Sherlock Holmes (46 page)

“Holmes!” I cried, “I think that
you will need to pour a fourth cup.”

Holmes looked over his shoulder
and casually held up the teapot, saying, “I think not, Watson.
Madame Duval is a coffee drinker, are you not, Madame?”

Madame Duval's face was like
stone but, as she locked eyes with Holmes, a slight smile appeared.
“How intuitive of you, Mr Holmes. Please, enjoy your tea and I will
join you gentlemen in a few moments, if I may?” Reaching to the
side of Holmes, Madame Duval picked up a slim volume from the
sideboard before leaving without a second glance.

Holmes now served each of us and
we sat enjoying our tea in this fragrant room. “Tell me, Mr Duval,
are you also from Mulhouse?” asked Holmes.

Duval shook his head. “No, Mr
Holmes, I am a Parisian but my mother was English. I met my wife in
Paris some two years ago… it was, what the English might call, a
whirlwind romance. We met in January and were married by March. In
truth, I do not know what she saw in me. It was certainly not my
money. Whilst I am quite well known for my flying and I am invited
to many social occasions where I meet many important people, I am
not a rich man.”

I looked around the elegant room
and Duval saw my gaze and laughed. “It is not my fortune that
provides all this, Dr Watson, it is Adelinda's.”

Holmes nodded and I heard him
mutter under his breath, “Adelinda!”

The door to the room opened and
I could smell the coffee as Madame Duval entered the room, followed
closely by Charlotte bearing a tray. Dismissing Charlotte, Madame
Duval poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting beside her
husband.

Holmes pointed to the sideboard,
saying, “Now that you have broken your arm, Mr Duval, you must find
it difficult to open your snuff box. I noticed a fine, engraved
silver example on your sideboard.”

Duval laughed, but one glance at
his wife told me that she was far from being amused. Her look
towards Holmes was full of malice. “No, Mr Holmes, I do not partake
of snuff. The box contains plant pollen. Adelinda uses it to hand
pollinate her flowers as we have neither bees nor butterflies
inside the house.”

Holmes smiled and nodded wisely.
“Ah, I see. I did wonder as to the need for an artist’s paintbrush
whilst administering snuff. Well, thank you for the refreshments. I
trust my notes have been of some value, Mr Duval. I am afraid
Doctor Watson and I must take our leave. He has a patient to see in
Harrow, a Mrs Mayfield.”

The crash of breaking china and
a cry from Madame Duval made the three of us look in her direction.
She looked ashen and was dabbing at her dress with a napkin. “I'm
so sorry… please forgive me, Claude.” With that, Madame Duval ran
from the room.

Holmes picked up his sketchbook
and, after shaking hands with a plainly shocked Mr Duval, we left
his home, walking out once more into Portman Square. Holmes hailed
a passing Hansom and I was more than a little surprised when he
directed the cabbie to take us to Kew Gardens.

As we travelled towards Kew, I
was mystified by our change of destination. “Tell me, Holmes, why
Kew? I thought we were to visit Mrs Mayfield in Harrow.”

Holmes’ face showed no emotion.
“It would be quite pointless; I believe that she would have no
memory of the event whatsoever.”

Turning towards me, he could see
from my expression that I had not followed the train of events that
had brought him to this conclusion. “It is my opinion, Watson, that
we are dealing with international intrigue. I believe Madame Duval
to be in the pay of the German Government and she has been
gathering intelligence through her tea parties. Our visit to Kew
will no doubt confirm it.”

I sat bemused. Shaking my head,
I said, “I’m sorry, Holmes. I will have to wait until after dinner
when you can explain all.” Holmes laughed and patted my arm in
re-assurance.

It seemed that we had only
travelled some little distance before we could see the huge
glasshouse of Kew Gardens. Holmes asked the driver to wait for us
at the gates and tossed him a shilling. Making our way towards the
glasshouse, Holmes enquired as to my thoughts on Duval's own
orangerie.

Thinking as I walked, I said,
“Well, it was both unexpected and pleasantly fragrant. Some of the
varieties of plants that I observed were ones I thought I would not
see again outside India. I noticed that there were several plants
of the Solanaceae family...of course, the Hindu datura!” I cried.
On saying these words, the memory of my service in Afghanistan and
my journeys through India flooded back, reminding me once more of
the wonderful local vegetation.

