Part 1

For Sherlock Holmes, there was only one woman in world. He did not love her, because he never loved women. But after their meeting he never forgot her. Her name was Irene Adler.
One night in March I visited my old friend at his home in Baker Street. I was married by that time, so I did not often see him.
‘Come in, Watson,’ he said. ‘Sit down. I’m happy to see you, because I’ve got something to show you. What do you think of this? It arrived in last post.’ It was letter, with no date, name or address. It said:
‘Tonight someone will visit you, to talk about some very secret business. You have helped other important people, and you can, we hope, help us. Be in your room at 7.45 p.m.’

‘ paper – what do you think about paper?’ asked Holmes.
I tried to think like Holmes. ‘It’s expensive, so this person is rich. It’s strange paper.’
‘Yes, it’s not English. If you look at it in light, you can see that it was made in Bohemia. And German, I think, wrote letter. Ah, here comes our man now.’ We could hear horses in street.
‘Shall I leave, Holmes?’ I asked.
‘No, no, I need your help. This will be interesting,’ my friend answered. There was knock at door.
‘Come in!’ called Holmes.

tall, strong man came into room. He was wearing expensive clothes, and mask over his face.
‘You can call me Count von Kramm. I come from Bohemia,’ he said. ‘My business is most important. Before I tell you about it, do you agree to keep it secret?’
‘I do,’ we said together.
‘ very important person, who belongs to royal family, has sent me to ask for your help,’ he went on. ‘I wear mask because nobody must know who that person is. I must explain how important this business is. If you cannot help, there will be difficulty and trouble for one of most important families in Europe – and perhaps very big scandal. I am talking about famous House of Ormstein, Kings of Bohemia.’
‘I know, Your Majesty,’ said Holmes. He quietly smoked his cigarette.