Devil in My Arms (27 page)

She faced the magistrate rather than the spectators. Roger said it was a sign of respect that the magistrate would appreciate, and also the sign of a lady, who would abhor the sort of spectacle this was to become. The magistrate appeared to be an older man, perhaps fifty or more. It was hard to tell under his wig, and the room was too dark to see clearly. The crowd was noisy, and at the reading of the charge became more so. Murmurs became shouts. She tried to block them out and concentrated on the magistrate, Roger, and Mr. Lyttle. She couldn’t bear to look at the prosecutor, afraid she’d glare at him for being so stupid as to believe she’d kill that wretched oaf, Enderby.

“Free the lady!” came a shout from the gallery. The voice was young and reeked of St. Giles.

“Hang the strumpet!” was the rather strident, upper-class reply.

“I must have silence in the gallery,” the magistrate, Sir Robert Baker, called out angrily to the crowd. “Anyone disrupting these proceedings will be removed.” He turned an irate stare on Eleanor, as if she’d incited them. She kept her face calm, but her hands clenched in her shackles. “Madam, how do you plead?”

She didn’t answer. Roger had told her that she must let him and Mr. Lyttle speak for her unless she was on the witness block. She turned her eyes to them now, silently begging them to take over.

“The accused pleads not guilty, sir,” Roger said respectfully.

“I see,” the magistrate said, sounding rather grim. “Then let us proceed. I’ve no wish to prolong these proceedings. The crown has no time for such tomfoolery.”

Well, that didn’t sound promising. Eleanor allowed herself one glance at the crowd, searching for Hilary. He hadn’t come. Perhaps he had a clue to follow up. Perhaps he was even now bringing the culprit in. She prayed fervently that it was so. Her shackles made it awkward to look down at the note crushed in her hand, but she managed it. He’d sent it with Roger this morning.
“Would that I could give all and more,”
he’d quoted in his elegant, flowing script,
“my life, my world, my thoughts, my arms, my breath, my future, my love eternal, endless, infinite, yet brief, as all loves are and hopes, though they endure. You are my sun and stars, my night, my day, my seasons, summer, winter, my sweet spring, my autumn song, the church in which I pray, my land and ocean, all that the earth can bring, of glory and of sustenance, all that might be divine, my alpha and my omega, and all that was ever mine
. Yours, Hilary.” Only Hilary would send a love sonnet by Shakespeare on a day like today. And, oh, how she’d needed it.

“Sir,” the crown’s prosecutor said, “we have submitted statements from reliable sources that the accused was seen arguing with the deceased the evening of his death. She was also seen by the watchman in the vicinity of the homicide the night it occurred.”

“That certainly seems to be enough for a conviction,” the magistrate said. “Before I pronounce the sentence, Mr. Templeton, do you have anything to add?”

Eleanor’s heart was beating so fast she felt dizzy and had to grab on to the rail around the dock to stay upright. Spots danced before her eyes. So quickly? Surely not. Roger had warned her that the judge might do this. She had to trust him and Mr. Lyttle. They said that they would take care of it. They said they would. She tried to take a deep breath and then another.

“Yes, sir. I respectfully request the right to question the prosecution’s witnesses in court.” Roger’s voice was strong and self-confident. The entire room seemed to hold its breath.

“Do you question the sincerity and integrity of the crown in this case, Mr. Templeton?” the magistrate asked, annoyed. “Surely their word as to the veracity of the witnesses is enough.”

“Of course, sir, the crown’s word is reliable. But since that august gentleman is so very trustworthy, I fear he may take the reliability of his witnesses for granted, expecting the same honesty and integrity of them that he himself possesses. Many great men have fallen before such ill-treatment, I’m afraid. It would set my mind at ease, and I’m sure the court’s mind, before pronouncing judgment on one of the fairer sex, to ascertain for ourselves the reliability of the men sending her to her death.”

The court gasped. It was clear Roger had deliberately spoken of her death to grab the attention of the crowd, and to shame the judge into allowing his request. Eleanor bit her lip and closed her eyes, and prayed that it would work.

There was a clicking sound, as if the judge was tapping his fingers against his bench. “Granted, Mr. Templeton,” he said at last, though he sounded very unhappy about it. “Have you witnesses of your own to call, as well?” His sarcasm was like a knife against her skin, making it crawl. He did not sound like he was willing to entertain any contradictory evidence.

“If it would please the court, yes, we do,” Roger said smoothly. Eleanor wasn’t sure who he planned on calling to testify on her behalf. He’d told her not to worry about that, either.

