9
Breakfast was served the following morning in the same room. Sunshine now streamed through the tall windows, lending the apartment an almost deceptive air of peace, so at variance with the singular mystery which had brought us to Northleigh Manor.
I had scarcely finished my first cup of coffee when Holmes folded his napkin and looked across at our host.
"If it is agreeable to you, Mr. Goode," said he, "Dr. Watson and I shall shortly be returning to Baker Street."
I looked up in some surprise.
Until that moment I had fully expected our investigation to continue upon the estate for at least another day or two.
Mr. Goode appeared no less astonished.
"So soon, Mr. Holmes?"
"I think so."
Our host's expression fell visibly.
"But... the mystery remains entirely unsolved."
Holmes smiled reassuringly.
"It does."
"And yet you are leaving?"
"For the present."
Mr. Goode looked from Holmes to myself with evident bewilderment.
"I confess I do not understand."
Holmes stirred his coffee thoughtfully before replying.
"The course as discussed yesterday evening is, in my opinion, the correct one."
He inclined his head slightly in my direction.
"As Dr. Watson very wisely suggested, you should proceed with your banquet exactly as planned."
I confess I felt a modest satisfaction at finding Holmes in agreement with my advice. Indeed, it was partly owing to his tacit approval that I had ventured to offer Mr. Goode my opinion in the first place.
The estate owner, however, still seemed uncertain.
"You truly believe so?"
"I do."
Holmes spoke with quiet conviction.
"To abandon your preparations now would serve no useful purpose. Your undertaking deserves every opportunity to succeed."
"And the investigation?"
"There remain several promising avenues which I intend to pursue."
Holmes's expression became more thoughtful.
"They are, however, unlikely to yield immediate results. Indeed, they may occupy some little time."
Mr. Goode slowly nodded.
"I understand."
Whether he truly did so I rather doubted, but he appeared too courteous to press Holmes further.
For a few moments we continued our breakfast in silence.
Then, quite unexpectedly, our host looked up with an expression of sudden resolution.
"There is one thing I should very much like to ask."
"Certainly," said Holmes.
"The banquet."
Mr. Goode smiled somewhat self-consciously.
"It takes place next Thursday evening."
"Indeed?"
"I should consider it a very great honor if you and Dr. Watson would attend."
Holmes laughed.
"My dear Mr. Goode, I fear you considerably overestimate my resources."
Our host looked puzzled.
"I possess no capital with which to invest in your admirable enterprise."
Holmes's eyes twinkled.
"And I rather doubt that Dr. Watson is any better provided."
"I regret to say," I observed, "that Holmes is entirely correct."
Mr. Goode laughed heartily.
"Oh, no—no, Mr. Holmes. You misunderstand me completely."
He leaned forward at once.
"I am not seeking investment from either of you."
"No?"
"Most certainly not."
He shook his head with such vigor that I feared another of his little dribbles might escape him, though he caught himself in time.
"I merely hoped you would honor me by attending as my guests."
He looked earnestly from Holmes to myself.
"You have already seen what Professor Stratton and I have attempted to accomplish here. And, to put it plainly, if gentlemen of your reputation were to appear favorably impressed by the undertaking..."
He hesitated, searching for the right words.
"...then perhaps the distinguished company assembled might look rather more kindly upon it themselves."
Holmes regarded him for a moment before smiling.
"That is a very different proposal."
"I hope it is not an unreasonable one."
"Not in the least. I shall be delighted to accept your invitation, Mr. Goode, and I thank you sincerely for your generosity."
Our host's broad face lit up.
"You cannot imagine how pleased I am to hear it."
"I am equally obliged," I added. "It will be a pleasure to return."
Indeed, I found that I meant it.
Quite apart from the mystery itself, I confess I was already looking forward with no little curiosity to the remarkable medieval banquet which Mr. Goode had described and which Professor Stratton had done so much to recreate through his painstaking scholarship.
If the meal proved equal to the extraordinary room in which it was to be served, I felt certain that the evening would be one long remembered.
An hour later we took our leave of Northleigh Manor, carrying with us little enough in the way of tangible evidence, yet with Professor Stratton's dying warning continuing to occupy Holmes's mind no less persistently than my own.