at that time sir richard leatherham was the solicitor-general, and he had been retained as leading counsel for the prosecution. it was quite understood by all men who did understand what was going on in the world, that this trial had been in truth instituted by mr. mason of groby with the hope of recovering the property which had been left away from him by his father's will. the whole matter had now been so much discussed, that the true bearings of it were publicly known. if on the former trial lady mason had sworn falsely, then there could be no doubt that that will, or the codicil to the will, was an untrue document, and the property would in that case revert to mr. mason, after such further legal exercitations on the subject as the lawyers might find necessary and profitable. as far as the public were concerned, and as far as the masons were concerned, it was known and acknowledged that this was another struggle on the part of the groby park family to regain the orley farm estate. but then the question had become much more interesting than it had been in the days of the old trial, through the allegation which was now made of lady mason's guilt. had the matter gone against her in the former trial, her child would have lost the property, and that would have been all. but the present issue would be very different. it would be much more tragical, and therefore of much deeper interest.
as alston was so near to london, sir richard, mr. furnival, mr. chaffanbrass, and others, were able to go up and down by train,—which arrangement was at ordinary assizes a great heartsore to the hotel-keepers and owners of lodging-houses in alston. but on this occasion the town was quite full in spite of this facility. the attorneys did not feel it safe to run up and down in that way, nor did the witnesses. mr. aram remained, as did also mr. mat round. special accommodation had been provided for john kenneby and bridget bolster, and mr. mason of groby had lodgings of his own.
mr. mason of groby had suggested to the attorneys in bedford row that his services as a witness would probably be required, but they had seemed to think otherwise. "we shall not call you," mr. round had said, "and i do not suppose that the other side will do so. they can't if they do not first serve you." but in spite of this mr. mason had determined to be at alston. if it were true that this woman had robbed him;—if it could be proved that she had really forged a will, and then by crime of the deepest dye taken from him for years that which was his own, should he not be there to see? should he not be a witness to her disgrace? should he not be the first to know and feel his own tardy triumph? pity! pity for her! when such a word was named to him, it seemed to him as though the speaker were becoming to a certain extent a partner in her guilt. pity! yes; such pity as an englishman who had caught the nana sahib might have felt for his victim. he had complained twenty times since this matter had been mooted of the folly of those who had altered the old laws. that folly had probably robbed him of his property for twenty years, and would now rob him of half his revenge. not that he ever spoke even to himself of revenge. "vengeance is mine, saith the lord." he would have been as able as any man to quote the words, and as willing. justice, outraged justice, was his theme. whom had he ever robbed? to whom had he not paid all that was owing? "all that have i done from my youth upwards." such were his thoughts of himself; and with such thoughts was it possible that he should willingly be absent from alston during such a trial?
"i really would stay away if i were you," mat round had said to him.
"i will not stay away," he had replied, with a look black as a thundercloud. could there really be anything in those suspicions of dockwrath, that his own lawyer had wilfully thrown him over once, and was now anxious to throw him over again? "i will not stay away," he said; and dockwrath secured his lodgings for him. about this time he was a good deal with mr. dockwrath, and almost regretted that he had not followed that gentleman's advice at the commencement of the trial, and placed the management of the whole concern in his hands.
thus alston was quite alive on the morning of the trial, and the doors of the court-house were thronged long before they were opened. they who were personally concerned in the matter, whose presence during the ceremony would be necessary, or who had legal connection with the matter in hand, were of course not driven to this tedious manner of obtaining places. mr. dockwrath, for instance, did not stand waiting at the door, nor did his friend mr. mason. mr. dockwrath was a great man as far as this day was concerned, and could command admittance from the doorkeepers and others about the court. but for the outer world, for men and women who were not lucky enough to be lawyers, witnesses, jurymen, or high sheriff, there was no means of hearing and seeing the events of this stirring day except what might be obtained by exercise of an almost unlimited patience.
there had been much doubt as to what arrangement for her attendance at the court it might be best for lady mason to make, and some difficulty too as to who should decide as to these arrangements. mr. aram had been down more than once, and had given a hint that it would be well that something should be settled. it had ended in his settling it himself,—he, with the assistance of mrs. orme. what would sir peregrine have said had he known that on any subject these two had been leagued in council together?
"she can go from hence in a carriage—a carriage from the inn," mrs. orme had said.
"certainly, certainly; a carriage from the inn; yes. but in the evening, ma'am?"
"when the trial is over?" said mrs. orme, inquiring from him his meaning.
"we can hardly expect that it shall be over in one day, ma'am. she will continue to be on bail, and can return home. i will see that she is not annoyed as she leaves the town."
"annoyed?" said mrs. orme.
"by the people i mean."
"will there be anything of that, sir?" she asked, turning pale at the idea. "i shall be with her, you know."
"through the whole affair, ma'am?"
"yes, through the whole affair."
"they'll want to have a look at her of course; but,—mrs. orme, we'll see that you are not annoyed. yes; she had better come back home the first day. the expense won't be much; will it?"
"oh no," said mrs. orme. "i must return home, you know. how many days will it be, sir?"
"well, perhaps two,—perhaps three. it may run on all the week. of course you know, mrs. orme—"
"know what?" she asked.
"when the trial is over, if—if it should go against us,—then you must return alone."
and so the matter had been settled, and mr. aram himself had ordered the carriage from the inn. sir peregrine's carriage would have been at their disposal,—or rather mrs. orme's own carriage; but she had felt that the cleeve arms on the cleeve panels would be out of place in the streets of hamworth on such an occasion. it would of course be impossible that she should not be recognised in the court, but she would do as little as possible to proclaim her own presence.
when the morning came, the very morning of the terrible day, mrs. orme came down early from her room, as it was necessary that she should breakfast two hours before the usual time. she had said nothing of this to sir peregrine, hoping that she might have been able to escape in the morning without seeing him. she had told her son to be there; but when she made her appearance in the breakfast parlour, she found that his grandfather was already with him. she sat down and took her cup of tea almost in silence, for they all felt that on such a morning much speech was impossible for them.
"edith, my dear," said the baronet, "you had better eat something. think of the day that is before you."
"yes, father, i have," said she, and she lifted a morsel of bread to her mouth.
"you must take something with you," said he, "or you will be faint in the court. have you thought how many hours you will be there?"
"i will see to that," said peregrine, speaking with a stern decision in his voice that was by no means natural to him.
"will you be there, perry?" said his mother.
"of course i shall. i will see that you have what you want. you will find that i will be near you."
"but how will you get in, my boy?" asked his grandfather.
"let me alone for that. i have spoken to the sheriff already. there is no knowing what may turn up; so if anything does turn up you may be sure that i am near you."
then another slight attempt at eating was made, the cup of tea was emptied, and the breakfast was finished. "is the carriage there, perry?" asked mrs. orme.
"yes; it is at the door."
"good-bye, father; i am so sorry to have disturbed you."
"good-bye, edith; god bless you, and give you strength to bear it. and, edith—"
"sir?" and she held his hand as he whispered to her.
"say to her a word of kindness from me;—a word of kindness. tell her that i have forgiven her, but tell her also that man's forgiveness will avail her nothing."
"yes, father, i will."
"teach her where to look for pardon. but tell her all the same that i have forgiven her."
and then he handed her into the carriage. peregrine, as he stood aside, had watched them as they whispered, and to his mind also as he followed them to the carriage a suspicion of what the truth might be now made its way. surely there would be no need of all this solemn mourning if she were innocent. had she been esteemed as innocent, sir peregrine was not the man to believe that any jury of his countrymen could find her guilty. had this been the reason for that sudden change,—for that breaking off of the intended marriage? even peregrine, as he went down the steps after his mother, had begun to suspect the truth; and we may say that he was the last within all that household who did so. during the last week every servant at the cleeve had whispered to her fellow-servant that lady mason had forged the will.
