Let me take you back to the beginning of this year. I wrote a blog post talking about His Last Bow and discussed Martha, the housekeeper of Baron Von Bork. In my post, I surmised that Sherlock Holmes needed someone back home to help him out as he established his undercover persona in America to finally get the contacts to get to Von Bork. Holmes’ undercover mission was a long and arduous process that took the better part of two years.
But what I didn’t mention is who exactly Martha the housekeeper was.
Hold tight folks because I am about to drop something so controversial, I fully expect to be strung up at the next Parallel Case meeting. The Von Bork’s housekeeper, Martha, is none other than the sixth Mrs. Watson.
Before the pitchforks come out, let me explain my reasoning.
In His Last Bow, after Von Bork is knocked out and tied up, Holmes and Watson have a comfortable moment where they’re sharing a bottle of Tokay while Holmes catches Watson up on everything that’s been happening. Holmes has been out of the country for two years, living in America as an Irish- American man by the name of Altamont who has no love for the English and is willing to sell his abilities to the highest bidder. This isn’t something he volunteered to do, rather he was asked: “Ah, I have often marveled at it myself. The Foreign Minister alone I could have withstood, but when the Premier also deigned to visit my humble roof—!” (LAST)
When looking up the word “premier” on Google it is defined as “the leader of the government of some countries.” Or the highest-ranking government leader. While we all know the British Prime Minister is the highest-ranking government leader, the premier would be the next highest. There are few people who would both have the Prime Minister’s ear and be able to convince Sherlock Holmes to come out of retirement and spend two years in America building up an alias to stop a German spy in August of 1914. Even though he’s not specifically mentioned by name, we can assume that Mycroft Holmes would be the only person to fit that bill.
Once Holmes agrees to this, he would need someone on the home front, someone willing to play the long game, to feed him information when needed so he would know when to strike. All the while, feeding information to the Home Office as well. It would have to be someone trusted.
Bear with me again while I invoke BBC Sherlock. There are quotes from Mycroft Holmes in “The Abominable Bride”:
“Our way of life is under threat from an invisible enemy, one that hovers at our elbow on a daily basis. These enemies are everywhere, undetected, and unstoppable. We don’t defeat them. We must certainly lose to them. Because they are right, and we are wrong.” (TAB)
In WWI, England was using women as spies. There was a group of female spies, well-educated and fluent in multiple languages known as the Alice Network that was run by Louise de Bettignes. Martha would have more than likely been part of a group like this. Recruited by Mycroft Holmes, Martha would be the best person to be hired by the Von Bork’s for the long game, two years as the devoted housekeeper. But this person would also need to be someone Sherlock Holmes would trust. Someone who, if something happened to him in America, would know who to contact. We know that John Watson wasn’t involved until he received the telegram from Holmes asking him to meet in Harwich with the car. Multiple other stories have Watson casually mentioning how Mrs. Watson was always in the countryside visiting family. At the beginning of WW1, thinking his wife safe in the countryside, Watson would offer his services where they could be used in the War Efforts. All the while never knowing that his own wife was a British spy somewhere on the English coast serving as housekeeper to a well-known and dangerous German spy.
But what about the fact that Watson wouldn’t know his own wife? Why didn’t Martha say anything to him? Wouldn’t Watson be in on it?
As mentioned, if Mrs. Watson is supposedly up North visiting relatives, then Watson would think her safe from the war and not worry about where she was or what she was doing. As we’ve seen with poor Mary, once John Watson marries his wives, they tend to become an afterthought. So intent on helping with the upcoming war effort, chances are he didn’t think about her. Plus, Mycroft could have had him doing small things outside his practice.
If Watson knew his wife was a spy helping England, that would be the end of that. John Watson might have married a woman named Martha, but as we saw with the Mary’s and Violet’s, there are so many of them that Sherlock saying the name wouldn’t have even registered. Again, Watson thinks his wife is with family, he wouldn’t even think to expect her here. If Martha is a spy, then she could be good at disguises as well. Martha is only mentioned as a “dear old ruddy-faced woman in a country cap” (LAST).
Ruddy faced means red faced. Which could come from leaning over an oil lamp or finishing the last of the housekeeping. Or even being out in the sun for prolonged periods of time. If Holmes and Watson are in their late 50’s early 60’s, then hypothetically (in my mind) Martha is an older woman as well. Probably not in her 50’s but at least in her 40’s. If not, there’s always the magic of makeup to make her look older. The family would feel more comfortable with a grandmotherly figure taking care of their house.
At the end, Holmes doesn’t keep Martha long, just enough to mention her as his help, “There is no one in the house except old Martha, who has played her part to admiration. I got her the situation here when first I took the matter up.” (LAST). Again, Holmes would want someone he trusted to be his eyes and ears at home and who better than Mrs. Watson? “You can report to me to-morrow in London, Martha, at Claridge's Hotel.” (LAST). This shows that she isn’t just a housekeeper. If she’s due in London the next day to report to Holmes and possibly Holmes the Elder, then she’s working for the British Government. Sending her off to London to give a report suggests that Holmes wants to both show her off and get her out of the house as soon as possible.
Knowing that if John finds out that a) his wife is a British Spy and has been practicing espionage for the last two years and b) Holmes knew about it and was actively collaborating with her, he wouldn’t be too happy about it. That’s why she didn’t acknowledge him, that’s why she was moved out quickly after the plot had finished. This way Martha is debriefed and can be returned to the countryside or stay in London and return to her town residence with her husband.
The last thing Holmes needs after two years of not seeing his friend is an entire car ride to Scotland Yard getting an earful from Watson.
(a special thanks to Ariane DeVere for her TAB transcripts. https://arianedevere.livejournal.com/81144.html)
