Discussion Post: The Second Stain

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Happy Sunday, all! It's time for 60s and time again for a discussion thread. This week, we're tackling a good one: The Second Stain. What did you think of it? I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. As always, here are a few thoughts and questions of my own to help get you started. Please add your own!

- The Second Stain takes place "in a year, and even in a decade, that shall be nameless". But is it, really? Watson gives us a LOT of information on which to base a time estimate. We have the names of the Prime Minister (possibly not the current one at the time, however) and the current foreign minister, as well as the specifics of a certain murder that could easily be looked up in police and newspaper records. Why all the secrecy if it is for nothing?

- Similarly, Holmes goes through a great deal of effort to save Lady Hilda from exposure she was desperate to prevent, but doesn't Watson's narrative here do just that? If her husband was going to find her youthful indiscretion "criminal" then, is there any reason to believe things would have changed over the years? Maybe she and/or he are deceased and it no longer matters? Any better ideas?

- Any guesses about the real contents and writer of the foreign potentate's letter? We know it has something to do with English colonial business...

- Watson certainly is taken with Lady Hilda, isn't he? The superlatives he uses to describe her! He raves over "the beautiful colouring of that exquisite head." Wow. And when she refuses to admit Holmes has her cornered, he compliments her courage. Do you think he would be so quick to admire such a brazen and hopelessly futile refusal to concede defeat to Sherlock Holmes if Hilda were a man or an old, unattractive woman?

- Lord Bellinger is able to tell Holmes did something to make the envelope reappear and is now covering it up. After all that happened, do you think Trelawney Hope's career suffered anyway? Even if Holmes' "diplomatic secrets" are conveniently ignored or forgotten, Hope still looks like an incompetent fool for thinking he lost the envelope in the box.

The Adventure of the Second Stain - Noble Causes (plus an extra drabble, Notable Appearances)

[methylviolet10b]

Author: methylviolet10b
Rating: PG
Character(s): Sherlock Holmes, Doctor John Watson
Summary: Holmes reflects on a client.
Warnings: Mild spoilers for SECO and also SCAN.
Word Count: 60
Author's Notes: 60 words of my own inspired by one of the canon stories. This week, two very different quotes inspired two extremely different takes on this story. The second quote in particular struck me as extremely unusual, and made me wonder. The first of these is the 60, the second a proper 100-word drabble, once you subtract the quotes (in italics).
Disclaimer: I don't own them.

SECO -- The Adventure of the Second Stain

Noble Causes

…that the indiscreet Sovereign will receive no punishment for his indiscretion…

My brother and certain Yarders excepted, I am rarely hired twice by a client. Truthfully, I was not hired a second time by the King of Bohemia. He retained me once, but I ‘saved’ him twice: once by helping cover up his affair, and second by helping retrieve his indiscreet letter.

In both I acted to save others, not him.

Notable Appearances

“The other, dark, clear-cut, and elegant, hardly yet of middle age, and endowed with every beauty of body and of mind, was the Right Honourable Trelawney Hope…”

Holmes’ voice faltered. His eyes fixed me where I lay half-reclining on the settee, bundled under blankets despite the mild spring day. I was still an invalid, too old to recover swiftly from the injuries I had suffered in the War.

“Watson, what is this?” His eyebrows rose. “I know you are still unwell, my dear fellow, but the pseudonymous Hope was ginger and appallingly plain!”

 “I wasn’t describing him, Holmes.” I felt my cheeks heat. “For once, I wanted to write a true description of you. Under disguise, of course, but…”

“Oh.” Holmes’ age-paled cheeks pinkened. “Oh, my dear.”

The Second Stain: Collateral Damage

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Second Stain
Title: Collateral Damage
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G

That night I was happy, for I had my letter, and I had not seen yet what the future would bring.

Eduardo Lucas left London at first light, and was on the continent by midday.  Afraid that he would be pursued once the theft of the letter was known he lost no time in selling it to those he thought would give him the highest price.

The war which followed demanded a yet higher price from many men on both sides.

The Second Stain: Replaced

[spacemutineer.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Second Stain
Title: Replaced
Author: spacemutineer
Rating: G

We'd only just replaced the rug and furniture; replacing our calm was trickier. Ever the actor, Holmes had no trouble whatsoever, falling instantly into lazy, yawning nonchalance. I buried myself in my notebook, scribbling nonsense and awaiting Lestrade's reaction.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Holmes. I see that you are bored to death with the whole affair."

Ah, success!

The Second Stain: Silence

[hisietari.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Second Stain
Title:  Silence
Author: hisietari
Rating: G

Watson glanced at me, with that typical expression saying “You should not have protected her”. Maybe he is right. She wasn’t my client, and I had no obligation whatsoever to keep her protected from her husband’s judgement. However, why prevent one war, but kindle another? No matter how many participants, it is not in my interest to let aggression prevail.