09
"Miss Mary Bennet," the strange gentleman said, "Why are you following me?"
"…"
Mary's eyes widened.
Did he know her?
But Mary did not know him. She had never seen this man near Langbourne or Meriton. If she had seen him, she would not have forgotten him.
The man in front of her was less than 30 years old. He took off his gentleman's hat and held it with his cane.
The gentleman had a head of black hair and a lean face. His aquiline nose and high cheekbones were impressive, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's.
Such a person almost had the word "unusual" written on his face. He came to Meriton quietly, but there was no news from his social circle. He must have deliberately hidden his tracks, and his purpose was not to socialize at Meriton.
Moreover, Mary wasn't some kind of beauty or talent. Her name wasn't so famous that it would be remembered by a strange man.
"Meriton is so big," Mary blinked, "I'm just walking around. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, sir."
"If you're looking for the stranger who instigated Jeffrey The Younger to steal," he made a gesture of leaving, "it's too natural to follow him, Miss Bennet."
Mary, "… Huh?"
Not only did he know her, but he also knew what she wanted to do?
At that moment, an extremely absurd and bold possibility hit Mary's mind. She clenched her skirt and felt her heart beating violently because of this possibility.
"Wait a minute."
Before the man left, Mary spoke first, "Wait a minute, Mr. Holmes!"
The black-haired gentleman tilted his head, "What's the matter?"
Mary took a deep breath.
It was him!
Other than Sherlock Holmes, who else would dress like this? Who would call out a stranger's name? Who would come to Meriton and know the theft like the back of his hand?
Before transmigrating, Mary often laughed at her friends for being crazy fans. Now she finally understood what it was like. Mary racked her brains to create an opportunity to go to London in order to see 221B Baker Street in this era. In the blink of an eye, the living Sherlock Holmes was standing in front of her and talking to her.
God, was she living in a dream?
She wanted to create an opportunity to go to London in order to meet her idol … In fact, there was no need to meet him. Mary would be satisfied just to walk around Baker Street in this era.
However, she did not expect that Sherlock Holmes would come directly to her before she could make her plan to go to London to bring her two sisters together.
"You, you," Mary said "you" several times and finally recovered before she completely lost her composure, "How do you know my name, Mr. Holmes?"
Sherlock Holmes raised his eyebrows, as if Mary had asked a very low-level question.
But he still stopped and answered Mary, "My client, Mr. Charles Bingley, told me that a young lady named Mary Bennet was quite bold and extraordinarily smart. She easily concluded that Jeffrey The Younger's theft was instigated by someone else. She was also the one who suggested that Mr. Bentley hire someone else to thoroughly investigate this matter.
And you, Miss Bennet, in your twenties, well-dressed, fair-skinned, and you are the daughter of a local squire. But you dared to follow a strange man alone. At this time, any stranger in Meriton could be a suspect who instigated Jeffrey. Only people who care about the case would do that.
I think there are not many young ladies around Meriton who fit the description and are overly curious. "
Holmes used the Basic Deduction Method on the spot. Mary's heart could no longer be described as jumping for joy.
She tugged at the corner of her skirt, and her eyes sparkled, "Then you … Aren't you curious how I recognized you, sir?"
The thin gentleman answered matter-of-factly, "The person who is currently investigating the case is either you or me, madam."
With that, Holmes put on his hat and walked away.
It was not until Holmes was almost out of the alley that she came back to her senses.
Mary hurried to catch up with him. Mr. Holmes was tall and had long legs. Mary had to trot to catch up with him, "Sir, do you live in London?"
"Yes."
"How did you meet Mr. Bentley?"
"Fitzwilliam Darcy recommended him."
"Then how did you meet Mr. Darcy?"
"…"
If it were the kind Mr. Charles Bingley, he would definitely patiently satisfy all of Mary's curiosity, but Sherlock Holmes was not necessarily the same.
Although he was not as eccentric as the movies and TV shows in the future, Mary felt that among the many versions of Holmes, he was quite a gentleman.
As the heroine of a doujinshi novel, she probably speculated that the author was referring to the setting of the character in Jeremy Brett's version in 1984.
But this did not mean that Mr. Holmes, who was relatively peaceful, would waste time on meaningless conversations.
