Next of Kin (59 page)

‘He was with us,' stated Jane under her breath, as she considered the matter. ‘Mr Montignac, I know what he's going to be asked and he was with us.'

Montignac raised an eyebrow and offered her a brief smile.

‘You realize you're still under oath, Mr Bentley, don't you?' said Sir Quentin.

‘Yes, sir,' said Gareth nervously.

‘Then I have just one question for you. On the evening of August the eighteenth, nineteen thirty-six, where were you between the hours of four p.m. and five thirty.'

‘The evening before Mr Davis was killed?'

‘Just so, Mr Bentley. Where were you?'

Gareth thought about it and cast his mind back. He glanced around the courtroom and looked for his parents in their usual seats but they were missing. Jane followed the trajectory of his eyes and wanted to stand up and shout to him, to offer him her support, but she knew this was too important a moment. He had to answer the question. He had to remember.

‘Where were you, Mr Bentley?' asked Sir Quentin.

‘Well I was at home,' said Gareth.

‘And were you alone?'

‘No, my mother was there. And my father.'

‘Both your parents were with you at home. Including your father, Sir Roderick Bentley KC. The well-known high court judge?' he added, looking to the jury to make sure they were all clear on Roderick's status.

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And was anyone else there at the time, do you recall?'

Gareth thought about it. ‘Yes, I remember Sophie and Nell were there too. Our cook and maid. They always come back around four o'clock to start preparing the evening meal.'

‘I see,' said Sir Quentin, delighted with Gareth for getting it right at last. ‘So there were four witnesses to your being at home, is that what you're telling me?'

‘Yes, sir.'

‘And what time did you leave for the Threadbare Gallery?'

‘Around twenty to seven.'

There was a gasp throughout the courtroom and Jane put a hand to her breast; she felt as if she needed to keep breathing. The room was swaying slightly.

‘What does that mean?' she asked Montignac. ‘What does all that mean? Does that mean they've proved he didn't do it?'

‘What it means is that you need to let me out,' he said quietly.

‘Pardon?'

‘I'm about to be called to the stand,' said Montignac, as if he had been expecting this all along.

‘You are?' asked Jane. ‘But—?'

‘Your Honour, I would like to call Owen Montignac back to the witness box if I may,' said Sir Quentin, his voice booming now as if he had just got to the end of a long but triumphant speech on the stage of the Old Vic.

The judge nodded and Montignac was already on his way up there, being watched in fascination by Jane Bentley. He passed Gareth on the way and the younger man was sure that his former employer offered him a slight wink as one made his way to the witness box and the other back to the dock.

‘Mr Montignac, you too realize you're still under oath?' asked Sir Quentin.

‘I do,' said Montignac.

‘Mr Montignac, I have a number of serious and delicate questions to put to you. And I must insist that you are frank in your answers even if they are embarrassing.'

‘I understand entirely,' said Montignac.

‘How long have you lived in the flat at Bedford Place.'

‘Almost four years.'

‘And during that time, have you ever allowed another gentleman to sleep there?'

‘Never,' said Montignac. ‘I only allowed Gareth—Mr Bentley, that is—to sleep there to prevent him the embarrassment of returning home to his parents intoxicated.'

‘Mr Montignac, can you tell us if you are a gambling man.'

There was a long silence while he did his best to look repentant. ‘To my shame,' he replied, ‘I must answer yes.'

‘I see. And do you have any outstanding debts at the moment?'

‘A number of them.'

‘For a large amount of money?'

‘Yes, sir.'

Harkman rose to his feet. ‘Your Honour, I fail to see what Mr Montignac's financial position has to do with anything.'

‘I'm trying to establish a motive for the crime, Your Honour. I believe that it's been clearly proven that Mr Bentley did not inflict the initial blow and therefore it would seem highly unlikely that he delivered the fatal one. And I would simply like to establish a motive for the murder before asking for the case to be dismissed.'

