Neither Tavian nor Gordon seemed particularly happy with that idea when she suggested it, but they did not speak out against it openly, and that was enough for the time being. Scarlett set off with them in tow, ostensibly browsing the shops and emporia of Central London with the two men to escort her, but actually endeavoring to remember all that she could of Holmes’ network of informants. She stopped at a small bookshop to talk with the owner about what he had heard, paying sixpence more for a copy of Dante’s Divine Comedy than it was worth, then paused in an alley to hand a penny to a street urchin, with the promise of half a crown if there was useful information from him later. She talked to newspaper vendors and cab drivers, wandering traders and a few more specialized individuals, including one purveyor of ‘artifacts’ whose wares were nowhere near genuine, but who could still be relied upon to hear news in that field from those who dabbled in it. It was not easy.