He glanced sideways at Mary, and the intention in his sharp eyes could not be more obvious. If Mary Bennet wanted to waste time on meaningless conversations, then he really overestimated her intelligence.
Mary was not discouraged. Instead, she smiled and said, "I guess it's a family friend, right?
It's okay, I can ask Mr. Darcy. "
Since Mr. Bentley said that Holmes and Darcy had a good relationship, Mary felt that it was most likely a family friend.
For one thing, she could not figure out how a rich bachelor could become friends with a detective on the streets of London. For another, Holmes's family was also a well-known local squire. It was normal for him to know Darcy's family.
Before Holmes could speak, Mary changed the topic. "You just said that the person who instigated Jeffrey The Younger will not return to Meriton because his plan failed. Naturally, there is no need for him to return.
But I don't understand what he wants. Sir, do you have any clues? "
Holmes stopped.
Mary looked up and found that they had already walked close to Jeffrey The Younger's house.
It was too close!
Mary wished that she could walk another ten kilometers with Sherlock Holmes.
The detective turned around. "What do you think, Miss Bennet?"
Was he trying to test her?
Mary's eyes suddenly lit up.
When it came to the case, she was much more well-behaved, but the sly look on her ordinary face shone brightly. "Since you also believe that Jeffrey The Younger was instigated by someone, I won't say more, sir.
At first, I thought that Mr. Bentley had offended someone, but after thinking about it carefully, I think it's probably because of something valuable in Mr. Bentley's bedroom. "
"You think that someone covets Mr. Bentley's property."
"That's the only motive I can think of."
"A contract."
Mary was Ichirin.
She had thought that it would be some kind of jewelry or crown. After all, she had transmigrated into a doujinshi novel, so it was not surprising that it was written in an exaggerated and romantic way.
Mr. Holmes's hypothesis was much more realistic. What was the most valuable thing in the Victoria period?
Capital.
What did capital rely on?
The market.
And capital in the market was always indispensable in terms of contracts.
Mary quickly reacted. "A contract, a factory contract or a commercial trade contract?"
She didn't know what Mr. Bentley was doing. Although Mary was quite curious about the capitalist production relations of this era, in the eyes of the southern country gentry, only rich landlords like Darcy could be called "noble."
And making money in business was not something that could be done in public.
Therefore, Mary didn't ask about it specifically.
But such an answer didn't make Mary understand the cause and effect of the case.
"A signed contract." She was even more confused. "What's the use of stealing it?
And if it's just stealing a contract, this case is too simple. "
"Think, Miss Bennet."
Mr. Holmes was a little impatient.
"You should think before you blurt it out."
He tapped the heel of his shoe with his cane. The word "dissatisfaction" was engraved in every cell of his body. He almost directly complained that such a simple question was suspicious.
If it were anyone else, they might have been frightened by the contempt of the great detective's IQ, but Mary didn't buy it.
Her curiosity was completely aroused. Seeing that Mr. Holmes didn't want to explain, she wasn't afraid.
The petite girl turned slightly and stood in front of the thin gentleman. Mary boldly looked up at Mr. Holmes's sharp eyes and said, "You can't expect an unmarried lady who has never stepped out of the county to know everything. Mr. Holmes, there are many things in the world that I don't understand, but I can learn, and …"
Mary smiled. "I haven't figured out why I instigated Jeffrey The Younger to steal the contract, but I figured out something else."
Holmes: "What?"
Mary: "It was Mr. Darcy who recommended you to Mr. Bentley to solve the theft case, right?"
"Yes."
"Then I think this case is too simple for you," Mary said. "Did you accept this commission because there's a bigger conspiracy behind it?"
"…"
However, Sherlock Holmes didn't answer her.
The detective just put on his hat again. He bypassed Mary, who was in front of him, and walked towards Jeffrey The Younger's house.
Mary turned around and said to Holmes's back, "Can I investigate with you, sir?
No matter what conspiracy is behind it, I just want to give justice to Jeffrey The Younger's mother! "
Holmes didn't stop.
"Sir, I'll take it as a yes if you don't say anything."
"…"
Sherlock Holmes, who was walking in front, stopped again. He turned his head and said to Mary, "What are you waiting for? The clues won't come to you, Miss Bennet."
Huh?
Mary had a blank look on her face.
The detective sighed helplessly. "Why aren't you leaving?"