he finds Adler gone, along with her new husband and the original photo, which has been replaced with a photograph of her alone as well as a letter to Holmes, explaining how she had outwitted him, but also that she is happy with her new husband, who has more honourable feeling than her former lover. She adds that she will not compromise the King and has kept the photo only to protect herself against any further action the King might take. In the face of this and the King's arrogant statement that it was a "pity that she was not on my level", Holmes realises then that Adler was the wronged party rather than the King and asks, when offered a reward by the King, only for the photograph that Adler had left.