Enola Holmes 3

I should begin by saying

what an honor it is to make your acquaintance.

I've read all about your games.

Very impressive.

It's a shame

to leave a mind as brilliant as yours rotting in such a hole.

Down!

There are very few who have such power to lever you out of this place.

I am among one such group of individuals.

We can make it look like you escaped.

Many years ago, some items of worth were misplaced.

We want them back.

Help us and you will be free.

Does the name.

Tewkesbury

mean anything to you?

I read somewhere that all good stories begin with a wedding.

Where is she?

This one certainly does.

She's very late.

Someone's approaching.

Nice.

Here we go.

- Oh. - Oh.

Regrettably, however, this wedding is lacking one crucial element.

'Tis I.

No, really.

You see, the bride in question is having doubts

about what it means to become a lady.

Don't touch the ginger cake. Plays hopscotch with your bowels.

I do.

Lady Enola Tewkesbury.

It doesn't sound right.

I don't!

I've spent the six years making myself feel worthy of the Holmes name.

Would I now be giving that up?

And as I was once told by a wise woman…

- Well, not a wise woman. My mother. - There are two paths you can take, Enola.

Yours, or the path others choose for you.

But it's Tewkesbury.

Ow! Will you stop that?

I cannot leave him there.

I won't.

Coachman Eric? Coachman Eric?

I thought you'd scarpered.

Has Sherlock gone ahead?

Darling girl, everyone's at your wedding, bar you.

- Now, are you ready to go? - Yes, yes, go!

- Yah, yah! - Fast as you can!

Now might be a good time to tell you my wedding is in Malta,

the small island in the Mediterranean Sea,

for reasons that are complicated to understand.

- She'll be here, don't worry. - Yes, of course.

Yah! Yah!

Excuse me, madam.

To concern you a little,

we have a man in pursuit.

He does not look savory.

Highwaymen, vagabonds, thieves!

Malta has more than its fair share.

Yah! Yah!

Whoa!

Keep down! Keep down, madam!

- This is no place for a lady! - I'm not a lady yet!

- Quicker! - Here, take this!

Madam, what are you doing?!

Come down from up there!

Enola! It's me!

Dr. Watson!

Enola, are you okay?

Why were you wearing a mask?

Oh, it's a handkerchief.

The dust plays havoc with my lungs.

- You thought I was... - Murdering me?

- No. - Yes, that's exactly what I thought.

Why were you pursuing me?

It's your brother.

He's missing.

In fact, I'm more or less certain, Enola, that Sherlock has been kidnapped.

I'm sorry?

I understand you may need some explanation as to how this all began.

The truth is, we had our lives exactly as we wanted.

Tewkesbury continued to be the champion for change and progress,

and I had finally joined the pantheon of great Victorian detectives,

alongside my brother.

He helped those with means, and I helped those with needs.

And on occasion, we worked together.

I was happy.

And here, the trail runs cold.

Don't come any further. We have to keep it as clear as we can.

A horse was mounted.

- And the man made his departure this way. - A good suggestion.

You have another?

The man was lassoed by a noose and hanged from here.

Do you see the rope remnants that have not been fully cut away?

And the marks here, where flailing feet aimed for purchase.

Sherlock, this is not where the man disappeared.

This is a murder scene.

- Is that Sherlock Holmes? - They're less fun than you'd think.

Detection filled my weeks,

and on the weekends were, well…

Tewkesbury, what are you doing?

Got a gift.

- Flowers? - No.

Herbs?

Close your eyes.

Okay.

What have you found?

- Oh! - I just found him.

- Sweet boy. - Can you believe it?

Nice to meet you.

- It was glorious. - He's a bit shy.

It was fun.

When it was neither fun nor glorious,

when it was just the two of us, those were the best times of all.

Back. And when I go in, you back against that.

No, Tewkesbury. Tewkesbury!

So whilst my life seemed completely uncomplicated,

my dear, dear lord decided to add a slight complication.

Enola Eudoria Holmes,

uh, will you take I,

Earnest Augustus of the House of Tewkesbury…

Yes.

He has a first name. I… I was surprised too.

…to be your husband?

Read all about it!

Suddenly, we had the attention of the whole of London.

- Delightful. - Ravishing.

Well, except for one person.

Sherlock Holmes.

The world's most famous detective had become obsessed with something.

Hello, Sherlock.

It was all maps and symbols, and nothing I could make any sense of.

I couldn't understand why he was keeping it from me.

On the flowers…

- We did discuss chrysanthemums. - Chrysanthemums?

Yes! They're my favorite.

What's next? Oh!

I have prepared a short list of our nearest and dearest.

Yes, I do, uh, have one myself.

Can I borrow your pen?

Just one more person. She won't be able to make it.

Here you are.

No room for your mother? She will be quite welcome.

Since the passing of the Explosive Substances Act of 1883,

my mother has become a

fugitive of the first class.

So attending a well-advertised ceremony such as this

would compromise her safety

greatly.

Might there be an uncle…

- Mother. - …who might walk you down the aisle?

Well, I spoke with Sherlock…

Ta-da.

…and he consented to do so.

- He will? - Yes.

Congratulations.

And so he will do so curmudgeonly,

and he will lack elegance and a sense of life behind his eyes,

but he is all I have, so it will be great.

Of course, not all will attend on Earnest's side.

He is well-loved, but…

Given the family's history, I presume the wedding will be in Malta?

Malta.

Malta?

Where on earth has that come from?

Well, I was taking tea with the ladies,

and of course the wedding was the talk of the table.

When the topic moved on to the matter of the venue,

one of the ladies asked where Peter and I were wed,

and I thought it just wonderful.

Malta.

What better way to honor your father?

- I'm sorry. - It was my husband's delight.

His time in the military was spent there, we met there,

we married there.

And Earnest deeply loved his childhood summers there.

I did.

Of course, if you wish to do it elsewhere, that is the bride's prerogative.

My wedding in Malta?

I had so many questions.

What does one wear to a Maltese wedding?

Do I know anyone in Malta?

Perhaps you're free this Saturday. Are you free this Saturday?

Pretend to be my great-great-grandmother.

More importantly, how did Sherlock know before I did?

And why was he so concerned?

Pay attention, Enola.

Here's what my mother taught me.

Though but a speck in the Mediterranean Sea,

Malta has been invaded by the Phoenicians,

the Romans, and even Napoleon,

for its strategic importance.

Since 1814,

the island has been under military control of the British Empire.

Oh, hello.

Oh, sorry, ma'am.

Before I knew it, the wedding was upon us.

And that is how we found ourselves

in a room packed full of the great and the good.