Post by meaningofhaste on Aug 18, 2005 17:46:05 GMT
The chamber was as we had seen it earlier in the day, furniture, papers, sporting equipment and steaming kettle unchanged except that the afternoon sun now flooded the room with brilliant light. The king was looking anxious but hopeful, and Prince Faramir was standing by with a look of keen expectation. Both looked their surprise at the appearance of the Princess.
"Your majesty," announced Holmes. "I believe you will have the Elf-Stone before the day's end, but I need your assistance. I beg your indulgence in describing the evenings you and the Princess Korallein spent here together."
Hope and resentment warred in the his majesty's features. His face flushed and his lips moved wordlessly. "What exactly do you wish to know, Mr. Holmes? There are things no man of honor. . ."
"I do not need to know if Your Majesty kissed the Princess," replied Holmes bluntly," or anything else of an intimate nature that may have occurred between you."
The king appeared to be relieved, and motioned us to seats. I noticed that he avoided looking toward the princess, while she in turn affected an air of indifference as she settled herself in a chair near the hearth and began caressing one of the great hounds that had greeted her as an old friend. One of her guards withdrew to the balcony while the other remained by the door, both discretely out of earshot of our low-voiced conversation.
"Mostly we merely conversed," began the king hesitatingly, "about my travels and adventures in Middle Earth. "Sometimes I would read poetry to her (and here the King's face pinkened again), and sometimes the princess would read to me, though more often she told me of the history and lore of Harad, and we would speak together of our hopes for better relations between our two countries."
"Did you eat or drink during these evenings?" asked Holmes.
"We would usually drink a glass or two of wine," responded the king, "and often the princess would prepare a light repast for the two of us to share."
"What was the nature of these little refections, Your Majesty?" asked Holmes. Holmes' manner was unchanged, but my intimate acquaintance with his moods told me that he was on the alert. Glancing surreptitiously at the princess, I observed that the hand that had been idly fondling the hound's ears now lay still on its head. Prince Faramir, too, I noted, was watching the lady intently. Legolas and Gimli had eyes only for Holmes and the king.
"Sometimes the princess would prepare little skewers of meat and vegetables to broil over the brazier, or saute meat and vegetables with spices. Sometimes we had cheese and wine cooked together into which we would dip our bread, and once the princess prepared a mixture of butter, honey and sugar into which we dipped pieces of fruit."
I was smiling to myself at the thought of the King of Gondor eating a caramel apple when Holmes spoke again. "How did the princess prepare these dishes?" he inquired.
"The princess brought her own little cooking kit--I believe it is still in my dressing room," replied the king.
At a glance from Holmes I hastened to the dressing room and retrieved the wooden chest we had observed earlier in the day.
The equipage included a neat little brazier, a copper saucepan and a saute pan, skewers, tongs and similar utensils, two goblets, and silver bowls and plates ornamented with colorful enamel work. Holmes seemed most interested in the saucepan, examining its interior closely, and even rubbing a moistened finger against the bottom. He cautiously licked his finger, and remarked " This pan does not appear to have been washed very thoroughly. Your Majesty, was it on the last evening the princess spent with you that she prepared the honeyed mixture?"
The king replied in the afirmative, looking at Holmes with an expression of anxious hope. "And did Your Majesty happen to fall asleep before the princess left on that occasion?"
"Why, yes," responded the king eagerly. "In fact, I dozed off before the princess left me on several nights, but I thought nothing of it. She usually remained past my usual bedtime," he explained with a rather touching simplicity.
A picture of these evenings appeared to my mind--not a vision of illicit passions but rather that of a middle-aged, rather lonely man, uncomfortable with the grandeur of his position, enjoying the companionship of a woman who was to him more like a sympathetic friend than a lover, basking in her domestic attentions and relishing the role of tutor and indulgent protector.
"A simple sleeping draught," commented Holmes, "to enable to conduct her operations unobserved. For I suspected from the beginning that the jewel never left this room. However, I hoped for a clue to indicate its whereabouts before attempting a search of this large and elaborate room. As the princess is neither strong nor athletic, I judge that we need not search much above head height, nor under any object too heavy for her to lift."
