"The Widow" Bertha

The dock area in east London used to belong to the East India Company, but with the second industrial revolution and the disbandment of the East India Company, the docks in this area were gradually abandoned, and the people living there are basically poor civilians.

Thomas Thames sent the gypsies ahead of time to escape Scotland Yard in the Eastern Docklands, and there was nothing more to say, and Bertha let them hang out for weeks.

Gypsies have been riding a tiger these weeks: go back?But Scotland Yard didn't catch anyone at the time, and they will definitely have to meet the police after they go back; stay?The dock area also has its own forces entrenched, this is someone else's territory, it is really not suitable to stay for a long time.

After much deliberation, Maria had no choice but to bow her head—this was exactly what Bertha wanted.

That night, the carriage that covered the nameplate of the White Horse Hotel arrived as scheduled.

The other party made an appointment in an abandoned factory building in the dock area. Bertha and Thomas walked side by side. After entering the door, they saw Maria waiting with five gypsies.

The gypsy girl Maria looked at the woman in red who came over, her face was cloudy and cloudy: They hadn't been doing very well recently, but Bertha Thames in front of her was still in high spirits.She obviously has the same dark skin and eyes of other races, but her appearance that is closer to Hispanic makes her more inclined to "gorgeous" rather than "mysterious".

Although the identity gap between them is not only based on this appearance, Maria still feels jealous to some extent.

"Lady Thames."

It's just that this jealousy will not affect Maria's judgment. She has been at home all over the world for so long, and what she knows best is to assess the situation.The gypsy girl changed her habit of ignoring her and politely lowered her posture to Bertha: "Thank you very much for visiting in person."

Bertha responded indifferently: "What's the detour between you and me? Tell me what you have to say, Maria."

Maria was also not polite to her: "I am asking for your help on behalf of my family."

"What help?"

"Help us get home," she said, "to the shanty town and not be chased by the police."

"Um……"

Bertha didn't respond immediately, she just looked at Maria again for a moment, and then said, "You ask me to do something, what can you give me?"

Maria: "We will remember Mrs. Thames' kindness. If there is a need in the future, the gypsies will definitely help."

Bertha: "Just make an empty promise?"

Maria paused: "What else does Mrs. Thames want?"

What Bertha wanted, she couldn't believe that the quack in front of her didn't understand!

Just a kindness, that's it?Thanks to Maria being able to speak, Bertha barely held back her smile.

A gypsy like Maria, who grew up in the Whitechapel area, has never done any tricks and abductions. When it comes to the critical moment, she tells Bertha that she will pay back the favor in the future--Bertha is neither a hero nor a hero. A philanthropist, believe her to be a ghost.

"Maria, let me remind you," Bertha said with a smile, "I asked Thomas to tell you about Scotland Yard's movements, you know that, right?"

"Naturally, thanks to you, Mrs. Thames."

"Just for moving out of the shantytown, you owe me a favor, and now you want to move back, and you owe me a favor, can you still afford it?"

"..."

The humility on Maria's face faded slightly.

She stared deeply at Bertha for a long time, and then showed an extremely rare sincerity: "I know what you want, Mrs. Thames, you want to win us over and let us become part of your gang. I ask in turn In a word, madam, there are so many Roma in the world, can you win them over?"

After finishing speaking, she lowered her head again, avoiding Bertha's burning gaze.

"I owe two favors, I swear to all the gods in this world - even if you never respect any of them, we will definitely pay back, please feel free to ask if you have any requests. But you want to restrain us I’m sorry, I’ll pretend today that I didn’t ask you.”

That's more or less.

Of course Bertha wanted to recruit gypsies to form her own gang, but she also knew very well that this was impossible.The reason why he helped was because he wanted to have a good relationship with the gypsies.

But Bertha doesn't like hypocrisy and submissiveness, so don't give her that kind of kindness. This is why Maria has always had a bad attitude towards her, but Bertha has never been angry—a bad attitude at least proves that she is honest.

"In this case, I will ask you for two agreements."

Bertha was not too polite.

"Number one, when I form a gang, the gypsies have to be the first to support it."

"Naturally, you have proven that you are capable, ma'am."

"Second, the Gypsies and my people will coexist peacefully in the future. Even if there is a conflict of interest, they must be negotiated in advance rather than directly conflicting."

"You want a covenant of peace?"

"Yes."

Unexpectedly, Maria laughed, and she seemed helpless: "I really don't know what to say about you, madam, is there any need to say? Of course we will not conflict with you."

