A Prisoner of Birth Read Online Free PDF

bottles of fine wine?" suggested Redmayne as he extracted a small, light blue booklet from the pile of papers in front of him. He began to turn its pages slowly. "And was one of the society's rules that if any member found himself in danger, it was the duty of all other members to come to his assistance?"
    "Yes," replied Payne. "I have always considered loyalty to be the benchmark by which you can judge any man."
    "Do you indeed?" said Redmayne. "Was Mr. Spencer Craig by any chance also a member of the Musketeers?"
    "He was," replied Payne. "In fact, he's a past chairman."
    "And did you and your fellow members come to his assistance on the night of September eighteenth last year?"
    "My lord," said Pearson leaping to his feet once again, "this is outrageous."
    "What is outrageous, m'lord," retorted Redmayne, "is that whenever one of Mr. Pearson's witnesses looks as if he might be in some trouble, he leaps to their assistance. Perhaps he is also a member of the Musketeers?"
    Several of the jurors smiled.
    "Mr. Redmayne," said the judge quietly, "are you suggesting that the witness is committing perjury just because he was a member of a society while he was at university?"
    "If the alternative was life imprisonment for his closest friend, m'lord, then yes, I do think it might have crossed his mind."
    "This is outrageous," repeated Pearson, still on his feet.
    "Not as outrageous as sending a man to jail for the rest of his life," said Redmayne, "for a murder he did not commit."
    "No doubt, m'lord," said Pearson, "we are about to discover that the barman was also a member of the Musketeers."
    "No, we are not," responded Redmayne, "but we will contend that the barman was the only person in the Dunlop Arms that night who did not go out into the alley."
    "I think you have made your point," said the judge. "Perhaps it's time to move on to your next question."
    "No more questions, m'lord," said Redmayne.
    "Do you wish to reexamine this witness, Mr. Pearson?"
    "I do, m'lord," said Pearson. "Mr. Payne, can you confirm, so that the jury are left in no doubt, that you did not follow Mr. Craig out into the alley after you had heard a woman scream?"
    "Yes, I can," said Payne. "I was in no condition to do so."
    "Quite so. No more questions, m'lord."
    "You are free to leave the court, Mr. Payne," said the judge.
    Alex Redmayne couldn't help noticing that Payne didn't look quite as self-assured as he walked out of the courtroom as he had done when he'd swaggered in.
    "Do you wish to call your next witness, Mr. Pearson?" asked the judge.
    "I had intended to call Mr. Davenport, m'lord, but you might feel it would be wise to begin his cross-examination tomorrow morning."
    The judge didn't notice that most of the women in the courtroom seemed to be willing him to call Lawrence Davenport without further delay. He looked at his watch, hesitated, then said, "Perhaps it would be better if we were to call Mr. Davenport first thing tomorrow morning."
    "As your lordship pleases," said Pearson, delighted with the effect the prospect of his next witness's appearance had already had on the five women on the jury. He only hoped that young Redmayne would be foolish enough to attack Davenport in the same way he had Gerald Payne.

 
CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    T HE FOLLOWING MORNING a buzz of expectation swept around the courtroom even before Lawrence Davenport made his entrance. When the usher called out his name, he did so in a hushed voice.
    Lawrence Davenport entered the court stage right, and followed the usher to the witness box. He was about six foot, but so slim he appeared taller. He wore a tailored navy blue suit and a cream shirt that looked as if it had been unwrapped that morning. He had spent a considerable time debating whether he should wear a tie, and in the end had accepted Spencer's advice that it gave the wrong impression if you looked too casual in court. "Let them go on thinking you're a doctor, not an actor," Spencer had said. Davenport had