Ironbark (68 page)

‘I respect your bible, Your Honour, but it would be a lie for me to swear on it.'

The judge leaned forward. ‘But surely you are a Christian, Mrs Browne?'

Daniel yelled out, ‘Indeed she is! We married in church!'

‘
Mr
Browne, you will kindly refrain from interjecting or you will be removed from the court! Kindly explain yourself, Mrs Browne.'

Keziah's voice rang out with pride. ‘I am a Romani!'

The judge was flummoxed. ‘Am I to understand you to be a native of Rome?'

‘No. My father was a Rom descended from “the true black blood” generations ago in India. I swear by my people's highest oath. By My Father's Hand, I will tell the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Which means I must tell you right now – I am
not
Saranna Browne.'

‘What absurdity is this?' the judge demanded, stabbing his finger at his documents.

‘I took that name from a girl who died. I was born Keziah Stanley.' Keziah saw that her revelation caused several reactions.

Daniel Browne cried out, ‘My wife is ill. She's not responsible for her words!'

The judge's wig slipped to cover his spectacles.

The irate prosecutor demanded, ‘What the hell are you up to now, Bloom?'

Joseph Bloom seemed to be muttering in German under his breath.

Dr Ross and Caleb Morgan exchanged looks of utter dismay.

Consternation broke out in the spectators' box. Keziah saw that the elegant woman in blue had slumped in her seat and the woman beside her was trying to revive her with smelling salts.

It seemed to Keziah she was the only person in court who was calm. Now that she had publicly reclaimed her true identity, she felt relief that she had cleared Saranna's good name. Her fight to free Jake could now begin.

Once order was restored the judge conferred with his tipstaff about legal precedents as to whether the trial should continue. After Joseph Bloom advised the name was known to him as an alias used by the accused, a common enough practice, he firmly ruled that it could.

During Keziah's delivery of her testimony with a cool recounting of the facts, she noticed Joseph Bloom scanned the faces of the jurymen to weigh the impact of her words.

The judge appeared bemused. ‘Let me understand if we have your extraordinary story correctly tabled. You delivered this letter to Iago, which retracts the accusations he made about Jakob Andersen at his trial. You claim Iago signed this letter, after which you fired your muff pistol at him!'

He glanced severely at the prosecutor. ‘A weapon that has
vanished without trace
.'

Joseph Bloom jumped to his feet. ‘May it please, M'lud. No trace of
any
weapon has been found. May I suggest it is no more than the hallucination of a young woman who is advanced with child and has been suffering acute shock since the events of that night.'

The judge straightened his wig over a face that was pink with irritation. ‘The court does not take kindly to impertinent interruptions.'

He turned to Keziah. ‘You claim you visited Iago that night for the sole purpose of gaining Jakob Andersen's freedom?'

‘No. To prove his
innocence
. Iago was a false witness!'

‘And you would have us believe, Madam, that you are
not
? It is common knowledge your Gypsy tribe has earned a justified reputation as liars down through the centuries.'

Keziah felt a rush of freedom, no longer bound by Saranna Plews's conservative manners. ‘I have sworn By My Father's Hand.
I do not lie!
'

‘We have before us Iago's signed retraction of his evidence. Yet you admit you shot him. Describe to the court the events that led to your acknowledged act of violence.
Why
you did it.'

At that moment Keziah still did not know the reason herself. She was certain of only one thing. Jake's whole future hung in the balance. She summoned up the gift to take her back to the vivid scene in Iago's cottage; the smell of rum, the oil lamp, her muff pistol trained on his
face, his hand grabbing the weapon and tossing it from hand to hand like a child's toy.

It was then she knew the truth. The dark hole in her memory disappeared. She heard herself quoting Iago's soft words as if the dead man was speaking through her.

‘It was me that broke Will Martens. Skin like a girl he had till he tasted my lash. Cried like a girl too. You wouldn't believe what a man will do – if you make him hungry enough and break his spirit.'

Every face was riveted on Keziah, none more intently than Joseph Bloom.

