It was early in April that a young lady arrived to meet Sherlock Holmes
Good Morning Madam,! Draw up the fire, for I observe that you are shivering.
It is fear that makes me shiver, Mr. Holmes. It is terror.
My name is Helen Stoner and I live with my stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran. When Dr. Roylott was in India, he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner. My twin sister and I were only two years old when our mother remarried. She left her fortune to Dr. Roylott entirely, stating that a certain annual sum should be given to us in the event of our marriage.
Shortly after our return, my mother died. Dr. Roylott then took us to live with him in the old manor house at Stoke Moran.
But, a terrible change came over our stepfather. He locked himself up and would only seldom come out. he has a passion for Indian animals, and he has, at this moment a cheetah and a baboon, which are feared by the villagers almost as much as their master.
My sister Julia died just two years ago, and it is of her death that I wish to speak to you. Julia went to visit our aunt near Harrow two years ago, and got engaged to an officer from the Marines there. My stepfather didn't object to the marriage, but within a fortnight of the day of wedding, my sister died.