AN ORIGINAL PLOY
Chapter 3 The Price of Victory
Three Vital Words
If the word austere had not already existed, it would have been conjured into being for the purposes of describing Lord Edward Carson. He was tall and spare and wore his clothing as though not an extra square inch of fabric had been expended to achieve its exquisite tailoring. He was seventy years old, but the vigour in his step and the air of confidence he exuded left the impression that the walking stick he wielded was more a tool for sweeping the carpet clear before him than an aid to mobility. Henry Talbot appeared at ease beside him, but Carson's fish-eyed glare, which admitted no hint of warmth or softness, inspired a measure of deference in Lady Mary and George Murray, as much as in Anna Bates. They were meeting in Murray's office in Chancery Lane, which was only appropriate as Murray was Anna's legal representative in the case.
Henry Talbot made the introductions and Carson was courteous enough, slipping off exquisite leather gloves and extending a hand to Lady Mary, Anna Bates, and George Murray in turn. But he wasted no time.
"I would speak with Mrs. Bates," he announced crisply. "Alone."
Lady Mary and Mr. Murray both wavered. The former was loathe to leave Anna to face this intimidating man on her own. Murray had more professional concerns. But Anna nodded in agreement and so both yielded, following Henry Talbot into the outer office.
"Golly!" Mary sank into the closest chair. "If I had to contend with that in a courtroom, I might well change my plea to avoid the whole thing."
"That is just about the size of it," Murray said. "Carson was a pioneer in the practice of cross-examination. And he has the skilled precision of a surgeon. With his wit and cheek, Oscar Wilde would have demolished any other barrister and emerged to write a clever play about it. It took a Carson to show that the emperor had no clothes."
"I fear a little for Anna," Mary said uneasily. Lady Mary Crawley was seldom discomfited by any man, but she was well out of her depths in legal matters. "Mr. Murray, I hope you can forgive this trespass on your jurisdiction. We employed you to defend Anna and here we are trampling on your toes."
Murray waved away her concern. "I want the very best for Mrs. Bates. I have given the legal affairs of the Bateses my all. But I won't assert territorial rights where a woman's freedom is concerned. If Lord Carson can make a difference, then I welcome his intervention. I am only astounded that you have secured his attention to this matter."
"Well done, Mr. Talbot," Mary said, turning her attention to the architect of the moment.
Henry Talbot was pleased by this, but he did not give way to effusion. "Let us see what he has to say," he said cautiously.
They waited a solid hour. Murray consulted his watch occasionally. It was his office, after all. Lady Mary remained seated, but couldn't get comfortable. Only Mr. Talbot was at ease, conducting desultory conversation with Lady Mary until it became clear that she could not concentrate, and then inspecting the wall art.
At length, the office door opened and Carson, who had never taken off his coat, strode out, pulling on his gloves as he came. There was nothing in his face to indicate to those who waited anything of the interview that was now complete. He nodded politely to Lady Mary, but addressed himself to the two men.
"Thank you, Murray. Now, to the evidence." His eyes fell on Mr. Talbot. "Henry." With this, and the slightest of nods, Carson indicated his expectation than Henry would join him.
Henry Talbot shot a quick smile in Lady Mary's direction and then followed Edward Carson out the door.
Lady Mary was a little astonished at the abruptness. Mr. Murray was less so. He gestured toward his office and Lady Mary led the way inside.
"Anna!"
Anna was sitting on one of the comfortable chairs in front of the desk. From the position of the second chair, it seemed that Lord Carson had sat beside her rather than in Murray's place. Anna's hands were twisting in her lap. There were tears on her cheeks. She appeared in some distress.
Mary hurried to her side. "Anna," she said again, her voice heavy with concern. "What did he say?"
Murray hovered by Lady Mary's side, as keen to hear the answer to this as she was.
"Not very much at all," Anna said hollowly. "He said…." She paused, frowning, wanting to get it right. "… he said, 'Start at the very beginning and tell me everything.' So I did. From the house party and … the first time I saw Mr. Green, to Mr. Bates's confession and my release on bond." Her voice was shaky.
Mary slid into the empty chair and reached for one of those trembling hands. Recalling what Murray said about Carson's capacity for cross-examination, she worried about his harshness in questioning Anna. "Did he say anything else?" Mary asked, her voice reflecting a degree of trepidation. Though expecting more, she was not at all relieved when Anna nodded.
Both onlookers exchange a glance, wondering if perhaps Lord Carson had only made things worse.
Then, through a veil of tears, Anna managed a watery smile. "Yes, my lady. He said … 'I believe you.'"
Henry Talbot Returns
It was a tense gathering in the library at Downton Abbey only two afternoons later. A telegram had arrived to announce that Mr. Murray and Mr. Henry Talbot were coming north. It had not betrayed the news they would bring.
Mrs. Hughes had been summoned to stand with Anna and she was very uneasy. She remembered what Mr. Carson had said when they learned a lawyer from Mr. Gregory's estate was coming to see Lady Edith: "If it were good news, he'd have telephoned." Of course, if this Lord Carson had made no impression on Scotland Yard, then Anna would be no worse off in practical terms. But Mrs. Hughes feared that to have any more hopes dashed, especially when her husband was not present to support her, would finish Anna off entirely.
The Crawleys – Robert, Cora, and Mary – were hardly less apprehensive. They were prepared to bet on this distinguished legal mind, but such was the unpredictability of the turbulence that had plagued the Bateses, that none felt certain about anything any more. And their disappointment would only be magnified by the extent to which their hopes had been raised.
Alone among those gathered, Anna manifested a degree of equanimity. She was not immune to the impact of hopes raised and dashed to disappointment, but her senses had been dulled by repeated experience. And there was something else. She alone had heard what Lord Carson had said and how he had said it. She could not explain it, but somehow that carried weight.
The car drew up, the men emerged from it, and in another moment, Mr. