Never Land the First Fish

Chapter Twenty-Seven, Part 3

Julia had retreated back into the cold armour of aloof disinterest. Gills couldn't bear it. Last night, she had been a living flame in his arms, and this morning she was an icicle, all frozen jagged edges. Under the eyes of the warders, he could do nothing. They would not allow him even to speak to her; or, at least, the female dragon wouldn't, demanding silence every time he opened his mouth.

The arrival of his barrister and hers was a welcome intervention.

Sir Thomas Bennett bowed over Julia's hand with courtly grace. Rutledge greeted Gills with a warm smile and a firm handshake. "Are they treating you well, Lord Joseph?" he asked.

"As if we have already been judged and found guilty," Gills informed him. "We have not been permitted to sit together or even to talk. We left Brickdale at seven this morning, and Lady Julia has had nothing to drink since a cup of coffee when she woke up."

"This will not do," Sir Thomas announced, glaring at the warders. "No wonder my client looks unwell. All the pressure of being falsely accused, of the ordeal before her, and then to be starved? Matthew!" He addressed his hovering clerk. "A cup of tea for Lady Julia! Or would you prefer coffee or a hot chocolate, my dear lady? Something for you, Lord Joseph? They are listening to the first cases of the day, so we have perhaps three quarters of an hour before we are expected in court."

In very short order, the barrister had had the chairs rearranged in the room so that the four of them were seated in a social grouping around a table brought in on which to put the tray that appeared, laden with a pot of Oolong tea, four cups, milk and cream, a bowl of sugar, and—wonder of wonders—some delicate iced cakes.

The stern inquisitors of the previous days were gone as if they had never existed. Both barristers were solicitous and respectful. Gills watched in approval as Sir Thomas's charm and deference thawed Julia, until she had colour in her cheeks and she once again looked warm and approachable. Vulnerable, too, but in the circumstances, that was no bad thing.

Once the tray had been cleared, the barristers exchanged a glance. Sir Thomas nodded, and Rutledge spoke. "We and your solicitors have been approached separately by your families. Each family has proposed the defense that the other accused person is individually guilty, and their own family member an innocent bystander. It is our duty to mention this to you."

Julia's indignant snort expressed her opinion, but Gills put it into words. "Our families took it upon themselves to suggest the same thing to us." He smiled at Julia. "We each told them that our defense is the truth, and that we will certainly not be casting the blame on the other." Julia smiled back, her defenses down for a moment in her glowing eyes, even if no one else saw it.

Sir Thomas cleared his throat, and Gills turned his attention back to the barristers.

"We have a very good defense without such measures. Very good indeed," Sir Thomas said. "If you can refrain from looking at one another as if you are newly-weds, my colleague and I would be grateful, but apart from that I am very pleased. Lady Julia, you need do nothing but answer the questions put to you and continue to look the charming, demure, and gentle lady that you are."

"May I ask, Sir Thomas," Julia asked, "why I am Lady Julia to you, after you said I would have to be called Lady Athol?"

Sir Thomas gave her another warm smile. "I cannot control what the prosecution says, my lady, but I shall be addressing the judges on this matter." He grasped the edges of his robe just below his neck, and pitched his voice to fill the room. "Your Honours, I respectfully ask the Court that, given the character of my client's husband and his brutal behaviour towards her—as I shall show in this court—we do not further burden and grieve the poor lady by calling her by her abuser's name, but that we rather call her Lady Julia, a form of address to which she is entitled as the daughter of a marquis married to a mere second son."

Julia blushed and nodded. "Thank you, Sir Thomas. Whether they agree or not, I am grateful for the courtesy."

"I warn you, my lady," Sir Thomas went on, "that the prosecution is likely to object on the grounds that Lord Athol is not on trial." He exchanged a glance with Rutledge and Gills could swear that his eyelid twitched in what was not quite a wink. "We shall see about that. His reputation and actions are relevant, and so we shall show. Now, Lady Julia, Lord Joseph, are you ready?"

More so than he had been, Gills thought, and the same applied to his beloved. She took the arm her barrister offered her, and led the way, her warder sulking a few steps behind. Gills followed with Sir Thomas and his own warder, the cluster of clerks bringing up the rear.

Let the show begin.