Oh. Oh, my dear.
My dearest.
I warned you. I said, "Do not go too near the edge."
Why did you push me, Baron?
My dear wife, you're dreaming.
No. Dying.
Dying.
Oh, my darling.
Anything stirring, Holmes?
I know no more than this.
It may be a fussy, self-important fool or a matter of life or death.
- Will you grant this interview? - I've already confirmed it.
Do you know of the man?
Only that the name Colonel Sir James Damery is a household word in society.
I can tell you a little bit more than that.
He has a reputation for arranging delicate matters
which are to be kept out of the papers.
A man of the world with a natural turn for diplomacy.
I am bound therefore to hope that it is not a false scent
and that he has some real need of our assistance.
Our?
- If you will be so good, Watson. - I shall be honoured.
Then until 4:30 o'clock we can put the matter out of our heads.
Mr Holmes, we are dealing on this occasion
with the most dangerous man in Europe.
I have had several opponents to whom that term has been applied.
A man to whom violence is familiar and who will literally stick at nothing.
- No, thank you. - Don't you smoke?
Excuse my pipe.
If he is more dangerous than Professor Moriarty, he is worth meeting.
- May I ask his name? - Have you ever heard of Baron Gruner?
The Austrian murderer?
So you've already sized him up as a murderer?
It is our business to follow the details of continental crime.
I am as sure that he killed his wife in that so-called accident at the Splugen Pass
as if I'd seen him do it.
Just as I am certain that he disposed of the only witness,
that innocent shepherd boy.
Baron Gruner is now in England.
Residing near Kingston, I'm informed.
That is so. Might I also suppose you will have heard of General Merville?
- Of Khyber Pass fame? - Indeed.
General Merville has a daughter, Violet.
Young, rich, accomplished.
A wonder woman in every way.
It is she, an innocent,
we are endeavouring to save from the clutches of this fiend.
He has some hold over her?
The strongest of all where women are concerned, Mr Holmes.
Ah. Love?
Exactly.
In marrying you, my darling, all my past sins shall be absolved.
But these aren't sins you've told me of. These are slanders.
My angel.
You were traduced. As are all great men.
Yet I am determined you shall know my history. Every part of me.
Thus shall I come to the altar purified in soul and spirit
and worthy at last of your love.
Just six weeks.
Oh, Adelbert.
I cannot pretend my past is without stain.
No man born in poverty who has created his own fortune
can say that and speak the truth, oh, no.
I have been forced to many a ruthless act, my dear.
Where should I begin?
With young Heinrich of Saxe-Baden?
'To observe, Mr Holmes,
'an atrocious event preparing itself before your eyes,
'and yet be powerless to avert it.'
Could anyone, any human being, be placed in a more trying position?
Perhaps not.
You will sympathise with the client in whose interest I am acting.
I did not understand that you were merely an intermediary.
Who is the principal?
I beg of you not to press that question.
His name cannot be dragged into this matter.
His motives are, to the last degree, honourable,
but he prefers to remain unknown.
I need not say that your fees will be assured, Mr Holmes.
And you will be allowed a free hand.
Surely the actual name of your client is immaterial?
I must decline to act, Sir James. I'm sorry.
Mystery at both ends of my cases is too confusing. No.
You place me in the most serious dilemma.
Dare I say, Mr Holmes, you hardly realise the effect of your own action?
I have given my word not to reveal the identity of my client.
May I at the least lay all I can before you?
It is understood. I commit myself to nothing.
Of course. Yes, yes.
A perfect likeness.
- Who painted it? - Hans of Innsbruck.
A descendant of Klaus, the sculptor famous for his bronzes. Such as this.
I shall commission Hans to attempt your likeness, my precious.
I love this room.
It breathes of you.
What's this?
Your diary?
No, no. It is... It is my commonplace book.
In it I record things I've seen, read, admired.
And occasionally perhaps a thought or two of my own.
But it's locked.
It is a little part of me. Besides, a servant might pry.
One day, perhaps, we shall look at it together.
No. I respect your privacy, my darling.
We must all keep something of our own, however much else we share.
You...are perfect.
- You must teach me about porcelain. - I shall.
Collecting is such a pleasure, such a delight.
It is a passion with me.
Just as you are, my precious.
The villain has attached himself to the lady
and has completely and absolutely won her heart.
She will not hear one word against him.
To sum up, she proposes to marry him next month.
As she is of age and has a will of iron, it is hard to know how to prevent her.
Does the infatuated young woman know of the Swiss episode?
The cunning devil has told her every unsavoury scandal of his past,
but always in such a way as to make himself out to be the innocent martyr.
