A character in BBC One drama, Sherlock, Dr John Watson writes about a previous case, Happily Ever After.

3rd June

Happily Ever After

I swear that my forthcoming wedding has softened Sherlock. Over the years, we've had loads of husbands wanting their wives investigating and vice versa. There's been so many times where clients have sat in Sherlock's living room and, within minutes, he's announced that one (or in some cases, both) of them are having an affair. Sabrina Jennings was no different. Even before she'd entered the flat, Sherlock had announced that she was having a love affair.

But I insisted that we saw her. And I'm really glad we did because, sometimes, there is a happy ending. Because, yes, he was right, Sabrina had been having an affair, but this time it was for all of the right reasons.

Sabrina had been married to her husband, Chris, for about five years but it clearly wasn't a happy marriage. She told us that he'd been having an affair and she needed to find proof. Sherlock, again, wasn't hugely interested, describing her marriage as being of 'zero importance in the grand scheme of things'. But then something happened. Mary arrived. And suddenly he changed his mind. He decided there and then that he'd find the proof she needed so she could divorce Chris. Naturally, I assumed it was because he saw me and Mary together and just wanted to make someone else happy.

That night, the three of us (Mary insisted on coming along) broke into Chris's office searching for signs of an affair. Which we found. Only what we found were signs that Sabrina herself had been having the affair. Chris had hired his own detective to keep tracks on her. And she was having an affair with a woman.

Sherlock was surprised that I was surprised by this. He said it had been obvious from the moment Mary had joined us. Sabrina had unconsciously shown signs of attraction towards her. And, as he pointed out, they're signs he's used to seeing in women. When they're looking at him. You know, I don't even think he realises how arrogant he's being. The reason he took on the case, as he then told us, wasn't because he was feeling romantic but because he wanted to know the truth behind their marriage.

He confronted Sabrina with the evidence and she broke down in front of us. She told us that her family were well off and would never have approved of her being gay. Chris, a friend of hers from university, had discovered this and blackmailed her. If she married him, he wouldn't tell her family the truth. He would then get to live off her family's money.

Recently she'd met and fallen in love with another woman. She was desperate to end her marriage without the truth coming out. Sherlock handed over an envelope. In it were the photos that showed Sabrina had been having an affair. Chris now had no hold over her except for the one she allowed him to have. He told her to tell her family everything. What's the worst that could happen? They'd disown her? Unlikely if they put up with someone so obnoxious as a son-in-law because they thought she loved him. And even if they did, wouldn't it be worth it to be with the woman she loved?

And sure enough, that's what she did. There was a divorce and it was expensive and messy but her family stuck by her and she ended up with the woman she loved.

Sherlock Holmes, matchmaker.

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