Timeless Passion: 10 Historical Romances To Savor (276 page)

And now he found himself competing against the captain for his wife’s affections.

Goddamn them both!

He mounted his horse and rode out to join Callum, forcing himself to turn his thoughts to the fast approaching trial.

• • •

When William and the others arrived, the small courthouse was already filled with spectators. Most seats inside had been reserved for the exclusives and free settlers. The remaining seats were taken by first comers. The rest arranged themselves where they could, overflowing onto the veranda, the steps and out into the street. Even the girls from Miss Bridie’s had risen from their beds early to come and watch the proceedings.

Members of the corps were stationed inside the courthouse and around its perimeter. They had strict orders from the governor to deal harshly with any person attempting to pervert the course of justice.

The colony had not seen the like of a black being given such a trial, especially for the crime he was believed to have committed. William was aware most settlers meted out justice to the blacks through the barrel of a gun and many of the men he knew well refused to make eye contact when he approached.

The governor’s advisors had been loudly verbose about his unpopular and all-too-democratic decision. And letters to the king had already been dispatched requesting the governor be recalled.

William and the MacDonalds were seated inside; close enough to the prisoner’s dock for Bulanggi to see them and keep faith. As Electra was to be called as a witness, she would join them after her testimony had been given. Yaraay and Waruu, wriggling uncomfortably in their loose dresses, sat grimly with Billy beneath an old currajong tree within shouting distance of the courthouse.

Deputy Judge-Advocate Bromley peered imperiously over his pince-nez. The complacent set of his lips and his relaxed posture indicated he believed justice would be dispensed swiftly this day. The judge glanced sideways at the man beside him and scowled. It seemed to William that he was not pleased with the governor’s decision to invite Mr. Bartholomew Stern, a visiting senior jurist from the West Indies, to sit beside him on the bench.

A small distance from the prisoner’s dock sat an aboriginal man carrying the European name of Morrison. He was to interpret for the prisoner, whose English was inadequate for the court.

The clerk announced the commencement of proceedings in the Criminal Court of Sydney, New South Wales. The crowd, however, had not quieted.

Judge Bromley swung his gleaming walnut gavel onto the sound block, calling the restless spectators to order.

“We are here to deliberate on the matter of the Crown versus Mr. Bulanggi — ,” he glanced down to locate a surname but finding none continued, “Er, Mr. Bulanggi of the Burramattagal clan. The charge is indecent dealing with a child. How does the defendant plead?”

Cartel stood, leaned on the desk and stated loudly, “Not guilty, Your Honour.”

Boos and insults were hurled from the spectators, causing the gavel to strike the block once more.

“I will have respect in my court or the gallery will be cleared!” roared the judge.

No one wanted to miss the proceedings, and a deathly silence fell across the room.

Judge Bromley briefly addressed himself to both lawyers, pointing out there was little need for the usual formalities of opening addresses in the circumstances. Those circumstances, he was at pains to point out, were that there were two eminent justices on the bench and the case would be determined by them, solely by the evidence presented, not rhetoric.

He nodded at the prosecuting lawyer, Ewan Black, to present the crown case on behalf of the Purnells.

Mr. Black pasted a suitably grave expression on his face but his eyes spoke of expected triumph as he told of the lawless black savage creeping onto the Purnell’s property to watch for the child. He even surmised that the child had been lured down to the river by the black man. When pressed by Judge Stern to clarify what he imagined the lure might be, he shook his head saying it most probably took the form of native magic. This brought gasps from the crowd and prompted Mr. Cartel to leap to his feet protesting this fictional notion.

Bulanggi, understanding parts of the speech called out fearfully, “No sir, no purri purri.” Cartel gestured for him to stay quiet.

Mr. Black then called Mr. Charles Purnell to the witness box and began his questioning. When asked to relate the story, Purnell slowly looked around the room, shrewdly making eye contact with every parent present before speaking.