She accepts his version and will listen to no other. Not even her father's.
Sir James, have you not inadvertently let out the name of your client?
The general? Oh, no, Dr Watson.
That strong soldier's been utterly demoralised by this incident.
- Mrs Hudson. - You rang, sir?
Deliver this to the butcher's boy round the corner.
That young rascal with the funny eye?
The other is invaluable. So is his bicycle.
Yes, sir.
How may I keep in touch with you, Sir James?
You accept my commission?
Let us just say that your problem interests me.
The Carlton Club will find me.
And the baron's exact address in Kingston?
Vernon Lodge. A large house. He is a rich man.
Speculators, when successful, frequently are, Sir James.
What further information can you give us?
He has expensive tastes. Collects books, pictures. Oh, and Chinese pottery.
He's a recognised authority. Written a book upon the subject.
You may tell your client that I am turning my attention towards Baron Gruner.
I have no doubt, Mr Holmes, you could easily trace my client,
but I must ask you as a point of honour to refrain from doing so.
Do not, I beg you, break in upon his incognito.
- I think I can safely promise that. - Thank you.
Dr Watson.
You're wasting your time, Watson.
General Merville's career may point us to our client.
- He's illustrious. - Did you not hear Sir James?
- His request was to you, Holmes. - That is shameful, Watson, shameful.
Besides, our minds should be more gainfully employed. Desist.
Any views?
- Have you none? - Not yet.
Beyond the one I have acted upon.
- The butcher's boy? - More discreet than any telegraph.
Well, I should think you'd better see the young lady herself. Start with her.
If her poor father cannot move her, how can I, a complete stranger, prevail?
If all else fails.
Perhaps. But first, the underworld.
It is amid the dark roots of crime that we must hunt for Gruner's secrets.
You've sent for Shinwell Johnson.
I have but one insight.
That Miss Merville might well condone murder,
yet some smaller offence might rankle.
We shall see.
They have engaged the very best.
Show him in.
Mr Sherlock Holmes, sir.
I rather thought I should see you sooner or later, Mr Holmes.
You've been retained, no doubt, by General Merville
to prevent my marriage with his daughter Violet.
That is so, is it not?
Let me advise you very strongly, Mr Holmes, to draw off at once.
Draw off?
You'll only ruin your well-deserved reputation.
This is not a case in which you can possibly hope to succeed. Draw off, sir.
It is curious, but that is the very advice that I have come to give you.
Let me put it to you man to man.
If you persist in this marriage,
you will raise such a swarm of powerful enemies
that England will be too hot to hold you.
Surely you would be wiser to draw off.
Excuse my amusement, Mr Holmes,
but it really is very funny seeing you trying to play a hand with no cards in it.
No colour cards. Nothing but the smallest of the small.
- So you think. - So I know, sir. So I know.
Let me make it clear.
You consider your hand so strong you can afford to show it?
Certainly, since in this instance you are clearly out of your depth, Mr Holmes.
Could it be that your capabilities have been subject to hyperbole?
Your hand, Gruner. Show it.
- Won't you sit down? - I think I shan't.
Please yourself.
Well, sir, it happens I have been fortunate enough...
to win the entire affection of Miss Merville.
This in spite of the fact that I have informed her clearly
of all the unhappy incidents in my past.
I have warned her that certain designing persons would come to her -
I hope you recognise yourself in this -
and would tell her of these things.
I have instructed her how to treat them.
She is well prepared for you.
She will, no doubt, give you an appointment,
and she will listen.
It will be to no avail, however.
If you wish to speak, now is your moment.
No. This is not the moment.
Oh, by the way, Mr Holmes.
Did you know the French agent Le Brun?
- Of course. - So you know what befell him?
He was beaten in the Montmartre district of Paris and crippled for life.
Quite so. By an odd coincidence he had been enquiring into my affairs.
Don't do it, Mr Holmes. It's not a...lucky thing.
My last word to you is you go your way, let me go mine.
And mine to you, Gruner,
is that if you aspire to be accepted into English society,
remove the band from your Havana before lighting it.
Otherwise you will be put down for a bounder.
Mrs Hudson, has Holmes returned?
Not yet, sir, but there are two visitors waiting.
Thank you, Mrs Hudson.
- Why, Johnson. - Evening, Doctor.
- Mr Holmes sent word to me. - I know.
I've brought Kitty...
I was delayed at the museum, and then the press of traffic.
An omnibus overturned in Great Russell Street.
Two dead, a horse had to be put down.
Gentlemen, forgive me.
I was absorbed by the mysteries of Ming. I quite forgot the hour. Madam.
This is Miss Winter. Kitty, we call her.
