Victor nodded slowly. “She’s been mine since she was twelve.”
“How can you prove it?”
Victor walked forward, whispered something to the judge, and fear snaked through her again.
How was she supposed to defend Alden if the judge wouldn’t let her talk? And how could she explain that the boy Victor wanted was her son? A boy who should stay with his mother.
“Your Honor—” she tried again, holding up her freedom paper.
“You can’t speak on your own behalf.”
“But I must.”
“If you say another word, Miss Labrie, I will have you escorted to the jail.” The judge paused, glancing around the courtroom. “Is there anyone here who can speak for her?”
Instead of someone answering the judge’s question, an eerie silence replaced the rustling in the courtroom. Alden wanted to jump out of his seat and speak boldly on Isabelle’s behalf as a witness, but he’d seen her as a slave back at the Duvall house. He knew that Victor had owned her. His testimony, he feared, would harm instead of help.
The lechery in his brother-in-law’s eyes sickened him, but in Isabelle’s eyes, he saw courage. The woman had walked through the fire, and she still continued to fight.
Passion is most powerful when bridled by restraint.
As the dean’s words echoed through his mind again, he knew he must bridle his own fury and fight for Isabelle with words seared by truth.
In the lull of silence, he raised his hand. The judge in Sacramento wouldn’t let him defend Isabelle until he passed the bar, but Judge Roth might be different. Instead of speaking about Isabelle’s past, perhaps the judge would allow him to defend her future.
“Yes, Mr.Payne?”
“I would like to act as Miss Labrie’s counsel.”
The man pressed his hands together in front of his face. “Are you a lawyer?”
“I attended the law school at Harvard College in Massachusetts.”
“Have you passed the California bar?”
“Not yet.”
Judge Roth studied Isabelle for another moment before looking back at him. “I think we could remedy that.” He leaned back in his chair. “I can admit a candidate to practice law in this court, but if you want to practice anyplace else, you’ll have to go before the Supreme Court in San Francisco.”
“I understand.”
For the next fifteen minutes, the judge grilled Alden on federal and state law, particularly when it came to the laws of slavery. Yes, he knew that California was officially a free state, though the laws about fugitive slaves applied here. Yes, he realized anyone caught helping a fugitive was subject to imprisonment and a fine.
Judge Roth made it known that he hadn’t forgotten Victor’s initial case against Alden regarding the stolen property, but he could help Isabelle first and then defend himself and Isaac.
Alden pointed back at his brother-in-law. “Mr.Duvall has no evidence that this woman was once his slave.”
“That’s not true,” Victor blurted out. “I have the deed with her name on it.”
“You could claim any woman as your slave.”
“Perhaps.” Victor stepped up beside Isabelle and fingered the lace on her sleeve. “But all my slaves have been branded.”
Bridled words escaped Alden. He wanted to strangle this maniac for scarring Isaac and Isabelle. Make him pay dearly for what he had done.
Victor touched Isabelle’s neck, and she flinched. “Show them your shoulder.”
Alden towered over him. “Take your hands off my client.”
