No. 10 The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor by Arthur Conan Doyle
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the adventure of_the noble bachelor

no .10 from_the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

by Arthur Conan Doyle

the lord St .Simon marriage, and its curious termination, have long ceased to_be a subject of interest in those exalted circles in_which_the unfortunate bridegroom moves . fresh scandals have eclipsed it, and their more piquant details have drawn the gossips away from_this four- year- old drama . as I_have reason to_believe, however, that_the full facts have never been revealed to_the general public, and as my friend Sherlock Holmes had a considerable share in clearing the matter up, I_feel that no memoir of him would_be complete without some little sketch of_this remarkable episode .

it_was a few weeks before my own marriage, during the days when i_was still sharing rooms with Holmes in baker street, that he_came home from an afternoon stroll to_find a letter on_the table waiting for him .I had remained indoors all day, for_the weather had taken a sudden turn to rain, with high autumnal winds, and_the Jezail bullet which I had brought back in one of_my limbs as a relic of_my afghan campaign throbbed with dull persistence . with my body in one easy- chair and my legs upon another, I had surrounded myself with a cloud of newspapers until at last, saturated with_the news of_the day, I tossed them all aside and lay listless, watching the huge crest and monogram upon_the envelope upon_the table and wondering lazily who my friend's noble correspondent could_be .

" here_is a very fashionable epistle," I remarked as he entered ." your morning letters, if I remember right, were from a fish-monger and a tide- waiter ."

" yes, my correspondence has certainly the charm of variety," he answered, smiling, " and_the humbler are usually the more interesting . this looks like one of_those unwelcome social summonses which call upon a man either to_be bored or to lie ."

he broke the seal and glanced over the contents .

"Oh, come, it may prove to_be something of interest, after all ."

" not social, then ? "

" no, distinctly professional ."

" and from a noble client ? "

" one_of_the highest in England ."

" my dear fellow .I congratulate you ."

"I assure you, Watson, without affectation, that_the status of_my client is a matter of less moment to_me than_the interest of_his case . it_is just possible, however, that that also may not be wanting in_this new investigation . you_have_been reading the papers diligently of late, have_you not ? "

" it looks like it," said I ruefully, pointing to a huge bundle in_the corner ." I_have_had nothing else to_do ."

" it_is fortunate, for you_will perhaps be_able to post me up . I_read nothing except the criminal news and_the agony column . the latter is always instructive . but if_you_have followed recent events so closely you_must_have read about lord St .Simon and_his wedding ? "

"Oh, yes, with_the deepest interest ."

" that_is well . the letter which I hold in my hand is from lord St .Simon . i_will read it to_you, and in return you_must turn over these papers and let me have whatever bears upon_the matter . this_is what he_says:

"' my dear_Mr Sherlock Holmes:--" lord backwater tells me that I_may place implicit reliance upon your judgement and discretion . I_have determined, therefore, to_call upon you and to consult you in reference to_the very painful event which_has occurred in connection with my wedding .Mr Lestrade, of Scotland yard, is acting already in_the matter, but he assures me that he sees no objection to your co-operation, and_that he even thinks that_it might_be of some assistance . i_will call at four o'clock in_the afternoon, and, should you_have any_other engagement at_that_time, I_hope_that you_will postpone it, as this_matter is of paramount importance . yours faithfully, ST .SIMON .'

" it_is dated from Grosvenor Mansions, written with a quill pen, and_the noble lord has had the misfortune to_get a smear of ink upon_the outer side of_his right little finger," remarked Holmes as he folded up the epistle .

" he_says four o'clock . it_is three now . he_will_be here in an hour ."

" then I_have just time, with your assistance, to_get clear upon_the_subject . turn over those papers and arrange the extracts in their order of_time, while I take a glance as_to who our client is ." he picked a red- covered volume from a line of books of reference beside the mantelpiece ." here he_is," said he, sitting down and flattening it out upon his knee ." lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St .Simon, second son of_the duke of Balmoral . hum ! Arms: azure, three caltrops in chief over afess sable . born in 1846 . he's forty- one years_of_age, which_is mature for marriage . was under- secretary for_the colonies in a late administration . the duke, his father, was at one_time secretary for foreign Affairs . they inherit Plantagenet blood by direct descent, and Tudor on_the distaff side .Ha ! well, there_is nothing very instructive in all this . i_think that I_must turn to_you Watson, for something more solid ." Josef Friedrich, 1906

" I_have very little difficulty in finding what i_want," said I, " for_the facts are quite recent, and_the matter struck me as remarkable .I feared to refer them to_you, however, as I_knew that you had an inquiry on hand and_that you disliked the intrusion of other matters ."

