Face Down Beneath The Eleanor Cross Part 23

None dissented and she stood convicted. The gaoler came forward to escort her to Newgate until the end of the law term, but before he could grasp her arm, Susanna stepped closer to the bench and raised her voice.

"I ask for the allocutus."

Spectators gasped. The judge looked startled and stared down his oversized nose at her with eyes narrowed. He frowned, but he waved the gaoler away.

"Let the prisoner be brought forward." He nodded at her. "You have something to allege that may prevent the court from giving judgment?"

"Yes.

The entire courtroom seemed to hold its breath.

The judge's words were formal, as dictated by law and custom. "You do remember that before this time you have been indicted for a felony, upon your indictment you have been arraigned and have pleaded not guilty and for your trial have put yourself upon G.o.d and the country, which country hath found you guilty. Now, what can you say for yourself why, according to the law, you should not have judgment to suffer death? What sayest you, Susanna Appleton?"

He expected her to claim she was with child, or suffering from lunacy.

Leaning closer to the judge and speaking low, so that only he could hear her words, she made her request. "Let the constable who questioned those in the crowd at the Eleanor Cross look upon the spectators here today. There is one among them whose words cast suspicion upon me, one who would only have been in Westminster that day for one purpose-to bring about my husband's death."

The judge hesitated, then apparently decided to humor her. He sent a gaoler to fetch the man in question. Whispers and murmurs broke out all around them as the judge gave quiet instructions to the constable from Charing.

Aware of the consequences if his actions caused a person indicted by the Crown to be set free, the constable stared at each face in turn, strangers as well as those Susanna knew. The Lady Mary, mindful of the queen's disapproval should she learn of her connection to Susanna, hid herself behind her giant of an escort and went unnoticed by the constable but everyone else came under his scrutiny. Putney and Alys. Constance. Grimshaw and Catherine. Eleanor and Walter. He hesitated when he came to Jennet, then s.h.i.+fted back, squinting to examine one person's countenance more closely.

"Why, 'tis 'im, your lords.h.i.+p!" His voice went up an octave from sheer excitement. "'Tis the very fellow wot told me 'e saw 'er and the victim together at the Black Jack."

He pointed to Matthew Grimshaw.

Annoyance tightened Grimshaw's mouth. "You are mistaken my good man. I was in Lancas.h.i.+re when Sir Robert was murdered. Tell him, Eleanor."

Eleanor stared at him in slowly dawning horror and pressed herself closer to Walter Pendennis. "That is why you bribed my servants. Not to prove I was there, but so they would swear you were."

"Nonsense."

Susanna had hoped an accusation would bring out Grimshaw's tendency to grovel before those more powerful than he. Instead it had provoked the other side of his nature. He fell back on his instinct to bully and threaten.

Without stopping to think of the consequences and moving as fast as her bulky skirts would allow, Susanna rushed across the courtroom. It was not enough to accuse Grimshaw of Robert's murder. No one had seen the poison administered. Grimshaw was too tall to have pa.s.sed for a woman in any event. Simply placing him near the Eleanor Cross proved little. But if she could make him angry enough, he might yet blurt out the truth.

"Was Sir Walter to be your next victim?" she demanded. "You will not get your hands on Appleton lands if you cannot persuade Eleanor to marry you."

She hoped Walter and Eleanor would forgive her for making their relations.h.i.+p public, but only by taunting Grimshaw in this way could she hope to make him lose his temper.

"You'd have done better to claim you were insane, Lady Appleton," Grimshaw told her. "Confinement in Bedlam is the only way you'll escape burning."

"Robert would have said you belonged there. There is a strain of madness in the family." She shot an apologetic look at Catherine, who shared the same bloodline. "And all because you think yourselves ill treated by the Appleton family. What did Robert do to you, Grimshaw, aside from coming back from the dead?"

His small, dark eyes bored into hers, burning with hatred, erasing any doubt Susanna might have had about her conclusions. Grimshaw had been the one responsible for Robert's death and he'd plotted to have her accused of the crime.

"You did not expect me to have the freedom to journey to Lancas.h.i.+re, did you Grimshaw? That put the entire scheme in jeopardy. And then you were obliged to accompany me back to London, much against your better judgment, because if you did not you would be certain to lose Eleanor. She is the key to all this. Marry her and you get control of Rosamond's inheritance, your final revenge on the Appletons."

In an unconscious gesture of nervousness, Grimshaw's hand lifted to his ruff, as if it needed loosening. His gaunt face was livid.

