Sherlock Holmes and the Queen of Diamonds by Steve Hayes, David Whitehead Page A

Didn’t figure I’d need it.’
    ‘Surely you can find a length of rope, Elaina?’ Lady Chatfield said.
    When everyone else chimed in, begging Howard to perform some tricks, Elaina sent Fordham in search of a length of rope. He returned shortly with a coiled washing line. ‘I’m afraid this is the best I could do, my lady.’
    Howard took it, got the feel and weight of it, and said: ‘Best do this outside.’
    Caught up in the excitement, Elaina clapped her hands and called: ‘Outside, everybody! Mr Howard is going to entertain us.’
    She opened the French windows and led Howard outside. Everyone followed them out on to a wide paved terrace overlooking the formal gardens. Immaculate lawns and rose gardens were surrounded by stands of spring-blooming ash, birch, beech and wych-elm, all of them dwarfed by a single massive oak that occupied the centre of the main lawn. In the far distance, hawthorn, blackthorn and holly sheltered against the old red-brick wall that enclosed the grounds.
    The terrace itself was enclosed by a low wall, upon the coping stones of which sat a series of small terracotta flowerpots , each one holding amaryllis, gardenia, phlox or other spring flowers. As he walked, Howard quickly fashioned a small eyelet in the rope. Through this he threaded enough rope to make a loop of about five feet in diameter.
    When his audience had gathered around, he arranged the loop on the ground beside him. Silence fell as he began to spin the loop, which slowly rose off the ground for a few inches and began to revolve ever faster. Everyone applauded, but this wasn‘t the trick – it was merely what came before the trick.
    A moment later he hopped into the spinning loop and began switching the free end from left hand to right and back again, around and around him, at incredible speed. The loop rose ever higher, first to his knees, then his waist, then his shoulders and finally high overhead. The loop whirled up around him like a well-trained snake, causing the onlookers to gasp with admiration.
    Under his control, the loop began to descend past his head and shoulders, then below his waist to his calves. Now, spinning it one-handed, he stepped out of the loop, then back in. He repeated the procedure several times, so that he appeared almost to be skipping. Once again his audience burst into applause.
    Enjoying himself, he continued to perform. He allowed about three feet of the rope to dangle from his left hand. His audience watched expectantly. Then he turned his wrist suddenly and the end of the rope flew backwards over his arm, forming a loop as it did so. At the same moment he jerked the eyelet up and caught the loop. He shook the rope off his arm and let it fall, and there, tied into the rope, was a perfect pretzel shape. 
    Once again there was a burst of applause. Once again Howard repeated the procedure, allowing the last three feet of the rope to dangle from his left hand. Turning his wrist sharply he caught the end in the eyelet, but this time when he shook it out it described a near-perfect figure eight.
    ‘Bravo!’
    ‘Well done, sir!’
    He shook the rope out again and began to spin the loop vertically beside him. Women cocked their heads in curiosity. Men scratched thoughtfully at their sidewhiskers. Then Howard hopped sideways, right through the loop, only to hop back again just seconds later. He repeated the trick twice more, and then brought the loop up so that it was spinning directly over his head.
    Again the guests fell quiet. The only sound now was the whoosh the rope made as it sliced through the air, leaving a vacuum in its wake. At last he cast the loop and a gasp went up as it fell neatly over Elaina’s head, pinning her arms to her sides. While everyone around them clapped, Howard slowly began to draw her to him, hand over hand. Elaina, acknowledging the cheers, went towards him, laughing like a young girl.
    She thought he would stop pulling when she was almost to him, but he didn’t.