[SH] BigBang: Dutch Steamship Friesland VI
The Shocking Affair of the Dutch Steamship Friesland
Previous: V. The Mason Brothers
VI. The Ruse
That night, I was roused by a loud argument in the hallway. Sitting up in my bed, I found that the door to our cabin was slightly open and Holmes stood in the doorway, clearly observing what was occurring outside. In some way, he must have noticed that I was awake, and raised a hand to silence me.
The argument, however, had ended, and Holmes carefully closed the door again, before turning to me. “That, Watson, were Mr Carter and Mr Paul Mason. Apparently, Mr Carter has taken my conduct this evening very badly, if the knife in his hand was any indication.”
“Good heavens, Holmes!”
“Never fear. As you were able to observe, Paul Mason managed to convince him that threatening me was not worth it.”
“That is what they were arguing about?”
“Precisely.”
“But why would Carter resort to violence over the honour of a woman who is a complete stranger to him?”
“Watson, have you not observed that Ms Farington is wearing her engagement ring on the wrong hand?”
I tried to cast my mind back, and indeed I had seen, but failed to observe - no doubt Holmes had discovered that fact when he had first kissed the lady's hand.
“Ah, I see you have. Yes, indeed, she is married. I had suspected that Mr Carter was her husband from his reaction on that first evening, and this occurrence now has quite settled the matter.”
“But you said the names on the tickets, the names the passengers have given, and their real ones were one and the same.”
“Pshaw, she gave the magistrate her maiden name, of course! It is a simple thing.”
“Then there is no fiancé in Calabar whom she is travelling to meet.”
“None.”
“But why would they go to such lengths to hide the fact that they are married? They would not have been the only couple on board, after all.”
“It is really quite obvious. There is hardly a soul who would suspect a young lady about to be married of criminal conduct, and no ordinary observer would suspect any connection between them, even though they are in fact working very closely together. They had no doubt planned to hide Mrs Carter away in some room in the ship, where she could prepare without disturbance for the arrival of the slaves. If it had not been for Carter's fierce jealousy, I have no doubt that their pretence would have been without fault. It assuredly is with them, Watson, that our suspicions must lie.”
“What of Ms Farington's - Mrs Carter's companion, Mrs Charles? Surely she must know of the matter?”
“As of yet, I have too little data to form an opinion about her. But, we must proceed with extreme caution. Mr Carter is clearly no stranger to violence. It was essential to spark his anger in order to prove my point, but we must now see to it that his jealousy is put at ease lest we endanger our own goal. Are you up for a double-handed game against a most cunning adversary, Watson?”
“Certainly!” I cried with some determination.
“Then, I must ask you to manage on your own for one day, as I have been struck down by a sudden bout of seasickness. You must go to Ms Farington and give her Mr Sipkens's regards, telling her that he will refrain from further compliments to her out of fear of Mr Carter. Keep in mind that they must not know that I overheard the little discussion just now. But remember to assure her of Sipkens's very high esteem for her!
“Then, you must go to Carter and find some words of honest apology. It is essential that he should feel as though we did not pose any threat to him. I hope that this sense of security will make him less cautious.”
“But what will you do all day?”
“I have the plans here, and I have hopes to know the exact location where they will try to store their extraordinary cargo by to-morrow evening. Then, we will plan our further steps.”
The morning broke to a decidedly rough sea and very unpleasant weather. My soul instantly went out to Mrs Russell, who no doubt would suffer the more for the gale.
I have to confess, however, that Holmes's skills for disguise caused me much greater astonishment. He had in the night covered his face with chalk, and appeared now as he lay on his bed to be positively ill. If there had not been no change whatsoever in his manner, I could well have believed that he was indeed suffering from seasickness.
“It this really necessary, Holmes?”
“Quite. There is always the chance that the crew will enquire as to my health, and word spreads quickly on this vessel. Besides, I have no doubt that Mr Carter will endeavour to convince himself of my indisposition. I have to be ready for that eventuality. Do leave now, Watson. You are already late for breakfast.”