She faltered, her voice soft with horror. ‘Iago laughed when he said it.
“Weak bastards aren't much fun. I like a man with real balls. Real spirit. Like Gypsy Gem Smith. It needed four of my men to hold him down. Gem Smith took it from them just like a woman!”'

Keziah began to sway and Joseph Bloom sprang to his feet.

‘M'lud, my client is in no condition to proceed, I beg you to excuse her.'

Before the judge had time to rule, Keziah's voice cut across him.

‘That devil kept laughing. I shot him but the bullet only grazed his neck. He kept coming towards me so I pressed the spring to release the blade. He deserved to die. I
must
have killed him. No one else was there.'

The courtroom seemed to freeze in time and space. Finally the judge looked stonily at Joseph Bloom who was bent over the desk conferring with his clerk.

‘May I remind the defence counsel he is
not
in court in one of the German lands. In British courts it is customary to respect Her Majesty's judges!'

Keziah was stung by this insult to her friend who, like her, was forever an alien in the eyes of this judge.

Before Joseph could respond to the rebuke the judge's words cut across him as he addressed the jury.

‘Vile accusations have been made about Iago which have not been verified by other witnesses. His employer, Julian Jonstone, held him in high esteem. All we have is the hearsay evidence of a
Gypsy
charged with his murder, who has besmirched Iago's good name.'

A commotion broke out at the rear of the court. A woman dressed in black called out, ‘Good name? You want the whole truth? Ask
me
!'

The prosecutor turned to Joseph Bloom with a sigh of resignation. ‘What other tricks have you concealed up your Mosaic sleeve, Bloom?'

‘My learned friend, may I suggest our Creator alone has that answer?'

‘My chambers!' the judge snapped at them. ‘The court is adjourned for one hour.'

As the woman in black left the court she looked back at Keziah and nodded her head in acknowledgement. Keziah realised this was the wife who had cried tears of joy when the Tarot cards revealed her husband's death.
Mary Iago.

Keziah was shocked that she had not foreseen the fatal flaw at the heart of her Tarot prediction. Baxt
chose
me
to be the Devil Himself's executioner.

Within minutes of the doors being reopened, Berrima courthouse was flooded with a horde of noisy spectators jostling for standing room at the back of the courtroom.

As Daniel Browne crossed to the witness box again he tried to calm the waves of terror threatening to engulf him. During the adjournment he had promised Joseph Bloom his total cooperation in every possible way. He had not only to fight for Keziah's freedom but also for her life. Was he man enough to overcome his abject fear of what lay ahead?

In his mind's eye Daniel was haunted by images of Iago. He reminded himself that the handsome evil face was reduced to a burnt skull and powerless to punish him from the grave, but that did not prevent Daniel's knees from shaking.
Our Lady, help me find my redemption.

Recalled to the stand, he began his testimony firmly when asked to describe Iago's treatment of his assigned prisoners. ‘The Devil Himself was rightly named. The youngest lads were scarce thirteen. He broke their spirits then rewarded them with food that was legally their share of government stores.'

‘Did you personally witness their physical abuse?'

‘No, only when they were flogged.' He hesitated. ‘But it was common knowledge he used the youngest boys for his gratification.'

The judge was moved to ask, ‘Do I understand you refer to sodomy? This abomination draws the death penalty.'

Daniel hesitated before answering. ‘There was no doubt. One lad from Killarney committed suicide to escape Iago.'

He glanced at Keziah to steel himself before delivering the words that would wound her. She stared at him, willing him to continue.

‘And we all knew that Gypsy Gem Smith only took up arms after he was forced to accept Iago's
special
punishment.'

The prosecutor was openly scathing. ‘I put it to you, Browne, your testimony holds no water under the law. It is diabolical hearsay. You did
not
witness the heinous crime you alone claim was committed by a dead man who was highly respected in our community.'

‘Are you calling me a liar?' Daniel demanded.

The prosecutor's shrug was a nonchalant insult. ‘You'd not be the first husband to perjure himself to save his wife from the gallows.'

