On entering the famous room in which so many baffling cases had been solved with the help of very strong tobacco, we found a tall, veiled women sitting upright on one of the dining chairs. There was another woman standing to one side and holding a large bag. Holmes was all attention. As was his practice, his sharp eyes took in every possible detail of the woman’s manner and her dress. The first thing I noticed, as I tried to emulate my friend, was that unlike most clients, even women, this one did not immediately rise and adopt a stance that left little doubt that they were desperate for help. The lady’s demeanour indicated that she was not accustomed to rising in order to greet someone.
‘Mr Holmes, I have come to you for help with a very delicate and most confidential matter. Before I speak of it, may we be alone?’ She spoke in a calm and clear voice, a voice that by its very intonation commanded attention.
‘Madam, Doctor Watson is not only a most reliable and trusted confidant, he is often a most essential part of my investigations. This interview shall not continue unless he is present.’
Inwardly I was most surprised and flattered to be spoken of in such terms. Rarely was my help acknowledged in the presence of others. A stately nod authorized my presence.
‘Will you remove your veil? I find it hinders an exchange of thoughts.’
‘Mr Holmes, as I have said, this is a very delicate matter on which I need to consult you. It concerns an object, not my person. I need to put it to you as a hypothetical situation.’ She did not remove her veil.
‘Indeed, your Grace,’ was Holmes’ response.
‘How could you…?’ For a second she lost her dignified manner.
‘Your coachman failed to cover your family crest on the door panel of your coach waiting at the end of the street. I could not help observing it as we walked past.’
‘I have been advised of your powers of observation, Mr Holmes. They are indeed remarkable.’
She then removed her veil. I watched Holmes studying the noble face and inwardly I thought about how such beauty had survived generation after generation, ever since Charles II had favoured her common ancestor.
‘Not only must I trust you both to keep what I have to tell you within these four walls, above all, no word must reach the duke. His position is already under attack both from within the party and from the opposition in both houses. I cannot bear to think what it might do to him. He has a very delicate constitution.’
‘Your Grace’s secret, whatever it is, is safe with Doctor Watson and I. Please tell me what troubles you. And, please, I must ask that you tell me everything concerning the matter. Keep nothing back.’
Her reply came as a great surprise to both of us. ‘My burden is the loss of the Rainbow diamond.’
‘That is indeed a loss,’ said Holmes. ‘Yet, how strange, for nothing has been reported in the newspapers or from my many contacts in the world of major criminals. So, when was it taken, or perhaps was it just mislaid?’
‘Three weeks ago. It was not mislaid. The diamond was taken by one of the servants.’
‘How was it taken?’
‘Foolishly, I had left it on the table in my sitting room when I went to fetch my tiara from the adjacent dressing room. When I came back I was surprised to see Sykes, one of the footmen, moving out onto the landing. It was then that I saw the diamond had gone.’
‘So he of the appropriate name is the suspect?’
‘Yes, without doubt, particularly as he rushed from the room. Fortunately he was apprehended by Dudgson the butler, who demanded why he was not at his proper place in the house. Sykes then broke free and sped down the servants’ stairs. Dudgson and I followed. The door to the preserves room was slammed in our faces and we heard him trying to open the outer door. When the butler got to him he feigned innocence, saying he meant no harm. I ordered him to be searched. This was done; however nothing incriminating was found on his person.’
‘You say nothing was found on Sykes.’
‘Nothing, Mr Holmes. We locked him in and I ordered Dudgson to say nothing of what had happened. Inspector Maigrett of the Dorset police was summoned. When I told him that the great diamond had been taken and that I had sent a telegram to my brother the Home Secretary, he agreed with me that Sykes was to have no discourse with others. My brother came down to Tarrant Parva and threatened the local inspector of police with dire consequences were he to divulge any of the facts to others, even to his own officers. That is why you have not heard about this dreadful loss until now. The inspector has worked alone until, when it was realized that he was making no progress, my brother suggested that I seek your help.’
