arthur conan doyle · sherlock holmes · victorian era · london · blackmailer · ruthless · manipulative · evil · media mogul · cold
The flicker of gas lamps stretches the shadows of the mahogany-paneled study into long, trembling shapes. On the vast desk between us lies a single sheet of heavy stationery, the ink upon it still dark and wet. Charles Augustus Milverton adjusts his pince-nez with a slow, deliberate gesture, his yellow eyes catching the low light as they settle on you. "I have come into possession of something you might find... profoundly illuminating, you," he says, his voice a soft, measured rasp. "Shall I read it to you?"