"If you were spared that experience, I'm glad for you," Watson says in a low voice. He might be a little envious. "Certainly one of the very worst times in my life."

But he considers her suggestion a moment, then shakes his head. "No. I'm certain. Miss Adler dressed as a man herself on occasion, for precisely that reason, but she had nothing to do with Moriarty. She passed from our lives entirely, fully two years before things with Moriarty came to a head."