Holmes shook his head. “It’s a fearsome power, Alice.”
“It is, sir, and I’m afraid of it myself. I must go now. They haven’t forbidden me from wandering about, but my mother does check on me once in a while. I don’t want her to find me gone and ask where I was. She could tell in a wink if I was lying. Will you be all right?”
“I should, with time and nourishment, which you have brought me. Heroin is a terrible drug, Alice. I did not realize how terrible until now. I think, in future, that I will avoid… Well, no need to go into that. Its aftereffects should wear off soon enough, if I am left to myself. But will I be? I don’t know why Tera did not kill me outright. It would have been simpler and more efficient, and I believe our resurrected Egyptian queen is a practical woman. It can only be because I may still be of some use to her, perhaps as hostage. Or perhaps she hopes to make me perform some action under her mesmeric spell? Well, it is useless to speculate on the basis of insufficient information. For now, at least, I am alive and capable of ratiocination, if not of action. How long do we have until the kidnapping attempt?”
“Today is Tuesday. The Queen is visiting St. Michael’s Mount on Thursday. At least, that’s what I overheard when I listened at the door. I know it’s wrong to listen at doors, and Mrs. Poole would be shocked, but I thought under the circumstances…”
“You were quite justified in your actions, and I’m sure Mrs. Poole would agree with me.”
MRS. POOLE: And so she would. You were very clever throughout, my dear.
ALICE: Thank you, Mrs. Poole. That means a great deal to me.
DIANA: How come you never tell me how clever I am?
“Well, then we shall have to try to escape tomorrow,” said Holmes. “I have no plan as yet, but as I have no other matter of pressing concern, I shall be able to devote my entire attention to developing one.” He smiled up at her. It was a tired but somehow charming smile. Alice could see why Mary felt a certain tenderness toward him. In the past, she had always found him daunting, but it was hard to find a man daunting when he was in a dungeon, dependent on you for food and information! “You’ll help me, won’t you, Alice?”
“Of course, sir. Mary would.”
“Yes, she would. Mary is… well. I have a great deal of respect for Miss Jekyll. A great deal. Let me rest and try to come up with a plan of action. Meanwhile, if you hear any other news…”
“I will report it to you, sir. I’ll be like one of your Baker Street boys, since you don’t have those here in Cornwall.”
“You’ve certainly proven yourself as resourceful as Charlie or Dennys! But try not to put yourself in any more danger. You are already doing enough to make Queen Tera angry, and the anger of that particular lady has deadly consequences.” He had finished the sandwich and bun, and was taking a final bite of the apple, which he had eaten close to the core. He wrapped the core in the waxed paper, put them both in the marketing bag, and reached up to tie the bag to the ribbon. Alice could tell that it took an effort on his part. Would he be strong enough to escape from the dungeon tomorrow? She had no idea.
“Yes, sir,” she replied. She was already in danger, and she would put herself in more danger, because she needed to find out as much about Queen Tera’s plans as she could, and then figure out how to rescue Mr. Holmes. She must search again for the secret entrance. That was what Mary would have done. She was not Mary—she could not be as cool and decisive in a crisis. But she would do her best.
MARY: I think you were quite as cool and decisive as I would have been. And thank you, Alice. You know, for taking care of him.
ALICE: I only did what you would have done. I knew you would have been brave, no matter what the circumstances.
DIANA: Are the two of you done praising each other yet? Because it’s perfectly sickening.
It was afternoon by the time the members of the Athena Club arrived in Marazion, after a train ride of seven hours during which Diana had asked, over and over again, when they would arrive. Mary had been worried about where they would stay, but the proprietress of the inn at the center of town, called simply the Marazion Inn, told her that a large party—seven gentlemen and two ladies—who had reserved rooms had never arrived, so there were plenty of rooms available. They only needed two: to save on expenses, they had all dressed in feminine attire so they could travel and lodge together. Mary shared one room with Catherine and Diana, while Justine shared with Beatrice. Even in her weakened state, she was not affected by Beatrice’s poison, and the Poisonous Girl wanted to keep an eye on Justine’s symptoms.
After they had finished unpacking, she, Catherine, and Diana went down to the parlor of the inn, where tea was already set out. Beatrice had told them that Justine needed to rest, and she herself was not hungry—if they could bring her up some mint tea afterward, cold, no sugar, she would have everything she needed.
The parlor was across the hall from a dining room, which was mostly empty at that hour—one elderly couple, who had brought their teacups to a table, sat in a corner, conversing in quiet tones.
“I’m sorry to lose the party of gentlemen, I won’t lie to you,” said the proprietress, when she brought them a plate of scones, with clotted cream and blackberry jam. “Autumn is always slow here. I think it’s the best time of year myself—you can walk along the shore without running into bathers and their huts! I like to see the leaves turning, and the hips on the roses. I make a jam out of them, too—this is from my own blackberries, that grow by the lane out back. It’s a beautiful time here, is autumn, but it’s not as busy as summer, with all the families coming for their holidays, so a little extra money is always welcome. A party of gentlemen generally want large meals and plenty of them—ladies aren’t so expensive in their habits. And gentlemen tip well. Don’t misunderstand me, I’m glad to have you young ladies here! You liven up the place, and I can recover some of the loss. I’m Mrs. Davies. You just tell me if you need anything.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Davies,” said Mary. “We’ve heard so much about Cornwall, and we’re eager to see the sights. St. Michael’s Mount, for instance, and I hear there’s an interesting old place called Kyllion Keep that was part of a fifteenth-century castle. We’re only here for a few days, so we’d like to see as much as possible.”
“Ah, St. Michael’s Mount. You’ll have to wait until low tide to walk over the causeway, unless you want to hire a boat. There’s a low tide tonight, but I don’t advise you to walk it in the dark—you’ll miss your footing and end up in the ocean, like as not! Tomorrow morning, that’s when you want to go, just after breakfast, which I serve from six to eight. It’s a bit early for London folk, but we’re early risers in the country. As for Kyllion Keep, it’s not open to the public as a general matter, but the folks as live there are often away—Professor Trelawny died six months back, and his daughter, Miss Trelawny, has been in London since. You can ask Mrs. Polgarth, the daily woman who’s been taking care of the house while Miss Trelawny is away, if she’ll show you around. She comes by the inn whenever she’s in Marazion, for tea and gossip—she and I were at school together. Hard to imagine now that we were once Nancy and Judy! Ah well, how time does fly.…”