"i shall be near you, mother," said peregrine as he put his hand into the carriage; "remember that. the judge and the other fellows will go out in the middle of the day to get a glass of wine. i'll have something for both of you near the court."
poor mrs. orme as she pressed her son's hand felt much relieved by the assurance. it was not that she feared anything, but she was going to a place that was absolutely new to her,—to a place in which the eyes of many would be fixed on her,—to a place in which the eyes of all would be fixed on the companion with whom she would be joined. her heart almost sank within her as the carriage drove away. she would be alone till she reached orley farm, and there she would take up not only lady mason, but mr. aram also. how would it be with them in that small carriage while mr. aram was sitting opposite to them? mrs. orme by no means regretted this act of kindness which she was doing, but she began to feel that the task was not a light one. as to mr. aram's presence in the carriage, she need have been under no uneasiness. he understood very well when his presence was desirable, and also when it was not desirable.
when she arrived at the door of orley farm house she found mr. aram waiting there to receive her. "i am sorry to say," said he, raising his hat, "that lady mason's son is to accompany us."
"she did not tell me," said mrs. orme, not understanding why this should make him sorry.
"it was arranged between them last night, and it is very unfortunate. i cannot explain this to her; but perhaps—"
"why is it unfortunate, sir?"
"things will be said which—which—which would drive me mad if they were said about my mother." and immediately there was a touch of sympathy between the high-bred lady and the old bailey jew lawyer.
"yes, yes," said mrs. orme. "it will be dreadful."
"and then if they find her guilty! it may be so, you know. and how is he to sit there and hear the judge's charge;—and then the verdict, and the sentence. if he is there he cannot escape. i'll tell you what, mrs. orme; he should not be there at all."
but what could she do? had it been possible that she should be an hour alone with lady mason, she would have explained all this to her,—or if not all, would have explained much of it. but now, with no minutes to spare, how could she make this understood? "but all that will not come to-day, will it, sir?"
"not all,—not the charge or the verdict. but he should not be there even to-day. he should have gone away; or if he remained at home, he should not have shown himself out of the house."
but this was too late now, for as they were still speaking lady mason appeared at the door, leaning on her son's arm. she was dressed from head to foot in black, and over her face there was a thick black veil. mr. aram spoke no word further as she stepped up the steps from the hall door to the carriage, but stood back, holding the carriage-door open in his hand. lucius merely bowed to mrs. orme as he assisted his mother to take her place; and then following her, he sat himself down in silence opposite to them. mr. aram, who had carefully arranged his own programme, shut the door, and mounted on to the box beside the driver.
mrs. orme had held out her own hand, and lady mason having taken it, still held it after she was seated. then they started, and for the first mile no word was spoken between them. mrs. orme was most anxious to speak, if it might only be for the sake of breaking the horrid stillness of their greeting; but she could think of no word which it would be proper on such an occasion to say, either to lucius, or even before him. had she been alone with lady mason there would have been enough of words that she could have spoken. sir peregrine's message was as a burden upon her tongue till she could deliver it; but she could not deliver it while lucius mason was sitting by her.
lady mason herself was the first to speak. "i did not know yesterday that lucius would come," she said, "or i should have told you."
"i hope it does not inconvenience you," he said.
"oh no; by no means."
"i could not let my mother go out without me on such an occasion as this. but i am grateful to you, mrs. orme, for coming also."
"i thought it would be better for her to have some lady with her," said mrs. orme.
"oh yes, it is better—much better." and then no further word was spoken by any of them till the carriage drove up to the court-house door. it may be hoped that the journey was less painful to mr. aram than to the others, seeing that he solaced himself on the coach-box with a cigar.
there was still a great crowd round the front of the court-house when they reached it, although the doors were open, and the court was already sitting. it had been arranged that this case—the great case of the assize—should come on first on this day, most of the criminal business having been completed on that preceding; and mr. aram had promised that his charge should be forthcoming exactly at ten o'clock. exactly at ten the carriage was driven up to the door, and mr. aram jumping from his seat directed certain policemen and sheriff's servants to make a way for the ladies up to the door, and through the hall of the court-house. had he lived in alston all his life, and spent his days in the purlieus of that court, he could not have been more at home or have been more promptly obeyed.
