“Charges, my lord,” corrected the constable, “for there are several.”
The sour-faced magistrate nodded in acknowledgment and Nolley continued. “This prisoner is charged with attending the seditiousmeeting that took place on the High Street here in Bath in direct contradiction of the Seditious Meetings Act of 1819. As a consequence of her actions during this meeting, she is also charged with breaking the peace and resisting arrest.”
“Do you have witnesses to these offenses, constable?”
“The militiaman responsible for arresting her at the scene has provided a statement and has offered to bear witness at any criminal trial, my lord.” Nolley handed several pieces of paper to the clerk. “Two other witness statements attest that they saw the prisoner at the meeting. All of them saw her violently resisting arrest.” He paused while the magistrates scanned the statements. “Furthermore, she is charged with composing and publishing seditious libel in accordance with the Blasphemous and Seditious Libels Act of 1819.” Before he was asked for it, he opened Lady Abigail’s hand-painted placard so that they could all see the damning words daubed across it. Every single magistrate frowned as the clerk deliveredBATH—THE CITY OF CROOKED COURTS AND CORRUPT CONSTABLES!to the bench.
Lord Corston seemed particularly aggrieved by it. “Did you write those words, Miss Kendall?”
“I did not, my lord.”
“She’s got black ink stains all over her fingers that say different and she certainly held those words aloft,” said the constable lying through his yellowed teeth. “I personally witnessed her doing so.”
“Ah…” Lord Corston’s eyes shot to the back of the room before Portia could argue. “That complicates things, I’m afraid.”
“This is the prisoner’s first offense.” Leo’s confident and commanding voice gave her some hope that she wasn’t doomed to swing for a crime she did not commit. “And I have already personally vouched for her good character.”
“That may be so, but she has called into question the good characters of everyone here present with that seditious placard, and that egregious insult cannot be ignored.” Lord Corston had decided to take great umbrage that anyone would call his good name intoquestion, which was irony in its purest form as there was nothing good in him. “How do you plead to these charges, Miss Kendall?”
“Not guilty, my lord.” Portia left it at that because she knew arguing that all those charges were tenuous at best and outright fabrication at worst would not do her any good in this hostile room. Despite her having nothing to do with that stupid placard, beyond trying to snatch it out of Lady Abigail’s hands as she tried to drag her out of harm’s way, it was the unwritten rule of the reform movement that you did not incriminate another reformer under any circumstances. Even one who was a blithering and ill-informed idiot.
“Then this case will have to go to trial.” Lord Corston shrugged. “Unless the constable agrees to drop the charges.”
“I do not.” Nolley stuck out his chin, defiant. “We set a dangerous precedent if we do not punish an agitator simply because they happen to work for a duke. Especially when we have already dropped all charges against one of his kin as a favor.”
“Now, now constable…” Lord Corston wagged an unconvincing finger at him. “That was no favor. We have already ascertained that his grace’s sister happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and had nothing whatsoever to do with that illegal protest.” Then he turned to the recording clerk. “You will strike anything that suggests different from the record.”
Nolley’s eyes narrowed. “I have witness testimony that puts Miss Kendall right in the very center of that protest.”
“If those witness statements that you have are from other members of the militia who were sent in to stop a peaceful protest, we all know that a jury is unlikely to convict Miss Kendall of any of this.” Leo finally stepped into Portia’s eyeline as he approached the bench. “We would only be wasting the court’s time.”
“She called me corrupt!” Nolley bashed the table. “And that placard and those damning ink stains prove it!”
“Then…” Leo’s gaze flicked to hers and he winced. “Leave the seditious libel charge to stand, but drop all the others. If Miss Kendallpleads guilty to that one lesser charge, then you have the power to fine her here and now and discharge her to me.”
Portia glared at him. “But I am not guilty ofanyof these trumped-up charges! The constable is lying! He knows damn well that I had nothing to do with that placard and he certainly never saw me with it. The first time we collided was here at this jail—well after my arrest!”
It was the wrong thing to say as far as the constable was concerned. “Do you hear that? You all just witnessed her calling me a liar to my face, didn’t you?” The entire bench nodded. “She’s accusing me of corruption aloud in this court now! That’s more seditious libel right there and I want it added to the charges!”
“Can I have a moment to speak to Miss Kendall in private?” Leo asked the bench, who all looked at one another and nodded.
“A moment,” said the sour-faced one who had initially asked her name. “But keep it brief.”
Leo stalked to a side door and jerked his head toward it to get her to follow. Portia did and as soon as it closed behind them, she let rip. “This is an outrage, Leo, and Nolley is lying just to get back at you through me!”
“And if he is, you basically played right into his hands with that outburst.”
“But he’s lying!”
“And you just called the man corrupt to his face in front of a room of eminent witnesses. That is all the proof he needs!” He was angry and frustrated, and for some reason at her. “Why couldn’t you just keep your mouth shut for once and let me help you?”
“Because this is wrong.” She grabbed his hand. “The constable’s account is not at all what happened and your sister can corroborate—” He yanked his hand away to pace, clearly in no mood to listen.
“After her atrocious behavior today, Abigail would not be viewed as a reliable witness.”
“So we don’t even try to give the truth a chance? We just give up? Roll over? Plead guilty to an offense that I absolutely did not commit?” Could he not see how morally wrong that was? How appallingly unfair? “I will not do it, Leo! Under any circumstances.”
He grabbed her shoulders. “Don’t you see! If you plead guilty to the lesser libel charge, then Nolley will be appeased! And you get to walk out of here tonight with the rest of those more serious charges dropped. If you don’t, they are going to throw you back into that cell with all those leering men and youwillget hurt. Do you hear me?” He let go of her to rake his hand through his hair in agitation as he resumed pacing the tiny anteroom like a caged lion. “There is nowhere safe that they can keep you until they send you to wherever they see fit for you to stand trial, whenever they decide to send you there, and there will be nobody around to ensure that those men will leave you be.”