“You all know my little angel, Lucinda,” there were nods around the room. “She was dressed in a pretty blue dress, looked like a princess she did.” He raised his head, with a faraway look in his eye, as if savouring the memory. “Mrs. Purnell had told her she could play in the garden as long as she stayed close to the house and did not get dirty. But he,” he pointed at Bulanggi, “somehow lured her down to the river, pulled her into the water, and touched her as no man should touch a child.” The crowd were on their feet, calling out and shaking their fists, demanding justice.

Bulanggi sobbed and shook his head. “I not hurt ’im girl. No, no.”

Electra was grateful Waruu and Yaraay were not in the room to see his distress.

Wearily, the judge called for order and Mr. Black, with a smug grin, continued his questioning.

“And how do you know the man touched little Lucinda?”

“Because Mrs. Purnell ran down to find Lucinda and saw the man. His arms were around her, and his filthy black hands were stroking her back.”

Spectators exchanged horrified looks.

Mr. Purnell continued, “Mrs. Purnell screamed for me and I ran with my gun to shoot the black bastard, but he was too slippery and got away.”

Mr. Black swayed back onto the heels of his shoes and spoke to the crowd. “Well, as you can see, Mr. Purnell, he can’t get away now.” The nods and smiles rippling through the room indicated the crowd was with him.

He did not bother to call any other witnesses.

Mr. Cartel was then invited to cross-examine Mr. Purnell. He asked him to explain why he assumed, when seeing Bulanggi holding the wet child, that he had acted inappropriately.

“Why else would he be in such a position with a white child? My daughter may never recover from this shocking experience. Any fool could see what he was up to.”

“Perhaps it
was
a fool who saw what he was up to, eh, Mr. Purnell?” There were sniggers from one corner of the room and Mr. Stern tried to hide his amused expression. Purnell missed the insult. “I understand you have refused to allow your wife to take the stand as a witness. As she was the one who found your daughter in the first place, why would you not want her testimony to be heard?”

“My wife is a nervous and shy woman who would not have the fortitude to withstand the rigors of court examination. Besides, both my wife and child clearly described to me what happened,” Purnell responded.

Cartel seemed to consider this statement. “In that case, may I ask what exactly your child’s words were when asked what happened?”

Purnell shifted uncomfortably on his seat and cleared his throat. “Well, you must understand, she was extremely distressed and confused, being just a small child.”

“So are you saying she did not say anything that clearly indicated the defendant behaved inappropriately?”

Purnell’s eyes blazed. “I am saying nothing of the sort. It would be obvious to anyone that such stress and confusion would only be from something like this happening. She was unable to eat, play, or even speak for many days afterwards.”

Cartel raised his eyebrows. “I am sorry to hear that, sir. Unfortunately, I am still no clearer on what she may have said to you that would make this court decide to hang a man. Might I ask again, what exactly did she say had happened?”

“This is ridiculous. Everyone in this courtroom knows what has happened to my little girl and the sooner that monster is hanged, the safer our homes will be.” This was greeted with a chorus of, “Hear! Hear!” and nods from the gallery.

Cartel left the question and turned to the bench. “Just one more question Your Honours, if I may? Mr. Purnell, was your daughter anxious that her dress was wet and dirty that day?”

“What sort of question is that?” blustered Purnell. “Of course not. It was never mentioned. Why would she worry about her dress when she’d been touched by that black mongrel?”

Cartel indicated he had no more questions for the witness. Black rose and officially rested the case for the prosecution. Electra was called to the witness stand.

Ewan Black stood up suddenly, protesting to the judges that Mrs. Radcliffe would not be a reliable witness as she was an ex-convict. A rush of heat ran up William’s neck at the insult. He jumped from his seat, ready to do murder. Callum grabbed his arm to stop him lunging at Black from behind. Electra’s eyes dropped down to her lap, where, William was sure, her hands would be shaking. Not only because of this court’s proceedings, but at the memory of the last time she was in a courtroom.

Surprisingly, Cartel stood and smiled. “Then we had best strike Mr. Purnell’s statement from the record for the same reason and call a mistrial, as the prosecution has no witnesses who are not ex-convicts.”

Black flushed and glared at Cartel. “Objection withdrawn, Your Honours.”

All eyes swivelled back to Electra.

“Mrs. Radcliffe, would you please tell the court of your experience the day after the alleged incident?”

