Dennis Wheatley - The Shadow of Tyburn Tree

Droopy's deep concern for Georgina was, Roger realised, mainly inspired by his friend's knowledge of his own attachment to her. He had obviously felt himself to be in loco parentis, even to the point of interviewing Counsel; but, as matters stood at the moment, that made it all the more exasperating that, only an hour before, he should have thrown his hand in and sought refuge from further anxiety in impene­trable oblivion.

Too late, Roger saw that if only he had not been in such a hurry to dash off to Mr. Pitt that afternoon the Marquess would have told him about Georgina's trial and Droopy's pre-occupation with it. Then, if he had waited until Droopy had come in they could have put then-heads together, and things might have been in far better shape. As it was he could only ask the valet to come upstairs and help him to undress; then, when he had been propped up in bed, issue an imperative order that in. no circumstances was he to be called later than six o'clock.

In spite of a distinct feverishness and the gnawing pain in his left shoulder, mental exhaustion carried him off to sleep quite quickly.

Yet when Droopy's man came to rouse him he felt that barely ten minutes could have elapsed since he had closed his eyes.

On looking in the mirror he saw that he had a black eye where Natalia had struck him, and he wondered if, apart from a black, blue and aching tummy, she was by now well on the way to recovery from the effects of her nasty fall. Then his mind snapped back to Georgina, and the fact that this was the fateful day upon which it must be decided whether her generous youth and vital loveliness was to be preserved as a joy to all who knew her, or soon be transmuted into a lump of senseless, ugly clay.

* * * * *

It took three-quarters of an hour for Droopy's man to get Roger into his clothes, adjust the sling round his arm, and make him as presentable as possible. Immediately this painful process had been accomplished, they hurried downstairs. Droopy still lay like a log and, for over an hour, defied all efforts to wake him.

They shook and slapped him; put an ice-compress on his head and poured the most fiery liquor they could find down his throat. The valet tickled the soles of his master's feet and Roger stuck pins in his arms, but still he lay impervious to this violent treatment, except for an occasional jerk, or a snort through his fleshy nose.

It was not until eight o'clock, after Roger had ordered a hip-bath to be brought in and filled with cold water, and had Droopy's limp form plunged into it, that he at last showed signs of returning con­sciousness. Then it took them another quarter of an hour of slapping his face, holding smelling-salts under his nose, and pouring black coffee into him to restore him to his full senses.

He took this arbitrary treatment with perfect good temper and only protested mildly that he was well-acquainted with the properties of the drug he had taken; and, that had he been left alone, he would in any case, have woken round about eight o'clock and been at the Old Bailey soon after nine to hear the judge's summing-up.

When he was stretched comfortably on his gilt day-bed with Roger seated beside him, the valet brought them up breakfast. Only then did Roger realise that he had not eaten since breakfasting with Natalia Andreovna in the sloop that had brought them home from Stock­holm. Relays of food were sent for, Droopy cut the eggs, sausages, mushrooms and ham into mouthfuls, and between them, the now one-handed Roger spoke rapidly and forcefully of Georgina's frightful situation.

By a quarter to nine they had fully agreed on the only course of action which might still possibly save her, and leaving Droopy to com­plete his dressing as swiftly as he could, Roger hurried downstairs, got into a coach that he had already ordered, and drove to the Old Bailey.

The trial of a lady of fashion on a charge of murder had aroused great interest, so ghouls from the social world had vied with all the enthusiastic amateurs of crime in London to get places in the portion of the Court reserved for the public. As the Court was already sitting when Roger arrived he would have stood no chance at all of getting in, had it not been for his intimacy with Colonel Thursby. By bribery accompanied by alternate smiles and menaces he eventually succeeded in being conducted through the press to a seat beside the Colonel at the solicitors' table.

Georgina, dressed entirely in black and looking very pale but quite calm, and still strikingly lovely, was seated in the dock. The stir caused by Roger's entrance caused her to look round. The second her glance fell on him her eyebrows went up and her mouth opened as though she was about to emit a piercing scream. With an obvious effort she stifled it in her throat but made a swift gesture with her hands as if to say: "Go away! Please! Please! I beg you to go away from here."

He gave her a reassuring smile, sat down and looked round the Court. It was packed to capacity with row upon row of hard, avid, gloating faces. Few but those of the lawyers, the court officials and the double row of "twelve good men and true," in their jury-box, showed any trace of solemn decency.

The place had a dank, chill atmosphere, which was calculated to make a stranger to it shiver even on a summer's day. The floor was dirty and there was a subtly unpleasant smell which conjured up the thoughts of gaol-fever. Roger did not wonder that the judge held in his hand a paper-frilled posy of sweet-smelling flowers, and that learned Counsel occasionally sniffed at oranges stuffed with cloves.

The judge, an elderly, red-faced man, was addressing the jury almost tonelessly; yet, obviously, he felt that this was no clear-cut case of crude murder arising out of a proven hate or desire for gain, since he was taking great pains to present an unbiased analysis of the evidence that had been given by both sides.

Roger soon realised that had he not had such difficulty in getting into the Court he would have been in time to hear the opening of the day's proceedings, as it was apparent that the judge had only just started his summing-up. What length of time could be hoped for before he completed it, was the question which now agitated Roger's mind.

His final plan before going to sleep had been that Droopy should set off for the Russian Embassy soon after seven, so that he would have a full hour in which to argue with Vorontzoff and, if he was successful, be able to bring the Ambassador to the Old Bailey by the time the Court opened at nine. But Droopy's addiction to strange drugs had ruined all hope of that.

Now, even in his racing curricle, he could not have got out to Woronzow House before nine; he might be kept waiting anything up to a quarter of an hour before Vorontzoff was ready to see him, and it was hardly likely that it would take less than half an hour to induce the

Russian entirely to reverse his attitude towards Georgina; then they had to get from St. John's Wood to the Old Bailey, so, at the very best, it could not be hoped that they would appear there before ten.

If the judge was still summing up all would be well. Georgina's Counsel would be able to request permission to submit new evidence; but if the jury had been sent to consider their verdict the judge might rule that, since Vorontzoff had already given his evidence and the de­fence had had ample time to recall him if they wished, the minds of the jury must not now be influenced further in either direction.

What was to happen then? Or if Vorontzoff proved adamant and Droopy arrived alone to say that he had failed to secure the Russian's co-operation?

From time to time Georgina turned to look at Roger. Each time their glances met her black eyes said: "What stroke of ill-fortune has enabled you to appear here at this last moment? I beg you to remain silent! Say nothing! Say nothing!"