Baker Street Charterers

I don't know if it was due to the exhaustion of traveling these days, Holmes fell ill as soon as he returned to Baker Street.

Even before that, he took a case about the Sumatra Company and Baron Maupertuiz, and became famous after successfully cracking it, but his body couldn't keep up with his fame, and he couldn't bear it any longer. A serious illness.

The illness was so violent that Holmes collapsed for a whole week, suffering from severe cold, high fever, coughing, and in the worst case, he was unconscious for several hours.As a result, Nora had to temporarily bring some clothes from the apartment and live in No. 221b to take care of him.

Watson would visit his friend every day, and bring useful medicines for his illness.But Holmes' condition didn't improve much. Finally, after thinking about it, Watson made a judgment: it was caused by the terrible weather in London. It was raining constantly and the air was bad. It was difficult for a seriously ill person to fully recover in such an environment.So he suggested that Nora take Holmes to Surrey to recuperate for a few weeks. It is located in the southeast of England. , is a very good place for recuperation.

This time Holmes didn't have any reason to refute—in fact, he couldn't make a sound either, and watched feebly as Nora commanded the hands to carry him into the carriage, and the wheels began to roll.

It was raining outside, and Nora raised her hand to close the car window, then took out a novel, and read it with her head down.

There was only the sound of Holmes' heavy breathing in the car, and it was very quiet. She even missed this feeling for a while—God knows that since she knew about Moriarty's existence, she has rarely felt such a peaceful and beautiful atmosphere. .

Until she heard Holmes's slightly hoarse voice sounded softly.

"This book doesn't belong in my bookcase... where did you get it?"

"A friendly gift from Cleveland." Nora still bowed her head.

Holmes was silent for a moment.

When Nora looked up, Holmes had already chosen to change the topic, a safer topic, "...where did you learn the code-breaking method?"

"..."

Nora paused for a while, then slowly closed the book and raised her head. Although Holmes was pale and weak, his eyes were fixed on her, shining faintly in the dimly lit carriage.She thought for a moment, and was about to speak when she heard Holmes say dissatisfiedly, "I need your most direct answer... All the pauses are prepared for lies. I don't want to hear lies. I'd rather you refuse to answer." .”

"..." Well, sick people need to be accommodated——Nora told herself that, she turned her head slightly to look at him, Holmes didn't show any superfluous expression, and looked extremely calm.

"You want to know why I know these things--these profound knowledges that the ordinary Nora Sharp should not know at all?"

Holmes nodded slightly, "I cannot deny that I am really curious."

Nora blinked and said softly, "You never believed in God, did you, Charlie?"

Holmes paused for a few seconds, seeming to consider the relationship between this question and what she said, "God will never help me solve a case... Yes, although I will mention the phrase 'God help', but I don't believe he is real."

"Then maybe you need to break your faith from this moment on." Nora laughed jokingly, "Because my coming is a miracle."

Holmes frowned, and he looked at her without any fluctuation in expression.

"Well... obviously you don't believe me, but Sherlock, to be honest... I can't explain it. Do you remember what I told you about 'my secret'?"

"It's like yesterday."

"Then this matter is also one of the secrets... It's not that I don't want to tell you. Believe me, I want to confess to you with [-]% sincerity, but the timing is still not right."

Holmes watched her.

Finally, he nodded, "I believe in you."

Nora breathed a sigh of relief, and she added, "One day I will tell you everything, Charlie... everything, nothing to hide."

"I know." Holmes remained calm, his slightly hoarse deep voice added more convincing force to his words, "Even if you are an undercover spy sent by Moriarty to confuse me and make me lose my mind and become emotional , I also choose to believe what you say."

Nora was taken aback.

In fact, she was quite moved by his frank words without hesitation in her heart, but on the contrary, her face was calm, only a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and the light in her eyes became softer and brighter. And it's impossible to betray you, Sherlock - remember that no matter what happens."

Holmes nodded slightly and smiled, "Yes, ma'am."

So Nora calmed down and continued to read on the slightly bumpy path with her head down.

Holmes glances down seemingly inadvertently - Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen.

He was silent for a while, because he remembered the first sentence at the beginning of the book, "It has become a universally recognized truth that every rich bachelor always wants to marry a wife..."

What did she say just now, Cleveland Hawk gifted this book as a gift?

Holmes cleared his throat. "Why don't you read the book I gave you?"

Nora, "...you mean "Appraisal in the Age of Documents", by Sherlock Holmes?"

He tried his best to be serious, but his slightly pale face and weak tone made him less confident, "Yes, that's right."

