Section 2 Summary

The visitor at last gives her name: Helen Stoner. She tells Watson and Holmes that her stepfather is descended from one of the oldest families in England, the Roylotts of Stoke Moran. Holmes indicates he has heard of them. Miss Stoner recounts the history of the once wealthy and important Roylott family, who, in the last four generations, have become self-indulgent spendthrifts, shrinking the family fortune until it was finally all gambled away. She informs Holmes that today the estate is down to a few scrubby acres containing a two hundred year old house, where she lives with her stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott.

Dr. Roylott is the last living heir to the Roylott aristocracy. After watching his father live out his life in aristocratic poverty, Helen Stoner's stepfather took another route. He obtained a medical degree and opened a successful practice in Calcutta...