Holmes nodded, and as we drew
near, we were met by a member of Kew Gardens’ staff who immediately
recognised my friend. “Why, Mr Holmes! What a pleasure it is to see
you again, sir. How can we be of service?”

Holmes nodded politely and
asked, “I wonder if it might be possible for us to see some of your
Datura specimens? I would appreciate a little information on them
and their uses.”

Our guide smiled, saying, “Of
course, Mr Holmes. This way, sir.”

We were led into the great
glasshouse and then on into an area that held even more plants that
I recognised from my time in Asia. I must confess that the scent of
the flowers in this area was certainly not as pleasant as that of
Mr Duval's orangerie. Our guide noticed my expression of distaste
and smiled. “Ah, not all the members of the datura genera are sweet
smelling, sir. Try this one, Datura suaveolens, ‘The Angel's
Trumpet’.”

Holmes smiled and nodded. “I
believe that you will find this particular datura more acceptable.
The clue is in the name, Watson. Suave, as you will no doubt
remember from your Latin class, means sweet, hence 'suaveolens'.
Tell me, if you will, what is the significance of the common name '
The Angel's Trumpet'? Is it simply the shape of the flower?”

Our guide shook his head. “Sadly
not, sir. That is a common misconception. Perhaps it might be more
accurate to say that the angel's trumpet might be the sound one
would hear if one were to ingest a fatal amount. It must be
remembered that these plants have been used for centuries as a
poisoner’s tool… but not only that, extracts from their seeds and
pollen from the flowers have been used as both a sedative and a so
called ‘truth drug’.”

“A truth drug?” I blurted
out.

Our guide nodded. “Yes, sir,
many people become very loose-tongued when they have ingested an
infusion made from these datura seeds or even from just a sprinkle
of pollen put into their tea. Very often those who have imbibed
become very passive and have no recollection of what has happened.
However, other drinkers have been known to hallucinate and suffer
severe muscle spasms. The effects vary and there have indeed been
fatalities in those who have drunk it.”

It was a revelation! I stood
there and simply uttered the word “Tea!”

Our guide again nodded, “Yes,
sir. Dosage is not an exact science, you understand. It depends on
the age and variety of plant, how the poison is administered and,
indeed, on the individual.”

Holmes stood in thought for a
moment, his forefinger pressed to his pursed lips. Then, smiling to
our guide, Holmes said, “Thank you. It is as I suspected. You have
been most helpful. Come Watson, I have an urgent telegram to send!”
With a nod to our guide we were off. Our cab was still waiting for
us at the entrance to Kew and, after only stopping briefly to send
a telegram, we were soon back in Baker Street.

Dinner was eaten almost in
silence for, until I was refreshed, I could not reason effectively.
With the meal finished, we sat and smoked. After a few minutes, I
decided it was now an appropriate time to ask Holmes to explain his
solution to the case.

Summoning up my courage, I
asked, “Tell me, Holmes, in such a way that my addled brain will
understand, what exactly happened today?”

Holmes laughed. “In a nutshell,
Watson, it is really quite simple. The German Secret Service was
using Adelinda Duval to administer a truth drug, obtained from the
plants in her orangerie, to the wives of singularly important men.
This was done in order to obtain sensitive information which could
then be used by the Germans to blackmail them.”

I nodded in agreement. “Yes,
yes… but how was it done and how did you detect it?” I cried.

Holmes took a pull on his pipe
and began thus… “I became suspicious when Charlotte told us that
Madame Duval only drank coffee when entertaining her lady friends
and insisted on serving the tea herself. Any respectable household
would expect the maid to carry out this task. However, Madame Duval
needed to do this herself in order to be able to administer the
pollen from the datura.”

Again I nodded, saying, “Hence
the pollen in the silver snuff box placed close to the tea tray and
also the artist’s paintbrush!”

