"Mr. Sherlock Holmes had a very strict principle of confidentiality regarding his investigations, since there were those amongst his clients who, due to various circumstances, could not afford to go to the police." "To these people, I give my solemn assurance that they need not worry for their personal honour, nor that of their families or the reputation of their ancestors." "Due care and utmost professional discretion are exercised when I select amongst my notes, and nobody's confidence will be betrayed." "This case, however, while concerning a noble family, I am bringing forward to the public for reprimand." "I have received permission to do so from the very protagonist himself." "Sherlock Holmes" ""Whose was it?"" ""His who is gone."" ""Who shall have it?"" ""He who will come."" ""Where was the sun?"" ""Over the oak."" ""Where was the shadow?"" " Let me see." " "Under the elm."" ""The king's sword is in the king's hands."" "The spirit of Charles the First is entering him." "He's in your father now." ""North by ten and by ten."" ""East by five and by five."" "Tom, Tom, let me see, I want to see too." ""South by two and by two, west by one and by one," "and so under."" "Tom, we shouldn't be here." " "What do we have for the sake of duty?"" " Then leave if you're scared." ""Only the knight knows the truth."" "Man in black, man in black, man in black, man in black!" "Man in black!" "Man in black!" " Faster." " Reg!" "Reg!" "Chapter Five:" "The Musgrave Ritual" "I will crush you!" "I will tear your arms and legs off!" "You butcher!" "I will twist your guts right around!" " Wait, wait, wait, I beg your pardon?" " Continue, these are just nerves, Doctor, please continue." "I'll kill you and your mother too!" "There we are." "Well, now just to disinfect, and..." "Thank you, Doctor, you are so skilled!" "I didn't feel a thing." "Yes, what is it?" "Are you busy?" "I want to introduce you." "Good morning." "Now, you mustn't wash the location of the wound for at least two or three days." "I won't wash it for a month." "That would be too much." "Thank you again, Doctor." "My God, I must tell everyone!" "Such skill!" "So, what is it this time?" "Another jealous husband?" "Bankrupt debtor?" "I'm not a detective, I'm a doctor." "It's wonderful." "I need your help." "Can you tell how mentally unstable a person is, or is cutting things up all you can do?" "I'll wait for you." "This is John, John Watson, a doctor and my companion." "Yes, and this is Reg, Reginald Musgrave, my old acquaintance." "John, will you drink with us?" "Hello!" "Sit down." "John." "Thank you." "Holmes saved my life in America." " Don't talk nonsense." " What nonsense?" "That's what happened, it really was!" " So..." " So?" "Why did you come to me?" "So, you remember, of course, the tragic death of my father." "His head was chopped off during the secret ritual." "I was five." " Right before the eyes of children." " Yes, and Tom was ten, he's my brother." "I was taken to America straight after." "Tom has been in charge of the castle, so I lived in America, I have business there, work." "And my work is that I—" "Reg, why did you come back to England?" "I'm an Englishman to the core." "Traditions, gentlemen." "Over in America there are no traditions, but here it means that no matter how funny it sounds, I'm still a part of British traditions." "You're right, Holmes." "My sense of duty forced me to." "I intend to return to the castle." "You know," "I want to furnish it and make it the most modern castle in England." "I will install electricity, gas, plumbing, even add a telephone." "I've ordered the newest mechanisms from America and Germany so that—" "Reg, what happened?" "Well, I just turned 33 a month ago." "Wonderful." "Our congratulations." "The age of Christ." "All right." "All right, look." "I received this on the day of my birthday." "Here, read it." "Fine, okay, I'll do it myself." "Uh, it's John." "Not "Okay". "John"." "Oh, it's slang, you see?" "One second, here:" ""Sir Reginald Musgrave, upon reaching the age of 33, shall enter into the possession of the family castle along with all fixed and moveable property, the whole list of which..." hmmm not this, ah:" ""...providing