“Where is the first witness?” the magistrate asked.

“Sir, I must protest,” the prosecutor said, but it sounded perfunctory. “The witnesses have already given of their time, when we took their statements. To expect more is certainly onerous and beyond their expectations.”

“But it is not beyond the expectation of this court that a witness can and shall be called forth to testify in person to the statements given concerning the case,” the magistrate said sharply. “Far be it from this court to impose on your time or theirs, Mr. Burns, but as Mr. Templeton pointed out, a lady’s life is at stake. So, perhaps you might convince them to offer just a bit more time to justice, hmm?”

Eleanor quickly looked at Roger with wide eyes. It appeared the judge was coming around to their side. Roger didn’t look at her, but merely observed the exchange
between the magistrate and the prosecutor with an ambivalent expression.

“Of course, sir,” the prosecutor said. “With utmost respect for this court, the first witness is Mr. Reginald Tinsley.”

Eleanor was taken aback. Mr. Tinsley? Why, she’d danced with him, though Harry had made a face behind his back. He’d apparently made some untoward remarks about her and Roger before they were married. But he’d been all that was pleasant at the time. He’d asked her again later, but she’d declined; having already taken up with Hil, she had no desire to dance with anyone else.

He slid through the open gate from the gallery onto the witness block, where he stood smiling before the magistrate. He wore gold and peacock blue. Eleanor thought it in very bad taste for a court case of this seriousness. Black or a subdued brown would have suited the proceedings far better. From the look on the magistrate’s face, he agreed.

“Mr. Reginald Tinsley?” he asked.

“Yes, Your Excellency,” Tinsley simpered, smiling at him as if they shared a secret.

“Sir or Sir Robert will do,” the magistrate drawled. “Do you understand the purpose of these proceedings?”

“I do,” Tinsley said, his face very grave.

“Good. Do you know the prisoner?”

“Yes. I met Mrs. Fairchild about six months ago, and have seen her off and on around London since.”

“Please tell the court what you witnessed in relation to the homicide of Mr. Jacob Enderby.”

“I saw him chasing Mrs. Fairchild down the hallway at the opera,” he said, as if relating the latest gossip. “She was running for her life, screaming out Mr. Templeton’s name.”

The magistrate squinted at him. “Mr. Templeton’s? Why?”

“Well, because he’s her cousin’s husband,” Mr. Tinsley said. “Didn’t you know? And she’d been staying with them for months.”

The magistrate looked at Eleanor with a calculating eye, and then cast the same look upon Roger. “Go on,” he said to Mr. Tinsley.

“She ran into their box at the opera. Well, the Sharps’ box. They were there with Mr. Alasdair Sharp and his wife. I saw Mr. Enderby run in after her and then I heard angry shouts. A moment later, Templeton shoved Mr. Enderby out of the box and they exchanged sharp whispers, shoving at one another. Finally Mr. Enderby stalked off, escorted by theater attendants, but he told Mr. Templeton, ‘I’ll be back.’ Very dramatically, just like that,” he concluded.

“Where was Mrs. Fairchild during all this?” Sir Robert asked.

“I suppose in the box with Mrs. Templeton and Mr. and Mrs. Sharp,” Tinsley said. “I didn’t see her again after she ran into the box, until Mr. Enderby was gone. Then they all bustled out as fast as they could.”

“So the argument you witnessed was actually between Mr. Templeton and Mr. Enderby, and not between Mrs. Fairchild and Mr. Enderby?” Sir Robert asked.

“Well, I assume they fought,” Tinsley said defensively. “After all, she was running from him as if he were the devil himself.”

“But you did not actually witness an argument?” the magistrate said again.

“No, I did not,” Mr. Tinsley said, his nose in the air.

Eleanor chanced a glance over at the prosecutor. He looked quite unhappy.

“And Mrs. Fairchild was running from Mr. Enderby and not toward him, as if to do him harm?” the magistrate continued.

“Yes,” Tinsley said. “Away.”

Sir Robert’s fingers drummed on the bench again. “I see. And did you hear Mrs. Fairchild threaten Mr. Enderby?”

“No, sir, I did not,” Mr. Tinsley said.

“I see. So you saw a woman running away from a man and concluded that she killed him?” The gallery laughed.

“I did no such thing,” Tinsley declared. “I simply told him”—he pointed at Mr. Burns, the prosecutor—“what I’d seen that night. I wasn’t the only one,” he protested. “Plenty of people saw it and commented on it.”

