Watson stopped short, nothing short of staring. In his good mood, to be the target of such unexpected bile was a little off-putting, to say the least, and he couldn't understand its source."

"Well, I'm no longer entangled," he answered, sounding baffled. "And it's rather late to be making social calls. Holmes, what on Earth is this? Did something happen while I was gone?" He sat down in his own chair, opposite Holmes, and leaned forward, frowning. He wasn't sure where to begin trying to work this out. Had he said or done something to offend Holmes? Had there been some bad piece of news that had arrived in Watson's absence, and Holmes was lashing out rather than share it? Was Holmes just feeling a bit of a let-down after a good case?