that he shall return to the Musgrave estate and perform the ritual, the meaning of which he has known since his childhood." "Failing this, Sir Reginald shall be deprived of the right to inherit both the title and family property."" "That's why I'm here." "That's why." "Is the ritual mandatory?" "Well, it's more than seven centuries old, of course it's obligatory." "Our family always performs the ritual, always, and I'm part of the royal family, I must do everything even if it's absurd to me." " You know, I should explain the meaning of the ritual to you" " Don't." "Who should be receiving the sword?" "Me." "Yes, yes, I should and I must get this damned sword." "I asked Tom, but he can't have it, they simply won't give it to him." "Is your laboratory still there?" "Of course!" "Of course, I've equipped it with new technology and it's fully at your disposal." "Excuse me, could I... uh, Sherlock..." "Secret." " Mrs. Hudson really must remember to..." " What do you think?" " ...close this window." "He's not ill." "Are you sure?" "He's scared to death, on the verge of a nervous breakdown." "Right, well, I'm going with him." " Me too." " No, you can't." " Why not?" " Well, how can you go?" "He's a descendant of Charles the First and Richard The Lionheart.*" " Really?" " Yes." " So what?" "I became interested in this story when I first met Reg, so I know what this ritual is." "I found it in the ancient texts of England." "I couldn't fully comprehend its meaning, it's more like a spell, but I understood that it's a secret," "and that death will come to anyone who is initiated into this secret who is not also a knight." "The same goes for the person who revealed it." "Northern Scotland" "And the west tower will be rebuilt as an observatory," "Tom and I have discussed it a lot in our correspondence." "As for the stable, I want to refurbish it into a hangar for self-propelled cabs, you know what those are, right?" "Well, it doesn't really matter, the first one will arrive from America very soon." "Holmes, you won't recognise this castle in five years' time." "By the way, did I tell you how Sherlock saved my life once?" "We only just met today." "Stop it, it didn't happen." "It did, even you don't believe it." "At my university, my room was situated right beneath the room in which the brass band conducted its rehearsals." "They would play at night and I just couldn't sleep." "All I did was to suggest you stick cotton in your ears." "Exactly!" "The next morning I woke up with a terrible headache." "They had dripped poison in my ears." "They wanted to poison me and Mr. Holmes' earplugs saved my life." "It's all in your imagination, Reg, you read too much Shakespeare before going to bed." "The cotton is lost, right?" "So what?" "You're not suggesting Shakespeare made it all up?" "You made it all up, Reg, and people were poisoning each other long before Shakespeare." "My dear Holmes, it's happening here even till this day." "I'm sorry, where exactly is "here"?" "The first records in the annals of the castle appeared in 1407, but the first buildings appeared much earlier." "My ancestor, the great Musgrave, obtained this castle as a present from Charles the First himself for defeating Stafford in its very basement." "And the picture of that duel adorns the main hall." "Tom, I'm here." "He has arrived!" "The ritual will be performed!" "I'll show you the castle." "Your rooms are ready, by the way." "And this is our butler..." " Brunton." " Brunton." "Let's go." "The castle was built so mindlessly that even I'm afraid of getting lost here, it's so old it's falling apart." "If not for Tom, it would have already crumbled to ruins." "Be careful!" "The steps are steep here." "Well... this is the main hall." "It's so dark in here that they must keep the candles burning the entire day." "Can you imagine?" "Not very economical." "And this is the portrait of Charles the Great, painted by van Dyck himself." " Van Dyck?" " Yes, here, you see, on the right, this is my ancestor, Musgrave, and this is Charles Stafford." "Yes, and what inspired faces!" "Of course." "They executed conspirators that day." "Yes, why shouldn't it be a reason for celebration?" "Ah, and this is my