Humiliated by his dismissal, Daniel stumbled back to his seat. Had he done Keziah more harm than good in the jury's eyes? He felt sure he had failed her. And Jake. Joseph's subtle gesture of reassurance was small consolation.

Keziah stared resolutely ahead, her hand on the small of her back to act as ballast for the weight of her belly.

When Mary Iago took the oath, Daniel gave her a nod of encouragement. Although she was dressed in black, she had avoided full widow's weeds. Her nervous smile revealed the gap in her front teeth.

Daniel saw that Joseph Bloom was studying her every gesture and nuance of speech. After her initial outburst the widow seemed to have shrunk into her timid shell, but under Joseph's sympathetic questioning she regained her confidence.

‘For nine years of marriage I lived in fear of my husband. He only married me because I came free from Cornwall. That put him in good light with the master, being Cornish himself. Husband beat me so bad I ran off to hide in one of the master's properties in the bush.'

Daniel saw Keziah lean forward in her seat, alert.

‘But Husband dragged me back to Gideon Park and flogged me regularly where none could see my scars. He said the only pleasure I gave him was when he beat me.'

Joseph waited for the spectators' murmurs to quieten before he continued.

‘Your marriage was not blessed with children, Mrs Iago?' ‘How could it?' she whispered. ‘We never had connection after the wedding night.'

The judge straightened his wig again. ‘Enough of this public airing of marital discord. Must I remind the defence counsel he's not in a Prussian court of law? Pray establish if the witness can corroborate specific claims of abuse by Iago against his assigned men.'

Joseph turned to his witness. ‘I regret the distress my questions must cause, Mrs Iago. Are you aware of what society defines as
unnatural acts
?'

Mary Iago raised her eyes to the light dome above them as if seeking a guardian angel. She looked back at Joseph Bloom, who gave a slight nod of assent.

‘One night Husband said I deserved special punishment for scorching his best shirt. He tied me to a chair and gagged me. Called in a young lad who always did his bidding. Husband made me watch while he had connection with him. Everything men do to women but more.' Her voice broke. ‘When Husband finished his business he untied me. Made me serve them their supper.'

Daniel watched the way Joseph Bloom looked at each juryman before asking his next question.

‘Are you able to identify your husband's companion?'

‘No!' she cried. ‘I won't!'

Daniel heard a man's voice call out, ‘He's here in court!'

White-faced, Daniel looked around before he realised the strangled voice had come from him. He stood up to answer.

‘Mrs Iago speaks the truth, Your Honour. I was Iago's companion. That night and many months after. I was not man enough to kill him.'

Mary Iago called out to Daniel as she was led sobbing from the court. ‘God forgive me. I couldn't help you, lad!'

The whole courtroom erupted in a whirlpool of confusion. Daniel stood rigid, the muscles of his face contorted in fear as every single
person turned to register disgust, pity or disbelief.
Will my confession prove my own death warrant?

Keziah stretched out her hand towards him with the expression of compassion he remembered. This was his Keziah – less than a wife, yet
more
than a wife.

At the same time Joseph Bloom abandoned his professional stance and reached across the barrier to place a protective arm around his shoulders.

Daniel had no chance to evaluate the danger of his confession. He expected the jury would retire to consider their verdict. He was shocked. They did not even vacate their seats, simply bent their heads to confer together. Their spokesman delivered the verdict with relish.
Guilty.

The full weight of that word hit Daniel, as if the verdict had also been passed on his own life. He had exposed himself as Iago's partner in sodomy all in vain.

• • • 

Guilty.
Keziah had no time to feel the full impact of the verdict. At the moment of judgement her gaze was held by the woman in blue who had risen from her seat in the gallery and was staring at her. A raging fire seemed to consume Keziah's whole being, body and soul. Now she recognised the truth. Mrs Hamberton's face was the face of a stranger but her eyes were unmistakably the eyes of Stella the Whore.

Vivid childhood images fused with flashes of this woman's recent presence at Jake's trial and her own. Keziah cried out in anguish. It was then her body betrayed her. She staggered to her feet, searching desperately for the face of her doctor.