The Second Stain: Regrets

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Canon Story: The Second Stain
Title: Regrets
Author: thesmallhobbit
Rating: G

Lady Trelawney Hope tried without success to comfort her grieving sisters.  Both had lost sons.

Through her tears the eldest sobbed “To think that one letter could lead to so much death.  You should be grateful, Hilda, that you have no child to mourn.”

Lady Hope woke with a start, thankful that Eduardo Lucas had been killed by his wife.

Comments

re: Regrets

[vaysh]

What a haunting "what if"-scenario. Me, I was very thankful it was but a dream. I can well see Lady Hilda and her husband being plagued by such nightmares even after the whole affair had come to a "discreet" and good ending.

Re: Regrets

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I know it's only a story, but every time I read it I feel that "what if" sense.

[debriswoman]

A chilling alternative...

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

But entirely possible.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

An interesting and original take on the story. (Watson does mention Lady Hilda is the "youngest daughter", I remember.) I do have some sympathy for Lady Hilda - though she must have known she was stealing a very important document. But she was a desperate woman rather than a bad one, and I have no doubt she was plagued by her conscience in this manner afterwards.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

What bothered me was that she was unconcerned about the significance of the letter. And that the important thing was that she was alright, nothing else seemed to matter.

[scfrankles.livejournal.com]

I think that might be a little unfair. When she stole the document from her husband, she was simply thinking about getting her own letter back in exchange. She perhaps talked herself into believing that the document wasn't that important, even though logically she must have known it was.

But when she comes to see Holmes, she does ask him: "Is my husband's political career likely to suffer through this incident?" and "One more question, Mr. Holmes. From an expression which my husband dropped in the first shock of this disaster I understood that terrible public consequences might arise from the loss of this document... Of what nature are they?" She now accepts what an awful thing she's done.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

I still get the impression that her concern is not for the overall affect of the letter, but what it will do to her husband's career - and therefore likely her own position. She could have asked for Holmes' help then. It isn't until he threatens to expose her that she finally hands over the letter.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Brilliant last line! Insightful and chilling.

[thesmallhobbit.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much.