favourite painting since childhood." "Here, look, look, Holmes, it's when Musgrave chops Stafford's head off, the first Stafford." "Funny, isn't it?" "Why is it funny?" "Why?" "You see, he wants to chop his head off, right?" "Mm, look, I'll show you." "Look, to chop one's head off, Holmes, you need to stand like this, see?" "Or at least... at least like that, do you see?" "But he... he stands like this, like he wants to stab him to death." "Excuse me, which of these swords is the one that belonged to Charles the First?" "Ah, yes." "Here." "Impressive?" " Yes." " "In alto"." ""And over"." "And where's the laboratory?" "Here." "Everything was delivered earlier, it just needs to get unpacked." "Do you like it?" " Great." " Ah, everything is in one piece..." "Microscopes, new models." "I've never seen these before." "That's fantastic!" "By the way, you room is nearby just in case." "And this..." "I also got this especially for the laboratory." " Well?" " Nothing more." "That's right." "And your room is at the end of the corridor, let's go, I'll show you." "What are you doing?" "What are you going to do if someone comes in?" "I'll say..." "I'll say that you are the most seductive lady in all of England." "It's always just kisses with you, never anything more, have you forgotten your promise?" "I'll propose to you in front of everyone as soon as the ritual is over." "Sooner, or else he'll do it first." "Tomorrow." "Can he hold it until tomorrow?" " But you tease me with these tomorrows five times a day—" " Your room, Mr. Watson." "Barton." " Brunton, sir." " Brunton." "Tom prepared this room for me, but I will stay in the laboratory for a while, it needs to be unpacked." "Mr. Watson will stay here for the time being." "Okay?" "As you wish, sir." "Rachel, what are you doing?" "Come on, quickly." "Well, I won't detain you anymore." "Make yourself at home." "Brunton, show the room to Mr. Watson." "Rachel!" "Excuse me, of course, sir, excuse me." "Of course." "Rachel, Rachel, wait!" "Let me go with you, I imagine you must be very frightened." "Perhaps." "Sir," "Brunton wishes to marry me, but he can't say it." "That's not surprising, someone his age should be careful." "Yes, but if he doesn't hurry, it won't look good for me." " Do you love him?" " Love, not love, what's the difference?" "You know, the thing is..." "So you're in the castle." "What was that, sir?" "I said, "So you're in the castle." Well..." "In Musgrave's castle, sir." "Yes." "Yes." " We're essentially engaged." " So what's the problem?" "Go!" "But you are the master of the castle, your word is the law, sir." "If we have your blessing..." " Me?" " Yes." "Of course." "If this is the only obstacle, then of course." "I'll carry on alone now." "Wonderful view." "Wonderful room." "Yes, it's wonderful in good sunny weather, but at night usually there is a..." "Sorry, what is there at night?" "There are draughts here." "I see." "Well, draughts don't worry me." "This is a very old bed..." " A baldachin." " It was upon this bed which almost every Musgrave drew his last breath." "It's an old castle." " Mr. Watson." " Yes?" "Some words of advice." "If you see anything unusual in this room, pay it no heed." "Tom, you're back!" "How did it go?" "The heads of the clan will be here tomorrow at lunch." "They will leave straight after the ritual." "Why did you invite these gentlemen?" "You're not going to drag them to the ritual too, are you?" "That's exactly what I'm going to do." "You know the rules." "Tom, don't make me laugh, it's the 19th century outside." "I warned you." "Where are they staying?" "Mr. Holmes has a room near the laboratory and Mr. Watson is in Sir Reginald's room." "You placed a stranger in father's room?" "Tom, I wanted to..." "You know, I woke this morning to find my trousers gone and a kilt in their place." "I did too." "Your trousers were sent for cleaning." "And they won't give them back to you while you're still in the castle." "Nobody walks about here in trousers, it's a tradition." "Excuse me, where are the forks?" "A tradition too." "Nobody eats with forks in this castle." "Why?" "They say that Richard the Lionheart was once given a fork from France." "He began to eat