"well, mr. holmes, when i got back to my lodgings and found little enough in the cupboard, and two or three bills upon the table, i began to ask myself whether i had not done a very foolish thing. after all, if these people had strange fads and expected obedience on the most extraordinary matters, they were at least ready to pay for their eccentricity. very few governesses in england are getting £ 100 a year.