Pressing her advantage, Susanna kept at him. "You hired someone to kill me, Grimshaw. He did not succeed." She took a chance that he did not know the man had been killed in the attempt. "Like the good constable here, he can identify you."

With a roar of rage, Grimshaw rushed the wooden barrier and flung himself at Susanna. His hands closed around her throat.

She fought back, kicking and scratching, but he was strong. Together they fell to the floor, rolling into the green baize table where the clerks sat. Papers scattered. Stools tumbled over. Susanna heard cries of alarm and outrage and then, just as her vision began to blur, she was free. Grimshaw flew into the air and backward as someone pulled him away from her.

Dazed, she sat up, aided by a strong grip on her shoulders. Walter. Nick Baldwin knelt in front of her, concern in his dark eyes. A short distance away, Grimshaw was held tight by Bates, Fulke, and the constable from Charing.

For a moment, Susanna found it difficult to get her breath. Her heart was racing and her ribs felt bruised. One hand went to her throat, where she knew she must bear the marks of Grimshaw's fingers. Her ruff had deflected some of the force, but anger had given him added strength. Another minute and he'd have succeeded in strangling the life out of her.

Pandemonium reigned all around them as Baldwin helped her to her feet. Quaking, she turned to look for one man who had the power to decide both her future and Grimshaw's.

Walter had already accosted him.

While Susanna watched from a little distance, the judge listened to Walter's exhortations, his face impa.s.sive. As the whispered conference continued, he fingered the white lapels of his miniver-lined crimson robe, then scratched his head beneath the white taffeta coif and the black velvet skullcap worn on top of it. At length the two men seemed to come to an agreement.

Walter left the judge's side to approach Susanna, his face set in an expression of grim satisfaction. "We have permission to remove to the garden." He extricated her from Baldwin's protective grasp, collected a dazed-looking Eleanor, and led both women out of the Justice Hall.

A sense of peace descended upon Susanna the moment they entered the realm of plants. An impenetrable outer hedge of privet kept the rest of the world at bay. Inside that enclosure, brick walls with flowers blooming among them divided the s.p.a.ce into smaller plots. Walter chose a wide walk planted with wild thyme and bordered by a low-growing hedge of lavender. As it had been designed to do, the ground underfoot gave off a pleasing aroma as they trod on it.

A few minutes later, the two women were seated in a recess in one of the walls. Walter remained standing. "I gave the judge a brief account of our efforts to find Robert's murderer," he said, "and explained the exchange he witnessed in his courtroom between Grimshaw and Eleanor."

"Matthew killed Robert." It was not a question, but Eleanor sounded as if she still had difficulty accepting the lawyer's guilt.

Susanna could not blame her. She had herself been exceeding slow to realize what must have happened. "I was so certain one of Robert's mistresses must have killed him," she admitted, "that I did not stop to consider Grimshaw a suspect. But as you said in court, Eleanor, he lied to protect himself, not you."

"I do not understand any of this. Why? Why did he kill Robert?"

"Grimshaw wanted Appleton Manor. As my man of law in Lancas.h.i.+re, he knew I intended to provide for my husband's child. By marrying you, Eleanor, he'd hoped to gain control of her estate. Then Robert turned up, alive. Being Robert, he moved in, took over, and doubtless just to be difficult, gave Grimshaw reason to think he might take Eleanor and Rosamond with him when he fled the country."

This last was speculation, but it made sense to Susanna, knowing Robert as well as she had. She studied Eleanor, sitting with hands folded in her lap and eyes downcast. In spite of her liking for the woman, she did not for a moment believe that Eleanor had kept Robert at a distance during his stay at Appleton Manor.

Walter propped one foot on the edge of the stone bench and touched Susanna's shoulder. "If you did not suspect Master Grimshaw before, what happened during the trial to make you believe he'd been in London?"

"It was when I referred to the wild speculations spreading through the crowd gathered around the Eleanor Cross. I remembered the constable's testimony. He said a man had told him he saw me with Robert at the Black Jack. I was never in the alehouse with my husband. There was no reason for anyone to make such a claim unless he sought to cast suspicion on me."

"And the attack in Billingsgate?"

"You told me Grimshaw threatened Eleanor in an attempt to coerce her into returning to Lancas.h.i.+re with him. The attack followed immediately after. Grimshaw must have been behind it. Perhaps he was afraid that someone in attendance at the trial would recognize him."

"That also explains the wide-brimmed hat he bought." For a moment, amus.e.m.e.nt broke the grimness of Walter's features. They hardened again as he spoke to Eleanor. "How did Grimshaw know Robert was in London?"

