Discussion Post: The Noble Bachelor

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Hello, all! Was it a good week for everyone? How did you find The Noble Bachelor? As always, here are a few questions and thoughts about the story of mine to get you started. Please add your own!

- The Noble Bachelor takes place at a delicate time, just before Watson leaves his rooms with Holmes for his wedding to Mary. It's a miserable autumn, windy and wet, and Watson is in pain from the bullet left inside him, stranded at home, listless. How does his situation color the case, which centers on a (failed) marriage itself?

- Did you notice Lord St. Simon's original letter was dated from "Grosvenor Mansions" and Holmes' last case had to do with the "Grosvenor Square furniture van"? Coincidence, or laziness in coming up with false names for locations?

- I am endlessly intrigued by Holmes' detailed books on notable people. Some are simply purchased -- Who's Who would list all the nobility and high society -- but others are clearly not. London's crime world lacks such conveniences, so Holmes makes his own for that set. Whatever their origins, his collections of biographies and information give Holmes a treasure trove to mine for data -- the internet before the internet. Invaluable.

- What do you make of Holmes' affinity for America and Americans, including spunky, free-spirited American women? What about his hope for the future of England and America -- a joint worldwide empire? What would Holmes have made of the EU?

The Musgrave Ritual

[flawedamythyst.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Musgrave Ritual
Title: No Time For Idiots
Rating: G
A/N: Bit behind on these, but working on catching up.

Whilst at university, I had always thought Musgrave rather dull and lacking in the natural curiosity that I find essential in those I associate with. When I discovered that neither he, nor any of his ancestors, had bothered to investigate what was obviously a set of coded instructions, I gave up on him entirely. I have no time for idiots.


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The Noble Batchelor: The Trout in the Milk

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Noble Batchelor
Title: The Trout in the Milk
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G

“Madam is mistaken.  Our milk is as it comes from the cows.  It is of the highest quality.”

“Your milk is watered down.”

“We never do this.”

“You stop at the canal and fill a bucket with water which you then add to your milk.”

“No we don’t.”

“So how else do you account for the trout in the milk?”

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: Autumnal

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor
Title: Autumnal
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: G
Author's Notes: Implied H/W UST

The autumnal days grew short, as did Watson's days beside me. He spent them in pain, holding his leg with a claw-grip, needing the warmth of a woman's touch, nothing I could give him. I offered instead my own meagre solace: my violin and music, my hands and my heart. My dearest audience smiled, listened intently, and left.

The Noble Bachelor: The Bachelor Party

[hardboiledbaby]

Canon Story: The Noble Bachelor
Title: The Bachelor Party
Author: hardboiledbaby
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Author's Notes: Not quite where I wanted to go, but I think this is the closest I'm-a gonna get in 60. :-P

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Despite the somewhat inauspicious closing of the case, the evening turned out quite well, filled with fine food and interesting conversation. I suspect Holmes meant it to be a bachelor party of sorts—an unusual one, but pleasantly so.

At his heart, Holmes was gracious about my marriage even as he eschewed the institution for himself—truly, a noble bachelor.

The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor: Cost

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Lord Robert Walsingham de Vere St. Simon
Summary: Lord St. Simon reflects.
Warnings: Spoilers for NOBL.
Word Count: 60.
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories - plus 100 more, in extended play!
Disclaimer: I don't own them.
A HUGE thanks to hardboiledbaby, who helped me right an accidental wrong. I originally forgot and only posted the extended version. Thank you for the keen eye and timely nudge!

NOBL -- The Adventure of the Noble Bachelor

Flora, well… A man of my status was expected to keep a mistress.

Hatty was another matter. I had to marry a rich wife to maintain my lifestyle. But in Hatty’s tomboyish ways, I found more. I found interest, affection, even the faint stirrings of hope.

And then I found humiliation, pain, and ridicule.

I will not attempt marriage again.

Extended play version: 100 words
Flora Millar was a necessary expense, nothing more. A man of my status was expected to keep a mistress, along with horses, carriages, and a house in town.

Hatty was another price I was expected to pay. My father could leave me little; I had to marry a rich wife to maintain my accustomed lifestyle. But in Hatty’s tomboyish, free-spirited ways, I found more than just a convenient income. For the first time in my life, I found interest, affection, even the faint stirrings of hope.

And then I found humiliation, pain, and ridicule.

I will not attempt marriage again.

The Naval Treaty & The Noble Bachelor

[flawedamythyst.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Naval Treaty
Title: A New Man
Rating: G
A/N: Playing the 'wife? What wife?' game with this one.

Watson claims that my comments about the rose were a new phase of my character, which is likely true. The mood I found myself in as we embarked on that case was as new to me as Watson's words the night before had been. I was no longer merely Sherlock Holmes; I was Sherlock Holmes as loved by John Watson.


Canon Story: The Noble Bachelor
Title: How To Cheer Up Your Watson
Rating: G
A/N: Well, of course the title's lame. I came up with it.

Watson becomes extremely disheartened when the combination of his old war wound and the weather keeps him trapped indoors. The best way I know to alleviate his distress is to keep him distracted and entertained. Perhaps a supper party will cheer him, with the kind of excellent food that he always appreciates, and the most interesting guests I can summon.

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