Конан Дойль (Conan Doyle)Chapter one
The King's Mistake
For Sherlock Holmes, there was only one woman in the world. He did not love her, because he never loved women. But after their meeting he never forgot her. Her name was Irene Adler.
One night in March I visited my old friend at his home in Baker Street. I was married by now, so I did not often see him.
'Come in, Watson,' he said. 'Sit down. I'm happy to see you, because I've got something to show you. What do you think of this? It arrived in the last post.' It was a letter, with no date, name or address. It said:
'Tonight someone will visit you, to talk about some very secret business. You have helped other important people, and you can, we hope, help us. Be in your room at 7.45 p.m.'
'The paper - what do you think about the paper?' asked Holmes.
I tried to think like Holmes. 'It's expensive, so this person is rich. It's strange paper.'
'Yes, it's not English. If you look at it in the light, you can see that it was made in Bohemia. And a German, I think, wrote the letter. Ah, here comes our man now.' We could hear the horses in the street.
'Shall I leave, Holmes?' I asked.
'No, no, I need your help. This will be interesting,' my friend answered. There was a knock at the door.
'Come in!' called Holmes.
A tall, strong man came into the room. He was wearing expensive clothes, and a mask over his face.
'You can call me Count von Kramm. I come from Bohemia,' he said. 'My business is most important. Before I tell you about it, do you agree to keep it a secret?'
'I do,' we said together.
'A very important person, who belongs to a royal family, has sent me to ask for your help,' he went on. 'I wear a mask because nobody must know who that person is. I must explain how important this business is. If you cannot help, there will be difficulty and trouble for one of the most important families in Europe - and perhaps a very big scandal. I am talking about the famous House of Ormstein, Kings of Bohemia.'
'I know, Your Majesty,' said Holmes. He quietly smoked his cigarette.