Henry wrapped his arm around Viola’s shoulders and told the impertinent fellow to go to the devil.
“What do you stand to gain, Mrs. Lowell?” He shouted the question after them as they disappeared into the courthouse, where Viola was pleased to find the familiar faces of Henry’s parents and grandparents, along with Huntley, Coventry, Amelia and Gabriella, waiting. All had come to offer their support and Viola quickly thanked them all for doing so. Mr. Steadford was there too, dressed in a long black gown and with a white powdered wig on top of his head.
“All the character witnesses I have invited to testify in your favor are here.” He allowed a rare smile. “That in itself should suggest to the judge that you are not the woman Tremaine believes you to be.”
“But will that be enough?” They’d been over this several times already in the last few days, and no matter how she tried to look at it, Viola could not find the assurance she needed. Especially since the nature of the dispute dismissed the need for a jury. Instead, they would have a bench trial in which the judge would make the final ruling.
“You know the answer to that,” Mr. Steadford told her. “All I can promise is that I will do my best.”
Viola could only hope that this would be enough. She accepted Henry’s escort, and together they followed Mr. Steadford into the courtroom. Robert was already there, his expression hard and unsympathetic as he watched Viola and Henry take a seat on the opposite side of the room. Their friends and family sat down behind them while Mr. Steadford and Mr. Hayes claimed chairs facing the bench where Judge Atkins would eventually sit.
It felt like an eternity before he arrived, to the intonation of “All rise!” Those present shuffled to their feet while he strolled toward his designated spot as if he had all the time in the world. The wig he wore rippled over his shoulders, affording him with a rounded look that failed to flatter the stout build of his body. Viola much preferred the shorter ones worn by Steadford and Hayes.
Judge Atkins acknowledged the room with a nod before taking his seat. The rest of the room sat as well. Silence settled into the building’s foundations. “This is not a criminal case,” the judge began. “Nobody is on trial here today, though the basis for the Duke of Tremaine’s contestation of his father’s will can be found in his certainty that Mrs. Viola Lowell took advantage of an ailing man. Her character has been called into question, her motives and her right to the moneys she inherited from her former husband, equally so. Let us proceed therefore with you, Mr. Hayes, and see if we cannot come to a swift resolution.”
Viola clutched Henry’s hand. “The judge’s intent to resolve this quickly concerns me.”
“It is how things are done,” Henry whispered. “Cases are bundled together and must therefore be processed efficiently. Judge Atkins will most likely hear five others before he returns home later today.”
“But...” Viola had been told it would be like this but she’d imagined it to be an exaggeration. “To pass fair judgment in such short time doesn’t seem possible.”
“Just count yourself lucky that you’re not on trial for murder.”
Viola gaped at Henry, who gave her a pointed look before returning his attention to the middle of the courtroom, where Hayes was droning on about Viola’s supposed aspirations, how her father had wanted to build a hospital and she’d done whatever it took to achieve his dream, even going so far as to lure a sick man into marriage.
It wasn’t his dream alone, she wanted to scream.It was Peter’s as well.
But if she fought back with the truth right now she would likely be asked to leave. So she sat in silence while Hayes declared that she’d tried to trap Robert first, and when that plan had failed she’d gone after his father. He spoke of her mother and suggested Viola had been born with a predisposition to whoring in much the same way that a lunatic might inherit his madness from a parent.
“Finally, I wish to present evidence of the former duke’s declining mental health,” Mr. Hayes said. “I have here records from his physician.”
“And the physician himself?” Atkins asked.
“He is currently indisposed.”
“The reason being?”
Mr. Hayes cleared his throat. “It is my understanding that he is currently serving a prison sentence for gross medical misconduct.”
““I will take his records into consideration,” Atkins said.
Viola took a deep breath and tried not to panic. Beside her, Henry sat perfectly still. His jaw was tight, his eyes sharply focused on Atkins and the barristers.
“Mr. Steadford,” Atkins continued. “Have you anything to say?”
“Yes, Judge.” Steadford stood, tall and steady, the only hope Viola had of winning. “Since we are deliberating as to whether or not Mrs. Lowell possessed the cunning and gall to do as Tremaine suggests and that her husband was not in his right state of mind when he willed her his fortune, I recommend an equally blunt assessment of the duke himself.”
Murmurs shifted the air inside the courtroom. Robert glared at Viola with acute hatred in his eyes. She did her best to ignore him, to focus on Henry’s hand holding hers and on what Steadford meant to say next.
“To what end, Mr. Steadford?” Atkins asked.
“To suggest to you, Judge, that this case is nothing more than a spiteful vendetta orchestrated by Tremaine for the sole purpose of hurting Mrs. Lowell.”
“Objection, Judge,” Hayes shouted.
“I propose that Tremaine’s jealousy, his inability to accept that his father cared more for Mrs. Lowell than for his own son, has prompted him to do what has never been done before,” Steadford said while ignoring Hayes completely. He raised his voice while adding, “His greed and his hatred of Mrs. Lowell have fueled his attempt to ruin her reputation entirely, to take from her that which she has created—a hospital providing free treatment to needy families. Under Mrs. Lowell’s management, St. Agatha’s has become a medical institution from which much of London’s population benefits. It has a higher survival rate than any other hospital in the land.”
“That may well be, Mr. Steadford, but you are not here to dispute true ownership of St. Agatha’s Hospital, but to determine whether or not the Fifth Duke of Tremaine’s will ought to be dismissed on grounds of coercion.”
