213 – Red Head Club (4)
For British people, clubs for social life were an essential element of life. Of course, this was limited to gentlemen who could make a decent living.
But just as it was natural for British gentlemen to laugh at the lower class, the lower class was out of the question from the beginning.
Of course, due to the nature of most clubs, only men could join. However, although there were very few, there were women-only clubs, and there were also places that accepted women as members.
As Professor James Moriarty personally gave an invitation, the suspicious club called the Red Head Club also seemed to be accepting female members.
On the carriage ride, when Holmes told the driver the destination written on the invitation, Watson repeatedly asked Holmes if that was really the destination. In response, Holmes scolded Watson for his frequent questions, saying that they were stupid, but he kindly answered several times that the destination was not wrong.
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Of course, from Holmes’s perspective, Watson’s behavior was literally Watson-like, but it was unfair to Watson in its own way.
Both Holmes and Watson were quite knowledgeable about London. However, the direction of the two people’s knowledge and details were looking in different directions.
In the case of Holmes, everything was information solely for the purpose of investigation. Everything, from detailed information about the soil of various parts of London to the locations of various important places in London, was elaborately prepared and ready to be used at any time in her memory palace.
Of course, the locations of many famous clubs were marked as coordinates on the map of London in Holmes’ mind, but for Holmes, it was a good question to know what kind of idiots were gathering in those clubs and doing stupid things.
For Jane Watson, the content was important. Before she met Holmes, and more precisely before her own dead brother Henry ruined her household, Jane Watson came from a wealthy middle-class background.
She did not experience this because her parents died at a young age, and Henry Watson, who was supposed to be her guardian, fell into gambling himself, so she could not act as Jane’s guardian. However, originally, Jane Watson was also an ordinary girl. I should have walked the path of life almost the same.
Because she is a witch, she may be offended by ordinary people, but the future for a daughter of wealthy parents is that she will grow up as a beloved daughter of wealthy parents, and when she gets older, she will wait for someone to dance with her at various balls in the social world. Because it was.
What surprised Watson was that the location of her club was in a wealthier neighborhood than she expected. As she remembers, there were many big banks around her, as well as many famous clubs in London that only special people could choose.
Jane Watson still could not completely escape the prejudices pointed out by Holmes. Aside from the fact that Professor James Moriarty was a perfect gentleman and handsomer than anyone else on the outside, she couldn’t help but be prejudiced because she knew he was a criminal.
If Watson thought the Red Head Club was a suspicious organization related to crime, it should have been located far away from the downtown area.
“Watson, although I am British, London is a huge city of crime. If there was Sodom and Gomorrah in the past, there is London today. Crime isn’t just something that street thugs commit. Rather, there is a possibility that something even more insidious is happening in these places… “It’s high.”
“That… is it?”
As usual, Holmes, who read Watson’s thoughts as if using her mind-reading skills, pointed out Watson’s bias. Watson, who could not help but be surprised every time she went through this process, soon smiled empty-handed and looked away from her carriage.
Not long after, they arrived at their destination.
The well-dressed people glanced at two ladies standing in front of a huge building. The mere presence of a woman dressed in a suit like a gentleman was bound to attract attention.
However, as was the basis for Watson’s prejudice, the people passing through this area were mostly people who pretended to be noble and tried to maintain their appearance, so it was difficult to attract attention simply for that reason.
Of course, both Watson and Holmes knew the reason very well, so they were able to comfortably ignore it. Because of her natural beauty, ever since she was young, she could not help but feel eyes looking at her.
Holmes just looked up in silence at the recently built and clean building, and Watson imitated Holmes and observed the people going inside.
“Bank on the first floor. The club occupies the entire second and third floors. If the teacher had been directly involved, he would have prepared quite a bit. From what I heard, it’s a club that’s been around for less than half a year.”
“Then a little… Isn’t that strange, Holmes? I heard there are also celebrities as members? “If a club that is less than half a year old is growing so quickly, it’s inevitable that rumors will spread.”
“Something… It means that something going on secretly is definitely inside. “I’ll have to check now.”
There was no problem entering the club itself. As with many high-end social clubs, there were guards at the second floor entrance to control the entry of non-members, but when Professor James Moriarty’s invitation was presented, one person went inside to call the manager.
Today, the two people came by a legal invitation, so for now, they waited calmly. Of course, Holmes was prepared to get in at any time through some illegal means. As for Watson, he had no idea.
Soon, thanks to the recommendation of Professor James Moriarty, one of the club’s members, Holmes and Watson were able to enter.
As he was led inside, Holmes asked the manager various questions as if interrogating him, but there was no significant result. It could have been different if a more coercive method had been used, but for now, it was more important not to raise suspicion.
Watson had the impression that the inside of his Red Head Club was strangely similar to the Diogenes Club he had once been to.
The two were first led to a large drawing room, but there were several small rooms centered around the drawing room.
However, unlike Mycroft Holmes’ Diogenes Club, where silence had to be maintained unconditionally, the Red Hair Club was like an ordinary club, with chatter and noise from various people here and there.
I could see servants moving around carrying drinks and some refreshments, and here and there well-dressed members of the club were talking amongst themselves. Female members such as Holmes and Watson also caught my eye, but most of them were middle-aged or elderly women who seemed to be rich old ladies.
That was the end of the guidance. Holmes silently took a glass of wine from the drawing room, and Watson quietly accepted the entire tray of sandwiches handed to him by his servant.
The servant, who had just taken away the plate with dozens of sandwiches on it, looked at Watson in confusion, but he ignored him and started stuffing sandwiches into his mouth, waiting for Holmes’ instructions.
Holmes, who was secretly observing his surroundings, was confident that it would be easier to obtain information than he thought. Perhaps because of their looks, there were many people who were staring at the two ladies who suddenly appeared at the club as if they were trying to talk to them subtly.
Idiot emotional exchanges between men and women were nothing but meaningless waste. At least that’s what Holmes thought. Teacher Moriarty might not have known, but the attention from other idiots was tiring.
However, Holmes acknowledged that a person’s appearance often makes him or her attractive and makes things easier.
It was the same for the fat squirrel next to him, inhaling his sandwich like a pig. Jane Watson must have been a squirrel and not a human, because before she knew it, she had forgotten that she had to do research at the club and was stuffing her cheeks with sandwiches.
“Watson, let’s move separately for now. You know how to make small talk, right? “Stop eating sandwiches, you ate them before you came.”
“Huh? Eww… huh!”
In the meantime, Holmes tried to talk to a man nearby who secretly expected Holmes to talk to him.
“… So, if you invest… “The rate of return is 100%?”
“Yes, young lady. After being introduced… Didn’t he come? Ah, well, that might be true for those who need to recruit members. You may not know anything, but am I not being kind enough to explain it to you? “When you make an investment, can you mention my name as well?”
“… “What does investing have to do with mentioning your name?”
“You know… Oh, I said it was your first time, excuse me. Our club operates on a rating system, and the more investors you gather, the higher your rating can be. Then the return on investment will increase, and I’m aiming to be the best member of the month-“
Holmes thought for a moment that this club might be a den of idiots.
“Holmes, listen! Female… This person here introduces a good investment product! Me… I also want to invest some money, can you lend me some money? Follow… “I’ll pick it up and pay you back!”
And it was clear that his friend Watson was among those idiots.