Holmes was quite correct, but thankfully my lateness could easily be explained by his sickness. I had to confess, however, that I found the swaying of the ship to be a little trying myself. More often than not a rough wave would interrupt my step and threaten my balance. I was lucky indeed that the gale did not seem to affect my stomach.
Mr Russell was sitting at a table when I stepped into the room. The absence of his wife clearly told me that my concern had been justified.
“Ah, Mr Wilson. Where is your companion?”
“The same as you good wife, I suspect - seasickness.”
The unfortunate man sighed. “Is it any surprise with that infernal swaying? The captain has suggested we stay under deck for the time being - apparently, the weather has taken a turn for the worse.”
“So it seems. I am really sorry you had so little opportunity to enjoy the cruise so far.”
“Oh, Charlotte seemed fine again yesterday evening, but with the rough sea and very little sleep, she did not rise this morning. I have no doubt that some fresh air would do wonders, but with the storm outside... How fares your companion?”
“Well, he is as white as a sheet, and very weak, but I trust he will recover as soon as the storm lets up.”
“Don't you wish to be by his side? You seem to be very close friends.”
“He sent me away, in fact. As I said, Mr Sipkens has a very solitary streak in him, sometimes. Will you return to your cabin?”
“Yes. I'm sorry I can't be much of a companion, Mr Wilson. But I take it the Mason brothers and Mr Carter are in the smoking room, if you care to join them. Ms Farington I have not seen to-day.” With that, he departed, taking a small piece of bread with him, no doubt for his wife to eat.
I quickly finished my breakfast and then made my way to Ms Farington's cabin as per Holmes's instructions. I have to confess, I still found it difficult to believe that she should be a member of the criminal syndicate we had come to stop. If it had not been for Holmes's quite sound deductions, I would still have believed her innocent, but there was no doubt that Holmes was correct. The incident with the ring might have been a coincidence, but Mr Carter's jealousy clearly was more than desire for propriety. If Mr Paul Mason had not stopped him, he might well have attacked Holmes - I could not help wondering if Mason himself knew the real reason for Carter's anger. He had, after all, endeavoured to calm him at the card game, and then again confronted him in front of our cabin in the middle of the night. It seemed to be too outstanding a coincidence.
I had been introduced to them as colleagues in business, and I now began to question the real nature of said business.
If my suspicions were correct, our syndicate already included the two Mason brothers, Mr Carter, Ms Farington and Mrs Charles of questionable loyalty. I dearly wished to talk to Holmes about those points, but he had made it quite clear that he would not share any more information with me than he already had. It was his habit to reveal his theories only at the conclusion of a case, but on this occasion, I should have wished to know more. It would, perhaps, have eased my mind.
Ms Farington, or rather, Mrs Carter, opened the door herself when I knocked. Again, Mrs Charles was not to be seen, even though I could hear her rummaging around in the separated portion of the cabin. “Mr Wilson, what a surprise! Do come in. How is Stefan?”
I was rather surprised by her use of his first name, and could not help but wonder whether they had spent more time together than I was aware.
“Unfortunately not very well, Miss. I'm afraid the turn of the weather for the worse has caused a sudden bout of seasickness. It is for that reason that he sent me to give you his message.”
“Yes?”
“He regrets to tell you that he will refrain from further advances to your person, even though he, as well as you, thinks nothing of it. He would merely like to abate Mr Carter's anger. He bade me to ensure you of his very high regard for you.”
Ms Farington did not lose her composure, but I could see a certain sadness in the depth of her eyes, which made me wonder whether her friendship with Holmes had been more than a charade for the sake of her disguise. “I saddens me that he could not come here in person to tell me, but please inform Mr Sipkens that the regard is mutual.”
“That I will, Miss. I am sure, if it had not been for his sickness, he would not have hesitated to come here.”
