Sherlock..........Who?

A Scandal in Belgravia Part Two

Very shortly afterwards Sherlock has taken off his coat and is sitting on a sofa in the elegant sitting room and looking around. Hearing footsteps approaching, he sits up a little and holds his handkerchief to his cheek.

IRENE (offscreen): Hello. Sorry to hear that you've been hurt. I don't think Kate caught your name.

SHERLOCK (in his posh tremulous voice): I'm so sorry. I'm ...

(He turns and looks at Irene as she walks into view and stops at the doorway. His voice fails him when he realises that, with the exception of high-heeled shoes, she is stark naked. His jaw drops a little.)

IRENE: Oh, it's always hard to remember an alias when you've had a fright, isn't it?

(She walks into the room and stands directly in front of him, straddling his legs and half-kneeling on the sofa, then reaches forward and pulls the white dog collar from his shirt collar.)

IRENE: There now – we're both defrocked ...

(She smiles down at him.)

IRENE: ... Mr Sherlock Holmes. Oh hellos again Jenny How's you father and your lovely friend

SHERLOCK (in his normal voice): Miss Adler, I presume.

JENNY(gritted teeth): They are fine thank you Clara still a little shaken up , then again that's the impression you always leave isn't it

IRENE (gazing down at sherlock face): Look at those cheekbones. I could cut myself slapping that face. Would you like me to try?

(Narrowing her eyes, she lifts the dog collar to her mouth and bites down onto the edge of it. As Sherlock stares up at her in confusion, John walks into the room carrying a bowl of water and a fabric napkin. His eyes are lowered to the bowl to avoid spilling its contents.)

JOHN: Right, this should do it.

(He stops dead in the doorway as he lifts his eyes and sees the scene in front of him. Irene looks round to him, the dog collar still in her teeth. John looks at her awkwardly, then down at the bowl before looking up again.)

JOHN: I've missed something, haven't I?

JENNY: Yah a little bit John

(Irene takes the collar from her teeth.)

IRENE: Please, sit down.

(She steps back from Sherlock, who fidgets uncomfortably on the sofa as she walks away.)

IRENE: Oh, if you'd like some tea I can call the maid.

SHERLOCK: I had some at the Palace.

IRENE: I know.

(She sits down in a nearby armchair and crosses her legs, folding her arms gracefully to obscure the view of her chest.)

SHERLOCK: Clearly.

(They stare silently at each other for several seconds, weighing each other up. John looks at them awkwardly.)

JOHN: I had a tea, too, at the Palace, if anyone's interested.

(Sherlock's eyes are still fixed on Irene while he attempts to make as many deductions about her as he can. His final analysis is as follows:

???????

Bewildered, he turns and looks at John and starts to analyse him:

Looking at his neckline: Two Day Shirt
Looking at his lower face: Electric not blade
Looking at the bottom of his jeans and his shoes: Date tonight