The Return of Sherlock Holmes (TV Series)

Wisteria Lodge (1988)

Donald Churchill: Scott Eccles

Quotes 

• Sherlock Holmes : Your experience is, as far as I can tell, perfectly unique. Now what else can you tell me?

  Scott Eccles : Well, I was furious. I packed my bags, and I banged the front door behind, and I set out for Esher. I called at Allen Brothers, the land agents, and found out through them that the villa had been rented.

  Sherlock Holmes : Rented?

  Scott Eccles : Well, you see, I couldn't believe they'd gone simply to make a fool of me. I thought, you know it must be the rent. But I was wrong. See the agents thanked me for my warning, but said that the rent had been paid in advance.

  Dr. Watson : By the Spanish Embassy, I imagine?

  Scott Eccles : I called at the Spanish Embassy. The man is unknown to them. And then I asked the friend who introduced us and he seemed to know less about Garcia than I did.

• Scott Eccles : Well, Mr Holmes, I'm a bachelor and being of social turn I cultivate a large number of friends. At the table of one of them recently, I met a young man named Garcia, a pleasant chap of Spanish descent, connected in some way with the embassy. We discovered a common interest in cartography, or so I thought, that's the study of old maps. The plan was to retrace Surrey as Thomas Moule engraved it some fifty years ago. As soon as I arrived I knew something was wrong, the atmosphere of the place, the house was tumbledown, depressing, Garcia told me had a wonderful cook, a half-breed he had picked up in his travels, but the dinner was so ill-prepared and served with such bad grace that it was barely edible. I can assure there many times in the course of the evening I wished could invent some excuse to leave.

  [In the flashback Garcia receives a note that he scrunches up and throws in the fire] 

  Sherlock Holmes : He made no remark as to the contents of this note?

  Scott Eccles : None. But, at that moment, he gave up all pretense at conversation, just sat there smoking these endless cigarettes. About eleven I was glad to go to bed.

• [first lines] 

  Garcia : Mr Scott Eccles.

  Scott Eccles : Oh, ah-ha, Mr Garcia.

  Garcia : I'm sorry, I did not recognize you at once.

  Scott Eccles : Oh, ah.

  Garcia : Please, allow me to carry your case.

  Scott Eccles : That's very civil of you. Thank you very much.

  Garcia : I'm sorry the weather has been unkind for your visit.

  Scott Eccles : Ah, well, unkind for you, perhaps, but, hah, we British, you know, we're hardy souls, hah-hah.