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Gradually the roar died down and Patterson was able to make himself heard.
‘. . . Gentlemen! Ladies and gentlemen! Order, please!’
At last there was something approaching silence. Slowly people resumed their seats.
Colbert was elated, but he had the good sense to say nothing, and artfully to look as amazed as everyone else.
‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ Patterson began again, ‘in view of the remarkable events that have just taken place, I wish to reconsider the entire matter, and take advice on the issues now involved. I am adjourning the trial of Hamilton Rand and Adrienne Radnor until then . . .’
That evening Monk and Hester sat at the kitchen table and ate dinner without tasting it. Scuff was present, as usual, but Worm was there also. He had asked to be, and when it was time to leave he came close to physically hanging on to Hester’s skirts so no one could take him away. She put her arms around him and defied anyone to fight her.
‘He was part of the rescue,’ she said, staring at Monk defiantly.
Now the four of them sat at the table over plates only half empty. No one had the heart to eat with any pleasure. It was Worm who asked what they were all thinking.
‘Wot ’appened?’ he asked in one of several long silences.
Monk had not been in the court during most of the evidence. He looked at Hester to explain.
‘I’m not sure,’ she said honestly. ‘It looked as if we were winning, easily. Mr Hooper was terrific. I think everybody knew that Mr Rand took us to Redditch and kept us there by force. Then Mr Radnor strode into the court and claimed that Rand had cured him of white blood disease, and was one of the great heroes of medicine.’
‘Is ’e?’ Worm asked, frowning. ‘I thought ’e kept yer there an’ wouldn’t let you come ’ome. In’t that wrong?’
‘Yes, it is. But probably just about everyone there knew somebody who was sick one way or another, or could be one day. They want to believe that it could be true that there is a way for them to be healed. We all want to think so. They don’t want to have Mr Rand put into prison.’
‘But ’e done summink wicked,’ Worm said again. He could not understand why that was not enough.
Hester put out her hand and touched him gently. ‘If I were very sick, and there was just one doctor who could make me better, wouldn’t you want him to stay out of prison and do that?’
Worm stared at her, worried. ‘Yer not sick, are yer?’ His voice trembled a bit in spite of his efforts to control it.
Hester blinked hard. She was tired and feeling thoroughly beaten, more vulnerable than she wanted him to know.
‘No, I’m not. I’m fine, and I’m going to stay fine. But some people are sick, and we hope every one of them has somebody who loves them.’
Worm nodded slowly. ‘I see.’
‘Do you? Being ill is pretty frightening. We don’t always think very clearly when we’re afraid,’ she answered.
‘Then nothin’ ’appens to ’im, even though ’e did that to you?’ Worm persisted.
‘Not at the moment,’ she admitted.
‘We aren’t finished yet,’ Monk interrupted. ‘We’ll have to think what to do.’
Worm’s face lit up. ‘Will yer? Can I ’elp?’
This time Scuff also looked at Monk, the questions in his face.
‘When I think of what to do,’ Monk replied. ‘Tonight I’m too tired to have many ideas.’
Scuff was frowning. ‘The Robertses sold their kids, didn’t they?’ he asked, looking from Hester to Monk.
‘Yes,’ Hester replied. ‘They couldn’t feed them. They thought the Rands would.’
Scuff gave her a disbelieving look.
‘Sometimes we believe what we need to,’ she said sadly. ‘We can’t bear to think anything else. Why? We can’t charge them with kidnapping.’
