HF - 04 - Black Dawn (54 page)

'Ran away?' The earl seemed unable to believe his ears.

'By God.' Tony was on his feet. 'Josh Merriman. Arrest that man.'

'Quiet. Order. Order in this court,' the earl bellowed, banging his gavel.

The noise slowly subsided.

'I demand my rights, your Grace,' Tony said, still standing. 'That man is a runaway from Hilltop.'

Dick also stood up. 'You have no rights at all, Tony. As you say, Josh is a runaway from Hilltop. The matter is my concern.'

'Your concern? You upstart fraud . . .'

'Gentlemen,' the earl said. 'It may be irregular to hear a case of this nature while both the principals are confined in a cell, but I assure you it can be done.' He turned back to Josh. 'What is your real name?'

'Joshua Merriman, your Excellency.'

The earl looked at Reynolds. 'You recognize this man, Mr Reynolds?'

The lawyer peered at the witness box. 'It is a long time, my lord, but certainly I owned a slave by that name whom I sold to Mr Richard Hilton.'

'And who has been masquerading as a Baptist minister,' the earl mused. 'Mr Barker?'

'I knew of the risk Merriman was taking, my lord. But the fact that he has taken this risk surely establishes the truth of his evidence.'

The earl sighed. 'That is for the jury to decide. I would but remind you, and your principals, that aiding and abetting an absconded slave is a felony. Mr Hilton?' He looked at Dick.

'I was under the impression that I could do as I wished with regard to my own slaves,' Dick said. 'I have already granted Merriman his freedom, so that he may continue his excellent work as a preacher.'

'My lord,' Calthorpe said, entering the debate for the first time, having been handed a scribbled message from Tony. 'This case has not yet been proven. It may never be proven. In my opinion, which has been but hardened by what I have seen and heard here today, it can never be proven. The Claimant may assume what he pleases, surely the fact is that in law this witness is the property of my client until it is otherwise proved.'

'Hm,' said the earl. 'Hm. It will have to be considered. I will adjourn the court until tomorrow while I consider the matter.'

'And in the meanwhile, my lord?' Calthorpe inquired.

The earl looked at Dick, and then at the jury, and then at Josh. 'The slave will have to be confined, of course.'

'In my client's custody, my lord,' Calthorpe said.

Barker got up. 'I must protest, my lord. This man is a witness against the defence. To place him in the care of the defence is to transgress all rules of justice.'

'On the contrary,' Calthorpe said. 'It is you, my learned friend, who have broken the rules. My client merely wishes his rights under the law.' He turned back to the bench. 'My lord, you
are
the law in this island. Surely you cannot be seen to do anything other than uphold the law.'

The earl frowned at him. 'I do not need you to remind me of my duty or my responsibilities, Mr Calthorpe. Merriman, I am returning you to the custody of your legal owner. Leave the box.'

'My lord,' Dick cried.

'Quiet,' the earl said. 'I will have quiet in this courtroom. Mr Hilton . . . Mr Anthony Hilton . . . you will produce the man Merriman, in this court, well and able to give evidence, whenever I so order. Is that understood? Bailiffs.'

They already waited at the foot of the steps. Merriman gazed at Dick for a moment, then descended.

'And now . . .' the earl began.

'And now, my lord,' Calthorpe said. 'I would like to make a further protest against these affairs. Here me out, my lord, in order that you may consider my point during the adjournment. This case is the clearest attempted fraud I have ever seen, and not a very clever one, at that. Where is the Claimant's proof of identity? It rests in the testimony of a drunken sea captain and a runaway slave. Your lordship will have seen for himself how simple a matter it would be to convince the sea captain, Morrison. And your lordship may well imagine how easy it would be to secure the favourable testimony of a slave, by promising him his freedom if the case is won. As the Claimant confesses he has already done. My lord, these are not witnesses. But my lord, the defence has witnesses to prove that the Claimant cannot be Richard Hilton.'

'Is this an opening speech, Mr Calthorpe?' the earl inquired. 'I do not believe Mr Barker has closed his case as yet.'

'I am endeavouring to save the time of this court,' Calthorpe said. 'It is a well known fact, my lord, that the real Richard Hilton was betrothed to be married before his disappearance, to a Miss Ellen Taggart. That lady is now the wife of Mr Anthony Hilton. Now, my lord, who should better know a man, whatever his present appearance, than a woman to whom he was for four years engaged to be married? I am prepared to produce Mrs Hilton in this court to testify that that man is not Richard Hilton. And further, my lord, it is also a well known fact that the late Richard Hilton perpetrated a criminal assault upon a young lady in Kingston, the night before his disappearance. Now my lord, surely that young lady would be able to remember the identity of her assailant, a man who locked her in a hotel bedroom and brutally raped her. My lord, I am prepared to produce that young lady in this court, also to swear that the Claimant is not Richard Hilton. My lord, I most earnestly entreat that unless my learned friend can offer evidence as conclusive in character as this, that this civil case be dismissed immediately, and that criminal proceedings be instituted against the Claimant.'

The earl stared at him for some seconds, and then at Dick.

But clearly his faith in him had suffered considerably. Particularly was he obviously thinking that no matter what view he might have, the jury would certainly find for Tony. And there was nothing to be done, now. He had gambled and lost. It would only have worked had the earl been determined enough to ride over the legal objections in his determination to discover the truth. And there was nothing he could do. He had not felt so helpless for a very long time.

'Hm,' said the earl. 'Hm. Mr Barker?'

Barker stood u
p, licked his li
ps. He also knew the case was lost.

'My lord . . .'

'My lord,' said a quiet voice from the very rear of the room. 'The Claimant may well possess a witness of superior value to those listed by Mr Calthorpe.'