Holmes continued, “Precisely,
Watson. The presence of the pollen and paintbrush could easily be
explained away, if necessary, as a method of fertilizing the plants
by hand… but the plan was flawed. When the pollen was added to the
teapot, there was no guarantee that each person would get an equal
dose. However, adding it to the teapot was the only practical way
to administer the pollen. Madame Duval might well have an excuse to
lift the lid of the teapot to inspect the tea but she could not
risk being seen adding the pollen from the brush to each cup
individually. The result of this unequal dosage, we know, from the
two ladies falling ill.”

Holmes paused before adding,
“Madame Duval was indeed extremely fortunate that Mrs Mayfield did
not, in fact, die.”

I thought for a moment, saying,
“And, of course, the drug left the victims with no memory of what
had occurred. It was an ideal position for Madame Duval. If there
were a mishap, the other ladies would deny having witnessed any
wrong doing!”

Holmes nodded. “Quite so,
Watson. You will recall that Charlotte said she always placed the
tea tray next to Madame's diary. Whilst pouring the tea, I examined
the paint brush and found the pollen in the snuff box… but I also
did a most ungentlemanly thing. I opened and read Madame Duval’s
diary. It was, without doubt, something her husband would never
have done.”

I sat for a moment open mouthed
and in shock… but I was most eager for Holmes to continue.

Holmes sat back, saying, “Within
the diary were notes of the indiscretions made by the ladies whilst
drugged during these tea parties. Some of the entries were indeed
most informative as to both their husbands’ and their own
behaviours and habits, the details of which would have caused acute
embarrassment had the information become public knowledge.”

Holmes paused before continuing,
“I have to say, Watson, that your warning of the arrival of Madame
Duval into the room was exceedingly well timed.”

I smiled and nodded but I was
still unsure as to the reason for some of Holmes’ actions. “Tell
me, Holmes, why did you reveal to Madame Duval that you knew she
drank coffee whilst others drank tea and also that we were to visit
Mrs Mayfield?”

“Pressure.” replied Holmes. “I
wanted to ensure that Madame Duval realised that we knew her game
in its entirety. My suspicion is that she fled Portman Square
immediately after our departure, leaving the innocent Claude Duval
to face any dishonour that might follow as a result of her
activities.”

I rubbed my chin and then asked,
“Was that your intention, Holmes? It seems more than a little harsh
on Claude Duval.”

Holmes was silent for a moment.
“Consider this, Watson. If I had revealed the activities of Madame
Duval to the police, or indeed to Mycroft, Claude Duval, an
innocent man, would have been ruined… as might the reputations of
others. Overnight, he would have become a social outcast, unable to
continue his work and be branded the husband of a German spy. No,
Watson, that would not do. I had to ensure that Madame Duval’s
activities ceased and, at the same time, the reputations of the
ladies, their husbands and Claude Duval remained intact.”

I nodded, now seeing both the
wisdom and the honour in Holmes’ actions.

Holmes sat in silence for
several minutes before saying, “I will invite Claude Duval and
Mycroft here tomorrow and lay out before them what has occurred. My
telegram to Mycroft was but brief, identifying only Madame Duval
and requesting that a watch be kept for her at the German
Embassy."

The following day, in Baker
Street, both Claude Duval and Mycroft Holmes learned of the
duplicity and the grand deception undertaken by the woman known as
Adelinda Duval. Observing the effect of this on Claude Duval, I
have to say that I have rarely seen a man so broken. After Holmes
had revealed Madame’s activities, Duval sat in silence for perhaps
ten minutes, simply unable to comprehend. Finally, he rose, shook
our hands and left. Although he had said that he was grateful for
Holmes’ actions, I was indeed certain that it would take some
considerable time for Claude Duval to become whole once more.

Mycroft remained behind after
Claude Duval had left and shared a pipe of tobacco with us. It was
evident from his manner that he was not greatly pleased by his
brother's conduct! "Tell me, Sherlock, do you think you acted
correctly when you, in effect, let this woman escape justice? My
sources tell me that a woman who they believe to be Adelinda Duval
entered the German Embassy around noon yesterday. Without doubt,
she will be given diplomatic immunity and spirited away back to
Germany!"

Holmes sat back and blew out a
thin stream of blue smoke, saying, "My conscience is perfectly
clear, Mycroft. An important foreign agent has been removed from
our soil, the government and many great men in high places have not
been supremely embarrassed and a good man has not had his life
ruined, through no fault of his own."