Holmes paused to survey the room, and then with a triumphant exclamation, he pointed to the table, fully illuminated by the western sun. As one we all followed his gesture, and as one we saw as for the first time the most conspicuous part of its decoration, a carved cartouche of a griffin's head, gilded and flanked by broad wings of golden-brown polished wood.
"Not, I think, the front," said Holmes as he strode to the table. Walking around it, he observed "It is set close against the wall, but there is a gap of some eight inches, ample for a neat-fingered person to manuver in." With the surprising strength that resided in his lean frame, Holmes pulled the table away from the wall, and bent down to the revealed side. His long fingers probed for a moment and then he stood up with an identical cartouche in his hand.
"Watson," he ordered, "pour hot water into one of those bowls." I hastened to fill one of the silver dishes with water from the simmering kettle. Holmes placed the cartouche into the bowl, and in a few seconds he lifted away the griffin mask and crushed it in his fingers. "A wax mold, gilded," he observed, and proceeded to agitate the cartouche in the steaming water. In a few moments the water darkened and a gleam of green and silver shown in the clouded liquid.
"The Elf-Stone of Celebrimbor, Your Majesty," said Holmes, polishing the object with his handkerchief and presenting it to the king with a bow. "Though I believe it would benefit with a more thorough cleaning."
The king was speechless with joy as he received the jewell in his trembling hands. Prince Faramir, Gimli and Legolas gathered around us with excited words of congratulation.
Holmes bowed acknowledgement, his face impassive but a flush high on his cheekbones betraying his inward satisfaction and triumph. "It only remains, Your Majesty, to deal with the princess."
We all turned toward the princess as she rose from her seat. I saw no fear in her face, only defiance in her brilliant eyes. "So," she said calmly, "it appears I have lost. Well, I have failed my master and deserve no reward." She surveyed us all in turn, and then faced the king. "What is your will with me, Elessar?" and she smiled calmly and impudently into the king's eyes.
"Highness," answered the king, "you were serving your country, as I have tried to serve mine. I bear you no malice and declare no punishment for you. But tomorrow you leave Gondor for Harad under escort, never to re-enter Gondor on pain of perpetual imprisonment. "Faramir," and he turned to the prince, "will you arrange the princess' departure and draft a note to summoning the Haradian embassador to my presence toight?" Lord Faramir bowed his assent and turned to the princess.
But Holmes intervened "May I have the indulgence of asking the Princess of few questions, and congratulating her on the cleverness and execution of her plan? There was a particularly amusing domesticity to her procedures. " The king nodded his assent and Faramir paused, his eyes on the lady.
"I have nothing to say to you," she answered, and the fire seemed to have died from her eyes. "I will not be mocked." Her thin form drooped, and she turned toward Faramir with bowed head.
"As you wish, Princess," answered Holmes. "It only remains for me to wish you joy of your recovered treasure, Your Majesty, and to congratulate you, Prince Faramir, on your loyal support of your king and your approaching happiness--your marriage to the Lady Eowyn takes place next month, does it not?"
The prince's head whipped around and he stared at Holmes with astonished eyes. His mouth opened, but before he could speak Lady Korallein hurled herself at him with a scream of rage, and her nails raked his cheek before he could prevent her. He would have seized her, but she evaded him and rushed to the king, grasping his robes and falling to her knees.
"Liar and cheat! False and cruel!" Her face was that of a madwoman, and her form shook with the violence of her emotion. "What is this madness" snapped the Prince. "Majesty, let me take her away until she returns to reason!"
"Not until I speak the truth," gasped the princess.
"There is my master," and she thrust a shaking hand at Faramir. "He found me in Harad, cast a spell over me, made me believe he cared for me, that my spirit and intelligence were of more worth than the beauty of a cold ice-maiden. His was the plan; he guided my every step and move!"
The Prince's face showed nothing but scorn and confident pride. "My Lord," he uttered, gazing commandingly at the king, "am I to be accused by an admitted thief, a spiteful woman who now that her plot has failed, will attempt any lie to bring you more grief?"
"Spite? Lies?" cried the princess, "You are master of both!!" She turned to the king "There is a letter. . . .
compartment 7a, scroll 157." and she pointed toward the wall compartments.
