Page 102 of A Study in Scarlet Women

“Hmm,heis not in need of a mistress, is he?” she murmured, just to see Lord Ingram roll his eyes.

The note read,

Dear Mr. Holmes,

I have watched your consulting service with great interest and would like to call on you tomorrow morning at ten to discuss a matter of great delicacy and importance. Should you choose to accept the commission, it would require you to work closely with my brother, Lord Ingram Ashburton.

I hope I will be able to secure your assistance.

Yours truly,

Bancroft Ashburton

Trust Lord Bancroft to know how to set a lure.

She burned the note—because that was what Lord Ingram had told her one did with any communication from his brother. Thenshe said to Lord Ingram, “Tell Lord Bancroft that he had better keep his promise. And that I will see him not at ten, but at eleven.”

He shook his head, but his expression was gentle, almost affectionate. “I was always afraid this day would come. That Bancroft would discover you for your mind.”

“When didyoudiscover me for my mind, Ash?” she asked impulsively.

He already had one hand on the door. Looking back at her, he said, “From the beginning, Holmes. The verybeginning.”