Further Notes From the Dispatch Box of John H Watson MD (The Dispatch Box of John H Watson, MD)

by Hugh Ashton

  With that, he fell silent, and I busied myself with unpacking my luggage. I had almost finished this task when I looked up to see Holmes standing by my bed-room door, inviting me to join him on the visit to the Gallery.

  Once we had arrived, Holmes’ conduct was singular enough to attract the attention of other visitors, though on our arrival he had previously explained his proposed course of action to the curators. Bringing his lens close to the surface of several paintings contemporary with the supposed van Dyck, he examined them closely. “ Were I permitted to do so, I would take samples of the dirt that has accumulated here,” he told me, “ but it will become plain to you, should you examine these paintings closely, that the supposed van Dyck in our rooms at Baker-street is a modern copy.” He passed the glass to me, and I bent to the surface of the painting, enjoying, I must admit, the scandalised gasps of some of the other visitors behind me. I overheard one of them whisper to another that Holmes and I must be anarchists, bent on some dastardly plot, and I smiled to myself as I concentrated on the work of art in front of me. Indeed, as Holmes had said, the cracks in the painting’s surface were filled with the dust of ages, and the cracks themselves appeared to be of a somewhat different pattern to those I had seen in the picture at Baker-street. Handing the lens back to Holmes, I remarked on this fact, and he smiled.

  “ Good. I think there is now no doubt in either of our minds. Thank you, ladies, gentlemen,” he said to the gaping crowd which had now assembled behind us, turning to address them directly. “ The performance has ended, and we are now returning to the place whence we came.” With a sardonic smile on his face, he swept through the mass of visitors, leaving me to follow in his wake.

  “ And now where ? ” I asked, as we existed the building into Trafalgar-square.

  “ I think Sir Godfrey should be informed of our conclusions. I am guessing he will be at his club, the Army and Navy. A stroll to Pall-mall ? ”

  The weather being fine, I assented to this suggestion, and in a few minutes we were entering the portals of the famous establishment, and enquiring of the porter whether Sir Godfrey Leighbury was on the premises. A page was dispatched in search of him, bearing Holmes’ card, and soon returned with the news that Sir Godfrey would be delighted to see us.

  Sir Godfrey, whom I was meeting for the first time, was a tall, thin, pale-faced man, clean-shaven, and carrying himself with a military bearing. Considering his looks and his thinning hair, I put his age at about fifty, considerably older than his wife, who was invariably described as being “ young” and “ beautiful”; adjectives which could not be said to describe her husband with any degree of accuracy.

  “ I would prefer it, Sir Godfrey, if we could speak in private,” said Holmes. “ What I have to tell you may be a little upsetting to you, and it is quite likely that you will not wish others to hear.”

  “ Very well, if you must,” said the retired officer, leading us to one of the private rooms opening off the smoking-room. “ A drink for you fellows ? No ? Very good, then. Proceed, Holmes.”

  “ I fear to tell you,” said Holmes gently, “ that my original suspicions were correct. The painting attributed to van Dyck is a modern reproduction, and I would be very surprised if it were the only such painting in your collection.”

  Sir Godfrey gasped. “ But that painting has been in the family for the past two hundred years ! ” he objected. “ Surely it cannot be any kind of forgery ? ”

  “ It has been replaced. Recently, I would say.”

  “ This is totally outrageous ! ” The veins on Sir Godfrey’s forehead stood out, and I feared that he was about to suffer some sort of seizure. “ You are sure of this, Holmes ? ”

  “ You should call independent experts in the field, Sir Godfrey, but I would stake my professional reputation that this is the case. Maybe my methods for detecting such an imposture may differ from those that they employ, but I can assure you that they bring the same results.”

  “ And how many of the paintings have been substituted ? ”

  “ From the brief examination I made at Amberfield House, I would say that there are several others which may be in the same condition.”

  The other sunk his face in his hands. “ And the diamonds from the brooch ? ”

  “ I have no news of them.”

