More Holmes for the Holidays by Martin H. Greenberg

Author:Martin H. Greenberg [Greenberg, Martin H.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holmes for the Holidays
Published: 2007-03-03T07:00:00+00:00

The six tables had been set with six places each, and as the guests took their seats I saw that thirty-five of the chairs were occupied. They’d accommodated me at the last minute, and only Jules Blackthorn was missing. I was at the table with Holmes and Mrs. Ascott, and we’d been joined by Erskine Childers and his wife, an attractive young woman with a pleasant smile. An older woman, a neighbor of Dobson’s named Monica Selfridge, rounded out our table.

Elvira glanced over at the next table where their host seemed to be seated without a female companion. “Is Mrs. Dobson here?” she asked the neighbor.

“No, the poor dear died some years back. Edgar has been alone here since then.”

Holmes was two seats away from me, with Elvira in between, so it was impossible for me to ask him what had transpired in the meeting with Dobson. Before I knew it the first course was being served and we’d drifted into a discussion of sailing. “Two years ago Erskine and his brother crossed the North Sea on a yacht,” his wife told us, “all the way to the Frisian Islands in Germany.”

“And what did you find there?” Holmes inquired.

Childers gave a shrug. “Germans.”

“As long as they weren’t the French,” the older woman commented.

“We have nothing to fear from France,” Childers insisted. “It is Germany who wants to invade and conquer us.”

“Really?” Monica Selfridge drew in her breath. “I’m planning a trip there next summer. Will I be safe?”

“If we’re not at war by that time.”

“How would they invade us?” asked Holmes.

“By sea, of course. It’s the only way. A fleet of small boats hidden among the Frisian Islands could cross the North Sea and land along our coast before we knew what was happening.”

A sudden shudder seemed to pass through Elvira Ascott’s body. “Please, I don’t want to hear any more talk of war. It’s bad enough to have a husband volunteer to fight the Boers—”

Childers was immediately interested. “I say, is he down there already? I thought my group would be the first volunteers to go.”

“He sailed last week,” she said, looking more distressed by the moment. “I wish he were with me now.”

I watched Samuels carving roast beef for the main course, holding it with a fork in his right hand while he carved it perfectly with his left. The meat was delicious and after the main course Elvira excused herself. I was able to lean across her chair and ask Holmes quietly, “Was an agreement reached?”

“She put him off, but promised a final decision before she returned to London this evening. I fear she is about to sign away something of value, although the price he offers seems fair enough.”

The neighbor, Miss Selfridge, left our table and sat down at the piano. As she played some holiday carols the waiters moved among the tables serving an ice cream dessert in the shape of a Yule log. I was quite impressed, having never seen anything like it before.

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