A Study in Scarlet Women (Lady Sherlock, #1)

by Sherry Thomas

Papa asked me to make a good-faith effort to let a man sweep me off my feet and I’ve agreed. But I don’t know why he thinks I’ll weigh contributing factors differently when I’m off my feet. Sometimes I feel I must conclude that Papa doesn’t know me at all.”

She sounds kind of like The Doctor: humor so dry you really can't make out whether or not to take them seriously

So very droll. Love it.

He made her human—or as human as she was capable of being. And being human was possibly her least favorite aspect of life.

She sometimes thought of her mind as bearing a certain resemblance to the post office, a complex system that sorted and conveyed packets of information with speed and efficiency. But at the moment her most prized asset was more comparable to an automobile, a machine liable to break down every few miles and strand the hapless motorist by the side of the road.

Mrs. Watson pressed the heavy coin into Charlotte’s palm and closed her fingers around it. “Remind yourself that you’re far more likely to undercharge than overcharge, my dear, because you don’t yet understand your own value and you’ve never been taught to demand your full worth.” She smiled. “That’s why I appointed myself the bursar of this operation, because I’ve had to learn both.”

Charlotte couldn’t help laughing. “My dear lady, I feared to impose on your kindness. I see now that I needn’t have worried. You are a shark!” Mrs. Watson preened a little, evidently pleased by Charlotte’s observation. “A shark with a good nose for money in the water but, let’s say, rather soft teeth.”