“Did Mr. Templeton at least threaten the deceased?” the magistrate asked wearily.

“What? Well, no,” Mr. Tinsley said, confused. “Why?”

“I was hoping your testimony would shed some light on what actually occurred,”
Sir Robert drawled. “It has not.” He turned to Roger. “Mr. Templeton, do you have anything else to ask the witness?”

“Did you ask Mrs. Fairchild to dance on Thursday, the twenty-second of March?” he asked.

“Did I what?” Tinsley asked. He looked flushed. “I have no idea.”

“It was a supper party at Mr. and Mrs. Hale’s,” Roger supplied helpfully.

Tinsley looked nervous. “Yes, yes, I did,” he answered. “I remember now.” There were hoots from the gallery at his response, and he shifted from foot to foot.

“And what did she say?” Roger asked. His smile was both pleasant and victorious.

“She said no,” Tinsley answered flatly. Clearly he’d realized his credibility was shattered. “She was already tupping your friend, St. John,” Tinsley continued in a snide voice, getting in a dig of his own. “I suppose she was too busy spreading her legs for him to dance with anyone else.”

“Mr. Tinsley,” the magistrate barked. “This is a courtroom, not a ladies’ gossip emporium. You will conduct yourself in the appropriate manner or you will be ejected from the courtroom. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Mr. Tinsley said meekly. But the damage had been done. The gallery was abuzz, and she heard ‘St. John’s dove’ and ‘whore’ bandied about.

“Was Sir Hilary St. John present that night at the opera when Mr. Enderby, Mrs. Fairchild, and Mr. Templeton had their encounter?” Roger asked, still pleasant.

“No, sir,” Mr. Tinsley answered.

“Then the lady’s relationship with Sir Hilary is not relevant to this line of inquiry. No more questions, sir,” he said politely to the magistrate.

“You are dismissed, Mr. Tinsley,” Sir Robert said. “Thank you.” He turned to the prosecutor. “Mr. Burns, dare I hope your next witness is more credible?”

“I have several more witnesses who can testify to the events at the opera,” Mr. Burns offered hopefully.

“Will any of those witnesses be able to tell us of an actual argument between Mrs. Fairchild and Mr. Enderby? A threat against Mr. Enderby’s life directly from the accused? Or is it more of Mrs. Fairchild running from Mr. Enderby, and Mr. Templeton
taking him to task?”

“The latter, sir,” Mr. Burns said reluctantly.

“Then I believe we can dispense with those witnesses,” the magistrate said.

“Sir,” Roger interrupted, standing abruptly. “I would like to entertain several of those witnesses. I believe their testimony is relevant to the events of last Wednesday evening that led to Mr. Enderby’s death.”

Eleanor stared wide-eyed at Roger. What was he doing? The magistrate seemed just as confused.

“Mr. Templeton, the last witness made it very clear that there was no argument between the accused and the victim. Do you really wish to investigate the matter further? At risk to your client?”

“I do,” Roger said firmly. “I would like to establish quite clearly and firmly that my client was running
away
from Mr. Enderby. I wish the jury to be very clear on the subject.”

Sir Robert sighed. “Fine.” He waved at Mr. Burns. “Your next witness, please.”

Mr. Burns looked as confused as everyone else. “I would like to ask Mrs. Percival Eddings to please come forward.”

A petite, tittering woman, solemnly wearing black as befitted the proceedings, stepped through the gate. And thus began a procession of Eleanor’s acquaintances. As she stood and listened to one after another say essentially the same thing, she realized Roger was buying them all some time. But would it be enough? She prayed Hilary’s continued absence indicated he was on to something.

Chapter Twenty-Two

“I’m sorry, Sir Hilary,” Mr. Unger said, and it was clear to Hil that he truly felt unhappy about confirming his earlier statement to Inspector Vickery. He sat in one of Hil’s ornate chairs, his simple, brown broadcloth suit worn and wrinkled against the red velvet of the seat cushion. His hands were resting palms down on his knees, and he looked quite nervous. He smoothed a hand over his short, dark hair as he’d been unconsciously doing for the last half hour. Between forty and fifty, he was old enough to have learned his job and to approach it with a sense of responsibility and pride. “Saw her plain as day walking past The Bull and Mouth. She was wearing boys’ clothes and carrying a little brown bag. Had a hat on, but could see her curly hair under it, and that face. No man or boy ever looked like that. No, sir. I knew it was a woman right away. Figured she was out on a lark, or running from something. She kept looking behind her. Crossed the street to avoid the light and looked startled when she saw me.”