The Ambitious Orphan by Amelia Price Page A

using for a couple of
days.”
    Sherlock chuckled,
looking at Mycroft's reaction to the news.
    “Oh, I don't plan
to bring it all with us. I asked Daniels to get me a much smaller
case for what I actually need. It will only take two seconds to
transfer it all since I've already separated it out. I assumed it
would be all right to leave the rest here. It's not like it will be
in anyone's way while we're all gone.”
    “Well, that's
something, at least.” Mycroft nodded. It wasn't bad logic. Given
how used to saving money she was, it was something he should have
expected. Even if it was annoying for her to use his house in such
a manner, she'd rationalised it as the most considerate option in
her own mind. He would have to teach her to weigh the priorities of
others against her own first.
    “I'd have
preferred if you'd just left it at the hotel. The money isn't an
issue. But it's here now.” Mycroft paused as Mrs Hunter appeared.
He thanked the heavens that his housekeeper always seemed to know
exactly when she was needed. “Can you take the superfluous baggage
Miss Jones has with her, and store it in the spare room?”
    A few seconds
later the suitcase was gone and there was just a neat pile of
clothing and equipment Amelia would need over the next 24 hours.
Now they just needed Daniels.
    Within the next
half hour, Mycroft received the final message he needed to give him
confidence in his plan. Krylov's wife and kids had just got in the
car to be taken to the airport. They'd be back in Russia not long
after he arrived in Antigua, safely out of the way.
    When he passed the
news on, only Amelia reacted. Sherlock gave him a bored, not
interested look, and Amelia appeared more relieved. Given how much
compassion she'd expressed over Nesterov and the war they'd started
between Ukraine and Russia, it was consistent for her to respond
so. Within seconds, all of them returned to waiting.
    Thankfully, Amelia
didn't add to the disruption Sherlock liked to cause. Instead, she
fetched herself yet another book from his extensive library and
settled in a chair by the fire to read.
    After about ten
minutes, she shot Sherlock a look of annoyance that he didn't
notice, and moved to the window seat farthest away. Mycroft felt
the corners of his mouth twitch up. It turned out he wasn't the
only one irritated by the actions of a bored Sherlock.
    As the minutes
continued to tick by, Mycroft also wondered what he could do with
himself. He was considering trying to engage Amelia in conversation
when Sherlock grew restless enough to give up on the paper. When he
got up and approached Amelia, it was evident he'd had a similar
idea.
    “How are you
progressing with the latest novel?” he asked. She stuck her thumb
in the way to mark her page before giving the younger Holmes her
attention.
    “Well, thank you.
I shouldn't take much longer to finish it.”
    “Fabulous.”
    Conversation
stalled and Mycroft would have smiled had he been naturally more
expressive.
    Before it could
start up again, he heard the sound of a car pulling up onto the
driveway. Mycroft, very ready to get under way, got to his
feet.
    Within a minute,
Amelia was fitting her possessions into the much smaller case
Daniels had retrieved for her, and the rest of the equipment was
gathered up to move to the car.
    Less than ten
minutes later Mycroft sat in the back of his new Bentley, Amelia in
her usual seat beside him and Sherlock up in front, next to
Daniels. The best place for the still bored Holmes brother. There
was a chance Mycroft could get used to going on the occasional
mission when the company was well behaved.
    An hour later they
were moving to the plane, and Daniels handed them the last of the
luggage. Somehow, no one had irritated Mycroft, and he'd even
managed to forget he had company for several minutes.
    “Have a good trip,
sir.”
    “Thank you,
Daniels. I'll let you know when to pick us up. Enjoy your day
off.”
    “I will. Thank
you, sir.”
    Mycroft nodded