Mr Holmes has set a trap to see if he can prove it was Laetitia Langton who was up on the attic floor the night Dot went there. But he has another clue now – and it’s in a tiny paragraph in a boring scientific magazine, and it’s all to do with Sir Charles d’Auberley and his terrified reaction to the words ‘Horse Soother’…
“What’s a... a “retraction”?” asked Dot.
“It means when you take something back” said Mr Holmes. “In a publication like this” he pointed with a long finger at the paragraph Dot had seen “it’s a serious matter. It usually means a scientist has had to withdraw his claim to have discovered something, or to have made a breakthrough in his field – like chemistry or physics. It often means” and he looked straight at Dot with burning, dark eyes “admitting you’re a cheat!”
Dot didn’t know what to say. It sounded awful… and Giles Langton was so nice..! How could he be a cheat?
“Read it to me out loud, if you would please, Dorothea” said Mr Holmes. “It will help me to think!”
Dot cleared her throat. It was quite difficult to read the smudgy old print of the ‘Chronicle of Physical Sciences’ in the feeble light of the upstairs reading room, but she did her best.
“Mr Giles Langton, lately of Birmingham University, would like it to be known that his claims to have invented a device that can calm the wildest of horses, have no foundation in fact” she read, in her best schoolroom voice.
Miss Walsingham would be proud of me, she thought to herself. She went on.
“The ‘Majestic Horse Soother’ is in fact the invention of the Honourable Herbert d’Auberley, son of Sir Charles d’Auberley of Dendringham Hall, in the county of - ” here Dot couldn’t read what county it was, as someone seemed to have put something wet right down on the word and left a splodge.
“I can’t read that bit” she said to Mr Holmes.
“Mmm, indeed” said the detective, looking a bit embarrassed. “I’m afraid I
was having a cup of Mrs Hudson’s excellent Turkish coffee when I first read this and put it down on the ‘Chronicle’ just in the wrong place. I did not observe this small paragraph at the time, you see – but my friend Dr Watson remembered it. Still, no matter! Please continue!”
Dot went on. “Accordingly, Mr Giles Langton would like to apologise unreservedly to Sir Charles and the Honourable Herbert d’Auberley for this unforgivable act of theft. Mr Langton would further like it to be known that he is resigning with immediate effect from his employment in the Physical Sciences Department of the University of Birmingham. In consideration of this, Sir Charles has generously agreed not to pursue an action for damages against Mr Langton, on the strict condition that Mr Langton abandons his work as a scientist in the public realm as a proven thief and a cheat.”
Dot stopped. That was the end of the paragraph, apart from the date, in November of 1894.
She looked at Mr Holmes. Mr Holmes looked at her.
Then she couldn’t help herself.
“That silly Herbert couldn’t invent ANYTHING!” she burst out.
Mr Holmes laughed. “Dear Dorothea!” he said. “Straight to the heart of the matter, as always! And how right you are!”
“But… but… ” said Dot, feeling herself going red as she always did when something was really unfair “That means Giles has lost his job and everyone thinks he’s a liar and a cheat, and it’s NOT TRUE!”
“No, indeed” said Mr Holmes. “Which is why his name and his writings suddenly disappeared from this important scientific magazine – as I observed to you before. Now!” he said, smacking one hand into the other with a crack that made Dot jump again “I think all this ghostly nonsense has something to do with this ‘Horse Soother’ device!”
He got to his feet. He was too excited to sit still.
“And if we can prove that – then the mystery of Dendringham Hall is very close to being solved – once and for all!”
