The Golden Room

After deciding to get rid of her horse and carriage, Mi

Now, this morning in the front seat to the right of the begoggled Edmund, with the to

Consulting the address in her hand, Mi

After descending from her Ford, Mi

'I'm Mi

'I am Dr Holmes,' he said, stepping back to admit her.

He was a rather small man, she saw, perhaps five feet eight and 150 pounds. He was strikingly handsome, with a high forehead, hypnotic blue eyes, and bushy moustache upturned at the ends. When he spoke, his voice was soothing, melodious. Everything about him was gracious and charming.

'Do come in and make yourself comfortable, Miss Everleigh,' he added, gesturing her past the two fluted columns inside the front door. As she came into the foyer, he went on, 'If my little residence seems excessive – there are, indeed, ninety rooms, about thirty on each floor – do not be put off. I built it myself, as a hotel for the Columbian Exposition. When the fair was over, I decided to stay on and to return to medical practice. I won't exhaust you by showing you around. Why don't you come with me to my office, where we can be cosy and have our little talk.'

Walking to his office, Mi

'I never quite got to finish them,' Dr Holmes explained. 'Now, into my office.'

Except for an oak table desk with eight drawers, a white-sheeted examination table nearby, an elaborate fireplace holding a heavy yellow vase shaped like Venus de Milo and filled with dried flowers backed by a high mirror above it and blue drapes on either side, and a square table piled with medical books and folders, the room was relatively austere. There were two wooden side chairs in front of his desk. Dr Holmes drew one chair closer to the desk, indicated that Mi

'Alderman Coughlin telephoned and told me to expect you,' Dr Holmes said. 'Do you know him?'

'Not really. He called, introduced himself – of course, I'd heard of him – said he'd heard I was a reputable physician with a special interest in female problems, and that you were dismissing one doctor and seeking another.'

'Did he inform you why I am seeking a doctor?'

Dr Holmes smiled wi

'Yes, the Everleigh Club on Dearborn. We have thirty very beautiful, high-class girls on the premises. I need a doctor for them. Does the idea of working as a doctor for a brothel offend you?'

'Offend me?' said Dr Holmes. 'I'd be privileged. Attending to the concerns of thirty young women would be a delight and a challenge.'

'Well,' said Mi

'Not much, really. Only that you require a physician who is discreet.'

'Someone who won't talk about what is going on in the Club.'

'It is a basic rule in my profession to keep patients' histories private.'

'There is more to it than that,' said Mi

Dr Holmes offered his wi

'Well, that's the main thing.'

'You'll find I never discuss women I'm involved with.'

Mi

'You mean if any one of them has a venereal disease?'

'That is my sole concern,' said Mi

'I presume, Miss Everleigh, your real concern is syphilis.'

'Exactly. Are you familiar with the latest treatment of syphilis?'

'It is one of my specialities, of course,' said Dr Holmes.

'I am familiar with the symptoms,' said Mi

Dr Holmes seemed at ease and perfectly frank as he answered her. 'The big problem in examining your average female who may be afflicted is a prevailing sense of false modesty. This infectious disease is usually the result of so-called impure sexual intercourse. The male's poison enters a female's minute wound or lesion. Syphilis is rarely fatal, but the effect on a female is extremely debilitating. She suffers from the disease and she passes it on to other partners. Faced with false modesty, I often find it impossible to examine a patient's genitalia. It must be more possible to touch the inflamed area to locate syphilitic chancres, but this female delicacy makes real effectiveness all too difficult.'

'But you wouldn't have the same problem of modest resistance in examining a prostitute, would you?'

'No, I wouldn't. That would make it much easier for the patient and myself. I merely look into the vagina with a speculum. If I find a chancre, I will prescribe the standard medication – mercury, in pill or ointment form. It will not be difficult for me.'

Mi

'There's still the matter of your fee. If you will come to the Everleigh Club at eleven tomorrow morning, you can meet my sister Aida, and she will work out a satisfactory arrangement. Then I'll take you around and introduce you to our girls. Is this agreeable?'