training-to-be-a-soldier accessed 6/23/16.
[vii] The North German Confederation and the Southern German states united under Wilhelm I and Bismarck to demolish Napoleon III in the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The Battle of Sedan was the deciding blow, although the Germans placed Paris under siege allowing the French Republican forces to murder some 35,000 French Socialists in the reduction of the Commune in 1871.
[viii] Jean Monnet, the father of the Common Market after World War II, was the leading salesman for his family’s cognac business when World War I broke out. The French President, Viviani, recognized that his contacts in the United States would serve the French war effort as they sought to purchase armaments from the Americans. He was immediately deputed to be the French representative on a commission to coordinate British and French war resources. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Monnet accessed 7/1/16.
[ix] http://lautomobileancienne.com/renault-type-ag-et-ag1-1905-1914/ accessed 7/1/16.
[x] Jules Verne published 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in 1869/70, From Earth to the Moon in 1865, and Around the World in Eighty Days in 1873. Welles’ The Time Machine (1895) used technology instead of magic to effect time travel. Note that Welles’ machine was also unable, like the Bennet Wardrobe, to change the location of the traveller.
[xi] Water Closet…as the British refer to a toilet.
[xii] Clifford Skridlow in Doctor Detroit (1983), also Full Metal Jacket (1987).
[xiii] Bastard
[xiv] Qualities of being brave and strong http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/manliness accessed 8/7/16.
[xv] Characterized by or possessing qualities traditionally attributed to men, such as aggressiveness. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/masculinity accessed 8/7/16.
[xvi] The flashlight was invented in the late 1890s. It is reasonable to assume that Dr. Campbell would find one useful when examining Henry in a darkened room. http://www.historyoflighting.net/electric-lighting-history/history-of-flashlight/ accessed 8/7/16.
[xvii] Childe Harold's Pilgrimage is a lengthy narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. It was published between 1812 and 1818. The poem describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man who, disillusioned with a life of pleasure and revelry, looks for distraction in foreign lands. The Lady sees Henry as a Byronic hero. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childe_Harold%27s_Pilgrimage accessed 8/8/16.
[xviii] See Emile Zola’s novel L'Assommoir (1877) that examines the drinking habits of the working class. The term refers to a shop selling cheap liquor. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27Assommoir accessed 8/19/2016.
[xix] See http://www.expatica.com/fr/out-and-about/The-tasty-history-of-Parisian-patisseries_101178.html accessed 8/19/16.
[xx] See her letter to the sculptor as people admired her figure he had placed on the Parthenon in ancient Athens at https://www.loebclassics.com/view/alciphron-letters_book_iv_letters_courtesans/1949/pb_LCL383.251.xml accessed 8/23/16.
[xxi] See “The Keeper: Mary Bennet’s Extraordinary Journey” Ch. XLIII to XLV.
[xxii] Informed readers of this work may realize that there has been some adjustment of key dates that had originally been suggested by A.C. Doyle and his amanuensis John Watson. In The Final Problem, the tragedy of Moriarty and Holmes at Reichenbach Falls likely occurred on or about May 5, 1891 (newspaper reports were published on the 6th and 7th). The matters described in this current work, The Exile, offer added information that explains the sudden and urgent motivation behind Moriarty’s multiple attempts on Holmes’ life (where he had preferred to leave Holmes alone) and his subsequent pursuit of the great detective across France to Switzerland as described in the aforementioned story. Watson neither reported the meeting with Henry Fitzwilliam nor the conundrum he had set before Holmes, preferring to consign his notes to the tin dispatch box held at Cox and Company in Charing Cross.
[xxiii] Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery (1847-1929), Prime Minister 1894-95.
[xxiv] Charles Spencer-Churchill, Marquess of Blandford. He succeeded his father as the 9th Duke of Marlborough in 1892.
[xxv] See https://www.pelikan.com/pulse/Pulsar/en_US_INTL.CMS.displayCMS.91650./from-dinte-to-4001 for more information.