  “ Are you sure you will not join me in a whisky and soda ? I feel I am in need of some kind of restorative.”

  This time, Holmes and I accepted his invitation, and Sir Godfrey rang the bell and placed an order for our drinks. We sat in silence until the decanter and syphon had been brought to us, and Sir Godfrey played host, dispensing the refreshments.

  “ What do you propose doing, Holmes ? ” he asked, having taken a pull at his drink, which appeared to restore a little of the colour to his face. “ Can you tell me when this substitution of the paintings would have taken place ? ”

  “ I think we can be certain that it was at a time when you were absent for a protracted period. The time needed to make the preparatory studies for a copy and then to execute such a copy, before replacing the original in the frame with the copy, would require a considerable amount of time, in my opinion. In the past two or three years, is there any such time when you have not visited the house for, say, two months on end ? ”

  “ Why, yes. I was appointed as an attaché to our Embassy in The Hague as a temporary appointment. Celia did not wish to live with me in the Netherlands, though she made frequent visits, and I held the position for nearly a year, returning to England some years ago. You believe the substitution was made at that time ? ”

  “ I am certain of it.”

  “ But who would have done such a thing ? ” Holmes said nothing in answer to this query, but fixed the baronet with a steady gaze. “ Celia ? But why ? ” asked Sir Godfrey.

  “ I have come across many reasons in the course of my career why such actions are undertaken,” explained Holmes. “ Almost without exception, I fear that they are ones which the perpetrators of the substitutions would sooner not have noised abroad.”

  I watched Sir Godfrey as Holmes’ meaning sank in. “ Blackmail ? ” gasped the other. His face had now turned to an alarming brick-red colour, and he was breathing hard through his nose. “ By God, if I find the blackguard who is doing this, his life will not be worth living ! I will make the scoundrel wish he had never been born.”

  “ Gently, gently,” Holmes calmed him. “ Your sentiments do you credit, but I can assure you from my experience of these matters that this is not the way to approach such a problem. Such rogues—and believe me, I fully share your opinion of the despicable specimens who practice such felonies—will immediately strike back with the information they hold, should they feel themselves threatened. Seeking revenge in this manner would be like putting your hand into a nest of vipers, my dear sir. With all due respect, I strongly advise allowing me to handle the business for you ? ”

  “ You and not the official police ? ”

  “ With all due respect to the officers of the official police force, though they do not lack bravery and tenacity, they are sadly deficient in reasoning power, and in the intelligent extraction of facts from evidence. Maybe there will be a need to involve the police when all has been revealed, and matters are safely under control.”

  “ I see,” said Sir Godfrey. “ And no doubt you wish me to foot the bill for these investigations of yours ? ” His tone was somewhat accusatory.

  “ By no means, Sir Godfrey,” replied Holmes lightly. “ When I bring the case to a satisfactory conclusion,” (there was a snort from the other at this, which seemed to indicate derision) “ you may feel inclined to increase my fee from what we have already agreed, but it already appears to me that this is one of those cases where the solution will largely constitute its own reward.”

  “ I believe that understand you,” repeated the other. “ What do you wish me to do ? ”

  “ At present, I merely require your permission to visit your house and question yo
ur servants. However, to avoid arousing suspicion, I will not be conducting such interviews in my own person. If you should chance to come across any of your servants in converse with a somewhat seedy-looking groom or some such, please have the kindness not to interrupt the conversation. It is more than likely that it will be I to whom they are talking.”

  “ And my wife, Celia ? I do not believe that you will adopt such a disguise in order to interview her.”

  “ Currently, I have no plans to talk to her, in my own character or in any other. However, should it appear to me that it is necessary to talk to her, I shall ask your permission in advance of doing so.”

  “ Very good. I can see, Holmes, that you have the manners of a gentleman, though your trade, if I may speak frankly, is not to my mind one which it is entirely proper for a gentleman to pursue.”