"I do not know. I did not know Robert was here or that Matthew was."

"No? No letters?" He glanced at Susanna. "No Knox cipher?"

Her bewilderment plain, Eleanor sought Walter's eyes. What she found there seemed to confuse her further.

"A book was found in your chamber at Appleton Manor," he said in a gentle but implacable voice. "Written by Master Knox."

Still puzzled, she nodded and s.h.i.+fted her gaze to Susanna. "I know the one. Robert brought it with him. I found it after he'd left. I suppose he did not think it important enough to take with him."

"There was another copy found in his room in Silver Street," Walter told her. "Robert must have purchased it in order to write that last message to Susanna. He used it to compose letters in code."

"But how did Matthew know where to find Robert? How did he know Robert was to meet Susanna at the Black Jack?"

Susanna stared at the pattern of the bricks in the wall, asking herself the same question. Roses grew to one side of her, honeysuckle to the other. She scarce noticed. A knot formed in her stomach and her palms began to sweat.

"He can now be charged with attempting to murder me but even if Grimshaw was in London, it does not of necessity follow that he hired a woman to kill Robert. Indeed, having been here, it seems reasonable that he would wish to hide that fact in order that he not be suspected of any wrongdoing."

And unless she could prove otherwise, Susanna's life remained forfeit. She had been convicted of murder. Although she had provoked Grimshaw into attacking her, he had not confessed to conspiring to poison Robert.

A glance toward the entrance to the garden showed her Bates, waiting half concealed by a cl.u.s.ter of clipped cypress, cedar, and box. He was still guarding her, still ready to take her into custody once more.

"Eleanor," Susanna begged, "is there nothing more you can tell us?"

Avoiding both Walter's eyes and Susanna's gaze, Eleanor began to speak in a low, shaky voice. "Matthew was furious when he discovered Robert's presence at Appleton Manor. He was sure Robert had committed some crime. What else could explain the false story of his death? But before Matthew could move against him, Robert found a way to insure his silence. I do not know what threat he used, but of a sudden Matthew changed. He became most anxious to do Robert's bidding and cautioned me to do the same."

"No doubt it had to do with what happened at Appleton Manor five years ago," Susanna told her. She did not intend to be more specific than that.

They'd all have been hurt by the scandal back then, if Robert had made certain family secrets public. He'd ensured Grimshaw's silence by threatening him with the loss of his commission as a justice of the peace. The lawyer would have been hounded out of Manchester, too, if the whole truth had come out. At the time, it had seemed a mutually beneficial arrangement, but she could see, with the clarity of hindsight, that letting Robert dictate to him must have rankled with Grimshaw. His resentment had grown stronger with the pa.s.sage of time, and when Robert became a rival for Eleanor's favors, he'd sealed his own doom.

"Matthew and Robert were often closeted together," Eleanor said. "Making plans, Robert told me. But neither of them ever told me what it was they were plotting." She dared a glance at Walter.

With intent watchfulness, he stared silently back. He must be wondering what else she had kept secret, Susanna thought. In her earlier confession to him, Eleanor had neglected to mention that Grimshaw and Robert had been up to something together. An unintentional oversight? Perhaps. Or perhaps Eleanor had more to hide than they imagined. Susanna was not sure she wanted to know. Eleanor had not been behind Robert's death. Of that much she was now certain.

"So Grimshaw might have known the Knox cipher," she mused aloud.

Eleanor nodded.

"Grimshaw had no reason to be fond of the Appletons. If he has been nursing old grievances all these years, Robert's high-handed behavior must have been the final straw."

"He was angry," Eleanor admitted. "He took care not to let Robert see it, but he could scarce contain his temper the whole time Robert was at Appleton Manor."

"It may be that Robert ordered Grimshaw to meet him in London," Walter speculated.

"Whatever the reason for the trip, he'd have had no difficulty explaining a long absence from Manchester. His housekeeper a.s.sumed he was at Appleton Manor." She'd told Catherine so.

"But who was the cloaked woman?" Walter's abrupt question was directed at Eleanor. His thoughts had apparently followed a course similar to Susanna's but led him to a different conclusion. If the servants had lied about Grimshaw's presence at Appleton Manor, they might also have lied about Eleanor being there.

Sad-eyed, Eleanor gave him a reproachful look. "I did not go with Matthew to London, Walter."