- What she don't know about Gruner... - Of course.
Well, Kitty can speak for herself.
I put my hand right on her within an hour of your message, sir.
I'm easy to find. Hell, London gets me every time.
Same address goes for Porky.
Porky? Is that your nom de guerre, Johnson?
You've never revealed that. Porky? Oh, well!
We're old mates, Porky and me.
But there's someone who ought to be down in a lower hell than us.
That's the man you're after, Mr Holmes.
I gather we have your good wishes?
If I can help put him where he belongs, I'm yours to the rattle, sir.
Do you know what he intends? How the matter stands?
Porky tells me he's after some other poor fool.
Only this time he wants to marry her.
- And you want to stop it. - Yes.
Surely you know enough about this devil
to prevent any girl in her senses wanting anything to do with him?
She's not in her senses, Miss Winter.
She's madly in love. She has been told all about him.
She cares for nothing.
- Told about the murder of his wife? - Yes.
- My Lord, she must have a nerve. - She has.
- Can't you lay proofs before her? - Can you help us do so?
I am proof. Living proof.
If I was to stand before her and tell her how he used me...
Would you do this?
Would I? Would I not?
It might be worth the trying.
I'll lay he didn't tell her all, sir.
All?
He collected me. He collects women.
I was an artist's model, a respectable artist's model.
You sat for that painting in his study.
You've been to Kingston?
Then you'll have seen all his crocks.
Women and china, they're his twin passions.
Gruner commissioned that painting,
and afterwards... and afterwards...
Well, let's just say I can never work again.
Never.
I am exceedingly obliged to you, Miss Winter.
We shall indeed interview Miss Merville together.
My client will compensate you most liberally.
Oh, none of that, Mr Holmes. I'm not out for money.
Just let me see this man in the mud.
In the mud with my foot on his face. That's my price.
Thank you.
From Kingston. Thank you, Mrs Hudson. No reply.
Shall we dine?
This is a death threat.
Would you expect anything less from the Baron Gruner?
- Holmes, have a care! - Oh, Watson, come along.
We must eat.
Come on, girl.
Hey!
- They ain't following no more. - Don't you believe it!
There. What did I say?
Now, you stand over there, Kitty. There's a good girl.
Right. Who's first? You? Or you?
Porky!
Oh, Porky!
Amateurs! Ain't done no time. Don't know nothing.
Come on, girl.
There's two persons wish to see you, sir.
Persons?
I couldn't in honesty term them gentlemen, sir.
I come.
Was he armed?
No, sir.
Go through to the kitchens.
Clean yourselves up and clear out.
I have agreed to this visit out of respect for my father rather than for you.
My fiancé assures me you are no longer what you were.
A spent force.
And you, Miss Winter?
Surely you must also be superfluous?
Our intentions are of the best.
- We are here to aid you. - Really?
When you've called to malign my fiancé?
I am not renowned, Miss Merville, for the warmth of my affections,
but I can appreciate them in others.
Had I a daughter, I should, I hope, feel for you as the general does.
Nor is his concern without foundation.
There. The slander begins.
I do not readily call upon anyone to beg or to plead.
But in Baron Gruner - please, I never speak idly-
you have chosen not merely unwisely, but dangerously.
Marry him, Miss Merville, and I assure you,
with all the knowledge I have of the criminal mentality,
you will be in mortal danger.
Just as the former baroness was.
She too was infatuated and paid the fatal price.
- Her life for her fortune. - That's a lie.
You are aware that the Splugen Pass, where your predecessor died,
runs between Italy and Switzerland?
What does the geography matter?
A great deal when you plan to hurl a helpless woman off a cliff in one country
to break her neck in another.
But it was an accident.
Then why did the shepherd boy who saw the baroness fall
die of arsenical poison?
His murderess, whom Gruner had seduced,
confessed at her trial that he'd obliged her to administer the fatal substance
or risk disfigurement for life by oil of vitriol.
Those are the facts, Miss Merville.
I beg you, picture the awful situation you will find yourself in
if you only wake to your fiancé's true character after you have married him.
I have listened to you with patience, Mr Holmes.
I am aware my fiancé has had a stormy life
in which he has incurred most unjust aspersions.
Possibly you mean well, though I learn you are a paid agent.
But in any case, I love Baron Gruner and he loves me.
You told me this lady's name and that there is a reason for her presence.
- I'll say there is! - And what exactly are you, Miss Winter?
Me? I'll tell you. I'll tell you what I am.
I was his mistress, that's who.
One of a hundred, more,
he's tempted, used, ruined and thrown aside, as he will you too.
Please!
You marry this man, he'll be the death of you.