  “ Be that as it may,” my friend replied brusquely, “ as I said earlier, I would strongly recommend that you bring in additional experts in artistic matters to examine your paintings, some of which, as I mentioned, are probably copies, rather than the originals. If I may add a further recommendation, I would suggest that this be done while Lady Celia is absent, and that the knowledge of this is kept from her. By the by, the van Dyck currently reposing in my rooms will be returned to you in the next day or so.”

  “ I thank you for your advice on this matter. I will certainly be taking it, since you appear to know what you are doing here.”

  “ As matters further unfold themselves, I shall be making regular reports, addressed to you here at this club. I feel it would be unwise, if not somewhat premature, if Lady Celia were to learn of my involvement at this stage. There will be time enough for that anon. Come, Watson,” he added, swallowing the last of his drink, “ we must be on our way. My thanks for your hospitality, sir. I hope to have good news for you soon.”

  -oOo-

  FOR THE NEXT WEEK, I saw little of Sherlock Holmes. He left Baker-street early, dressed as a common workman, and returned late. I guessed that he was executing the plan he had outlined earlier of interrogating the servants at Amberfield House without their being aware that the famous Sherlock Holmes was questioning them.

  He confirmed this on the evening of the fourth day of these activities.

  “ It has been an exceedingly tiresome day,” he complained to me as he sat in his favourite armchair, clad in more respectable attire. “ For the whole morning, I was informed at excruciating length of the progress of Mrs. Wigmore’s lumbago—Mrs. Wigmore being the cook at Amberfield House, you understand. Even you Watson, in your capacity as a doctor, would have found the subject to be of a nature beyond description as regards its stultifying powers. And in the afternoon I have been forced to rebuff, in as gentle a fashion as possible without causing offence, the attentions of one of the housemaids, who has a pleasant enough face to look on, to be sure, but is without a brain in her head. For some reason she has decided that I am the man with whom she wishes to spend the rest of her life. The feeling, I assure you, is far from being reciprocated.” He drew on his pipe, and exhaled a great cloud of blue smoke. “ But we progress, Watson, we progress.”

  “ You have learned something, then ? ”

  “ Other than details regarding the symptoms of lumbago ? ” he laughed. “ Indeed. It would appear that Lady Celia has taken herself out of the house on many occasions when her husband is away from London, or out of the country. These absences occurred at night, typically from about nine o’clock until the small hours of the morning.”

  “ Where did she go ? ”

  “ That is a question to which none of the servants could supply an answer. She prepared herself as if for a ball, they say, and waited for a four-wheeler to draw up outside the door, whereupon she slipped outside, and entered the vehicle, which then drove off. She returned at about four or five in the morning by the same method.”

  “ And none of the servants has any idea of the identity of the owner of the carriage or of its destination ? ”

  “ That is correct. These nocturnal visits seem to have been sporadic in nature. Lady Celia would go out every night for three or maybe four nights on end, and then the pattern would cease for a week or more. On those other nights, she either took her own carriage, or remained at home. On no occasion, mark you, did she leave the house in this way while Sir Godfrey was in residence.”

  “ This has all the markings of a vulgar intrigue, does it not ? ”

  “ Some of them, it is true. But it does not explain the way in which all activity ceases for a while before resuming. In any event, I noted a few dates. May I prevail on you to visit the newspaper offices and look through the Society reports for those dates and those surrounding them. I wish to ascertain which social gatherings, if any, Lady Celia has attended at these times.”

  “ Have you made any progress with regard to the substituted paintings ? ”

  “ Indeed I have. A Mr. Visser—a Dutch name, by the way—was admitted on a number of occasions in Sir Godfrey’s absence. I have spoken with the footman responsible, and from the description I obtained, it appears that this Dutchman was carrying some sort of artist’s equipment with him when he made his visits. Not only that, but he appeared some two months later with a couple of workmen, carrying a large square package. This last was repeated on a number of occasions before Sir Godfrey’s return.”