"Easy enough to hire a woman off the street and instruct her to take a message to Robert and to put a powder Grimshaw provided into his food or drink. London has no shortage of people desperate enough to do anything for a few coins and a warm wool cloak. And aconite is pa.s.sing simple to obtain. He could have extracted enough to do the job from a cake of rat poison."Susanna stood and began to pace in the enclosed garden as she struggled to work out the remaining details. Grimshaw had come to London and met Robert, by chance or design. Perhaps he'd intercepted and decoded Robert's letter. Perhaps Robert had shown it to him and told him what he had planned. The specifics did not matter, Susanna decided. It was obvious that Grimshaw had known where she would meet Robert and had sent someone, cloaked and hooded to resemble her, to the Black Jack. Had Grimshaw been watching for her, perhaps intending to delay her arrival until his accomplice had left the tavern? In the event, there had been no need. She'd been late. Had he followed Robert to Charing? It seemed likely. And there, by sheer luck, he'd been given a second chance to implicate her in Robert's death.

A circuit of the garden brought Susanna back to the bench. She was not surprised to find Walter seated beside Eleanor, her hands clasped in his. She came to a halt in front of them and waited until she had their full attention.

"Grimshaw must have expected Robert's death to be written down an accident. By rights, the body should not have been identified, but on the chance that it might be, he arranged matters so that I could be blamed. Thus the woman in the black cloak. He must have been pleased to see me taken into custody. With Robert dead and me convicted of the crime, Rosamond stood to inherit. Oh, there would have been legal difficulties but none that could not be dealt with through a few judicious bribes. All he had to do was convince Eleanor to marry him."

Walter nodded slowly. "Everything you have said is sensible. And I have no doubt we can force a confession out of Grimshaw."

Susanna did not ask what means he would use. She did not want to know.

"With that, the judge will have no choice but to accept your motion for arrest of judgment. No sentence will be pa.s.sed upon you."

"Your gloomy expression keeps me from rejoicing. What is it, Walter?"

"You have been convicted of a crime. The law requires that you return to prison and remain in custody until you can obtain a pardon."

Susanna spent two more nights in her previous lodgings in Newgate before Walter brought her that pardon. The doc.u.ment was unconditional and had been sealed with the Great Seal on the authority of the Privy Council.

"Was it necessary to seek the Lady Mary's a.s.sistance?" Susanna asked.

Walter shook his head. "She bade me tell you that you have no further obligation to her."

"I cannot explain that," she told him. She had no desire to spend more time in prison.

And yet, she could not help but worry about the younger woman. She feared the Lady Mary would not long be deterred from having her heart's desire. She would elope. She would be found out. And she would be imprisoned, losing the precious freedom she now enjoyed. Susanna wondered if it would do any good to try to reason with her, to tell her just how dreadful being locked away could be, even for a short time.

She doubted it.

"Grimshaw's confession was sufficient to convince everyone of your innocence," Walter told her. "He will be tried at the next quarter sessions. The verdict is not in doubt."

Nor was his fate. He'd be hanged for his crime. "Did he explain what drove him to kill Robert?"

"Robert brought it on himself. He ordered Grimshaw to London. Treated him like a servant. And then, apparently unable to resist baiting the man, he made one ill-advised remark too many about Eleanor. He told Grimshaw that he meant to send for her when he was safely settled in Muscovy. That was enough to push Grimshaw over the edge."

"And the man who attacked me in Billingsgate? Did Grimshaw hire him?"

"Aye. As he hired the woman, a pretty one, to distract Robert in the tavern and put the poison into his food. Grimshaw was behind the tainted meat at Coventry and the robbers at Islington, too, but those incidents were staged to do me harm, not you."

Jealousy again, Susanna thought. "But why try to kill me when it must have seemed certain I'd be convicted and executed?"

"Timing. Once you made Rosamond your heir, it was better to have you die in full possession of your estates."

Susanna felt herself blanch. That reasoning had never even crossed her mind. With an effort, she rallied, vowing not to dwell on what could not be changed. "Am I free to go home now?"

"Yes. As soon as you have settled your account." Walter held up what turned out to be the clerk's bill, but instead of handing it to her, he read the items aloud, his nasal whine a near perfect imitation of the pompous fellow who had written the list. "Two s.h.i.+llings to be indicted. Thirteen s.h.i.+llings and fourpence to be charged with a felony. Two s.h.i.+llings for pleading not guilty. Five s.h.i.+llings and fourpence to discharge the recognizance under which you were released before your trial. And finally, four s.h.i.+llings and fourpence to be acquitted of a criminal offense."

Susanna could not help herself. Giddy with relief that her long ordeal was finally over, she began to laugh.

When she had control of herself once more, she paid the clerk with two gold sovereigns and did not ask for change.

Chapter 42.