“I see. Well, thank you, Mr Wilson.” Her posture made it clear to me that she wanted me to leave, and so I did. A criminal she might be, but I could not help feeling regret that Holmes had used her so. I could but hope that this new move on Holmes's part did not cause her to do anything rash. I knew well that such a calculating criminal could be a very dangerous adversary when he choose to forgo caution.
However, the wheels had been set in motion, and I could do nothing but fulfil the second part of the task Holmes had placed upon me. As Mr Russell had assumed, Mr Carter was in the smoking room, talking to the Mason brothers, all of them smoking.
Lighting a cigarette for myself, I stepped to their table. “Mr Carter?”
“Yes?”
I was taken aback by the transformation of the man. Whereas he had in Holmes's presence always born a sour and appalling expression, his brilliant smile had now returned. If I had not been witness to his outbursts, I should not have believed any ill from him. “A word in private, if I may.”
Carter frowned slightly. “Certainly.” Rising, he walked with me to the other end of the room. “Mr Wilson, if you have come to confront me about my behaviour toward you yesterday, I assure you, there is no need. I behaved appallingly, and I wish to apologise.”
“So does Mr Sipkens - it is because of his request that I have come to speak to you.”
“What, and he couldn't come himself?”
“Unfortunately, he has been struck down by seasickness. He asked me to tell you that he is sorry for his conduct and will refrain from any further advances towards Ms Farington. He wanted me to inform you that he, as a Dutchman, also values the sacred bond between two people highly, and would do nothing to compromise the bond between her and her fiancé.”
“Then all is settled! Tell the man I accept his apology. You must think me very old-fashioned to enrage myself so in favour of a complete stranger.”
“Not at all. I myself have told Mr Sipkens that it would be best to refrain from such behaviour, unfortunately, I was not very successful. He is a very stubborn man.”
“The higher I shall value his apology. Thank you, Mr Wilson. Will you join us at our table?”
“It would be my pleasure, unfortunately I have to return to Mr Sipkens. He is truly not feeling well.”
“Of course - the seasickness. Poor man. I hope the weather improves soon.”
Upon my return to our cabin, I found Holmes curled up on the bed as if he were indeed sick, but, seeing that it was me, he sat up as soon as I had closed the door. “Well, Watson, how did it go?”
“You look ghastly, Holmes. Are you sure you are quite all right?”
He waved my concern away with a flicker of his hand. “You know my methods, Watson - I am perfectly fine. Tell me, how did Ms Farington react?”
“She seemed truly saddened, and asked me to tell you that the regard was mutual.”
Holmes rubbed his hands. “Excellent! And Mr Carter?”
“He accepts your apology. He seemed to be much relaxed and even regretted his harsh words towards me yesterday.”
“After you burst into their argument.”
“Yes, quite.”
“Hm. I wonder what that was about.”
“I should have assumed about the fact that his wife did nothing against your advances towards her.”
“I wonder... You have been in Ms Farington's cabin?”
“Yes. It is much larger than our own - the bed is separated from view.”
“Yes, it would be a first class cabin. Did you see Mrs Charles there?”
“I didn't see her, no - there was someone in the obscured part of the cabin, however. I assumed it was her.”
“And yesterday - were you in her cabin then?”
“Yes, but again, I merely heard Mrs Charles.”
“Very curious, don't you think? Am I correct that both times you went there without announcement - they didn't expect you?”
“No. What do you infer from it?”
“Nothing, as of yet. But I shall remember the fact. Maybe it will be of some bearing in the future.”
“Have you been able to discover anything?” I asked, indicating the plans of the Friesland scattered over the table.
“Several things - unfortunately, however, I have not been able to narrow the possibilities down to one.”
“What do you want me to do, then?”
“Socialise. Find out what the Mason brothers' relation with Mr Carter is, if you can. And observe Mrs Charles, should she appear.”
“Of course.”
Holmes smiled. “Our net around the syndicate is closing, Watson. Soon, we will have enough information to apprehend them.”
Next: VII. A Medical Man