‘You may carry on,' said Judge Sharpwell, who had received instructions from Keaton that morning that Roderick had changed his vote and so there was no further need to cause unnecessary difficulty for his son.

‘Mr Montignac, I assume that it is not a bank to whom you are in debt?' asked Sir Quentin.

‘No, sir. I am in debt to some people who generally seek recompense through more violent means.'

‘Mr Montignac, had Mr Bentley not got drunk that night, you would presumably have ended up asleep in your flat alone, yes?'

‘Yes.'

‘And woken the following morning with a dead body there?'

‘Indeed.'

‘The dead body of a man whose proposed marriage to your cousin you were well known to be opposed to, covered in his blood. In fact, we most likely would still have been here today, only it would have been you standing in the dock, accused of a crime you did not commit, rather than Mr Bentley. Wouldn't you say so?'

The court held its breath and waited for Montignac to answer. Finally he looked up and nodded.

‘I think that seems very likely,' he said. ‘I think that whoever killed Raymond Davis framed the wrong man. They assumed that Gareth was me.'

‘But you weren't there,' said Sir Quentin.

‘No.'

‘And Mr Bentley could not have been present when the first blow to Mr Davis was delivered.'

‘Apparently not.'

‘Thank you, Mr Montignac. Unless Mr Harkman has any questions for you?'

He looked towards his opponent who hesitated before shaking his head. It was all over; he'd been in the game long enough to know that.

‘Then you may return to your seat with the court's thanks. And at this point, Your Honour,' continued Sir Quentin, ‘perhaps I could petition the court to dismiss this case out of hand before any more time is stolen from my client or any more injury is done to his character?'

7

LORD KEATON SHOOK HIS
head. ‘If you'd told me in advance, I can't say I would have been as confident as you. I would have made you think twice about it.'

‘Which is why I didn't tell you,' said Montignac.

‘It was a risky thing to do,' insisted Keaton. ‘You're not worried that the police haven't closed the file on Raymond Davis then?'

‘Not particularly. I have an alibi which you so generously purchased for me. To catch me would be one thing but it would, by default, lead you to the dock as well. After everything I've learned about you I can't imagine that happening. Your friends would never allow it.'

‘No, you're right,' said Keaton with a shrug. ‘But still. What's this Gareth Bentley to you anyway?'

‘Nothing at all,' said Montignac. ‘But I didn't want to see him hanged if I could prevent it. I'm not totally heartless, you know. You got what you wanted, I've got what I wanted. There was no reason for Gareth's life to be destroyed. He's enough of a loser as it is without my adding to it.' He glanced in the direction of the wireless. ‘Is it time?' he asked.

‘It will be soon,' said Keaton, looking at the clock and tuning in to the station which was playing some music at the moment. ‘Did I tell you I had a visitor last night?'

‘No, who?'

‘Roderick Bentley. Came charging over here immediately after the case collapsed, wanting to take back his proxy. Well it was too late by then, of course. The poor fool didn't realize that he and his wife were their son's alibi all along. They didn't need to go through any of this. Slightly ironic, isn't it?'

Montignac tapped the desk nervously. The sound was coming through quite clearly and he couldn't help but glance out the window in the direction of the palace and wonder what amount of chaos must be going on there. The two of them would make quite a picture, he thought, if anyone looked in. The ageing judge and the youthful art gallery manager, sitting around a desk listening to music on the wireless. They didn't say anything to each other for the moment; for both, it was the climax of their year and everything they had done during it came down to this moment.

The music died away and a voice broke in, the posh received pronunciation of the BBC announcer.

‘
We interrupt this programme to bring you an announcement direct from Buckingham Palace, where His Majesty King Edward VIII is to make a special address.'

‘Here we go,' said Keaton in a chirpy voice, clapping his hands together in delight. ‘Hold on to your hats.'

A crackling sound came through the wireless and they held their breath as the thin, sorrowful voice began to speak.