Nora was silent for a few seconds, "...that is indeed a good monograph, but I just need a vulgar but interesting novel to pass the time on the road."

Holmes, however, paid keen attention to another point. "To pass the time? When you are with me?"

Nora, "..."

"Ah, it's fun to be with you most of the time..." Nora said as gently as possible.

Holmes gave a weak cough.

"I mean, it's always been fun being with you," Nora said quickly.

Holmes lowered his eyes. "Then do you enjoy reading this vulgar novel?"

It's actually pretty funny... Nora swears.A smile appeared on her face, "Of course...no, this kind of heart-stirring love story between a rich boy with ideals and an ambitious girl from a poor family must be nothing to watch."

Holmes frowned, "I remember... Mr. Hawke is still a rich bachelor?"

Nora didn't know so, "ah yeah... what's the problem?"

"When did he send you this book?" asked Holmes.

"About... half a month ago."

Holmes heard another meaning from this short answer, "Half a month ago? When I was meticulously looking for the clues left by the Baron?"

Upon hearing this, Nora immediately put away the book, put her hands on her knees, and said solemnly, "He just came to ask about Little William's whereabouts, of course...whether he got clues about Little William or something else , he returned disappointed.”

Holmes nodded in satisfaction, "Without a doubt."

She felt amused and happy in her heart—this man, who is usually too rational and calm, can only show such real and undisguised emotions when he is sick and weak, which makes him look very cute, And humane.

During the long journey since then, the smile on the corner of Nora's mouth has never dissipated.

They rented a cottage in Surrey from a friendly old Cretan couple who had lost their son.After negotiating the price, they moved in.Sherlock Holmes lived in the room facing the sun, which she thought he needed more than any other hour, and she lived in the room next door.The journey made Holmes feel exhausted, and he almost fell asleep on the bed.Nora covered him with a quilt, quietly closed the door and went out, packed everything, and even enjoyed a few hours in the small garden afterwards.It wasn't until around six o'clock in the evening that she heard rustling noises coming from Holmes' room.

She walked over, knocked on the door, and called, "Sherlock?"

The voice inside fell silent for an instant, and a few seconds later came the other party's slightly more energetic voice, "Please come in."

When she opened the door, Holmes had already put on his coat and was arranging his tie. His complexion was better than in the afternoon. Looking over from his shiny gray eyes, he was obviously in a good mood, and he greeted with a cheerful voice, "Good evening." , my lady."

"Good evening, my great detective." Nora smiled. "Dinner is almost ready. There is your favorite chicken and red wine."

Holmes' eyes lit up. After taking bitter drugs for a week, he was looking forward to this dinner, especially because the chef who made this dinner was an old couple who were good at cooking, not Mrs. Hudson, whose dark cooking pair lived at 221b Baker Street The people on the account have had long-lasting and terrible sequelae. Until now, when it comes to her craftsmanship, everyone is still terrified.

Sure enough, Holmes and Nora had a delicious and comforting dinner after staying away from Mrs. Hudson's cooking.Originally, as a patient, Holmes should lie down and rest at this time, but he didn't know whether he was full of sleep or because he was already full of energy, so he walked around the study with great interest, holding a book with an old cover. Sitting on the sofa with his head, he watched intently.

Nora knew she couldn't stop him, so she didn't make a sound, just brought him hot water and medicine, and walked out of the study without disturbing him.

She was well aware of the seriousness of the great detective's occupational diseases, and when he showed a common or unusual interest in something, it was difficult even for her to interrupt this interest.

Didn't she always appreciate and like his concentration?

After more than an hour, Nora, who was sitting in the living room, warming up by the fireplace, and chatting with the old couple, heard a suppressed low cough coming from the study, and she had to apologize to interrupt this pleasant heart-to-heart conversation. Walked over, opened the door, and said warningly, "Sherlock, you should rest."

"In a little while." He raised his voice without raising his head, "I discovered an interesting poisonous recipe, this arsenic-containing wine can cure diseases in a small dose, but it can become fatal in a large dose. poison--"

Nora felt itchy when she heard this, but after thinking about it, she straightened her face again and said in a deep voice, "If you don't rest, I'm going to give you this kind of poison."

Holmes burst out laughing, seeming to be quite pleased. "You really sound like Mrs. Hudson. Why can't we get rid of her wherever we go?"

Nora Hudson, "If you don't want to take a break, we can read the funny and cheesy Pride and Prejudice together."

Holmes, "Please help me back to my room to rest, Nora, I am sleepy now."

"..."