"and now i think we may go in," he said, opening the door and letting down the steps with his own hands.
at first he took them into a small room within the building, and then bustled away himself into the court. "i shall be back in half a minute," he said; and in half a dozen half-minutes he was back. "we are all ready now, and shall have no trouble about our places. if you have anything to leave,—shawls, or things of that sort,—they will be quite safe here: mrs. hitcham will look after them." and then an old woman who had followed mr. aram into the room on the last occasion curtsied to them. but they had nothing to leave, and their little procession was soon made.
lucius at first offered his arm to his mother, and she had taken it till she had gone through the door into the hall. mr. aram also had, with some hesitation, offered his arm to mrs. orme; but she, in spite of that touch of sympathy, had managed, without speaking, to decline it. in the hall, however, when all the crowd of gazers had turned their eyes upon them and was only kept off from pressing on them by the policemen and sheriff's officers, lady mason remembered herself, and suddenly dropping her son's arm, she put out her hand for mrs. orme. mr. aram was now in front of them, and thus they two followed him into the body of the court. the veils of both of them were down; but mrs. orme's veil was not more than ordinarily thick, and she could see everything that was around her. so they walked up through the crowded way, and lucius followed them by himself.
they were very soon in their seats, the crowd offering them no impediment. the judge was already on the bench,—not our old acquaintance justice staveley, but his friend and colleague baron maltby. judge staveley was sitting in the other court. mrs. orme and lady mason soon found themselves seated on a bench, with a slight standing desk before them, much as though they were seated in a narrow pew. up above them, on the same seat, were the three barristers employed on lady mason's behalf; nearest to the judge was mr. furnival; then came felix graham, and below him sat mr. chaffanbrass, somewhat out of the line of precedence, in order that he might more easily avail himself of the services of mr. aram. lucius found himself placed next to mr. chaffanbrass, and his mother sat between him and mrs. orme. on the bench below them, immediately facing a large table which was placed in the centre of the court, sat mr. aram and his clerk.
the court.
the court.
click to enlarge
mrs. orme as she took her seat was so confused that she could hardly look around her; and it may be imagined that lady mason must have suffered at any rate as much in the same way. but they who were looking at her—and it may be said that every one in the court was looking at her—were surprised to see that she raised her veil as soon as she was seated. she raised her veil, and never lowered it again till she left the court, and repassed out into the hall. she had thought much of this day,—even of the little incidents which would occur,—and she was aware that her identification would be necessary. nobody should tell her to unveil herself, nor would she let it be thought that she was afraid to face her enemies. so there she sat during the whole day, bearing the gaze of the court.
she had dressed herself with great care. it may be said of most women who could be found in such a situation, that they would either give no special heed to their dress on such a morning, or that they would appear in garments of sorrow studiously unbecoming and lachrymose, or that they would attempt to outface the world, and have appeared there in bright trappings, fit for happier days. but lady mason had dressed herself after none of these fashions. never had her clothes been better made, or worn with a better grace; but they were all black, from her bonnet-ribbon down to her boot, and were put on without any attempt at finery or smartness. as regards dress, she had never looked better than she did now; and mr. furnival, when his eye caught her as she turned her head round towards the judge, was startled by the grace of her appearance. her face was very pale, and somewhat hard; but no one on looking at it could say that it was the countenance of a woman overcome either by sorrow or by crime. she was perfect mistress of herself, and as she looked round the court, not with defiant gaze, but with eyes half raised, and a look of modest but yet conscious intelligence, those around her hardly dared to think that she could be guilty.
as she thus looked her gaze fell on one face that she had not seen for years, and their eyes met. it was the face of joseph mason of groby, who sat opposite to her; and as she looked at him her own countenance did not quail for a moment. her own countenance did not quail; but his eyes fell gradually down, and when he raised them again she had averted her face.
