Never in his life had Robert set foot in a prison. He never expected to. But then he hadn't expected that Bates would ever be arrested for murdering his ex-wife. Whether he actually did poison Vera was still a mystery. Even after a lengthy discussion with Anna, Robert could still not discern what had passed between the late Mrs. Bates and his former valet. Anna also seemed to be in the dark, though she believed that Bates was innocent. Robert was less sure. The evidence against Bates was hardly overwhelming. However, he knew how eager John had been to proceed with the divorce and how furious he was at each obstacle that Mrs. Bates had posed.
Pacing in the common area of the prison, Robert reflected on everything that he had gathered about the situation. The guard led Robert back, far back into the jail, until at last he unlocked the door to a small room. The walls were gray, a set of uncomfortable looking chairs and an old table the only furnishings.
"If you'll wait here, sir, we'll go and bring him in."
"Thank you."
The guard left, shutting the door behind him and leaving Robert alone in the miserable room. He seated himself in the chair away from the door, still not sure of what he was doing here or what he was going to say. He heard the click of the lock and turned his head.
He had never seen Bates look more wretched. He was thinner and paler, dark circles around his eyes. His limp was accentuated since he was made to walk without a cane and until he was placed in the seat opposite Robert he never raised his head.
When the guard left them, Bates sat hunched over. He glanced up at Robert and staring at the floor he murmured, "My lord, you shouldn't have come."
"To be honest, I'm not sure why I have." Robert said quietly. "I-I want to know what happened, Bates. Did you-"
"No, my lord, I didn't!" There was an undertone of anger in Bates' voice. He watched Bates take several deep breaths.
"I understand. You must be tired of being asked that but you understand that I had to be certain? That I needed to hear it from you?"
"Yes, my lord." Bates muttered, nodding.
Robert sighed. He stared at John, trying with all his might to figure out what could have happened.
"I need to ask something else, Bates. I need you to tell me everything that's happened. I need to know so that I can determine what, if anything, I should do to help you."
Bates looked up, alarmed. "My lord, I wouldn't ask you to-"
"I know you wouldn't and I may not, if I don't believe in what you say. So there we are."
Slowly, John raised his head. His eyes were tightly shut and he seemed to be debating within himself.
"I don't know, my lord, if it would be fair to tell you before I told Anna."
"You've only been here for a week. The poor girl hasn't had time to make it down here. If you tell me everything not only will I be sure Anna has the time to come and see you and to escort her here, I will ask my lawyer to assist you and possibly get you out much faster, which would be better for you and for Anna. Now...please, Bates."
Robert stared intently at John who wouldn't meet his eyes.
"Very well, my lord." He said at last, his face pinched with discomfort. "You must understand, first, that Vera and I were never very happy together, even when we first married. I was drunk a great deal of the time…" Bates sighed, "All of the time would be more accurate. My lord, if you knew what I had become...after the trouble with my injury...I was horribly unhappy and I knew I was nothing more than a burden to everyone... You never met her, my lord, but if you had you would understand that I must have been intoxicated to have married her. My mother tried to talk me out of it but...by the time we were engaged we had...exchanged certain liberties and Vera led me to believe that," he swallowed, his eyes roaming around the room, restless, "She told me that she was pregnant with my child and then...well, what could I do?
"After we were married, Vera...we fought...often. One night..." he sighed again, "One night while we fought I-I didn't mean to push her but I had hold of her arm and she jerked away. She...tripped over something-I still don't know what- and she fell to floor. She landed on her hand and it had to be bound. She claimed that...the fall had caused her to miscarry but...," Bates shook his head. "There never was a child to begin with." he said bitterly. With a cutting laugh he added, "I think that sums up Vera rather well."
"My god..." Robert whispered.
"Still she let me think that I had inadvertently killed my child. It wasn't until many months later that I realized...what a fool I was...am, really. I think you know, my lord, about my first jail sentence and her involvement in that. When I was released Vera was gone. During the months in prison and afterward I began to...rehabilitate myself. When I saw your advertisement in the paper for a valet, Vera had been gone for a year and a half.
"Of course...I didn't think of anything happening between myself and...I never dreamed that I would meet Anna and even when she confessed having feelings for me I knew I couldn't drag her into this mess. She is...persistent, my lord and...you might be able to comprehend how after all the distress I went through with Vera how...appealing a life with Anna would be.
"I had tried so hard to reinvent my life and when Vera reappeared...it was as though everything I had put behind me had hunted me down. I didn't want anything to do with any of it. But when she threatened Anna and..." Bates' eyes finally settled on Robert.
