‘Holmes,’ I replied, ‘not for the first time in our adventures together I struggle in your wake. Zorka may have handed us a weapon of great power but if it isn’t to expose Einstein for the rogue he patently is - why did she make us ride the whirlwind?’
‘I shall reveal all, Watson. Take down the following:
‘Herrn Albert Einstein, 3rd Floor Swiss Patents Office, corner of Speichergasse and Genfergasse, Berne. Personal.
Dear Sir, the mass-energy equivalence formulation L=mV² merits the applause of the scientific world. The clockwork tapestry put together by the physicists of the enlightenment will unravel at the claim that Gravity and acceleration are essentially one, that a time-piece located at the Equator must run slower than one at the poles. The creator of such a far-reaching formulation truly deserves a place in the pantheon of science. History will credit your name unless evidence comes to light to challenge your possession of that accolade.’
Holmes waited while I caught up. ‘You ask after Zorka’s goal, Watson - I shall now tell you. Please continue with our letter:
You will have heard that Dr. Watson and I recently visited Titel. We return with a request from Lieserl. So she may face eternity with equanimity the infant wishes to be taken from the pit she’s in and laid to rest in holy ground - ’
My comrade broke off.
‘Where would you suggest, Watson? Under the care of the Archimandrite?’
‘Or Father Florus?’ I suggested, adding mischievously, ‘it’s a trek longer and twice as arduous as the climb to the Reichenbach Falls.’
‘Our Lady Among The Rocks - where else! Good! Excellent! Continue: ‘at the Church of Our Lady Among The Rocks’. Put a map-reference there.’
Holmes stopped to give me an enquiring look.
‘Which flowers shall we command this Einstein to place on his daughter’s grave?’
‘In our long years together, Holmes, you mentioned only one flower, the moss-rose.’ I replied.
‘The moss-rose it is! Write as follows: We are quite certain you will be able to arrange this simple matter. Please ensure personally the grave-site is strewn annually with the moss-rose. It blooms all summer.
Watson, end the letter with: May I congratulate you on the prospective offer of a position in Professor Sobel’s Department. We shall monitor your career with very great interest.
I am,
Very sincerely etc.
S. Holmes.’
At this my companion leapt to his feet.
‘Hats, Baedeker and your Gladstone, Watson! Leave that at the hotel desk for posting. That should do it. The chase is at an end. Einstein will know at once the threat which confronts him. He knows we shall stay silent only if he carries out his side of the bargain. Otherwise the world of science will have a scandal on its hands beyond the Rector’s wildest fears.’
Chapter XIV
The Matter Settled, We Return to Baker Street
We were on our way home. Holmes and I sat across from each other in a swiftly-moving railway carriage, he in his long grey travelling-coat and deerstalker cap, Bradshaw’s Railway Guide at his side, Gladstone bag at mine. Paris had come and gone. Ahead lay Calais. Our concern that agents from Moran’s criminal gang would lie in wait for us at Calais or the white cliffs of Dover had dissipated with the weeks spent in Serbia. Soon we would be greeted by our loyal Mrs. Hudson on that fine street laid out by master builder William Baker, nestled in the splendour and squalor of England’s Capital city, over it all the comforting sound of a bell striking from a distant tower.
My comrade filled a pipe and applied a flame. He looked across at me through the blue fumes.
‘The fair sex is your department, Watson,’ he said reflectively, ‘but women never cease to amaze me. So profound is Mileva’s love for Einstein, unless her own letter was thrust before her on the witness stand, I am certain she would affirm in a Court of Law, even on the Holy Bible, that it was her husband and he alone who formulated the magical equation on which he may now build a considerable career.’
His voice softened. ‘I am satisfied we did what was required of us. If Lieserl is not reburied in hallowed ground, Zorka believes the child will continue to live out her natural term as a rusalka. By obliging young Einstein to go - however secretly - to Titel and arrange the reburial of his daughter in holy ground we may have done him a considerable favour. If the matter had festered in Zorka’s mind much longer, the crime she may have committed against his person can only be left to the mists of conjecture. The infant is beyond our powers of reassurance but it is all men’s wish to see justice done - especially to the dead. Lieserl will rest sheltered by Father Florus and the Hand of God. Once done, the rusalka will fall silent, the haunted house become a simple ruin.’
Holmes looked at me reflectively. ‘They may call Zorka mirna ludakinja as much as they wish but she has a remarkable mind. Her enterprise was brilliantly done. She led everyone to believe her old home was haunted while the matter of Lieserl’s final resting place awaited settlement. She has ensured the reburial of an infant in a quiet and beautiful spot, in sacred ground. As to Mileva, due fame has been withheld from her but there are always those who profoundly despise and fear any women with a mind the equal of men or greater. Had we revealed the truth it may not have benefitted her in her lifetime. The hyenas would be unleashed on her. Her enemies would call her an adventuress, a liar, a cheat, a grande horizontale. At least you and I know the truth, Watson.’
He glanced across at me.
‘Until you choose to publish this adventure we must console ourselves that the secret history of the world is frequently so much more interesting than the public chronicles.’
I asked, ‘How do you suppose Zorka gained possession of those letters?’
‘Given Einstein’s lack of acknowledgement of anyone except himself in the new theories, I suggest he thought he had long since got rid of them. It’s entirely conceivable Zorka found them in his waste-paper basket not long after they were written and squirreled them away for a rainy day.’
‘And that rainy day came.’
‘It did’. His eyes twinkled.
‘Now we can return to Mrs. Hudson’s dinners. As to whether we regale her with fishing tales from the Tisza - ’
I nodded. I pondered another matter, the failure of my commission. How was I to break the news to Sir George Newnes?
Holmes sensed my abstraction.
‘My dear friend, you have not brought up the matter which must surely be very close to your heart, certainly your pocket.’
‘Which is, Holmes?’ I enquired as innocently as I could.
‘The Christmas cover photograph for the Strand.’
‘Ah,’ I responded. ‘That matter! I had quite forgotten.’
He tapped me on the knee. ‘When we get back to London I shall commission John Singer Sargent to paint an Alpine waterfall - one of his six-footers. As soon as you purchase a camera - and if my clothes ever dry - I shall pose for you in front of Mr. Sargent’s backcloth of boiling waters, safe in the heart of the Sussex Downs.’
We continued in this happy vein while our train chugged through the long twilight.
Once more in London, an excited Mrs Hudson greeted us. She handed me a telegram. It was from Colonel Moran. We read it silently.
‘To Messrs. Holmes and Watson. 31st May ’05. Trent Bridge. England’s cricketers under Stanley Jackson beat Australia by 213 runs. Bosanquet’s googlies took 8 Australian wickets for 107 runs, second innings.