Degrees of Hope (28 page)

“What do you expect that he found in these journals that so incited him?”

“Details of the beatings, I expect.”

“Did you witness these beatings?”

“Many times.”

“Perhaps you would explain what happened to merit the final beating in these pages, the one which caused Mrs Arundell to lose her child?”

“Mr Arundell came back from London in a foul mood and went straight to Mrs Arundell's sitting room. I didn't witness the attack myself, but I could hear what he was yelling.”

“Which was?”

“Apparently Mr Arundell's brother had been to see him in London and asked him to cool his temper around his sister, as she was easily frightened and not very worldly.”

“How long did the beating last?”

“An hour, sir.”

“You're sure?”

“Very. I wanted to go for the police as I was sure he would kill her this time, but Mr Patterson convinced me not to.”

“And what happened when the beating ended?”

“He sent me to attend to Mrs Arundell. I've never seen such injuries before in my life.”

“Could you describe them for the jury?”

“Bruises everywhere, her arms, legs, ribs, back, tummy; deep purple ones. Both eyes were almost swollen shut. She could hardly move for the pain. She was suffering the most terrible stomach cramps and was bleeding all over the floor. Her screams were horrific and I begged Mr Arundell to send for a Doctor, but he refused. He always did after he'd beaten her, he didn't want any of his gentlemen friends to know how he treated her, you see.”

“And then what happened?”

“Well, I did everything I could for the Mistress. She's such a sweet lady, she didn't deserve to die, so I got her up to bed and I did what I could to stop the bleeding. She lost the baby.” Mrs Kenner pulled out her handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. “There was so much blood everywhere; I don't know how she survived. Those first four days she was so weak, sleeping almost all the day, hardly able to even drink some broth.”

“Were you ever able to call a doctor for her?”

“Three weeks later, when her bruises had finally gone. Until then I had orders to keep her locked in her room, so that no one else could see her, not even the staff or her friends. I became her unwilling jailer.”

“So you're saying that after losing so much blood that you feared for her life, Mr Arundell was more concerned about how his behaviour might look to his friends than for his wife's safety?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thank you, Mrs Kenner.”

Hope watched optimistically as even the prosecution witnesses presented a very good argument for why James had been so angry that say. She saw sympathy on the faces of the jury.”

Next the prosecution called Dr McCoy, who testified to the injuries that Malcolm had sustained in the duel.

“The bullet entered on the right hip, then travelled under the belly and exited by the left groin.”

“And you attended Mr Arundell?”

“I did.”

“What did you do for him?”

“I did my best to staunch the blood flow and sewed the bullet holes closed.”

“He was seriously ill for a time though, wasn't he?” the prosecutor asked.

“He had lost an awful lot of blood, so yes, he was very weak and lethargic for a while and I was worried that he may not survive.” 

“Would infection have helped or hindered that recovery?”

“Severely hindered,” Dr McCoy said. “Once I had stopped the bleeding, it was the thing that I was most worried about.”

“And what was the cause of Mr Arundell's death?”

“Sepsis, better known as blood poisoning, caused by infection.”

“Could you tell where this infection was introduced?”

“No. Sepsis is a whole body condition so knowing where the infection entered is almost impossible, other than saying it would usually be a wound that is deep enough to draw blood.”

“Could anything else have killed him?”

“Anything else
could
have killed him, but it was the infection that
did
kill him.”

“You also attended Mrs Arundell while she lived in Marchwood, is that correct?”

“I did.”

“Did you ever see any signs of the injuries that Mr Arundell is supposed to have inflicted?”

“I saw old, healing wounds, but never fresh ones.”

“Thank you Doctor.” The prosecutor sat down.

The judge turned to Dr McCoy. “You attended Mrs Arundell after she lost her baby, is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“Could you tell how long ago she had lost the child?”

“I could not. By the time I saw her, had I not informed her of the pregnancy myself, I would never have known that she had lost a child.”

“Is such a wait usual before calling a doctor?”

“No, Your Honour, I would say that it is extremely unusual not to mention, very dangerous to the mother.”

“Thank you, Dr McCoy.” The judge turned to Edward, who stood up.

“Dr McCoy, were there any other injuries on the body when Mr Arundell died?”

“Yes, he had superficial bite marks on his lower left leg, right arm and a bite on his hand.”

“What do you mean by superficial?”

“That they didn't penetrate very deeply.”

“Did they bleed?”

“When they were caused, no doubt, but he was treated for them in jail and I was not called.”

“So they drew blood but weren't deep enough to have caused him any great blood loss?”

“Exactly.”

“Thank you, Dr McCoy.”

The prosecution then called a jailer who witnessed Malcolm's decline in prison and had stayed with him once Dr McCoy removed him to his clinic. No new information was revealed and Edward had no questions for this witnesses.

The prosecution rested and the defence presented its case.

“James Ashdown and his sister, Honoria, had been close since childhood, indeed I will present excerpts from Honoria's journal, in which she describes James as her best friend. After his sister disappeared and James finally discovered, first hand from her diaries, what his sister had endured, his worry over his sister's fate and his anger at what had been done to her, drove him over the edge and he challenged his brother-in-law to a duel. What James Ashdown did was wrong, but I think that anyone who has ever loved, as James loved Honoria, will understand James' actions, even if they don't agree with them.