and pricked himself, can you imagine?" "So he forbade the use of forks, and that's why forks appeared 300 years later in England than in Europe." "Here, we still live by the traditions of the knights." "Please excuse me, draughts... and my age, perhaps." "Apart from draughts, there is permafrost as well, but steam heating would fix it all." "But I'm sure it'd be over Tom's dead body if we tried." "Yes... you know," "I was reading the Musgrave annals for half the night." "Amazing things, just amazing." "So many times has the castle been destroyed, yet so many times has the castle also been rebuilt." " Oh yes, the work of my ancestors." "You know, they" " Thank you." " dug up all the catacombs in search for the gifts that Charles the First left behind." "Just imagine, all the catacombs are completely filled with secret passages." " I closed off all the passages after—" " Yes, yes, after you became the housekeeper, I know, Tom, you've written about it." "And what are the gifts?" "The crown, the treasure and the sword of Charles the Great." "According to the legend, Charles hid the treasures and the crown in the castle and gave the sword to the Musgraves and Staffords, who would decide in a duel which family was to have the honour of protecting it all." "Am I right, Mr. Cordier?" "Yes, that's right, and the secret was encrypted in the ritual during which my father's head was chopped off." "Tell me, um, who, after you, who will receive the sword then?" " I mean..." " My son." "Well, if he's ever born, of course." "And then he will turn 33 and" "That's if he survives." "Can we have a look at the catacombs?" "Purely out of interest." "Of course." "Tom is actually a really different person." " When we were little—" " Well, he's grown a lot since that time." "How many people live in the castle?" "Tom, Brunton, the stableman, his wife the cook, and that's it." "Just those?" "What do you expect?" "People want to eat with forks." "And wear trousers." "There he goes!" "Damn catacombs, there are entire labyrinths in there." "Be careful, so many people have died and disappeared in there." "Mr. Watson, take these." "They clamber for the treasure and, well... damn castle." "Tom closed up all the exits, but there are so many tunnels, you could crawl in there for a week." " Mr. Watson!" " Yes?" " Light them up." "As I understand, this is the only exit." "Who else has the keys?" "The key." "It's the only one." "Right now it's mine, before it was Tom's, and now... now it's yours." "Holmes." "Well." " Take it." " Are you not going?" "No, no, no, I need to prepare for the ritual." "Mr. Holmes!" "Reg's father fell in love with a French lady, but nobody would allow him to marry an actress." "Soon after a child was born, the mother died, and the boy was taken into the castle." "Tom is illegitimate?" "Tom Cordier." "His father left no inheritance, no title for him." "The legitimate heir, Reg, got everything instead." "But the legitimate heir went to America." "I think the hall is there." "Tom," "I want you to be present at the ritual too." "I'm not a Musgrave." "The walls are so thick." "Here's another exit." "Hold this." "Stay there." "This is the exact spot from which Reg watched as his father was killed." "An excellent view!" "Right here?" "Remember, father had the same boots that night, remember?" "Reg, stop with the hysterics." "I'm beginning to see devils everywhere." "You must go through this ritual." "We have to think of this exit too." "So you think a murder is possible?" "Well, let's hope for the best." "Do you hear that?" "Do you?" "What is it?" "Yes, very strange acoustics here." ""Whose was it?"" ""His who is gone."" ""Who shall have it?"" ""He who will come."" ""Where was the sun?"" ""Over the oak."" " Sorry." "The draught." " "Where was the shadow?"" ""Under the elm."" ""The king's sword is in the king's hands."" ""How was it stepped?"" ""North by ten and by ten," "east by five and by five," "west by one and by one," "and so under."" ""What shall we give for it?"" ""Everything we have for the sake of duty."" " "Only the knight knows the truth." - "Only the knight knows the truth."" ""The keeper of the sword, crown, and the treasure of Charles the