‘Where is Sykes now?’
‘He was taken to an undisclosed location by agents of my brother.’
During this statement of facts by the duchess, I listened intently to every word. I did not want Holmes chiding me later over some important aspect of the crime that I may have missed. There was silence in the room. Outside the people in Baker Street were unaware of the story which was unfolding in their midst.
Holmes stood up, looked out of the window for a moment and then, turning, said, ‘Duchess, I can fully appreciate your concern. As I understand, the Rainbow is not only unique among diamonds, it is the subject of much dispute between the government and that of another country. Its loss, obviously, is not just a matter of its monetary value, some tens of thousands. Its disappearance might even lead to war.’
‘You are indeed correct. It must be found, and found before the duke and others in the cabinet, as well as certain foreign agents, learn of the loss. Above all, it must be returned for the sake of political stability both at home and abroad.’
‘We will go down to Tarrant Parva tomorrow, if that is convenient, your Grace. Doctor Watson and I will appear as authors of a book on architecture. This will have the object of allowing us to conduct a minute search of your great house and grounds without disclosing the nature of our presence. I presume, as Parliament is sitting, the duke will be staying at your town house?’
‘Correct, Mr Holmes. I shall expect you sometime tomorrow. Good day to you.’ She swept out of the room as only a duchess could.
When the two women had left, Holmes said, ‘Watson, I presume you will be able to come with me.’
‘Yes, I am certain I can.’
‘Good, then please will you look up the time of a morning train to Wimborne, the nearest town to Tarrant Parva.’
After some minutes of leafing back and forth through Bradshaw, I exclaimed, ‘There are no trains from Paddington.’
‘Watson, your knowledge of our railways has considerably improved but surely Wimborne is on the South Western and therefore look under Waterloo not Paddington. I trust you are being more careful in those scribblings of yours about my investigations when mentioning the termini of London.’
I replied, ‘Yes, of course it is. I must have forgotten.’
This was one of those rare occasions when I was repelled by Holmes’ egotism, when he criticized my attempts to record his cases. He sometimes charged me with including too much colour and life into my writing. He wanted me to concentrate on the logic rather than just on the sensational aspects of the crimes. I was, apparently, guilty of turning his intellectual analysis of crimes into a series of popular tales.
Part Two
The next morning we were seated in a first-class compartment of a South Western express. As usual, Holmes applied his mental faculties to determining our speed by counting the number of telegraph poles passed in a minute, or the number of rail joints clicked over each minute.
We then started to discuss the wider aspects of the Rainbow diamond affair and I ventured to comment, ‘I suppose our culprit’s other name was Bill.’
‘My dear fellow, I have never associated you with humour, even of the most banal kind.’
After changing trains at Bournemouth West, we reached Wimborne, where we refreshed ourselves in the Railway Hotel.
‘Watson, I always find it of benefit when starti
ng an investigation to listen to the local gossip.’
After the ten minutes or so it took to eat bread and cheese and drink ale, I asked Holmes if he had gathered anything useful from the gabble of voices around them.
‘No, nothing of interest, other than it is amazing how often one comes across yet another English dialect. Well, it is time we were on our way to visit the duchess at Tarrant Parva.’
Outside the hotel we found a four-wheeler waiting.
‘Watson, note the remarkably large driver and a singularly small horse.’ Then to the coachman he said, ‘Tarrant Parva, if you please.’
The coachman raised his whip in acknowledgement. We climbed in and away we went.
‘You know, Holmes, I seem to have spent a lifetime riding with you in decrepit vehicles along mired roads, under leaded skies, toward stately homes set in the back of beyond. Why can’t you confine your cases to London?’
Holmes did not respond. After ten minutes he remarked, ‘The last signpost pointed toward Tarrant Magna, yet since then we have passed only two tumbledown cottages.’