The king, his face white with shock, gestured to Legolas, who hastened to the wall, and in a moment retrieved a small scroll. "Proposed Regulations for the Construction of Vegetable Sellers' Stalls, Section 15, Ventilation"? read the elf in tones of amazement.
"Look inside the binding," urged the princess, her burning gaze never leaving Faramir. The Prince stood rigid, a grim smile just touching his lips. The elf withdrew a single sheet of paper, and as he did so, a tress of reddish-gold hair fell to the floor.
"Dearest Koral," read the elf, "I depend on you utterly in our great matter. I am yours in heart now, and will be yours in law when we are rewarded with success.
I too know what it is to be scorned and rejected, and we will be recompensed for our past sufferings. Your devoted Fara."
"A forgery!" exclaimed Faramir. "Meaningless words, and that hair could belong to anyone--I am not the only red-haired man in Gondor."
Gimli had stepped forward and took the paper from the elf's hand. "This paper bears the Prince's watermark, and I would swear to the writing. It still smells of bergamot, too--your highness' favorite pomade." He glared at the prince, fingering his great axe.
Holmes stepped forward. "I believe I may offer some corroborative detail, Your Majesty. If you will permit me. . .?" The King nodded. He had recovered some of his color, and his face was grim. Legolas and Gimli moved to the Prince's side, watching him intently.
"My method, Your Majesty, is to take nothing and no one for granted and to take note of anything unusual. Even before my investigations commenced, I supected that Prince Faramir was not on the best of terms with his betrothed, the Lady of Rohan. When we visited Princess Korallein, I thought I detected an underlying significance in her interchange with the prince--the words master, servant, reward, worthy. I had already had the opportunity of observing the Prince's unusual attractiveness to women--my own elderly and sedate housekeeper was utterly bowled over by him.
"I wondered if the Princess perhaps was influenced by this attraction, and I introduced Rohan into our conversation. The princess responded with a spiteful fling against the ladies of Rohan, which she immediately regretted and attempted to disguise by adding another insulting comment about elvish ladies.
"From Gimli I learned that Lady Eowyn had twice postponed her nuptials with the prince. Watson obtained additional information form the Rohirrim servants, most importantly that the lady had a previous attachment. (Here the king looked a trifle self-conscious, I observed).
"From the Royal Archivist I learned that Prince Faramir had conducted the negotiations for the treaty with Harad, and had spent several weeks in the southern kingdom. It was Faramir who proposed that a Haradian lady be introduced to the Queen's entourage, and Princess Korallein was in his train when he returned to Gondor.
"I acquired some useful gossip from servants at the Haradim embassy. They boasted that one of their ladies
had attracted the attention of one of Gondor's highest noblemen. As I doubted that these underlings would have any knowledge of the king's entanglement, I immediately thought of Prince Faramir and the princess. Collusion between the pair seemed probable.
""Taking advantage of the princess' shock and disappointment at the discovery of the Elf-Stone, I introduced Faramir's upcoming nuptials in the hope that anger and resentment would make her reveal their complicity--as it did.
"Madam, " he continued, turning to the princess where she crouched on the floor, a picture of dejection. "I confess that I deceived you--the Lady of Rohan has not consented to a wedding date."
The princess flushed scarlet, and her gaze flew to the Princes' face. "Well, little one," he observed coolly. "I think we have both been outmatched." Turniing to Holmes he continued "Mr. Holmes, I would have preferred to have kept this matter to myself--I could have managed to keep busy accomplishing nothing until the Queen's return if left to my own devices, but Legolas and Gimli would not permit it.
"I searched long and far with the seeing stone, and was surprised by the variety of detectives available--Poirot, Maigret, Lord Peter Whimsey, Sergeant Cuff, Nero Wolfe, even an affected fool called Philo Vance--but I chose you because of your well-known indifference to women--an indifference which I carelessly equated with ignorance.
"Still, I wonder if you would have found the stone if the princess has not left her cooking kit--Koral, I told you to remove all the evidence."
"Your highness is too severe upon the princess," answered Holmes. " If you had extended your researches a bit further, you would have learned that the "hide in plain sight" ploy is not as original as you imagined--1845, Edgar Allen Poe, 'The Purloined Letter.'"
The prince flushed, and bit his lip in vexation--the first loss of composure I had observed. He turned to the King and said with a slight bow, "Well, majesty, I confess--what now is your will with me?"