It may be a broken heart or a broken neck, but he'll have you.
- Really? - You may think you're different...
Thank you, Kitty. You've made yourself admirably clear.
I'm aware of three occasions in my fiancé's life
when he has become entangled with designing women,
and I am assured by him of his hearty repentance.
Him? Repent? And only three?
Oh, you fool! You stupid fool!
Mr Holmes, I have obeyed my father's wish in seeing you,
but I'm not compelled to listen to the slanderous ravings...
Ravings?
By God...I'll show you...
Look. Look.
See that?
And here. Oil of vitriol.
He did it. Oh, yes, he did it.
Your fiancé.
That's a lie.
- It's a lie. - Thank you, Kitty.
You can tell the baron that I shall not rest until I bring him to justice.
Miss Winter!
Why, Kitty? Why?
- No. Please. - Why did Gruner treat you so?
Because... No, I can't tell you, Mr Holmes.
You must. You said that he collects women. What did you mean by that?
- It's a book he has. - A book?
Brown leather with a lock and his coat of arms in gold on it.
No, I can't speak of it.
He keeps a record of his women?
We're all in there.
Photographs, names, details.
Everything about us.
He tried to make me read it while he... Oh, no, I can't.
- And when you refused? - He went berserk.
He ran out of the room. I was trying to dress.
He come back in with this bottle.
I was half-naked.
He threw it straight at me.
- Where is this book? - I don't know.
- Think. - No! No!
- In the study? In the bedroom? - It's more than a year...
- Then you can remember. Think! - In the study.
Back of the bureau.
Thank you, Kitty.
'Miss Winter's scars could not move Miss Merville?'
She was shocked, but recovered instantly.
Good heavens. It seems inhuman.
I confess that part of me could wish her joy with Gruner.
Abandon her to her fate? After all this?
When I compare Miss Merville with Kitty,
whose spirit is as fine as her body is blemished, yes.
- You wouldn't withdraw from the case? - Have no fear, Watson.
My disgust with Miss Merville counts as nothing
against my determination to foil Gruner.
But one thing irks me,
that I did not pay more regard to Kitty's deportment when we first met,
the manner in which she dressed her hair...
It's late. We must be gone.
I've got a mountain of work to do at the surgery, so I'll see you in the morning.
Until tomorrow, then.
Sherlock Holmes, let's be having you!
Ah! I can guess to whom I owe this pleasure.
Murderous attack on Sherlock Holmes. Read all about it!
Murderous attack on Sherlock Holmes.
Read all about it!
Murderous attack on Sherlock Holmes. Read all about it!
Murderous attack on Sherlock Holmes.
It's all right, Watson. Don't look so scared.
- You mustn't talk. - Nonsense. Need to.
What can I do, Holmes?
Of course it was that damned Austrian.
Give me the word and I'll thrash the hide off him.
Good old Watson.
No, no, no, no.
Was it the same pair that attacked Johnson and Miss Winter?
One may have been. The other, I doubt it.
But your thought alerts me.
You must send a note to Johnson.
Tell him to find some quiet suburb for Kitty.
She should stay there until the danger is past.
And then...
- Then we must exaggerate my injuries. - There's no need for that.
Even so, we must lay it on thick for the press.
"May not live the week out."
Concussion, delirium, coma, what you like.
- We must issue the gravest bulletins. - Anything more?
Yes.
Put my pipe on the table, and the tobacco slipper.
You must rest, not smoke.
Very well...Doctor.
Ah, my dearest. Every day you become more precious to me.
What is it?
It's just... Must you really go to America?
Oh, my darling.
It's only a short trip.
I have important financial business, certain interests to regulate in Chicago.
But I shall be back so soon, in the twinkle of an eye.
- The late editions, sir. - Thank you.
Have you seen the papers? That poor man Holmes, he sinks daily.
You cannot expect me to have much sympathy with Mr Holmes's misfortune.
Hm. Erysipelas has set in.
- Have you seen the news? - No.
Gruner sails for America on the Ruritania on Friday.
Ah, news that hits hard.
Friday? That means he sails from Liverpool, not Southampton.
I believe the rascal means to get away from us, but he won't.
By the Lord Harry, he won't!
Watson, I need you to do something for me.
I'm here to be used.
Then spend the next 24 hours in an intensive study of Chinese pottery.
Hung-wu. 1368 to 1390...
- He's sleeping now, sir. - That'll be the morphine.
You won't let the lamp smoke, will you?
No, no. Have you locked up below?
Oh, I did that a while back. There's murderous folk about.
True. True.
Don't drive yourself too hard, sir. You'll be good for nothing in the morning.
No, I shan't be long.