'Eh? Eh?' Belmore peered at the speaker.

Dick turned, as did Tony, both as if plucked by a long rope. Alone of every
one in the court, they had equall
y recognized the voice. Previously seated amidst the veiled women at the back of the room, the speaker had now thrown back the gauze covering her face to reveal herself as Suzanne Hilton.

17

The Incendiary

'Mother?' Dick exclaimed, in total consternation. 'Mother?' Tony cried, no less astounded. 'What? What?' cried the earl.

'You do not know me, my lord.' Suzanne wore black, and stood with the aid of a stick. Dick realized she was seventy years old. But her voice had not changed. 'My husband and I left Jamaica some forty years ago. But I am Suzanne Hilton, wife of Matthew Hilton, sister of Robert Hilton, and mother of Anthony and Richard Hilton.'

'My God,' the earl cried. The court burst into noise, and people scrambled on their chairs the better to see. Suzanne smiled at them all. Her hair was now entirely white, and there were lines on her face and neck. But that marvellous bone structure was also unchanged.

'Mother.' Tony left his seat and ran to the back of the court to take her hand. 'Why did you not inform me you were coming?'

Suzanne freed herself. 'I thought it best.'

'But . . . how long have you been in the island?'

'Two days.'

'Two days? And not a word?'

'Again, I thought it best.' She had reached the front rows, stood beside Dick. 'Well, sir, have you nothing to say?'

Dick could only stare at her; dimly he heard the earl's gavel calling for order. 'I supposed you had rejected me,' he said at last. 'Did you not receive my letter?'

'Had I not, I would not be h
ere now.' She walked past them,
into the well of the court.

The earl continued to bang with his gavel. 'Order. Order. I will have the court cleared.' He leaned over his desk. 'Suzanne Hilton? By God. Madam, I hope you will allow me to entertain you, at a more suitable moment. But you see us here . . .' He remembered why she was there at all. 'Will you identify that man as your son?'

'If you will allow me a few minutes alone with him, my lord, I will either identify him or swear that he is not my son.'

'Aye, well, there it is. Court will adjourn for fifteen minutes.' He glared at the jury, only now subsiding into quiet. 'You'll accompany me, Mrs Hilton. And you as well, Mr Hilton.'

He was addressing Dick, but Tony hurried forward. 'Am I not entitled to speak with my mother?'

'By all means accompany us, Tony,' Suzanne said.

'Mr Hilton.' Barker leaned out of his seat. 'This is make or break.'

'Aye,' Dick said. 'But she is my mother, Mr Barker.' He followed the earl into the judge's chamber at the rear of the court.

'I will leave you now, madam,' Belmore said. 'To speak with these gentlemen.'

He went outside, and the door closed.

'Well,' Tony said, loudly, 'thank God you are here, Mama, to put an end to this farce. The man's an impostor, some white nigger who fought with Christophe, took the name of Warner, and now has the effrontery . . .'

'Be quiet, Tony,' Suzanne said, softly. She held Dick's arm, peered into his face. 'My God,' she said. 'What did they do to you?'

'It was a fall from a cliff, Mama. But you . . .' 'Mama?' she asked. 'Have you the right to use that word to me?'

'But . . . my letter? The handwriting . . .' 'Bore very little resemblance to the last letter I had from Richard Hilton, a long time ago.' 'The events I described . . .'

'Could easily have been learned.'

'I cannot imagine why you troubled to undertake such a long and dangerous journey,' Tony remarked.

'Perhaps a mother never actually believes her son can be dead,' Suzanne said. 'Perhaps she must dream, always, that he will come back to her.'

'Aye,' Tony said. 'I can understand that, Mama. And I can understand how deep must be the disappointment at the end. But this blackguard shall pay for it, you have my word.'

Suzanne continued to look at Dick. 'Are you a blackguard?'

'Mama, I . . .' He took a step forward, checked himself. She waited, for some sign to convince her, and he could think of nothing, to do or to say.

'Yes?' she asked, her voice soft.

He stared into her eyes, as she stared into his. His hands closed on her shoulders, and she was in his arms, fingers tight on his back, cheek pressed against his.

'Blackguard,' Tony bellowed. 'By God, I'll . . .'

'Be quiet, Tony,' Suzanne said. 'Oh, Dick, Dick, if you knew how long I have waited to hold you in my arms, with what hopes and with what fears I landed from that ship.'

'If only you had told us you were here.'

'Why?' She removed her hat, and sat down. 'To be badgered, or bullied, or worse.'

'Mama . . .' Tony began.

‘I
have been receiving letters from Tony, for the past sixteen years,' she said. 'Relating his successes, and your failures, Dick. I supposed you dead, on his hearsay. Why did you not write?'

'With a face like this? Oh, I got used to it. But by then I had become caught up in Christophe's dreams of empire, his perpetual war. I was indeed no longer Matt Hilton's son, Mama.'

'But always Suzanne Hilton's son,' she said. 'Robert Hilton's nephew. I never doubted that when you found your way, you would be a Hilton.'

'You mean you accept his story?' Tony demanded.

'I said, I would end this farce. I travelled with Morrison on the
Green Knight,
swore him to secrecy. I have lodged, privily, and watched and listened, and heard, how you attempted to have your brother murdered, Tony.'

'Murdered? My brother? Why . . .'

'Because he
is
your brother. I have watched him and his wife, from the window of my room. He may not look like Dick, he may not talk like Dick, but he most certainly walks like Dick, as his gestures are Dick's.' She smiled at him. 'As he married the woman Dick would have married. She is very beautiful, Dick. I look forward to meeting her.' She got up again.