‘
At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. I have never wanted to withhold anything, but until now it has not been constitutionally possible for me to speak.'

‘Could have if he'd wanted to,' grunted Keaton. ‘Don't know who could have stopped him if he'd had a mind to it.'

‘
A few hours ago I discharged my last duty as king and emperor, and now that I have been succeeded by my brother, the Duke of York, my first words must be to declare my allegiance to him. This I do with all my heart.'

Keaton's face lit up and he grinned across the table, raising his eyebrows in delight. He made a triumphant fist.

‘
You all know the reasons which have impelled me to renounce the throne. But I want you to understand that in making up my mind I did not forget the country or the empire which, as Prince of Wales and lately as king, I have for twenty-five years tried to serve.'

‘Bloody hypocrite,' said Keaton. ‘Freeloader! Wastrel! Thief!'

‘
But you must believe me when I tell you that I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love.'

Keaton was shaking his head now, as if the whole thing was beyond ridiculous. ‘Can you believe it?' he asked Montignac. ‘For a woman? Absolutely extraordinary.' Montignac frowned. He wished Keaton would stop editorializing; he didn't want to miss a word.

‘
And I want you to know that the decision I have made has been mine and mine alone. This was a thing I had to judge entirely for myself. The other person most nearly concerned has tried up to the last to persuade me to take a different course. I have made this, the most serious decision of my life, only upon the single thought of what would, in the end, be best for all.'

‘Best for you, you mean,' said Keaton.

Montignac found it hard to relate the desperately unhappy voice emanating from the wireless to the happy, jovial character he had recently met in the Unicorn Ballrooms, but of course it was one and the same. Even now, listening to the speech, he found it hard to believe that he had been part of such an ambitious plan.

‘
The decision has been made less difficult to me by the sure knowledge that my brother, with his long training in the public affairs of this country and with his fine qualities, will be able to take my place forthwith without interruption or injury to the life and progress of the empire. And he has one matchless blessing, enjoyed by so many of you, and not bestowed on me—a happy home with his wife and children.'

‘They'll try for a son now,' said Keaton quickly. ‘You mark my words. A queen's not the same.'

‘
During these hard days I have been comforted by her majesty, my mother, and by my family. The ministers of the crown, and in particular Mr Baldwin, the prime minister, have always treated me with full consideration. There has never been any constitutional difference between me and them, and between me and parliament. Bred in the constitutional tradition by my father, I should never have allowed any such issue to arise.'

‘Oh please,' said Keaton. ‘He behaved like a petulant child throughout, throwing his playthings out of the pram whenever he got a chance.'

‘
Ever since I was Prince of Wales, and later on when I occupied the throne, I have been treated with the greatest kindness by all classes of the people wherever I have lived or journeyed throughout the empire. For that I am very grateful.'

‘It's goodbye to all that now,' said Keaton.

‘
I now quit altogether public affairs and I lay down my burden. It may be some time before I return to my native land, but I shall always follow the fortunes of the British race and empire with profound interest, and if at any time in the future I can be found of service to his majesty in a private station, I shall not fail.'

‘Not one to just wander off into the sunset then,' said Keaton. ‘Knew it was too good to be true.'

‘
And now we all have a new king. I wish him and you, his people, happiness and prosperity with all my heart. God bless you all! God save the king!'

‘God save the king,' echoed Keaton.

‘Don't be such a bloody hypocrite,' said Montignac, as the wireless was switched off again. ‘Now, where's my money?'

8

THE PARTY TOOK PLACE
a few nights later at the Bentley home on Tavistock Square. Montignac had been surprised to receive the invitation but, on a whim, he decided to accept it but showed up late, just after ten o'clock at night. Jane had invited quite a few friends, as much a display to the world that there would be no more scandal attached to their name as a show of support for their son, who had been released and had returned home a few hours after Dr Cawley, the coroner, had delivered his crucial evidence.