![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
[It's only a moment before Monty opens the door, looking just a little surprised. He sees the grin on Sherlock's face and cocks his head.]
Good day, Mr. Holmes. You seem to be in a merry mood. Something you'd like to share?
Good day, Mr. Holmes. You seem to be in a merry mood. Something you'd like to share?
[It's only a moment for Monty to recall what in God's name the man is talking about. When he does, there's a smile that touches the young earl's lips.]
Love is by far one of the most inspiring motivations for a man, Mr. Holmes. It does make fools of us. But tell me, how was love a part of it?
[It's one thing to get halfway to the answer. He wants to know if the man worked it all out properly for his motivations.]
Love is by far one of the most inspiring motivations for a man, Mr. Holmes. It does make fools of us. But tell me, how was love a part of it?
[It's one thing to get halfway to the answer. He wants to know if the man worked it all out properly for his motivations.]
[He's utterly exhilarated, so much so that it's practically radiating off him, making him seem vibrant with energy.]
The woman you loved needed status or money in order to agree to be with you, perhaps she already had a suitor of much higher means that you wouldn't be able to contend with on a mere clerk's wages. That, combined with your sudden knowledge of noble ancestry and what was done to your mother, created the perfect storm for murder.
The woman you loved needed status or money in order to agree to be with you, perhaps she already had a suitor of much higher means that you wouldn't be able to contend with on a mere clerk's wages. That, combined with your sudden knowledge of noble ancestry and what was done to your mother, created the perfect storm for murder.
[Monty inclines his head. It's a little terrifying to be so transparent to a person, but at the same time, Sherlock's intelligence and deductive reasoning is undeniably astounding.]
You are a marvel, sir. My Sibella. We grew up together and I so desperately wished to marry her. But she could not abide the thought of living the life of a poor man's wife. She deserved something more, anyway... And so she took it. His name was Lionel Holland. He was very rich and very dull. I cannot say that I could stomach that, living with someone I did not love, who bored me to tears. But Sibella knew what she wanted, and she did not hesitate to grasp it. I could not blame her for that, however much it hurt.
[Cruel vixen that she was, deciding to marry and then telling him he couldn't marry another woman for love.]
Would you like to come in? I've thought of another case that might well intrigue you. I read about it when I was quite a bit younger and do know the facts of it. But I wonder if you'll be able to sort it from what information there is.
You are a marvel, sir. My Sibella. We grew up together and I so desperately wished to marry her. But she could not abide the thought of living the life of a poor man's wife. She deserved something more, anyway... And so she took it. His name was Lionel Holland. He was very rich and very dull. I cannot say that I could stomach that, living with someone I did not love, who bored me to tears. But Sibella knew what she wanted, and she did not hesitate to grasp it. I could not blame her for that, however much it hurt.
[Cruel vixen that she was, deciding to marry and then telling him he couldn't marry another woman for love.]
Would you like to come in? I've thought of another case that might well intrigue you. I read about it when I was quite a bit younger and do know the facts of it. But I wonder if you'll be able to sort it from what information there is.
[He was slightly wrong, then, he assumed that it might have been Phoebe that he had to bring his status up in order to match. But it's such a minor detail that it doesn't bother him at all, and he's already marching into the house before the invitation is properly complete.]
Of course!
[He's on a roll, and now he has a taste of the adrenaline again, he wants to keep it going.]
I suppose you might say that it worked out, considering you have married another by now.
Of course!
[He's on a roll, and now he has a taste of the adrenaline again, he wants to keep it going.]
I suppose you might say that it worked out, considering you have married another by now.
If she was real to begin with, Mr. Holmes. [Monty's smile grows a little tighter.] Well, little matter. In the end, I remember it as such, so it's as you say. Villainy would seem to have its rewards.
[He shrugs and motions for Sherlock to sit down. The house is much-changed since they'd first dealt with Monty's case. Renart's influence is prevalent in everything from the nature of the walls--it's more stone and earth, appearing almost den-like--to the furniture--far more plush with more blues, blacks, and silvers. There are also fleur-de-lis in much of the decoration now, along with etchings of foxes. The only thing that remains the same is the portrait of Monty's mother and her jewelry box over the mantle.]
But the case! It concerns a Ms. Janet Melvin, found stabbed 25 times in the Kielder Forest in Northumberland. Does the case sound at all familiar to you? I shouldn't wish to repeat something that may well have been solved by your day.
[He shrugs and motions for Sherlock to sit down. The house is much-changed since they'd first dealt with Monty's case. Renart's influence is prevalent in everything from the nature of the walls--it's more stone and earth, appearing almost den-like--to the furniture--far more plush with more blues, blacks, and silvers. There are also fleur-de-lis in much of the decoration now, along with etchings of foxes. The only thing that remains the same is the portrait of Monty's mother and her jewelry box over the mantle.]
But the case! It concerns a Ms. Janet Melvin, found stabbed 25 times in the Kielder Forest in Northumberland. Does the case sound at all familiar to you? I shouldn't wish to repeat something that may well have been solved by your day.
[After her enlightening conversation with Sherlock Renart spent some time wandering around, alone with her thoughts, trying to sort everything out in hopes of coming up with an easy, successful solution to this whole issue of more people knowing about Monty's less-than-stellar past. Of course, life is unfair and there's never a perfect solution, so when she finally arrives home she's tired and slightly twitchy and sorely wishing she could just use her mind control and move past it all.
When she enters their home she's immediately got her ears tuned for him.]
Monty?
[They need to talk. That much she's figured out.]