First, the knight, Sir Reginald Musgrave."" "Now you are the owner of the castle and its secrets." "Okay!" "Well, it's all over now." "I'm a knight, Sir Reginald Musgrave." "Watson, don't sit on the stone, you have a cold already." "We'll wait for the masons and then go straight to London, right, Holmes?" "I feel like I'm in a child's nightmare." "Why does nobody build amusement parks for children?" "I would arrange such an attraction here." "I'd call it "House of Horrors"." "What?" "I'd earn huge sums." "Perhaps I will go indeed, I don't feel too well." "Sir Reginald." "Oh, Holmes, if only you knew how well I'll be sleeping tonight." "And I take it you'll probably spend the whole night with your tubes?" "Can I keep the key for a while?" "I want to examine the basement." "You're crazy, Holmes." "You read a lot, sir, only these stubs are left." "I actually try not to come here without a need to." "What is it?" "Mother of God." "What?" "A crack." "What of it?" "It's not good." "It's a true sign." "A sign of death." "You're exaggerating." "No, I'm not exaggerating at all." "This is very bad." " Once, I saw a man in black in the mirror." " Who?" "Have you seen him as well?" " No." " The man in black, the ghost of the slain Stafford." "He lives in the catacombs and searches for the treasure." "I will go, it's getting late." "Yes, yes, sure." "You're right, this crack... wasn't here yesterday." "Who's there?" "What happened?" "Brunton... it's you..." "What scared you so much?" "Cries." "Somebody was screaming." "Mr. Watson, I warned you, the castle is old, draughty." "You always hear things." "Voices." "Somebody was crying for help." "A woman was killed in this room, 100 years ago." "Maybe it was her voice you heard." "Listen, Brunton, what is this nonsense?" "It's the end of the 19th century, how can you still speak of ghosts?" "Do you hear that?" "Let me just bring you some hot tea, Mr. Watson." "No, thank you." "Then good night." "So, the sun is under the oak... the shadow is over the elm." "The sun is under the oak." "They say this oak has stood since the Norman conquest of England." "Your servant mentioned that it's quite an old oak." "But really, Norman?" "That's what they say." "Where's the elm?" "In the yard." "Come, I'll show you." "Pity we can no longer measure the elm's height." "Easy." "It was 64 feet." "Tom wrote to me about how his teacher would always give him geometrical tasks." "He measured every tree in our manor when he was a boy." "Listen, what does it all mean, "where's the oak", "where's the elm"?" "Does it really mean something?" "You know, Reginald, maybe this hides the secret of your family." "Absurd!" "Why not?" "Here, from the looks of it." "Yes, it's here." "There, not even a stump is left." "The sun is under the oak!" "The sun is under the oak, the shadow is over the elm." "The sun's under the oak." "Watson, perhaps you'd better go to bed?" "No, no, it's better for me to be out in the fresh air." "Take the stakes." "Ninety four, ninety five, ninety six, hmm, ninety seven... the sun is under the oak, the shadow's over the elm..." "Ah, that's right, the distance is what we're after." "Otherwise the trunk would've been the landmark, not the shadow." "Mark it, Watson." " You couldn't sleep yesterday." " No." "Oh well, here's to your blissful rest, complete with stained windows and stone steps." "I swear I heard a woman's voice, I swear." "Hearing voices is a bad sign, my friend." "But why, why won't you believe me?" "I believe in mathematics, logic, chemistry, in your eyes, red of the cold, and in your good heart." "That's all." "I don't actually believe in ghosts myself, but... but I did hear a woman's voice screaming all night." "One." "And so under." "Well, we are under." ""In alto"." "No, Watson, we're not under yet." "There was a basement," "Mr. Watson." "Then it was swamped." "Why are you so upset?" "Rachel..." "She disappeared." " Brunton, be kind, cry on the side, you are disrupting my concentration." " Sorry, I'm fine." "We found it!" "Near the lake, over there!" "We've looked through all the rooms, even the attic, but she's nowhere to be found!" "Here." "Here." "Is this her shawl?" "Brunton?" " I don't know." " We