*********************************************
"Your majesty," announced Holmes. "I believe you will have the Elf-Stone before the day's end, but I need your assistance. I beg your indulgence in describing the evenings you and the Princess Korallein spent here together."
Hope and resentment warred in the his majesty's features. His face flushed and his lips moved wordlessly. "What exactly do you wish to know, Mr. Holmes? There are things no man of honor. . ."
"I do not need to know if Your Majesty kissed the Princess," replied Holmes bluntly," or anything else of an intimate nature that may have occurred between you."
The king appeared to be relieved, and motioned us to seats. I noticed that he avoided looking toward the princess, while she in turn affected an air of indifference as she settled herself in a chair near the hearth and began caressing one of the great hounds that had greeted her as an old friend. One of her guards withdrew to the balcony while the other remained by the door, both discretely out of earshot of our low-voiced conversation.
"Mostly we merely conversed," began the king hesitatingly, "about my travels and adventures in Middle Earth. "Sometimes I would read poetry to her (and here the King's face pinkened again), and sometimes the princess would read to me, though more often she told me of the history and lore of Harad, and we would speak together of our hopes for better relations between our two countries."
"Did you eat or drink during these evenings?" asked Holmes.
"We would usually drink a glass or two of wine," responded the king, "and often the princess would prepare a light repast for the two of us to share."
"What was the nature of these little refections, Your Majesty?" asked Holmes. Holmes' manner was unchanged, but my intimate acquaintance with his moods told me that he was on the alert. Glancing surreptitiously at the princess, I observed that the hand that had been idly fondling the hound's ears now lay still on its head. Prince Faramir, too, I noted, was watching the lady intently. Legolas and Gimli had eyes only for Holmes and the king.
"Sometimes the princess would prepare little skewers of meat and vegetables to broil over the brazier, or saute meat and vegetables with spices. Sometimes we had cheese and wine cooked together into which we would dip our bread, and once the princess prepared a mixture of butter, honey and sugar into which we dipped pieces of fruit."
I was smiling to myself at the thought of the King of Gondor eating a caramel apple when Holmes spoke again. "How did the princess prepare these dishes?" he inquired.
"The princess brought her own little cooking kit--I believe it is still in my dressing room," replied the king.
At a glance from Holmes I hastened to the dressing room and retrieved the wooden chest we had observed earlier in the day.
The equipage included a neat little brazier, a copper saucepan and a saute pan, skewers, tongs and similar utensils, two goblets, and silver bowls and plates ornamented with colorful enamel work. Holmes seemed most interested in the saucepan, examining its interior closely, and even rubbing a moistened finger against the bottom. He cautiously licked his finger, and remarked " This pan does not appear to have been washed very thoroughly. Your Majesty, was it on the last evening the princess spent with you that she prepared the honeyed mixture?"
The king replied in the afirmative, looking at Holmes with an expression of anxious hope. "And did Your Majesty happen to fall asleep before the princess left on that occasion?"
"Why, yes," responded the king eagerly. "In fact, I dozed off before the princess left me on several nights, but I thought nothing of it. She usually remained past my usual bedtime," he explained with a rather touching simplicity.
A picture of these evenings appeared to my mind--not a vision of illicit passions but rather that of a middle-aged, rather lonely man, uncomfortable with the grandeur of his position, enjoying the companionship of a woman who was to him more like a sympathetic friend than a lover, basking in her domestic attentions and relishing the role of tutor and indulgent protector.
"A simple sleeping draught," commented Holmes, "to enable to conduct her operations unobserved. For I suspected from the beginning that the jewel never left this room. However, I hoped for a clue to indicate its whereabouts before attempting a search of this large and elaborate room. As the princess is neither strong nor athletic, I judge that we need not search much above head height, nor under any object too heavy for her to lift."
Holmes paused to survey the room, and then with a triumphant exclamation, he pointed to the table, fully illuminated by the western sun. As one we all followed his gesture, and as one we saw as for the first time the most conspicuous part of its decoration, a carved cartouche of a griffin's head, gilded and flanked by broad wings of golden-brown polished wood.
