Chapter 12

                                    

                                          
 Chapter 12 (May 1866)
 Stella panicked as she heard Sherlock already begin his deductions on her before she even spoke. Was he really already this smart even as a child?
 "Sherly! Be nice."
 Sherlock glared a little at his mother, mixing confusion into the look.
 "How is it rude to point out what she is? I'm curious, how did an American child get adopted by two British nobles? It makes no sense, Mum."
 Elsie laughed a little as she watched the interaction, Amelia turning between an unhappy look to her son and a nervously apologetic look to Elsie.
 "I'm sorry, Els, you can see he's gotten no better."
 "On the contrary, I think he has gotten somewhat better. Still smart as ever, though, I see. This is good."
 Stella glanced between the two women and back to Sherlock, who seemed to be searching for more details. She was fearful of what he might find, but also shocked at the fact of standing in front of the Sherlock Holmes, future famous consulting detective. Yet, part of her felt like he was just another boy, somehow. He did have strange colored hair, a main character trait no doubt, but his clothes and actions seemed to be the same as that of one of the boys from the school. His only differences seemed to be that he produced a little more pride in his stature and his deductions were already spilling out his mouth.
 "Come inside to the drawing room, the girls are eager to spend time with you and see the dresses. Sherlock should know where the washroom is by now, right?"
 Sherlock simply nodded when his mother prodded him to answer, and one of the servants grabbed the two large suitcases he had carried in.  
 "Splendid. Shall we ladies adjourn?"
 Amelia smiled at Elsie and the girls in agreement, smoothing some of Sherlock's hair as she spoke to him.
 "When you've cleaned up, wait in the library for us. We might be a while."
 Sherlock nodded once more and darted by Stella, watching her closely for a moment as he disappeared down the hallway. Her eyes followed him, only turning away when Elsie ushered them all upstairs once more. The four ended up in the same room where the girls had just been embroidering, settling down as they were brought tea and cookies, as Stella would call them. The American side of her showed when she nearly grimaced at everyone calling the cookies "biscuits".
 "Won't Sherlock be bored in the library by himself?"
 Stella asked, glancing outside the room for a moment as she wondered more about the strange boy. She didn't notice Elsie and Amelia give a surprised glance to each other, smirking a little after, immediately knowing what the other was thinking.
 "He'll be even more so in here with us, and I dare say he would drive us crazy with his complaints and observations. He even gets to be too much for me, at times, and I'm the one who taught him."
 This really piqued Stella's interest, and apparently Anne's as well, as both of the girls turned with shocked gazes to their newfound friend.
 "What? Did you think he came up with it all by himself? Certainly not. Children must be guided one way or another... I used to watch and observe people in our tailor shop when I was young, made it sort of a game to find different details and such of each one I could see. When I got married, it turned into more of a once-in-a-while treat to exercise the mind. Then when I had Mycroft, and later Sherlock, I passed it on to them. Though I fear I have tapped into something inside of them that far exceeds my little game I would play to entertain myself."