#we already didnt get enough of liam in the last arc
(This chapter is a breath of fresh air after the previous arc, thank God)
Milverton is absolutely thrilled upon hearing the news that the Lord of Crime killed Whiteley. It is certainly a development that exceeded his expectations.
He sees right through the reason why the Lord of Crime had to kill Whiteley– because the Lord of Crime had no choice but to cover up the crime Whiteley had committed due to Milverton’s manipulations.
Unfortunately, Milverton doesn’t care at all what happens in Britain. It doesn’t matter at all to him whether or not the citizens had equal rights because it has no bearing on his hobby of manipulating a good person into becoming a bad one.
He then surmises that the Lord of Crime must be trying to look for him, the mastermind, and expose him to the public.
Based on Moriarty’s actions during this incident and the Jack the Ripper incident, Milverton has no more doubts about Moriarty being the Lord of Crime.
Meanwhile, Fred is out on the streets when the latest newspaper has been published. It features Whiteley being killed by the Lord of Crime. All the citizens now consider him as the enemy.
At Baker Street, Ms. Hudson was about to inform Sherlock about the news but then discovers what a mess Sherlock’s apartment has become. John is not around so no one has been cleaning up and it makes Ms. Hudson furious at Sherlock.
She leaves the newspaper on Sherlock’s desk as Sherlock is too busy experimenting to listen to her. Curious as to why Ms. Hudson was so insistent that he read the news, he glances at the newspaper and is utterly shocked to read that the Lord of Crime turned up. He is entertained by the unexpected event, only to become shocked again when he discovers that the Lord of Crime killed Whiteley.
Based on the his previous actions, Sherlock finds it hard to believe that the Lord of Crime would murder an innocent man like Whiteley. Reaching a certain conclusion, he excitedly calls out for John, only to remember that John won’t be back until nighttime.
Sherlock then sees the time and realizes it’s almost time for him to meet with his brother. They are to meet up in Diogenes Club in Central London, a club founded by Mycroft.
Sherlock heads on inside the building and talks to the receptionist, who was very troubled about it all. Club rules state that there must absolutely be no talking unless in the Stranger’s Room, no taking notice of another person, and 3 offences gets you kicked out from the club.
Realizing there was no point trying to talk with the man, he heads further in the building, only to find a room with people sitting in comfortable chairs with newspaper in hand and each minding their own business.
Sherlock then decides to mess with them, yelling, “Is there anyone in danger of being booted in the club because they already violated the rules twice?”
Everyone turns to him in shock. He glances at them all and singles out a person he believes to be one. To get a rise out of the other person and get him kicked out of the club, he uses his powers of deduction to expose the other man’s extramarital affair. It causes the other man to cough in shock, which fortunately for him doesn’t violate the rules and get him kicked out.
On his way out, Sherlock then kindly reminds him to get the smell of perfume out of his clothes and wear his wedding ring before going back home.
Sherlock finally gets to the Stranger’s Room and meets his brother. Mycroft asks him what he thinks of the club and tells him he can join if he wants, much to Sherlock’s revulsion.
Mycroft explains that he created the club for the unsociable Sherlock, to which Sherlock replies that though he is unsociable, he does want to talk.
Mycroft then goes on to challenge Sherlock to a deduction game on the men they can see outside the window. Sherlock does well, but Mycroft is more observant than him. The latter is very smug that he won the game (again!), much to Sherlock’s annoyance.
Finally, Mycroft gets to the point and asks Sherlock what he has deduced about the Lord of Crime. Sherlock explains that Whiteley must have committed a crime because the Lord of Crime would never kill an innocent man.
Moreover, that crime must have been murder, remembering the massacre in Whiteley’s residence lately. Based on Whiteley’s character, he could never be threatened to kill his own family, which meant one of the policemen must have done it. And Whiteley killed that man in revenge.
When asked why the Lord of Crime would take credit for Whiteley’s crime, Sherlock replies that he had no choice but to, if he wanted everyone to have equal rights.
Mycroft is very impressed by Sherlock’s deduction. He then informs Sherlock that the Lord of Crime is now in danger of being assassinated by the government now that he’s an enemy of the whole country. If Sherlock wants to catch the Lord of Crime, he must hurry because there is not much time left.
Sherlock replies that he will definitely catch him, and Mycroft asks if he has an educated guess on the identity of the Lord of Crime and the person who manipulated Whiteley.
Sherlock answers that he has an idea of who is responsible of manipulating Whiteley. As for the Lord of Crime, he specifically names William.
Mycroft didn’t react at all to Sherlock’s guess, causing Sherlock to wonder if he got it right or not.
When Sherlock gets home, he is ambushed by Ms. Hudson who badgers him for not cleaning up his room. She exclaims that this is the reason he won’t ever get married, among other things. She then goes on to say that John won’t be around forever to clean up for him because he might get sick of Sherlock, or even find a wife.
Both Sherlock and Ms. Hudson pause on that last thought and laugh, because they think that would be impossible. It is at that point that John arrives and proves them wrong. With him was a girl named Mary Morstan, and John reveals that he and Mary are getting married.
[Next Chapter]