“However, the defence case is not that James Ashdown's actions were justified, but that he did not cause the infection which killed Mr Arundell. We will show that...”

Lucien sat forward as he listened to Edward's speech, clearly impressed. Edward was drawing attention to James and Honoria, personalising them by using Christian names, whilst Malcolm Arundell was being de-personalised, never called by his Christian name.

“I would now like to call my first witness, Lady Hope Beaumont.”

Chapter Twenty Six

Hope was shaking as she made her way to the front of the courtroom. Even before Malcolm's attack, she would have found this situation intimidating, and the fact that James' freedom could ride on her testimony, only added to the pressure she felt.

She was sworn in and went to stand in the witness box.

Edward first asked about her relationship with Honoria; when she had first suspected that her friend was being beaten, and when she had first had confirmation of her suspicions.

The prosecution objected but the judge overruled him.

“Now if you would, please tell us what happened on the 3
rd
of June?”

Although initially Hope had wanted to keep her attack secret from Edward, the defence hinged upon the jury knowing what had happened to her. She wasn't surprised to hear that local gossip had finally reached him, but she also wasn't looking forward to reliving her ordeal on the witness stand.

“I, um, I was walking in our garden, near to the woodland, when Mr Arundell attacked me.”

“Which is how you sustained your wrist injury?” he pointed to her splinted wrist.

She raised the arm a little so that people could see. “Yes, among other things.”

“What other injuries did he cause?”

“He twisted my ankle, hit me wherever he could and blackened one of my eyes.”

“Did Mr Arundell say anything to you during the attack?”

“He did.”

“Can you tell us?”

“I...” She swallowed and bowed her head.

“Do you remember what he said?” Edward asked kindly.

“I do.”

“Can you tell us?”

“I don't know the meaning of everything he said, but I know enough to say that it shouldn’t be repeated in polite company.”

“Please, just repeat what he said.”

Hope took a deep breath and recited his words, but her tone was flat and lifeless, nothing like the angry, menacing way that he had said them to her. “He said,
'Come on, you cheap little Judy, I'm going to show you what happens to a meddling little... harlot like you. You think you're better than me, don't you, you, you toffer? Did you think that I would let you get away with taking my wife from me? She's my wife, mine!'
.”

Gasps erupted throughout the court room as she spoke.

“Did he say anything else?” Edward asked.

“He, um, he said,
'I'm going to... to bloody your laycock so hard, that no one will ever marry you, even with your fortune. And I'm going to love every second'
.” Her cheeks felt almost burnt from her deep blush.

The gasps had turned into murmurings as people, mostly men who sat in the gallery, softly discussed what kind of vile man would say such things to a woman, a Lady no less. Pencils scribbled against paper as reporters did their best to capture her words.

“Anything else?” Edward asked kindly.

“He told me that he liked me fighting back and he, uh... he said... that... he would like it if I screamed.”

“But the attack was a failure as he didn't succeed, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me how you fought him off?”

“My dog bit his arm, which allowed me to get free and I ran. He managed to hurt MacDuff and shake him off though, that's my dog's name, and he chased after me. He caught up and pushed me to the ground, landing on top of me. That's when I hurt my ankle and wrist.”

“And then?”

“I was winded and couldn't catch my breath, so he pulled me to my feet and put one hand over my mouth as the other grabbed me about my middle, and he tried to drag me into the bushes. I struggled and managed to bite his hand.”

“How hard did you bite him?”

“As hard as I could. I tasted blood.”

“Please go on.”

“We struggled, he hit me a few times, then MacDuff recovered enough to help me again and he bit into Malcolm's leg. Malcolm overbalanced and fell, then MacDuff tried to go for his throat. Malcolm tried to fight him off with his hands, which gave me the chance to kick him in the head until he lost consciousness.”

“Did you cut his head?”

“I believe so. I ran as soon as he fell limp, but I did see blood on his ear and in his hair.”

“And you mentioned that your dog also bit him many times; did he draw blood?”

“I would assume so; his jacket sleeve and trouser leg were both badly torn.”

“And how did this senseless attack affect you?”

“Badly at first. As well as needing to heal, it crushed my confidence. In fact, I didn't leave my room for well over a week.”

“And when you did, you had to use a wheeled chair, is that correct?”

“Yes, my ankle was splinted and I wasn't allowed to put any weight on it.”

“Thank you, Lady Beaumont.” A subtle reminded of her status, and how heinous an act attacking a noble lady was. “Just one final question, if I may.”

“Of course.”

“I'd like to ask you about James Ashdown and what sort of man you think he is?”

“A good man,” she admitted, her eyes drifting over to his where he sat in the dock. “When we first met, I confess, I did not like him very much but since his sister disappeared and the duel, I have come to know him much better. He cares very deeply for both his sister and his church, and I know that he regrets his actions that day. James is a very devout man and to have taken a life, no matter how justified, pains him. I believe that he was deeply hurt by Honoria's disappearance and to then learn of the indignities thrust upon her, by the man who was supposed to love and protect her...” Her eyes actually filled with tears, and she paused to regain her composure. “I do not condone what Mr Ashdown did, but I do understand it and I cannot condemn him for it.”

“Thank you, Lady Beaumont.”

Edward handed questioning over to the prosecution but he had no questions for Hope, so with a sigh of relief, she returned to her family in the gallery.