When she enters their home she's immediately got her ears tuned for him.]
Monty?
[They need to talk. That much she's figured out.]
In the kitchen!
[His voice is muffled as he calls to her. Dinner will be a stew, he's decided, something with the vegetables he's found growing wild around the Meadous. He's picked up a cookbook from the library and is determined to actually do something with it. There had been a man on the front cover, so that seemed suitable enough.]
[His voice is muffled as he calls to her. Dinner will be a stew, he's decided, something with the vegetables he's found growing wild around the Meadous. He's picked up a cookbook from the library and is determined to actually do something with it. There had been a man on the front cover, so that seemed suitable enough.]
[Oh, that's so rude, cooking when she wants to have a serious conversation. Did he do this on purpose? He did this on purpose.
She pokes her head into the kitchen, sniffing the air before wandering in and trying not to make a beeline for the pot.]
How come you told Sherlock about your murders?
She pokes her head into the kitchen, sniffing the air before wandering in and trying not to make a beeline for the pot.]
How come you told Sherlock about your murders?
[Monty very nearly adds part of his finger to the onions he's chopping up. He looks sharply over at Renart, then forces himself to relax.]
I didn't tell him. He deduced them. I did try to put him off, but he wasn't having it. He threatened to put what he'd deduced about me on the Bulletin Board. I've received assurances he won't spread what he knows about save to his companion.
I didn't tell him. He deduced them. I did try to put him off, but he wasn't having it. He threatened to put what he'd deduced about me on the Bulletin Board. I've received assurances he won't spread what he knows about save to his companion.
[She bites her lip, but succumbs to the smells and makes her way over to the pot to see what he's got cooking so far.]
He said you challenged him.
[But from her tone of voice she doesn't sound certain of that; namely because she's more inclined to believe Monty's version of events than Sherlock's.]
He said you challenged him.
[But from her tone of voice she doesn't sound certain of that; namely because she's more inclined to believe Monty's version of events than Sherlock's.]
I asked him to assist me in determining to murdered the Eighth Earl. I did not intend for him to challenge him in any other way. I mentioned my family was 'cursed' offhand, and he picked away at it until he'd laid bear what that curse might be.
[There are currently potatoes and celery simmering in the pot along with some spices.]
[There are currently potatoes and celery simmering in the pot along with some spices.]
[He goes back to chopping.]
It is not as I might have wished it, but it certainly could have been worse. He was... quite extraordinary when he was making his deductions.
It is not as I might have wished it, but it certainly could have been worse. He was... quite extraordinary when he was making his deductions.
I'm not particularly worried at the moment, no. [Perhaps a little...] Zexion knew in Between and I trusted him far less. I intend to make some advances toward friendship with our good Mr. Holmes to see he's kept in hand. I've piqued his interest. I should like to keep it there. He seems a man who enjoys the game more than the answers he finds. As long as I entertain him, he shan't wish to lose me.
[He's also contemplating pressing toward a more carnal liaison with the other man, but he'll leave that out for now. It's more of a personal interest than something calculated. Sherlock does seem a challenge, and a delightfully interesting one, at that.]
[He's also contemplating pressing toward a more carnal liaison with the other man, but he'll leave that out for now. It's more of a personal interest than something calculated. Sherlock does seem a challenge, and a delightfully interesting one, at that.]
[She both loves and hates how calculating he is. It's an undeniably attractive feature of his that he's so clever, at least in theory. That's the problem, though; who knows if this will all work out. He's still young and cocky.]
What about John? He isn't anything like Sherlock, he's a paranoid wreck with morals and a gun.
[For Monty, that's a dangerous combination.]
What about John? He isn't anything like Sherlock, he's a paranoid wreck with morals and a gun.
[For Monty, that's a dangerous combination.]
[The existential crisis is noted, but not remarked on, and neither is the change in decoration. He can tell that it's the influence of his lovers, most clearly that of Renart, and therefore unimportant in the grand scheme of things.]
What was the year?
[His brow is already furrowed, rifling through the hundreds of cases he has stored in there to see if he recalls Janet Melvin. He doesn't think that he does.]
The case doesn't sound familiar to me, was she someone you knew?
What was the year?
[His brow is already furrowed, rifling through the hundreds of cases he has stored in there to see if he recalls Janet Melvin. He doesn't think that he does.]
The case doesn't sound familiar to me, was she someone you knew?
I cannot say I've spoken to him, but I gather that Mr. Holmes keeps him on a leash like one of his dogs. At least I've been assured by Mr. Holmes that all will not be lost for his knowing. You remember Detective Castellanos? He, too, was a paranoid wreck with morals and a gun. I won him over. I'm certain I can do so for Dr. Watson should it be needed.
Such men are moved by a tale of revenge for a Mother, particularly when the victims were wicked.
Such men are moved by a tale of revenge for a Mother, particularly when the victims were wicked.
[He finishes chopping and sets the knife down so that he can turn around to face her, crossing his arms over his chest.]
There's little else to do. I'm not going to murder the men. Zephyr would see it in an instant and they'd be healed. I can only have faith in Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson's discretion and win them over by degrees. Unless you have some better suggestion?
There's little else to do. I'm not going to murder the men. Zephyr would see it in an instant and they'd be healed. I can only have faith in Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson's discretion and win them over by degrees. Unless you have some better suggestion?
No.
[He gives her a hard look.]
I would have my secrets revealed before you put yourself in danger here with that.
[He gives her a hard look.]
I would have my secrets revealed before you put yourself in danger here with that.
Page 1 of 16