"And myself?"
"Yes, and your lordship, there was nothing I could do. She's always had something of a stranglehold on me."
"And that's why you left."
"Yes. I only stayed in the house with her a few weeks. I couldn't..." Bates shook his head, his face rather red and his eyes livid. "I couldn't go back.
"She knew that, despite how much I have tried, she... knew that I am still angered easily and she kept testing me.
"We had been sending letters back and forth and finally...I knew that writing wasn't going to get through to her. So I went to London.
"And this is the last time you saw her?"
"Yes, my lord. It seems she had made a deal with Sir Richard Carlyle and she felt cheated. She was furious-we were both furious." Bates admitted in a regretful voice, "I tried to leave but she blocked the door. Then she brought up...she brought up the child-the child that never existed, Anna, and yourself all in the same moment. I was trying to control myself, trying so very hard."
"You didn't hit her?"
"No, I checked myself, my lord. I took her shoulders and placed her in a seat. I told her that I knew about the child and that her threats were empty. I said that I was leaving and would not be back, that if she heard from me it would be only through my lawyer, that all I wanted was the divorce to be over with and nothing else."
"And what did she say?"
"I think in that moment she knew she was at a loss and she wanted me dead. She flew at me. The scar on my face-"
"She did that?"
"With her fingernails it felt like. I pulled her off me and fled the room. I swear, my lord, that's all that happened! The next word I had was that she..."
"Yes, yes I see. And Anna tells me that when you were living with her she asked you to buy arsenic for rats?"
"Yes, my lord."
Robert sighed. "You don't think she could have planned it all from the time you went back with her?"
"I don't know, my lord. I really don't. I wouldn't doubt it though."
"No...after everything you said I daresay you wouldn't...and Anna knows nothing of this?"
"I may have confided one or two things in her but...not the entirety, my lord."
Robert sighed and rubbed his eyes.
"You said, Bates, if I only knew what you had become..."
"Yes, my lord."
"This whole situation makes me doubt that I know you very well at all."
Bates nodded, "I can understand that, my lord. I have always tried to...let you only know the best of me."
"Yes, I imagine so." Robert replied, slowly. He wanted to believe that Bates was innocent, with everything in him. At the same time he didn't want to be too eager to believe. Everything John had told him had to be taken into unbiased consideration.
"Bates."
"My lord?"
"You are telling me the truth? You wouldn't lie to me?"
"No, my lord, I wouldn't." Bates chuckled sadly and added, "I don't think lying would help me very much, not now. It would only incriminate me more."
"Is the case against you very sure?"
"Forgive me, my lord, but they have arrested me. They must think they have a case or they wouldn't have put me in here."
Robert nodded and let out a halfhearted laugh.
"My lord, I don't expect you to help me. I wouldn't ask that of-"
"Bates, I know-"
"Please, my lord." Bates exclaimed harshly. "I wouldn't ask that of you. To connect your name with a murder case would be a scandal upon the house and...your family. I can't ask you to sacrifice so much. I-I won't allow it."
Robert chuckled, "Perhaps, Bates, perhaps I do know you after all. I wouldn't have expected anything less than this sort of thing from you."
He met Bates' eye and both of them smiled.
"If you give me the name of your lawyer I'll see that mine gets in contact with him to get the details of the case. Don't protest, Bates. I have so few things that I care about enough to fight for these days. The last time I lost faith in you, Bates, I was in the wrong. I didn't want to keep my faith and still be wrong."
Robert got up from the table and replaced his coat and hat.
"Anna, though," he glanced at Bates, who now sat upright, alert. "She never wavers when it comes to you, does she?"
He heard Bates sigh and say gravely, "No, she doesn't."
"No doubt you'll hear from my lawyer in a week or two and I'll see that Anna makes it down here, with an escort-myself, if need be."
"My lord, I-"
Robert sighed and fixed his eyes on Bates.
"Yes?"
"Are you certain, quite certain? You realize the repercussions this could bring?"
"Yes, and I realize what could happen if I don't help. I assure you, I know what I'm doing." He knocked on the door and the guard waiting outside unlocked it. Robert turned back for a final glance at Bates.
"I'll see you soon." he murmured.
"Yes, my lord."
Robert walked slowly out of the prison. He fished his gloves from his pocket and calmly slipped them over his fingers. It was remarkable how different he felt coming out of this talk with Bates. He felt far better than he had in months, maybe even since before the war. Perhaps...perhaps, in a very small way, his life was regaining some of the purpose it had once had. Perhaps.