![]() ![]() Milverton's death, 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget Holmes has learned where Milverton keeps his blackmail papers (a safe in his study), and plans to burgle Milverton's house that night. This rather shocks Watson, but Holmes assures him that he has a hated rival who will step in when the plumber disappears. He cultivates the acquaintance of Milverton's housemaid and even becomes engaged to marry her. ![]() Holmes visits Milverton's Hampstead house, disguised as a plumber, in order to learn the plan of the house and Milverton's daily routine. Holmes resolves to recover the letters by whatever means necessary, as Milverton has placed himself outside the bounds of morality. It is worth £7,000 to him, he explains, to make an example of Lady Eva it is in his long-term interest to ensure that his future blackmail victims would be more "open to reason" and pay him what he wants, knowing he will destroy them if they do not. Holmes offers £2,000, all Lady Eva can pay, but Milverton insists on £7,000. He demands £7,000 (equivalent to £838,304 in 2021 ) for the letters, which if given to third parties would cause a scandal that would end Lady Eva's marriage engagement. ![]() ![]() Holmes is hired by the débutante Lady Eva Blackwell to retrieve compromising letters from a blackmailer: Milverton, who causes Holmes more revulsion than any of the 50-odd murderers in his career. to r.) Watson, Holmes and Charles Augustus Milverton, 1904 illustration by Sidney Paget ![]()
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