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The darkness within the stone walls was imposing, and worse than she had imagined. The dark, almost fetid atmosphere of hopelessness, accompanied by the stench of what
smelled suspiciously like boiled cabbage and excrement, made her stomach churn. An occasional desolate cry broke the silence, and accompanied the desolate moans and rattle of chains which came from within each cell they passed.
She daren’t stop. She couldn’t bring herself to look at anything except the floor beneath her feet, but was horrifyingly aware of the helpless gazes of the people on the other side of the awful bars.
The further down the darkened corridor they walked, the more unnerved she became. Her heart wept at the thought of Charlie and Simon being subjected to such conditions. Unfortunately she knew, deep in her heart, that they were in one of the cells somewhere.
She could feel it; sense it; and it was sickening.
Determined to do what she needed to do to get Simon and Charlie free as quickly as possible, she followed the men into the jailer’s office.
A gasp locked in her throat when she entered the room, and saw the odious man practically everybody she knew hated; Cedric Meldrew. Behind the desk, a second, more officious looking gentleman; Thomas Gembleby, the Head Jailer, sat piously glaring.
They remained silent while the jailer explained what Wally and Hetty were doing in the jail.
Hetty kept her gaze carefully averted from Meldrew, but was aware that his toady brown eyes scoured her lecherously from head to foot. Although she tried not to let him know just how much he annoyed her, she threw him a dirty look. The urge to smack him was strong when he merely smirked back at her. She shifted a little closer to her brother, unsurprised that someone like Meldrew would get enjoyment out of unnerving women.
“They were caught red handed,” Gembleby replied knowingly. He dropped the quill he held onto his desk, and leaned back his chair. He studied Wally carefully and then turned his attention on Hetty. “I was just discussing when to hold the trial with the magistrate. Unfortunately, a trial is a mere formality. They will be found guilty of course. The magistrate’s men found them right next to the body with blood on their hands.”
“They didn’t do it,” Wally declared flatly. “It’s all a misunderstanding. Simon wouldn’t take anybody’s life. He didn’t even have a gun on him.”
“No, but the man he was with did,” Meldrew replied darkly. “He was holding the gun when my men caught him. Your brother was leaning over the dead man. My men will report what they saw in court.”
Hetty stared at him. “Well, if you have found them guilty already, what is the point of having a trial?”
In that moment she had never hated anybody as much as she hated Meldrew, and made no attempt to hide her dislike of him.
“There is such a thing as due process,” Meldrew replied piously.
“They deserve a fair trial,” Hetty countered. “You have already decided that they are guilty. I thought that you were supposed to stay neutral until you have heard all the facts from both parties.”
Meldrew clearly didn’t like being challenged. His eyes hardened, and he raked them insolently over her before he turned his attention to Wally.
“I am just doing my job,” he declared blandly.
“Like bullying us into paying your ‘fees’ is part of your self-appointed job?” Hetty challenged.
“Hetty,” Wally warned, and threw her a glare that warned her not to antagonise the man.
She gave Meldrew a hard look before she turned her attention to Gembleby.
Unfortunately, from the secretive way he looked at Meldrew, it was clear that the man was in cahoots with the corrupt magistrate, and was not going to be swayed by anything she or Wally said.
Hetty realised then just how dire Simon and Charlie’s situation was, and what this meant for their future.
“Can we speak to them? Or are you going to deprive them of their rights in that regard too?” Wally stared challengingly at Gembleby. “I warn you now that if I have to get a solicitor from out of this county to ensure that my brother is given a fair hearing, and is treated just like any other prisoner, then that is what I shall do.”
Gembleby stared him for a moment, but Hetty caught the fleeting glance he threw at Meldrew.
“You can see him, but one of my men will be present,” Gembleby declared. He motioned to the jailer who stood behind them. “Take them to the food room. They can meet in there.”
Hetty didn’t bother to thank either man before she hurried out of the room. She didn’t look back at them, but then didn’t need to. She could practically feel their eyes boring into her back right until she disappeared into the gloom of the corridor.
She tried to quell her internal shaking at the squalid atmosphere of the desolate place, but the stench that hung in the air left her with no doubt as to the helplessness of the people who resided there.
It was awful to think that Charlie and Simon were there at all.
Now that Meldrew had Simon and Charlie exactly where he wanted them it was inevitable that one, if not both of them, would be put to the gallows. She swallowed the sob that threatened to escape, and sidled closer to Wally as they traipsed down the corridor after the jailer.