"Oh, you mean the little problem of_the Grosvenor square furniture van . that_is quite cleared up now-- though, indeed, it_was obvious from_the first . pray give_me the results of your newspaper selections ."

" here_is_the first notice which I_can find . it_is in_the personal column of_the morning post, and dates, as you_see, some weeks back: 'A marriage has_been arranged,' it says, ' and will, if rumour is correct, very shortly take place, between lord Robert St .Simon, second son of_the duke of Balmoral, and miss Hatty Doran, the only daughter of Aloysius Doran .Esq ., of San_Francisco, Cal ., U .S .a. ' that_is all ."

" terse and to_the point," remarked Holmes, stretching his long, thin legs towards the fire .

" there_was a paragraph amplifying this in one_of_the society papers of_the same week .Ah, here it_is: ' there_will soon be a call for protection in_the marriage market, for_the_present free- trade principle appears to_tell heavily against our home product . one by one the management of_the noble houses of Great_Britain is passing into_the hands of_our fair cousins from across the Atlantic . an important addition has_been made during_the_last week to_the list of_the prizes which_have been borne away by_these charming invaders . lord St .Simon, who has shown himself for over twenty years proof against the little god's arrows, has now definitely announced his approaching marriage with miss Hatty Doran, the fascinating daughter of a California millionaire . miss Doran, whose graceful figure and striking face attracted much attention at_the Westbury house festivities, is an only child, and it_is currently reported that her dowry will run to considerably over the six figures, with expectancies for_the future . as_it_is an open secret that_the duke of Balmoral has_been compelled to_sell his pictures within_the last few years, and as lord St .Simon has no property of_his own save the small estate of Birchmoor, it_is obvious that_the Californian heiress is_not the only gainer by an alliance which will enable her to make_the easy and common transition from a republican lady to a British peeress .'"

" anything else ? " asked Holmes, yawning .

"Oh, yes; plenty . then there_is another note in_the morning post to_say that_the marriage would_be an absolutely quiet one, that_it would_be at St . George's, Hanover square, that only half a dozen intimate friends would_be invited, and_that the party would return to_the furnished house at Lancaster gate which_has been taken by_Mr Aloysius Doran . two days later-- that_is, on Wednesday last-- there_is a curt announcement that_the wedding had taken place, and_that the honeymoon would_be passed at lord backwater's place, near Petersfield . those are all the notices which appeared before_the disappearance of_the bride ."

" before_the what ? " asked Holmes with a start .

" the vanishing of_the lady ."

" when did she vanish, then ? "

" at_the wedding breakfast ."

" indeed . this_is more interesting than it promised to_be; quite dramatic, in_fact ."

" yes; it struck me as being a little out_of_the common ."

" they often vanish before_the ceremony, and occasionally during the honeymoon; but I_cannot call to mind anything quite so prompt as_this . pray let me have the details ."

"I warn you that_they_are very incomplete ."

" perhaps we_may make them less so ."

" such as_they_are, they_are set forth in a single article of a morning paper of yesterday, which i_will read to_you . it_is headed, ' singular occurrence at a fashionable Wedding':

"' the family of lord Robert St .Simon has_been thrown into_the greatest consternation by_the strange and painful episodes which_have taken place in connection with_his wedding . the ceremony, as shortly announced in_the papers of yesterday, occurred on_the previous morning; but it_is only now that it_has_been possible to confirm the strange rumours which_have been so persistently floating about . in_spite of_the attempts of_the friends to hush the matter up, so_much public attention has now been drawn to_it that no good purpose can_be served by affecting to disregard what_is a common subject for conversation .

"' the ceremony, which_was performed at St . George's, Hanover square, was a very quiet one, no one being present save the father of_the bride, Mr Aloysius Doran, the duchess of Balmoral, lord backwater, lord Eustace, and lady Clara St .Simon ( the younger brother and sister of_the bridegroom), and lady Alicia Whittington . the whole party proceeded afterwards to_the house of Mr Aloysius Doran, at Lancaster gate, where breakfast had_been prepared . it appears that some little trouble was caused by a woman, whose name has_not_been ascertained, who endeavoured to force her way into_the house after_the bridal party, alleging that she had some claim upon lord St .Simon . it_was only after a painful and prolonged scene that she was ejected by_the butler and_the footman . the bride, who had fortunately entered the house before this unpleasant interruption, had sat down to breakfast with_the rest, when she complained of a sudden indisposition and retired to her room . her prolonged absence having caused some comment, her father followed her, but learned from her maid that she had only come up_to her chamber for an instant, caught up an ulster and bonnet, and hurried down to_the passage . one_of_the footmen declared that he had seen a lady leave the house thus apparelled, but had refused to credit that_it_was his mistress, believing her to_be with_the company . on ascertaining that his daughter had disappeared, Mr Aloysius Doran, in conjunction with_the bridegroom, instantly put themselves in communication with_the police, and very energetic inquiries are being made, which will probably result in a speedy clearing up of_this very singular business . up_to a late hour last night, however, nothing had transpired as_to_the whereabouts of_the missing lady . there_are rumours of foul play in_the matter, and it_is said that_the police have caused the arrest of_the woman who had caused the original disturbance, in_the belief that, from jealousy or some other motive, she may have_been concerned in_the strange disappearance of_the bride .'"