"Not, I think, the front," said Holmes as he strode to the table. Walking around it, he observed "It is set close against the wall, but there is a gap of some eight inches, ample for a neat-fingered person to manuver in." With the surprising strength that resided in his lean frame, Holmes pulled the table away from the wall, and bent down to the revealed side. His long fingers probed for a moment and then he stood up with an identical cartouche in his hand.
"Watson," he ordered, "pour hot water into one of those bowls." I hastened to fill one of the silver dishes with water from the simmering kettle. Holmes placed the cartouche into the bowl, and in a few seconds he lifted away the griffin mask and crushed it in his fingers. "A wax mold, gilded," he observed, and proceeded to agitate the cartouche in the steaming water. In a few moments the water darkened and a gleam of green and silver shown in the clouded liquid.
"The Elf-Stone of Celebrimbor, Your Majesty," said Holmes, polishing the object with his handkerchief and presenting it to the king with a bow. "Though I believe it would benefit with a more thorough cleaning."
The king was speechless with joy as he received the jewell in his trembling hands. Prince Faramir, Gimli and Legolas gathered around us with excited words of congratulation.
Holmes bowed acknowledgement, his face impassive but a flush high on his cheekbones betraying his inward satisfaction and triumph. "It only remains, Your Majesty, to deal with the princess."
We all turned toward the princess as she rose from her seat. I saw no fear in her face, only defiance in her brilliant eyes. "So," she said calmly, "it appears I have lost. Well, I have failed my master and deserve no reward." She surveyed us all in turn, and then faced the king. "What is your will with me, Elessar?" and she smiled calmly and impudently into the king's eyes.
"Highness," answered the king, "you were serving your country, as I have tried to serve mine. I bear you no malice and declare no punishment for you. But tomorrow you leave Gondor for Harad under escort, never to re-enter Gondor on pain of perpetual imprisonment. "Faramir," and he turned to the prince, "will you arrange the princess' departure and draft a note to summoning the Haradian embassador to my presence toight?" Lord Faramir bowed his assent and turned to the princess.
But Holmes intervened "May I have the indulgence of asking the Princess of few questions, and congratulating her on the cleverness and execution of her plan? There was a particularly amusing domesticity to her procedures. " The king nodded his assent and Faramir paused, his eyes on the lady.
"I have nothing to say to you," she answered, and the fire seemed to have died from her eyes. "I will not be mocked." Her thin form drooped, and she turned toward Faramir with bowed head.
"As you wish, Princess," answered Holmes. "It only remains for me to wish you joy of your recovered treasure, Your Majesty, and to congratulate you, Prince Faramir, on your loyal support of your king and your approaching happiness--your marriage to the Lady Eowyn takes place next month, does it not?"
The prince's head whipped around and he stared at Holmes with astonished eyes. His mouth opened, but before he could speak Lady Korallein hurled herself at him with a scream of rage, and her nails raked his cheek before he could prevent her. He would have seized her, but she evaded him and rushed to the king, grasping his robes and falling to her knees.
"Liar and cheat! False and cruel!" Her face was that of a madwoman, and her form shook with the violence of her emotion. "What is this madness" snapped the Prince. "Majesty, let me take her away until she returns to reason!"
"Not until I speak the truth," gasped the princess.
"There is my master," and she thrust a shaking hand at Faramir. "He found me in Harad, cast a spell over me, made me believe he cared for me, that my spirit and intelligence were of more worth than the beauty of a cold ice-maiden. His was the plan; he guided my every step and move!"
The Prince's face showed nothing but scorn and confident pride. "My Lord," he uttered, gazing commandingly at the king, "am I to be accused by an admitted thief, a spiteful woman who now that her plot has failed, will attempt any lie to bring you more grief?"
"Spite? Lies?" cried the princess, "You are master of both!!" She turned to the king "There is a letter. . . .
compartment 7a, scroll 157." and she pointed toward the wall compartments.
The king, his face white with shock, gestured to Legolas, who hastened to the wall, and in a moment retrieved a small scroll. "Proposed Regulations for the Construction of Vegetable Sellers' Stalls, Section 15, Ventilation"? read the elf in tones of amazement.
"Look inside the binding," urged the princess, her burning gaze never leaving Faramir. The Prince stood rigid, a grim smile just touching his lips. The elf withdrew a single sheet of paper, and as he did so, a tress of reddish-gold hair fell to the floor.
