Chapter 1
It is difficult for me to admit — even many years after the Franco-Prussian War — that in those horrible days when the Prussian army was attacking Paris, I could think only about the two wonderful friends I had said goodbye to at the end of the summer — Sherlock Holmes and Arsène Lupin.
Those days, the French Army was in retreat after their shameful defeat at the Battle of Sedan. The Prussian forces were now closing in on Paris, and they showed no signs of stopping.
Luckily, Sherlock was safe, far away from France, while Lupin, wherever he was, was someone who could take care of himself. So I cannot say I was worried for their safety.
Back then, my thoughts were far more foolish and my youthful heart was beating fast.
All of Paris was talking about our good country’s defeat, our sudden fall under Prince Albert of Saxony’s bayonets. Some people argued that a truce with the Prussians was necessary to restore the peace. Many people, however, kept up the resistance, joining patriot groups and fighting to defend every corner of the city, ready to die for the cause.
In the meantime, I, Irene Adler, rode in a carriage among the frightened crowds in the streets. While others were out fighting for what they believed in, I was relaxing in a lovely home in Saint Germain des Près while my foster parents were deciding what to do amidst the war that surrounded us.
Yes, my foster parents. Back then, in my naïveté, I never questioned my origins. I had never considered why my small, freckled face, bright hair, and blue eyes did not resemble that of my mother or father.
Reflecting on it now, I realize there were many things I chose not to think about back then.
There were other things that made me restless when I thought about them. War, of course.
But my most pressing thought was another one. Among all those headlines and announcements, all the homes blackened from fire, and all the soldiers in their imperial uniforms that were torn to pieces, all I could think was . . . where were Sherlock and Lupin?
I remember all the support people offered me then: I did not have to worry, nor be scared, they told me. Indeed, many wealthy, young girls were just that — not worried, nor scared. And it was these young girls my mother hoped I might befriend.
Some of these unworried girls and their mothers happened to be in our living room that Tuesday in September 1870 when I begin my story.
When I spotted them arriving at our house from my bedroom window, I thought they looked like ducks marching in a line toward a lake. But instead of shimmering feathers, my mother’s friends and their daughters (for these girls were not my friends at all) were showing off fancy blue, pink, and yellow dresses. Their boring eyes were hidden underneath delicate hats with veils, and their pale, soft hands sported smooth khaki gloves. They carried small silk fans and wore all the jewelry a thief could ever hope for.
Bakeries in Paris were already rationing bread, and many shops throughout the city were showing sad, empty shelves. Considering this, I should have been very upset about all that unnecessary frill.
But I often found myself behaving like a child in that house. Back then, I pretended to be quieter and more cooperative with my parents than I really was.
It was only when I was with my two best friends, Sherlock and Lupin, that my spirit was set free. And it was during these moments that my mind uncovered the reckless emotions and thoughts I never before knew I had.
* * *
The Parisian society ladies were in the living room, and I was in my bedroom. Mr. Horatio Nelson, our butler, hovered like an owl outside my door.
“Miss Irene,” he called. “Your mother is waiting for you.”
He didn’t call as much as sigh.
I looked at the two letters that were lying on my desk and sighed back to him. “I’ll be there right away,” I lied, unable to look away from the willowy, elegant handwriting that covered the longer note — the one Sherlock had given me the day I left Saint-Malo that summer.
I knew what he wrote to me by heart. I had read that note many times on the road back to the city and many times in the days following.
Sherlock wished me all the best for my journey home, and for the first time since we met, he mentioned the violence and chaos that was going on in France. We were far away in Saint-Malo, protected by our distance from the war and by the slowness of the mail service. Because of this, we were able to ignore most of the threats that our home country faced that summer.
But when summer was over, I returned to Paris, while Sherlock went to London with his family.
London . . . from his letter it seemed that Sherlock was convinced everything would be perfect there. And he was starting violin lessons! That news made me smile.
Imagining Sherlock playing the violin . . . it was like picturing Arsène Lupin wearing a priest’s robe! Sherlock seemed too anxious and impatient to master an art that required so many boring and repetitive exercises.
I say this with some humor, but . . . the truth?
The truth is that I spent some sleepless nights, surrounded by the white light of the moon, picturing Sherlock Holmes standing by me and playing his violin. While cannons and gunfire rumbled just outside of Paris, was this just my way to avoid thinking about the war that was moving closer to my city?
The rest of Sherlock’s letter was hasty. He wrote that he hoped someday I could get to London or he to Paris — maybe when the war was over, when it was not so dangerous to travel. The letter ended this way:
Either way, I promise to take you to the most discreditable and disreputable places in town when we are together again!
Yours, Sherlock Holmes
I had just finished reading it again when Mr. Nelson gently knocked on the door once more and told me I had to go downstairs . . . our company was asking for me. But I did not want to give much of my time to those guests — not more than was necessary.
“Come in, Mr. Nelson,” I said, folding the letter from Sherlock.
“I am not the one who needs to come in, Miss Irene,” Mr. Nelson reminded me, pulling the door open. “You are the one who needs to come down. The ladies are waiting for you.”
Raising an eyebrow, I asked, “And what do they need from me exactly? My knowledge of Latin poetry, my opinion on fashion during war, or just my unique sense of humor?”
“The last thing you said, Miss.” He smiled.
Now I can easily say it: I got along much better with Mr. Nelson than with my mother.
Don’t be shocked, please. It was nobody’s fault.
For I was not a good girl.
And she was not my mother.