need to search on the coast." " I don't know." "I don't think we will find her body in this lake." "And why?" "Why would she run off on the eve of the wedding?" " Did you have an argument?" " Gentlemen, come back to the shore!" "We loved each other." "Search along this bank." "Nice breaststroke." "That's it." "We must call the police." "There's no body." "But it will cause a lot of fuss." ""A murder in Musgrave's castle"." "Don't do it." "At least not right now." "All right." "Maybe you're right." "Rachel's body hasn't been found." "On the other hand, perhaps she threw her dress away herself." "Possible." "Could you tell me, did you meet often with your late brother?" "No, that was the basis of our strong friendship." "Perhaps this will interest you." "R.H. R.H. It's Rachel Hodge." " It's her bag for sure." " But how could Rachel have come by this?" "I don't know, maybe she found the treasure in the catacombs..." "No, no, it's not possible." " Why not?" " It's been centuries, my ancestors would have found it themselves." "Reg, did you have maps of the castle's catacombs?" "I didn't see them." "About 200 years, if not more." "These maps are mentioned in the book, uh... your pedigree." "To be honest, I haven't read these books." "If the maps are here, then Tom must be the only one who has them." "Well?" " What is that coin?" " It's gold." "You're joking!" "Treasure." "A coin from the reign of Charles the First." "Yes, gold indeed." "Reg," "I've examined your experiments on the effects of heat on chemical processes." "Right now in London, there's a German chemist, Horstmann, maybe you could go and show it to him before he goes to Berlin." "My dear Holmes, maybe you haven't noticed, but there on the last page Horstmann has already given his negative answer." "I assure you, that day he must have had either indigestion or insomnia." "Maybe you could go and try one more time." "Sherlock, are you..." " kicking me out of the castle?" " Rachel didn't disappear by an accident!" "And you are in danger." "Who?" "I don't know." "I don't know yet." "Tea, sir, as you asked." "Are there any instructions regarding your departure, sir?" "No, you'll follow all of Tom's instructions." "I will go in the morning." "Very well, sir." "Didn't Mr. Watson tell you to go to bed?" "Work is the best antidote for sorrow, sir." "Tell me, Brunton, have you been serving here for long?" "Five years, sir." "Your brother has my recommendation letters." " Before you, I used to serve the Staffords." " You did?" "Tom hired a servant from our family's enemy?" "I hope he does not regret it." " Excuse me." " Stay here, don't go anywhere." "I will arrange for dinner to be brought to your room." "Come, Holmes, this seems like something of a house arrest." "Don't dramatise, Doctor, you are barely standing on your feet, you are ill." "The man in black!" "The man in black!" "He lives in the catacombs and searches for the treasure... and to anyone who is initiated into this secret who is not also a knight, death will come..." " Murders in the Musgrave castle..." " Traditions, gentlemen!" " This is an old castle..." " He has arrived!" "The ritual will be performed!" "Was that a jab?" "Holmes, is that you?" "Jab?" "Holmes." "Go to bed." " I can't." "There are voices." "Come with me, you'll hear them." " Go to bed." " My room, let's go, you'll hear—" "Watson, your temperature has risen, you have a fever, go to bed!" "Holmes!" "Draughts." "Sorry." "Nightmares?" "Good morning, gentlemen." "Sir Reginald Musgrave has gone to London, on urgent business." "When?" "I got a note from him this morning." " That's sudden." " We thank you for your help." "Reginald won't come back for a while, he will be in London for at least two weeks." " Are you asking us to leave the castle?" " Your trousers have been cleaned." "The carriage is here." "It's a solid amount, you won't be dissatisfied." "Sorry, gentlemen, I have work to do." "Goodspeed, it was nice to meet you." "It was nice for us too." "You were the only man who sympathised with my sorrow." " Get well soon." " It doesn't matter anymore." "This will be my last night in this castle." "Farewell, Brunton." "Go!" "I'm so glad, so glad to wear my trousers