"Dearest Koral," read the elf, "I depend on you utterly in our great matter. I am yours in heart now, and will be yours in law when we are rewarded with success.
I too know what it is to be scorned and rejected, and we will be recompensed for our past sufferings. Your devoted Fara."
"A forgery!" exclaimed Faramir. "Meaningless words, and that hair could belong to anyone--I am not the only red-haired man in Gondor."
Gimli had stepped forward and took the paper from the elf's hand. "This paper bears the Prince's watermark, and I would swear to the writing. It still smells of bergamot, too--your highness' favorite pomade." He glared at the prince, fingering his great axe.
Holmes stepped forward. "I believe I may offer some corroborative detail, Your Majesty. If you will permit me. . .?" The King nodded. He had recovered some of his color, and his face was grim. Legolas and Gimli moved to the Prince's side, watching him intently.
"My method, Your Majesty, is to take nothing and no one for granted and to take note of anything unusual. Even before my investigations commenced, I supected that Prince Faramir was not on the best of terms with his betrothed, the Lady of Rohan. When we visited Princess Korallein, I thought I detected an underlying significance in her interchange with the prince--the words master, servant, reward, worthy. I had already had the opportunity of observing the Prince's unusual attractiveness to women--my own elderly and sedate housekeeper was utterly bowled over by him.
"I wondered if the Princess perhaps was influenced by this attraction, and I introduced Rohan into our conversation. The princess responded with a spiteful fling against the ladies of Rohan, which she immediately regretted and attempted to disguise by adding another insulting comment about elvish ladies.
"From Gimli I learned that Lady Eowyn had twice postponed her nuptials with the prince. Watson obtained additional information form the Rohirrim servants, most importantly that the lady had a previous attachment. (Here the king looked a trifle self-conscious, I observed).
"From the Royal Archivist I learned that Prince Faramir had conducted the negotiations for the treaty with Harad, and had spent several weeks in the southern kingdom. It was Faramir who proposed that a Haradian lady be introduced to the Queen's entourage, and Princess Korallein was in his train when he returned to Gondor.
"I acquired some useful gossip from servants at the Haradim embassy. They boasted that one of their ladies
had attracted the attention of one of Gondor's highest noblemen. As I doubted that these underlings would have any knowledge of the king's entanglement, I immediately thought of Prince Faramir and the princess. Collusion between the pair seemed probable.
""Taking advantage of the princess' shock and disappointment at the discovery of the Elf-Stone, I introduced Faramir's upcoming nuptials in the hope that anger and resentment would make her reveal their complicity--as it did.
"Madam, " he continued, turning to the princess where she crouched on the floor, a picture of dejection. "I confess that I deceived you--the Lady of Rohan has not consented to a wedding date."
The princess flushed scarlet, and her gaze flew to the Princes' face. "Well, little one," he observed coolly. "I think we have both been outmatched." Turniing to Holmes he continued "Mr. Holmes, I would have preferred to have kept this matter to myself--I could have managed to keep busy accomplishing nothing until the Queen's return if left to my own devices, but Legolas and Gimli would not permit it.
"I searched long and far with the seeing stone, and was surprised by the variety of detectives available--Poirot, Maigret, Lord Peter Whimsey, Sergeant Cuff, Nero Wolfe, even an affected fool called Philo Vance--but I chose you because of your well-known indifference to women--an indifference which I carelessly equated with ignorance.
"Still, I wonder if you would have found the stone if the princess has not left her cooking kit--Koral, I told you to remove all the evidence."
"Your highness is too severe upon the princess," answered Holmes. " If you had extended your researches a bit further, you would have learned that the "hide in plain sight" ploy is not as original as you imagined--1845, Edgar Allen Poe, 'The Purloined Letter.'"
The prince flushed, and bit his lip in vexation--the first loss of composure I had observed. He turned to the King and said with a slight bow, "Well, majesty, I confess--what now is your will with me?"
*********************************************
But where do Eowyn and Faramir come into play, I wonder? Was the princess trying to separate Aragorn and Arwen so that Aragorn would marry Eowyn and she could have Faramir for herself? (*hypothesizes*)