All My Soul

Sherlock Holmes Writing Prompt

From out of the darkness came the sound of a car's engine turning over. There was the glow of lights and the tall man offered his hand to the woman in a black cloak. Her hood was up. From under the folds of thick fabric came a pale slender hand with long fingers. Victoria was reluctant to take her hand out from under the warm cloak and expose it to the frigid night air, but the man was being very courteous to her and she wanted to be polite. He led her to the sleek black car and held the door open for her. She stepped gracefully into the car and arranged her skirts around her. The man shut the door and the driver pulled away.
Victoria tried to calm her breathing. She may have been the single smartest person in all of britain, but she still had nerves. Having been dubbed the "Fearless Female Sherlock Holmes" she often refused to let her nerves show. The people she protected needed her to be fearless. But when she had received a letter in the post that invited her to have dinner with her archenemy, she had been extremely shaken. However, despite the fact that he may have been vicious and completely evil, he was also extremely gentleman like. He had specified that it was formal so she had dusted off her ballgown and decided that she would make this good. The dark red fabric was fitted to her hips and then fell gracefully in cascades down to the floor. She wore an old fashioned cloak over it to keep off the cold-the lacey sleeves of the dress didn't do much good-and had the hood pulled up over her black hair. She knew she looked good. When she had left, her bodyguard Isaac had practically had his chin on the floor. It was a good thing that he had no idea where she was going. Victoria doubted that she would die tonight, but if she did, it would be in style.
The car came to a halt in front of a large, elegant mansion. It was out in the countryside, secluded from humanity. Victoria felt a stab of immediate jealousy. Since she worked with the police so often she had to live in the city, but she dreamed of the country. She climbed the steps of the manor with as much grace as she could manage. The beautiful wooden doors opened suddenly, and Victoria walked in with her head held high. She threw the hood of the cloak off and felt her dark hair tumble down her back. She undid the ribbon at the neck and let one of the servants take it. Another held out his arm for her and led her into an elegant dining room, with a lovely candle chandelier hanging from the center of the ceiling. The servant pulled a chair out for her and she sat down. She heard a deep voice off to her right and fought the urge to turn her head. "Welcome to my home Victoria. I am very pleased that you would come." Victoria turned to look at the tall man. "Thank you for the invitation Anthony. It is lovely to see you again." She added extra strain to the word lovely.
Anthony waved his had as though he was shooing away the formality that both of them saw right through and stayed in a calm voice, "It has been a long time since we spoken Victoria, and there are things to discuss."