deal or no deal | Sherlock Holmes

13

𝐸𝓋𝒶𝓃𝑔𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑒

"Oh Evangeline." My mother stands in front of me, her eyes water and she covers her mouth. "You look radiant."

"Do you really think so?" I flatten out my gown. It's definitely something I wouldn't normally wear but I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. But I do feel really pretty in it. The shade of blue compliments my skin well and the sleeves aren't too itchy.

"Of course I think so. When have I ever lied to you?" She fluffs up the back of my dress.

I shrug my shoulders. "I don't recall. But that doesn't mean it won't happen eventually." We laugh together. For a moment everything feels kind of normal.

"Do you think you'll see him?" Our eyes meet. She tries to hide it but nothing can cover up the broken look in her eyes.

"He sent me all of those letters so surely I will." I give her a comforting smile.

She blinks back tears before standing up. "It's six o'clock. When does your date plan on arriving?" Before I'm given a chance to respond there's a knock at my door.

I chuckle. "Now I suppose." I head for the door but Mother beats me to it.

She swings the door open to reveal Sherlock. He seems surprised to see her. "Good evening." He nods.

Mother squeals and pulls him in. "Good evening. I'm Evangeline's mother. You may call me Margaret or Margie. Whatever works." She smiles.

I bite the inside of my cheek as my mother makes a fool of herself. "It's lovely to meet you." He shakes her hand.

"You too, Mr. Holmes." She looks to me. "Well I won't keep you two waiting. Go have fun." She pushes me towards him.

"M-Mother I need my gloves." I interject.

She swats her hand. "Oh poppycock. No real woman wears gloves." She pushes us out the door. "Have fun you two."

She slams the door making me jolt. "I think my mother just kicked me out of my own flat." I laugh and look to Sherlock. He says nothing and just stares at me. "What's wrong?" I ask. I pull my dress up in the front. "Is this too much? I've never been to a ball so I don't know how to dress for such an occasion." He backs away from me and examines my attire. My cheeks burn. Maybe I did dress up too much. "Sherlock, you're scaring me just tell me if I look bad!"

"You look— absolutely stunning." He breathes out. So quiet it was barely audible. I hope you can't see how red my face is through all of this makeup. He grabs my hand and lifts it so he can get a better look at it. "Blue is definitely your color."

I smile shyly. "Thank you." I look at his black tie attire. He's the most handsome man I've ever met. "You don't look too bad yourself."

He stares at me a bit longer before shaking himself out of his trance. "The carriage is waiting." I nod and we head outside.

We get settled in and we're off to Woodley Hall. I take in the night sky. Billions of stars dance across the galaxy. "You know I've never really seen Baker street at night."

"And you've lived here how long?" Sherlock asks.

I pinch his bicep. "I told you, Mr. Holmes. I don't get out much. I'm normally inside trying to solve people's problems."