When we reached my study, I promptly despatched one of the prefects to arrange for Simon to be brought to the room to see his father and sister, and then ordered some extra tea cups, scones, and jam to accompany those that I had already laid out for Holmes. The man himself was immaculately turned out in a top hat, blue-black morning jacket and waistcoat, sharply-pressed trousers, keenly-starched dress shirt, and green silk bow tie. When we were all seated, he began to explain all that had been achieved.
“Mr. Hughes, you will forgive my somewhat furtive approach in asking the Buttenshaws to accompany me here this afternoon. This morning, we attended a meeting at the offices of Dennington and Fanshawe, where we successfully negotiated a deal with Callum Ford for the continued use of his patented dyeing process at the Darlington factory. In return for a twenty-five percent share of all future net profits, Mr. Ford has agreed to return to his home city of San Antonio in Texas and to cease to have any further involvement in the business. He has already instructed another young chemist to take over his duties. I am sure that Mr. Buttenshaw can speak for himself, but I believe this outcome to be the best for all parties concerned.”
Buttenshaw seemed pleased to echo Holmes’s words. “When Sophia returned from her trip to London a month ago and told me all about the patent situation, I thought that we were done for. But Callum said not a word to me. I had no idea that he had falsified the letter to you, Mr. Hughes, and certainly had no inkling that he had any intentions towards my dear daughter. I need hardly say that I would have risked bankruptcy, imprisonment, or even death rather than allow him to take my daughter’s hand without her consent, and I would have seen myself destitute before I would have agreed to his takeover of my business. I will be forever grateful to you for inviting Mr. Holmes to assist us – he has been an invaluable ally in bringing all of this to my attention and steering us down the path of reconciliation. Now, having said my piece, I believe that Sophia also has something to tell you . . . .”
Sophia looked momentarily forlorn before a thin smile lit up her delicate features. “I fear I have treated you despicably, Geraint, despite all of the warmth and affection you have shown to me and my family. Callum told me how he had intercepted your letter to my father and contrived a response. I did not know how to counter his threats and intimidation in protecting myself, my father, and the business. I reluctantly agreed to write to you, in the way that I did, on the basis that Callum allow me six months to think about his proposal of marriage. I could see no other recourse at the time, but realise now that I should have trusted my instincts and confided in both you and my father in exposing Callum for the scoundrel he really is.”
I leaned across and squeezed her hand. “Nothing further needs to be said, but there is still one outstanding matter which has yet to be determined.”
She looked up anxiously as a tear rolled down her cheek. “And what is that?” she queried, her hand reaching for a small pocket handkerchief within her sleeve.
“Why, the date of our wedding, my dear. With your father’s blessing, we have still to arrange the time and place of our marriage!”
There was considerable humour and much banter in the moments that followed, and it was with some reluctance that my soon-to-be father-in-law announced a short time thereafter that they must return to the carriage for the ride back to King’s Cross and the train journey home to County Durham. Having arranged for Kenneth and Sophia to be escorted back to their waiting carriage after saying farewell to Simon, I took the opportunity to speak directly to Holmes before he too headed off to town. “Mr. Holmes, I stand in awe of your remarkable talents and will always be in your debt for the way that you have assisted me. And yet, I feel certain that there is something in this case that you have been reluctant to reveal. I fail to see why Callum Ford, with all of the cards stacked in his favour, should have agreed to your proposals so readily.”
There was a look of uneasiness, and perhaps a hint of frustration, in the way that he met my gaze and then responded to the challenge. “There is no point in misleading you, Mr. Hughes. I would not want this to become common knowledge, but – to continue with your own analogy – I did indeed have a trump card to play. My older brother, Mycroft, occupies a position of some seniority within the British Civil Service and works hard to maintain a close cohort of personal contacts within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. A word in his ear was sufficient to prompt a visit to Darlington by a high-ranking official from the American Embassy in London. Ford was told to accept the offer that was put to him, a deal that will, in all likelihood, make him an extremely rich man. He understood that any failure to acquiesce would result in his immediate detention and eventual expulsion from this country on a charge of espionage – high-handed perhaps, but the only way to secure his silence