She glanced at William, who nodded encouragement as she began. “I visited Mrs. Purnell and Lucinda the day after the alleged incident. The child ran up to greet me with no hesitation, even though I was a stranger. She was in high spirits and chatted happily with me while her mother made us tea. I had brought some small cakes, and Lucinda ate one and requested another.” She stopped and glanced up at Mr. Cartel.

At Cartel’s nod, she continued. “Lucinda happily told me she had fallen in the river and her pretty dress had got quite wet and dirty. The child giggled when she described how angry her mother and father were when she ruined her dress. She did not speak of being afraid nor did she mention the defendant. Mrs. Purnell and I watched her skipping and playing outside. I cannot believe, based on my observations, anything distressing has happened to that child.” Electra looked directly at Mrs. Purnell as she said this and the woman looked away.

Black jumped up to object to her statement. “Your Honour, this is pure assumption from Mrs. Radcliffe. We are wasting the court’s time.”

“Assumptions similar to Mr. Purnell’s would you say counsellor?” asked Cartel. Without waiting he added, “I would like to call the defendant, Bulanggi, to the stand,” and gestured for the interpreter to accompany him.

Bulanggi, fearful in the strange environment, mumbled with his eyes downcast. The interpreter continually prodded him to speak up until his story emerged. He explained he was spearing fish when the child skipped down to the river’s edge. He watched her throw stones out into the river until, heaving a large stone from the bank, she lost her footing and slid into the water. It was clear she couldn’t swim so Bulanggi leaped into the river, grabbed her arm, and paddled back to the edge, pulling her up the river bank. She told him she had thought she would drown then started to cry. Bulanggi said he put his arms around her and patted her back to calm her. At that moment Mrs. Purnell ran toward the river looking for her and on seeing them, called for Mr. Purnell.

He finally raised his deep-set eyes and looked out at the crowd. “If some kin’ fella ’im save my girl’s life, I give ’im my life, not hang ’im.”

At these words a heavy silence descended over the courtroom.

Suddenly a voice screamed, “Stop! I can’t do this anymore!” And Celia Purnell ran to the front of the room, despite her husband’s efforts to hold her back.

Judge Bromley ordered her to speak.

Her body shook and she twisted and pulled at the handkerchief in her hand. “It’s true. Lucinda said he saved her from drowning and did nothing else. I can’t let you hang him when he gave me back the most important thing in the world. It was a mistake, my husband misunderstood.” She then picked up her skirts and ran out of the courtroom.

No amount of gavel pounding or calls for order could still the crowd. Soldiers stormed into the court to remove the most recalcitrant, and finally the clerk announced the judges would make their deliberations. Bulanggi returned to the prisoner’s dock and Electra rejoined William.

He leant over and whispered, “You did it, Electra. Your visit to Celia Purnell and your testimony have saved his life. Well done.”

She thanked him, covering his hand with hers. He held her gaze for a moment and then looked pointedly at her hand. Her face flushed pink as she removed it, and he turned away to speak with Callum.

The two judges returned to the courtroom. Judge Bromley reiterated the charges, the plea, and the evidence. “Not guilty!” he announced with a final blow of the gavel. Electra reached over to hug William, but his anger made him turn away. William jumped over the seats in front of him and joined Cartel and Bulanggi.

When they descended the steps of the courthouse with Bulanggi walking free beside them, the three figures waiting patiently under the currajong tree howled with joy and relief.

They had won.

Chapter Thirteen

The gelding tossed its head impatiently as William pushed a short hunting knife into one of the saddlebags. Shi Liang had bundled together dried, salted meat, bread, and fruit for the journey, and the bags bulged with food and clothes. The rest of the supplies were packed into the back of the dray.

“Must it be you and not Callum who goes, William?”

“Yes,” he said brusquely. “I crave the respite more than Callum at present.”

Electra swallowed, stung by his words. His behaviour was too erratic for her to fathom. One minute he desired her and the next he acted as if he could not bear the sight of her.

William nodded his farewell as she stood by Shi Liang, then turned the horse and cantered toward the road, leaving whirls of dust in his wake.