  “ The implication being that this Visser was responsible for producing the copies of the paintings which have been substituted for the originals ? ”

  “ Precisely. Mynheer Visser, if that is his real name, should be the next object of my investigation, I feel. But first, if you would, Watson, I would very much appreciate any answers you can retrieve from the newspapers, while I continue my researches among the denizens of Amberfield House.”

  I spent an exhausting morning in the newspaper offices carrying out Holmes’ request. It appeared to me that Lady Celia was missing from the lists of guests at functions on many, but not all, of the dates when the mysterious carriage had spirited her away. On the other hand, her name did appear in the lists for functions held on some of the other dates, when she had, according to Holmes’ researches, taken her own carriage for the evening’s entertainment.

  “ It seems to me, Holmes,” I reported to him that evening, “ that Lady Celia’s entertainment is quite probably what you suspected—a series of assignations which would certainly constitute grounds for blackmail.”

  “ There is one problem with that idea, though,” was his rejoinder. “ It is the episodic nature, if we may term it so, of the assignations. Can we believe that the lady’s ardour, or that of her supposed lover, wanes and waxes in such a fashion ? There appears to be little rhyme or reason here. I am not such an expert in affairs of the heart as are you, Watson,” and here he gave me a slight wink of the eye, indicating that he was indulging in a little gentle “ chaff” at my expense, “ but it would seem to me that this is a very strange way of carrying on a love affair.”

  “ Indeed it is,” I agreed, “ and I can think of no reason for it.”

  “ While I suggest that we retain the idea of a love affair as a possibility in our minds, I recommend that we also examine other options as they come to us.”

  “ But with no definite lead to follow, other than this Mynheer Visser, the task seems hopeless,” I exclaimed.

  “ Not so, Watson. We must set a trap. I will propose to Sir Godfrey that he remove himself from the vicinity of London, thereby opening the way for Lady Celia to follow these inclinations of hers.”

  “ If it is indeed a love affair,” I pointed out, “ it may have cooled by now, and we will see no results.”

  Holmes shrugged. “ This is possible, of course, and we must not discount the likelihood of such a state of affairs. However, it is possible that a love affair is not the explanation of the problem. At any event, we will lose nothing by carrying out this stratagem. Once Sir Godfrey is safely away, the mouse, I trust, will start to play, and you and I will keep watch o
ver her antics. I feel there is little more of value to be gained by my continuing my visits to the servants’ hall at Amberfield House. It will disappoint my pretty-faced little housemaid, I am sure, but for myself, I will feel much relieved to be out of her sights.”

  Holmes put these words into practice, sending a telegram to Sir Godfrey inviting him to visit Baker-street, where he explained what he had discovered so far, and invited the other to remove himself to his country seat in Norfolk.

  The baronet seemed to be unsurprised by Holmes’ report and his suggestion. “ As it happens, I was thinking of doing exactly that. The pheasant season starts soon, and I want to be well-prepared for it. You say it is unlikely that Celia is conducting an affair, you say ? Not that I would be surprised if she was doing so, mark you. I suppose you could describe our marital status as a ‘ December and May’ kind of business, and I am sure I fail to provide her with the kind of amusing company that she no doubt expects.”

  “ I did not say that it was altogether out of the question,” replied Holmes, “ but I am emphasising the point that it is not the only possibility in this instance. In any case, I will send full reports to you in Norfolk as new facts come to light.”

  “ I appreciate any attempt to spare my feelings, but I can assure you that at my time of life there is no necessity for you to do so. In any case, if my leaving this pestilential hole of London will assist your investigations, I am more than happy to help you in this way.”

  “ Sir Godfrey is hardly a lover of our capital,” I remarked to Holmes following our visitor’s departure.

  “ I cannot conceive of living outside London,” he answered me. “ I require the raw energy that emanates from this throbbing and pulsating dynamo at the heart of our Empire in order to stimulate my mental powers. The idea of a placid bucolic existence on the Sussex Downs, say, is one that utterly fails to appeal to me.”

  “ Maybe when you are older,” I laughed, “ such an uneventful life may have its attractions.”