again." "So glad all of this is finally over." "That's it." "No more screams torturing me at night." "I really did think that perhaps I'd gone insane." "What was it this time?" "You won't believe a single word of it anyway." "Why?" "Humour me, it'll be a long journey." "Do you think I'm insane?" "I love insane people, they tend to tell the truth." "I would ask that you leave your irony out of it." "The man in black," "he was looking at me like this, right in front of my face." "Where did he come from?" "Through the mirror." "What next?" "Screams." "I heard screams again." "Who was screaming?" "A ghost." "But this time, with a man's voice." "And by the morning a second crack had appeared on the mirror." "Holmes, what's wrong?" "Holmes!" "Wait!" "Go back!" "Careful!" "On the bed!" " Careful!" "Epilepsy, I think, an attack." " Mr. Watson, can I help you with anything?" " Bring water, water and towels." " I'll bring it." "It's all right." "The—" "Thank you!" "The worst is behind you now, Sherlock." "You're right, John." "A second crack did indeed appear on the mirror." " Sherlock, you... you're... you're all right?" " Bring a torch and close the door." " Sherlock..." " We have no time, bring a torch and close the door!" "Watson, you must do as I say, do not open the door under any circumstances." "I beg of you, just for once in your life, abandon your innate humanity and politeness." " Mr. Watson, you asked for a bowl of water." " No!" "No!" "No, no, thank you." " I don't need it now." " Just in case, Mr. Watson." "I'm always at your service." "Here we go." "Damn." "Quiet!" "Quiet." " Where's Tom?" " What happened?" " Where's Tom?" " What happened?" " Drink this." " What happened, Reg?" " I don't remember." "I don't remember." "I was writing a letter and then I can't remember." "When I regained consciousness, I was already down there, I was suffocating, I don't remember..." "Listen, Reg, we're so close." "The man in black is here, come with us and we'll put this story to an end." " No—" " Your hand—" " No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" "No!" " Quiet, quiet!" "I want to go to London!" "I want to eat with a fork, to wear trousers, to live in the 19th century!" "Not to chase after some man in black to get this damn sword of Charles the First!" "What are you waiting for?" "My advice is to lock yourself up in here." "No, actually, try to get out of the castle and call the police." "John, you're with me." "See you in London." " Get your gun ready, John, you'll need it." " I didn't bring it!" "Well you didn't tell me to, I..." "Tom?" "Tom." "Show me your face, Tom." "Tom, I just want to look you in the eyes." "Tell me, does this pile of stones really mean so much to you that you're ready to kill your own brother for it?" "Tom, what is it you're lacking in, huh?" "Reg, that's not Tom!" "It's not Tom!" "Brunton?" "Before you, boy, is Sir" "Samuel Stafford." "Well, Musgrave." "Here we are in this hall again, just as our ancestors were." "We'll settle everything once and for all." "Wait, wait, but I'm not one of those ancestors, what do you want from me?" "I don't need the sword, nor the crown, just take it, take it!" "First, I will kill you." "You are not worthy to be the keeper." "You're nothing but a simpering child who doesn't remember his traditions nor his roots." "What roots?" "It's the 19th century outside, stop it!" "Stop talking." "What's the matter?" "Does it hurt, knight?" "Richard Musgrave, your ancestor 20 generations ago," "chopped up eight people himself in Tuaton, but was killed by James Stafford." "Lionel Musgrave, your ancestor ten generations ago, could sit in his saddle for three days in heavy armour, without sleep nor rest." "Edward Stafford cut his head off." "Your father could do nothing but impregnate a road songstress." "I killed him." "And who are you?" "Who are you?" "I am Reginald Musgrave!" "A knight, a keeper of the crown, treasure and sword of Charles the First!" ""The king's sword is in the king's hands."" ""And so under."" "Reginald, your sword." "What?" "What's written on your sword?" ""And over."" "Shall we drink?" "Sam," "Tom told me that you have a daughter." "Could I meet her?" "What do you say?" "We