At the next crossroads the cab turned in the direction of the sign to Tarrant Bottom and then stopped. The cabman muttered behind the thick scarf wound round his head that we would have to walk for a while. We trudged up a hill. The poor horse wheezed alongside us. At the top, where we got back into the coach, I was not surprised to find a sign pointing down the hill to Upper Tarrant.
Further on, the cab stopped again. The horse had obviously decided it needed to regain its strength. When, after five minutes, there was no movement, Holmes knocked on the roof and shouted, ‘Come on, we need to get to Tarrant Parva, not sit in a lane.’
There was no reply from the cabman.
‘What is he up to?’ said Holmes.
We got out to find that our cabman had disappeared. Further down the narrow lane in which we were stopped was another cab.
‘You know, Holmes, there seems to be something very strange going on. What is that cab doing there? I can see no driver.’
‘Look out, Watson!’ shouted Holmes and immediately I found myself amid a whirl of arms, legs and fists. A heavy stick just missed my shoulder and crashed against the side of the cab. For what seemed an eternity, we had to fight off two ruffians who were intent on doing us severe harm. Despite my weak leg I managed to contribute a few well-aimed blows to add to those being skilfully applied by Holmes, using his fist and stick. By chance one of our attackers swung his cudgel in an attempt to strike down Holmes. Fortunately his companion got in the way of the blow and became hors de combat. His companion abandoned the fight and fled.
We dragged the senseless villain into a hedge and left him. With Holmes on the seat box we continued our journey. Eventually we came to a long, ancient, high brick wall. A mile further on we reached the lodge at the beginning of the long drive stretching in the distance toward Tarrant Parva. Leaving the cab with the gatekeeper, we continued on foot.
As we walked, we discussed the attempt to interrupt our journey.
‘Why should anyone want to attack us?’
‘I can only surmise, Watson, that they were either gypsies or tinkers intent on robbery or there was a more sinister reason. There are also other facts that could be related to the attack made on us. I may have dwelled in the great metropolis for most of my time but there are nearly as many trees there as in the country. The simplest of compasses is provided by the fact that lichen survives only on the north side of a tree trunk. That driver has taken us north, south, east and west. Why? Could he have been lost?’
‘Surely not! He was, I presume, a local man familiar with the roads in these parts. You have told me about lichen many times, Holmes. I admit I was not aware of any particular direction in which we were going, although I am certain we had passed through the same village twice.’
‘Furthermore, Watson, why would another cab, seemingly unattended, be standing in the lane where we were attacked? I will have to investigate the day’s events more thoroughly. Perhaps there is even a story in all this for you to add to your collection of adventures and mysteries?’
As we came close to the ancient house, I noted in particular the addition of the modern red brick wing with attached, walled kitchen garden. We were received by the duchess in her sitting room on the first floor. There we were shown the small safe in which the famous diamond had been kept. She recounted how it had been on the small table, ready to be hooked in its setting securely onto the front of her tiara.
‘Your Grace, why is the Rainbow a separate piece on your tiara?’ asked Holmes.
‘A good question. You see, it is only worn on the tiara when dining formally. On other occasions, such as state functions, when others are not close to me, it is replaced by a replica of cut glass. This reduces the chances of it being lost. My tiara might even be snatched away.’
Holmes studied the door to the room and then the passageway outside. Leading down from the passage were the stairs used by the servants. We went down to the room in which Sykes had been held. There was a large heated copper vat and the shelves were lined with small jars. The air was heavy with the aroma of boiled sugar and oranges. A door led out into the kitchen garden. Holmes drew my attention to a white apron on the front of which was the ducal crest. There were others but they were not emblazoned.
‘I have seen enough, thank you, your Grace. I shall keep you informed.’
With that we took our leave.
As the late-evening train took us up to London, Holmes appeared to take no more interest in our visit other than to remark about the number of books in the duchess’s sitting room on the subject of fruit, along with the latest edition of Mrs Beeton.
