“Last chance to confess.” Daniel’s voice boomed. “Save yourself a further embarrassment, Towl.”
The chained individual pursed his lips as if to spit, but the barrister flicked a finger and a quick-moving guard whacked Towl on the leg.
“All right, my lord, call off the dogs. I’ll answer.”
Daniel still seemed unemotional, like stone. “What time did you get up on April third?”
“Same as always. About seven.”
“How did you decide upon what to wear?”
Towl shrugged. “Just pulled on what was clean.”
“Hmmm, how sad.” He moved from the prisoner’s dock. “When did you arrive at Mr. Gray’s employ?”
“About nine, same as always.”
“Describe your place of work. Is it elegant?”
“Yes, I see more of those Mayfair types comin’ and goin’.”
“And you work hard. Look at your hands. Calluses. I can tell you work very hard.”
“Yes, I do. I slave for Mr. Gray. You should know about sl—”
“Must burn you up.” Daniel leaned in again. “To work day after day with little to show for it.”
“Yes, you rich fancy people don’t understand.”
Daniel marched back to the barrister table and moved some pages around as if he were looking for something. “The fabrics at John Gray’s are beautiful. I hear there’s true gold threads woven into some of the most expensive cloth.” He held up a fragment of silk.
The cloth shimmered in the candlelight.
“Dare I say, there’s gold in the weft of the material.” He set down the remnant. “That must be mighty expensive, Mr. Towl.”
The defendant wiped at his mouth like he drooled. “Yes.”
“I can see that even these scraps have value. An industrious fellow could do something with the bits and pieces, but you have to have some sort of talent to piece things together.”
“Mr. Gray didn’t care about the scraps. I could take those and make something good out o’ ’em. I’ve made a purse out the material.”
“So that’s what you did. And you’ve done it before.” He held up three ribbon-bound documents. “I possess three witness statements saying that two ladies and an elderly gentleman all purchased items from you. Such an industrious fellow to make beauty from scraps.”
“I am indust—Industri . . .”
“Hardworking? Is that a better word, Towl?”
Daniel’s tart comments set fire to the silent spectators, stirring them to chuckle.
“But you received a big order. One large order would set you up right. No one would know. Scraps and a bit more. It was nothing to Mr. Gray’s other deals.”
“He wasn’t going to miss it.”
A gasp rushed over the Old Bailey.
Daniel had made the man confess. Brilliant.
“You admit you did it, Towl? I need you to be very clear. The court needs to hear you.” He lowered his hands like he’d concluded a dance.