can be keepers together." "Shakespeare would roll over in his grave!" "Mr. Holmes, let's drink." "Have fun, everyone!" " You know, I quite enjoy reading at night." "I read all their annals, examined the picture and—" " Solved the case, while I was chasing an evil servant." "Come, over here." "Did you notice?" " He was a servant for five years." " Yes, enough time to examine the castle and the catacombs." "Reg appears, announces a reconstruction of the whole castle, and Brunton realises that his chance to find the treasure will disappear." "How did I not notice it before?" "Do you see it?" " The servant looks exactly like this gentleman." " Heredity." "A property of an organism to ensure continuity between the generations." "Yes, so many centuries." "So many centuries." "The nature is amazing after all." "And so, to freely use the secret passage in the catacombs, Brunton put sedatives in your tea." "But your anti-flu medicine lowered their effect." "As a result, you slept badly and saw a man in black appear through the mirror." "Let's go, Doctor." "Mr. Holmes, pies and milk for you, for the road." "Thank you." "Why did Brunton want to kill Rachel?" "I mean, Stafford." "An accident." "She was looking for sliced meat, but instead found a man in black in the basement." "So all this time you knew that Rachel was alive?" "I got her out myself and sent her to the nearest village." "It means that the dress in the lake..." "Holmes." " I wanted to provoke Brunton into making a mistake." " I understand, I understand." "Let's go." "I made inquiries." "The real Brunton served Stafford, but died five years ago." "I've even been to his grave." "Stafford pretended to be Brunton, wrote recommendation letters for himself, and went to Tom." "And Tom acted out of pure arrogance that Brunton, who used to serve Stafford, now turned to him." "But they were neighbours." " Weren't they familiar with each other?" " No." "A rivalry like this lasts for a long time." "Many, many years." " I was suspecting Tom..." " Why Tom would need this masquerade?" "The only thing Tom wanted was to make sure his brother didn't tear the castle apart and build an observatory instead." "They still haven't called the police." "And they never will." "This story won't ever leave the castle walls." "Watson, you know, I want to congratulate you." "We were lucky to be present at the last true joust." "Yes..." "Pity the age of knights has long ended." "It hasn't ended." "They haven't ended." "It's just the dragons that are different." "An intrigue, a love story and then this bloody inscription on the wall - just splendid." "The readers will love it." "It's fantastic, and the Americans were mocked very well." "Just bravo." "I think it's got the whole package." "Can I give you one piece of advice?" "Lift your character up in terms of social status, understand?" "So that it's a story about good, noble people." "The poor is for Dickens, nobody is interested in that." "Let your Holmes be a true gentleman." "Furthermore, if you're going to make him a genius detective, do it properly." "Do you understand me?" "Not really." "Well, you see, an intelligent, ordinary detective is boring." "Give him some extraordinary abilities, I don't know, maybe he knows some exotic fighting style, or, say, he never misses a shot..." "But he can't do anything in real life, he can't." "John, nobody cares about what he can do in real life." "Let me tell you a story." "When I was a young man, I was a reporter, and I was sent to do an interview with Colonel Moran, remember him?" "A man who crawled miles in a dried river to fight a Bengal tiger." "A hero!" "I worried so much, I couldn't sleep for the entire night, and then," "I saw a tiny man, tiny, like this." "Small, puny, trembling, looking at me with his beady eyes like I was his superior." "Do you understand me?" "To be honest, not really." "We are the ones who make them heroes, or not." "So the more pertinent question is, who are the heroes, really?" "Them or us?" "The Musgrave Ritual" "*Reviser's note:" "It is highly unlikely that any person could be a descendant of both Charles I and Richard I, and know it, as Richard I only had one child who was illegitimate."