‘Why a book on cookery, Holmes? Sufrely someone in her position does not need to be concerned with how a dish is prepared?’
‘I had the same thought. By the way, have you started on writing up the case of that remarkable submersible machine? I wonder if Jules Verne was more prophetic than we have given him credit for in the past?’
‘No, I have yet to find the time. By the way, Holmes, on the subject of writing and books, have you considered writing one on your investigatory methods? You have prepared a number of monographs on different subjects. Surely they could form the basis of a work which could be an inestimable guide for the official police? Consider the popularity of Mrs Beeton’s Household Management. Your book could be the equivalent in the world of crime.’
‘My dear fellow, are you equating my methods with those of managing a household and preparing food.’
‘Well, only indirectly.’
‘Yes, if I had the time I might write such a book. However, there is one caveat, which is the possibility that it might provide the criminal fraternity with ways of avoiding detection.’
My proposal and other comments and questions passed the time. The train stopped at Basingstoke and a man entered our compartment. I could not avoid noticing that Holmes, as usual, made an appraisal of the stranger’s dress, manner and small leather case. After a number of unadvertised stops, we reached Waterloo. For every ten arriving travellers, there seemed to be only one cab.
‘Shall we walk across the bridge, Watson? I need to stretch my legs. We can hail a hansom in the Strand.’
My weak leg and I reluctantly agreed.
As a hansom took us toward Baker Street, Holmes put the inevitable question.
‘I trust you observed the gentleman who joined us at Basingstoke?’
‘I didn’t take much interest in him. As it is your custom, I am sure you did and now you are going to tell me all about the stranger.’
‘He provided a fairly easy exercise in deduction. Firstly, there was a length of narrow pink tape protruding from his small case. That suggested a lawyer. Secondly, he did not have a drawstring cloth bag of the type in which advocates stow their wig and gown and therefore he was not a barrister, and so must have been a solicitor. Thirdly, he had, most likely, come from the Winchester Assizes at which there is at present
a protracted trial for murder. As it was five o’clock and he was going up to town then he was on his way to attend an urgent evening meeting in chambers. Furthermore, you see—’
I interrupted him. ‘If you say so. Then it must be.’
I could see that Holmes was somewhat taken aback by the petulant tone of my response.
‘Your immediate trouble, Watson, is The Mikado. Every time the train was delayed for some reason or other I observed the agitated tapping of your foot and your compressed lips. You were concerned lest the train were further delayed and you would not be in time for the theatre.’
‘Yes, that is so. How did you know?’
‘Very simple, my dear fellow. Before we left this morning I could not help noticing our housekeeper laying out your dress clothes and your opera hat.’
I replied, ‘You are most correct. Nevertheless, how did you know I was going to see The Mikado?’
‘Simple, dear Watson. You have left The Spectator open for a week at the page on which was printed a full review.’
The next visit was to the Home Secretary.
‘My Lord, I understand,’ said Holmes, ‘that for reasons of government confidentiality, only the butler at Tarrant Parva and the police inspector at Wimborne know about the missing jewel.’
‘That is correct, Mr Holmes. This dreadful affair has to be kept most secret and I can assure you that my sister and I will be most grateful if you can lead us to the diamond.’
‘Sir, there is also the matter of the burglaries in St John’s Wood involving the town houses of most of the ministers of the crown. Inspector Lestrade has requested me to become involved with his investigations.’
‘So I understand. However, your help must not stand in the way of the recovery of the diamond. That must be paramount.’
‘It could be that there is a connection between the two.’
‘Come, come, Mr Holmes. How could there be? The St John’s Wood pantry burglaries are important only because they happen to involve the town houses of high officials of the government; otherwise they are more of a nuisance. Admittedly, I have been placed under pressure to do something and that is why I gave Inspector Lestrade unlimited powers to clear up the cases, and thereby stop the cynical and scurrilous comments in the press.’
Sherlock Holmes at the Breakfast Table Page 8