" and is_that all ? "

" only_one little item in another of_the morning papers, but it_is a suggestive one ."

" and it_is--"

" that miss Flora Millar, the lady who had caused the disturbance, has actually been arrested . it appears that she was formerly adanseuse at_the allegro, and_that she has known the bridegroom for_some_years . there_are no further particulars, and_the whole case is in your hands now-- so_far as_it_has_been set forth in_the public press ."

" and an exceedingly interesting case it appears to_be . i_would_not have missed it for worlds . but there_is a ring at_the bell, Watson, and as_the clock makes it a few_minutes after four, I_have no_doubt that this_will prove to_be our noble client . do_not dream of going, Watson, for I very_much prefer having a witness, if only as a check to my own memory ."

" lord Robert St .Simon," announced our page- boy, throwing open the door .a gentleman entered, with a pleasant, cultured face, high-nosed and pale, with something perhaps of petulance about_the mouth, and with_the steady, well- opened eye of a man whose pleasant lot it had ever been to command and to_be obeyed . his manner was brisk, and yet his general appearance gave an undue impression of age, for he had a slight forward stoop and a little bend of_the knees as he walked . his hair, too, as he swept off his very curly- brimmed hat, was grizzled round the edges and thin upon_the top . as to_his dress, it_was careful to_the verge of foppishness, with high collar, black frock- coat, white waistcoat, yellow gloves, patent- leather shoes, and light-coloured gaiters . he advanced slowly into_the room, turning his head from left to right, and swinging in_his right hand the cord which held his golden eyeglasses .

" good- day, lord St .Simon," said Holmes, rising and bowing ." pray take_the basket- chair . this_is my friend and colleague, Dr .Watson . draw up a little to_the fire, and we_will talk this_matter over ."

"A most painful matter to_me, as_you_can most readily imagine, Mr Holmes . I_have_been cut to_the quick .I understand that you_have already managed several delicate cases of_this sort sir, though I presume that_they were hardly from_the same class of society ."

" no, I_am descending ."

"I beg pardon ."

" my last client of_the sort was a king ."

"Oh, really ! I had no idea . and which king ? "

" the king of Scandinavia ."

" what ! had he_lost his wife ? "

" you_can understand," said Holmes suavely, " that I extend to_the affairs of_my other clients the same secrecy which I promise to_you in yours ."

" of_course ! very right ! very right ! I'm sure I beg pardon . as_to my own case, I_am ready to_give_you any information which_may assist you in forming an opinion ."

" thank_you . I_have already learned all that_is in_the public prints, nothing more .I presume that I_may take it as correct-- this article, for example, as_to_the disappearance of_the bride ."

lord St .Simon glanced over it ." yes, it_is correct, as far as it goes ."

" but it needs a great deal of supplementing before anyone could offer an opinion . i_think that I_may arrive at my facts most directly by questioning you ."

" pray do_so ."

" when did you first meet miss Hatty Doran ? "

" in San_Francisco, a year ago ."

" you were travelling in_the States ? "

" yes ."

" did you become engaged then ? "

" no ."

" but you were on a friendly footing ? "

" i_was amused by her society, and she_could see that i_was amused ."

" her father is very rich ? "

" he_is said to_be the richest man on_the pacific slope ."

" and how did he make his money ? "

" in mining . he had nothing a few years_ago . then he struck gold, invested it, and came up by leaps and bounds ."

" now, what_is your own impression as_to_the young lady's-- your wife's character ? "

the nobleman swung his glasses a little faster and stared down into_the fire ." you_see, Mr Holmes," said he, " my wife was twenty before her father became a rich man . during that_time she ran free in amining camp and wandered through woods or mountains, so_that her education has_come from nature rather than from_the schoolmaster . she_is what we call in England a tomboy, with a strong nature, wild and free, unfettered

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