Fic: Appropriate Things To Collect: G

[smallhobbit]

Title: Suitable Things To Collect
Form/Word Count: 278
Characters/Pairing: Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes, Mrs Hudson
Rating: G
Warning/Content: Holmes has collected dirt, Mrs Hudson has opinions

Holmes had collected various samples of dirt from the basement where Wilson’s body had been found.  He had them spread over the table and was making notes and occasionally turning over the soil and scraps of material with the end of his pencil.  I was very conscious of the time, for I knew if Mrs Hudson came upstairs preparatory to laying the table for luncheon, she would be most disapproving, with the result that our meal would be delayed, if not entirely cancelled.

Fortunately, when I heard footsteps coming upstairs, I realised they belonged to Annie, the housemaid, who could be persuaded not to say anything.

“Come in, Annie,” I said.  “We promise to be ready for luncheon.”

“That’s all right, sir,” she replied.  “I have a message from Mrs Hudson.  She says you have precisely fifteen minutes to clear away your current hobby, before she brings the tray up.”

“How does Mrs Hudson know?” I asked Holmes when she had departed.  “If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was witchcraft.”

Holmes barked a laugh.  “She certainly has a way with a broom.”

Fortunately, Holmes had finished his observations by the time Mrs Hudson arrived.  She still glared at him and said, “You know, Mr Holmes, you could collect something more suitable, like stamps, or postcards.  Although, thinking about the postcard collection Mrs Turner found in the rooms of her last tenant, I’m not so sure that is such a good idea.”

“You don’t mean you saw the postcards, Mrs Hudson?” I said, horrified.

“Well, she wanted my opinion on them.  And I must say, some of the poses they depicted would require a contortionist to achieve."