Bertha sneered a few times in her heart, and said: "I don't believe your empty promises. What I want is a contract written in the clauses, which is very important for me to establish a gang."

Maria: "Although you locals think we are synonymous with liars, we have our limits."

Okay, you can do whatever you want, but Bertha still needs a contract—even Rochester has signed a contract with her, don't the male protagonists in love stories keep their promises better than you.

"You only need to agree," Bertha said, "Leave the rest to me."

Over at Scotland Yard...

Bertha turned her mind around and thought of several ways: one was Mr. Ashton, whom she met at Thornfield Manor, and he was willing to help Bertha if he had a request; the other was Mrs. Ward, the Home Secretary. The wife was always able to assist in reaching Scotland Yard; the third, of course, was Mr. Mycroft.

After thinking about it, Bertha thought it would be better to trouble Mycroft.

At present, no one except Mycroft knew the fact that Miss Marple was Mrs Thames.Whether it is to ask Mr. Ashton or Mrs. Ward for help, it is always necessary to think of an excuse, which is too troublesome.

Furthermore, asking Mr. Mycroft to help can be regarded as enhancing the relationship between the two. "Lover" always needs to maintain interaction.

"You go back first."

Bertha slowed down her words: "Please stay in the dock area for a few more days, and I will reply as soon as possible. It's getting late tonight, there are only six of you here, be careful."

"six people?"

Maria was a little dazed: "I obviously brought four people out."

Bertha: "..."

Maria: "..."

The eyes of the two ladies coincidentally looked at the man in worn-out clothes with the brim of his hat covering his face at the gate of the abandoned factory building on the pier.

man:"…………"

Immediately he pressed his hat tightly and turned away—

"Thomas?" Bertha tilted her head.

"What are you still doing, catch him!" Maria shouted.

As the words fell to the ground, the man standing at the door almost ran away.

Thomas reacted the fastest, and he rushed forward even before Bertha spoke. Seeing the youthful and agile figure, Bertha and Maria looked at each other silently.

Bertha: "I thought he was one of yours."

Maria: "I thought he was your coachman."

When the two heard the words, they showed speechless expressions at the same time.

This happened so quickly, Bertha didn't feel any sense of vigilance or crisis, but only felt a strong sense of humor.Fortunately, the eavesdropper did not run away, and after about five or six minutes, Thomas Thames had turned him back.

"Ma'am, caught it!"

The young man ran panting, but he never let go.He directly pressed the eavesdropper to the ground, and took off his hat: "Who sent you?"

The gypsy who followed behind said vigilantly: "Maybe it's the police, we have to deal with him quickly."

The man on the ground twisted his body desperately: "I'm not a policeman!"

Bertha looked at the back of the man's head for a moment, then squinted her eyes: "He's wearing a wig, take it off."

Thomas raised his hand in response, and tore off the man's messy wig, revealing his real black hair.

"You look up and look at me talking." Bertha said coldly.

The man on the ground looked up immediately.

Their eyes met, and Bertha was almost taken aback by the man's face——

It was a young man who looked to be about Thomas's age, or even younger, with a thin, angular face that could be called handsome.It's just his falcon-like eyes and cold demeanor...

A little familiar.

Bertha would not have thought much of it had she not seen what Mycroft Holmes looked like.

But after meeting the elderly Mr. Holmes, a face so similar to him looked at her, and Bertha still couldn't restrain the thoughts that surged up in her heart——

Calculated according to Mycroft's age, the famous detective Sherlock Holmes is just in his early twenties this year, and Mr. Ashton clearly mentioned it before at Thornfield Manor, and the current Sherlock Holmes Already a detective.

Shouldn't the detective who has just entered the profession be like the young man in front of him, with green onions written all over his face?

Bertha stared at this face similar to Mycroft's for a long time, so long that Thomas couldn't help but ask, "Ma'am? What are you going to do with him?"

how to deal with...

Bertha raised her eyebrows, expressionless: "Damn anyone who eavesdrops, be tied to a stone and sink into the Thames."

Thomas: "..." So ruthless? !

This sentence not only calmed Thomas, but also the group of gypsies led by Maria. On the contrary, the young man who was pinned to the ground said fearlessly: "Wait a minute! Ma'am, you want to form a gang, I Know which side you can win over."

Pretty smart.

Bertha laughed without surprise.

"Okay," she said with a smile, her pretty face shining brightly, "Tell me, which side should I win over? If I'm not satisfied, I'll sink you into the bottom of the river."

She was quite looking forward to what strategy this young man, suspected to be the great detective Sherlock Holmes, would offer.