A gasp rippled through the room.
Henry grimaced inwardly but kept his face stony.
“And how did you prevent Lord Hudsyn from choking the viscount to death?”
“I don’t think that was his intention.”
“Answer the question, sir,” the Attorney General said. “What did you do to prevent Lord Hudsyn from choking Lord Craventhorp?”
“I pulled Lord Hudsyn off the viscount and dragged him away, at which point Lord Craventhorp got to his feet and returned indoors.”
Henry frowned. His scuffle with Craventhorp that night was a blur in his mind. But he must have been severely provoked and intoxicated to have done something so stupid as to attempt to strangle the man.
“Thank you, nothing further.” The Attorney General turned to the lords. “My lords, I’ll ask you to note that Lord Hudsyn’s attempt to choke Lord Craventhorp, matches the coroner’s description of Miss Leonard’s demise. She’d been choked before her body was discarded in the Thames.”
A murmur rustled through the courtroom.
Then the Attorney General returned to his seat, and the Lord High Steward turned questioning over to Henry’s barrister.
“Did you see Lord Hudsyn strike Lord Craventhorp first?” Mr. Upwey stood and strode to the witness box.
“No, sir. I was inside and stepped onto the terrace for some air when I saw the two gentlemen fighting.”
“Yet, before, you testified that Lord Hudsyn lunged at Lord Craventhorp.”
“I testified that he’d lunged at him earlier that evening at Madame Katrina’s…” he paused, apparently searching for the best word. “Club. I didn’t see who started the fight in Lady Dawley’s Garden, so I cannot testify to that with certainty.”
Henry thought back to the night in question. He couldn’t remember how the scuffle had started either. But he remembered Hobsworth dragging him away as Craventhorp pointed an accusing finger and shouted, “That lunatic attacked me. Someone lock him up!”
Mr. Upwey continued, “Tell me, Mr. Hobsworth, doesn’t it seem odd that Lord Hudsyn gained access to Miss Leonard’s person while she was under Lord Craventhorp’s protection?”
“Yes, it does.”
Mr. Upwey turned to address the lords. “My lords, Lady Boothe stated that she saw a young woman struggling with a young man, but they’re unsure of who that young man was. I ask you, where was Lord Craventhorp at the time? Isn’t it more likely that young Miss Leonard was trying to escape Lord Craventhorp, and Lord Hudsyn was trying to help her?”
“Outrageous!” Lord Craventhorp shot out of his seat. “That villain lurked in the shadows and dragged Miss Leonard off when I had my back turned.”
“Oyez, Oyez, Oyez. My Lord High Steward, His Grace, commands silence in the court on pain of imprisonment,” the Serjeant at Arms proclaimed and Craventhorp sat down.
“Mr. Upwey, do you have further questions for the witness?” the Lord High Steward asked.
“Yes.” Upwey turned back to Hobsworth. “Did the accused tell you that he was trying tohelpMiss Leonard because she was frightened of Lord Craventhorp?”
“He did, sir.”
“And did you—or rather—do youbelieve that is the truth?”
Henry watched his friend; Hobsworth’s eyes met his before he responded. “I do,” he answered with certainty.
A buzz rippled through the courtroom, but it died instantly when the Serjeant at Arms called for silence.
Hobsworth was excused and the Attorney General stood. “My Lord, we call Sebastian John Greyson to the witness stand,” he said, using Bastin’s legal name rather than the one he’d adopted as an author.
Henry’s breath caught in his throat.Will they call Ottilie too?He prayed she was in good health, but he knew she must be suffering greatly.
A murmur rippled through the crowd as Bastin stepped into the witness box. His fame as an author had no doubt brought even more attention to the case.
“Mr. Bastin, you are married to the accused’s cousin—one Ottilie Alison Hamilton, correct?”