Dr Hill Barton, 369 Half Moon Street, Mayfair, West. Who's this?
- You. - Me?
That is your name this evening. Dr Hill Barton.
- Oh, it is? - Yes.
When you call upon Baron Gruner at half past eight. He'll be disengaged.
You have sent a note telling him that you will call.
Also that you are bringing...this.
It is the real eggshell of the Ming Dynasty.
The complete set would be worth a king's ransom.
You are a collector. This set has come your way.
You've heard of the baron's interest and you're not averse to selling at a price.
What price?
You will not exaggerate if you say it could not be matched.
Sir James got it for me. It comes from the collection of his client.
I could say that it should be valued by an expert.
Oh, Watson! You scintillate today.
I suggest Sotheby's or Christie.
- You're certain he'll see me? - Oh, yes.
He has the collection mania in its most acute form.
- One last question, Holmes. - Mm-hm.
Why have you made me a broker in antiques?
To gain time.
The opportunity to acquire a set such as this
may persuade the baron to postpone his visit to the United States.
- Now I understand. - Elementary psychology, Watson.
Kingston, please, driver.
Yung-Io...Sung...Yuan.
14...I don't know. 1427?
Very fine.
Hm.
Very fine indeed.
And you say you have a set to correspond?
I know of only one in England to match it.
Would it be indiscreet of me if I were to ask how you obtained this?
Does it really matter?
Of course it matters. With precious objects such as these, provenance is all.
Well, you can see the piece is genuine.
As to the value, I am perfectly content to take an expert's assessment.
I had supposed you were an expert, Dr Hill Barton.
I meant an independent assessment.
Of course. Hm.
I have some recently acquired pieces of Celadon you might care to view.
- By all means. - Please.
It's flawless.
Typical 12th-century Sung, I'd say.
Wouldn't you?
You're right.
And this?
That's an excellent example.
Jin Dynasty, I should say, circa 265 AD.
Precisely.
And these?
Typical of Celadon, would you say?
- Give me time, give me time. - I am giving you time, sir.
Quite so.
I should also be interested in your views on the marks of the Hung-wu.
The marks of the Hung-wu?
That's a vexed question.
A vexed question indeed, sir.
There are no marks on the genuine Hung-wu.
This is intolerable, sir.
I came here to do you a favour, not to be examined as if I were a schoolboy.
- You came here to spy. - Not so.
You may have found it easy to inveigle your way in here upon false pretences,
but by God, sir, you shall find it harder to get out.
Raise your hands above your head, Dr Watson.
- What's that?
Holmes! You!
Don't move.
I shall shoot you through the head rather than the heart.
And inform the police I mistook you for a common burglar.
That is a role that I have played before with some success.
Without any doubt, sir, this will be your last time.
- Baron! - Kitty!
Agh! Agh!
There! Be done by as you did.
Water! Water! Doctor! Help me!
Get more water. And telephone the baron's physician.
The she-devil! Agh!
Ah, Sir James. Forgive me for summoning you at this late hour.
There is no time to be lost. Have this before Scotland Yard bumbles in.
Scotland Yard?
Gruner is bound to have laid a complaint against us.
Watson as an impostor, myself as a burglar.
I diverted Gruner's attention while Holmes procured that.
You must show it to Miss Merville. She will find herself one among a hundred.
The account of what sport Baron Gruner enjoyed with his female victims
may perhaps at last open Miss Merville's eyes.
You have done wonders, Holmes. Wonders.
Except for Kitty Winter.
Watson, explain. I must rest.
Miss Winter was a mistress of Gruner's. She followed me to Kingston.
Concealed about her was a flask of vitriol.
Which she unleashed upon Gruner.
Severely damaging his right hand and parts of his face.
He will be disfigured for life.
But surely if these injuries are as terrible as you describe them,
our purpose is gained.
She would love him the more as a disfigured martyr.
It is his moral side, not his physical, which we have to destroy.
That book will bring her down to earth, and I know nothing else that could.
It's in his own handwriting. She cannot get past it.
Neither my client nor myself can thank you enough, Holmes.
Should either Miss Winter or even you be incommoded by the police,
do not hesitate to telephone me.
Thank you, but to tell the truth,
I rarely, if ever, find myself inconvenienced by Scotland Yard.
- Good night. - Good night.
- I would like to thank you too, Watson. - Thank you.
Oh, by the way...
- The Ming dish. - By Jove, yes.
Worth a king's ransom, I understand.
- Good night, Watson. - Good night, Sir James.
Holmes!
I've discovered the identity of our client. It's none other than...
A loyal friend and a chivalrous gentleman. Let that be enough for us.