The Sign of Three: A Reader's Journey

Vatican Cameos

The guests listened attentively as Sherlock recounted the events of the stag night and the humorously mess of a night that followed, leading up to the case of the Mayfly Man as another one of his preludes to parallel John's character against his own.

"Ladies and gentlemen, pray charge your glasses and be upstanding," Sherlock said, raising his glass of champagne.

The scrapping of chairs reverberated through the room as all the guests rose up, following the best man's suit and raising their glasses.

"Today begin the adventures of Mary Elizabeth Watson and John Hamish Watson. The two reasons why every single one of us is-"

A blank look suddenly adorned his features mid-sentence. You knew that look all too well, and a familiar sense of uneasiness bubbled inside you.

In the blink of an eye, the champagne glass slipped from between his fingers and before you or anybody else could process the situation, the glass fell to the floor with a resounding smash as Sherlock monotonously continued, "- here today."

"Oh, sorry I-" the shatter must have broken him out of his reverie, as he stared in confusion at the broken remnants of his champagne glass. He nervously cleared his throat, looking flustered and incredibly uncomfortable.

"Another glass, sir?"

Sherlock thanked the waiter and hastily grabbed the champagne glass offered to him. He faced the guests again, tried to put a brave face on as he said, "Now, where were we?"

The sudden shift in Sherlock's demeanour did not go unnoticed amongst the crowd. Soft murmurs erupted in the hall as the guests shared nervous glances. You had a vice grip on your glass in anticipation of whatever was to follow, almost afraid you were going to be the second person that day to smash it.

Sherlock still looked rattled as he shook his head once again.

"Ah, yes. Raising glasses and standing up. Very good. Thank you... and down again," said Sherlock, now gesturing downwards with his hands.

Confusion settled in as some of the guests slowly began to sit down whilst others remained standing, everyone looking around awkwardly.

You sat down and looked across to the main table where John sat. He had a fake smile plastered on his face, trying to hold it together and appear unfazed. But as he caught your eye, his lips twitched slightly and he looked nothing but concerned.

"Ladies and gentlemen, people tell you not to milk a good speech - get off early, leave 'em laughing. Wise advice I'll certainly try to bear in mind. But for now-"

You heard Tom whisper, "You reckon he's alright?" just as Sherlock put one hand on the table and lifted himself up over it to the other side, drawing gasps of shock from the audience.

"-part two."

Poor Tom, you thought as Molly shot daggers through her eyes at him.

Lestrade, now leaning back in his chair, let out an exasperated sigh.

"Part two is more action-based. I'm gonna... walk around, shake things up a bit," he said, now walking down the central aisle between the tables and looking around at the guests seated at their tables. He was mentally calculating something; what that was you dreaded to find out.

"Who'd go to a wedding? That's the question. Who would bother to go to any lengths to get themselves to a wedding?... Well, everyone. Weddings are great! Love a wedding."

You shared a worried look with Molly. Something was definitely wrong.

Pointing a finger to John now, he continued. "And John's great, too! Haven't said that enough. Barely scratched the surface. I could go on all night about the depth and complexity of his... jumpers... and he can cook. Does... a... thing... thing with peas...... once. Might not be peas. Might not be him. But he's got a great singing voice... or somebody does."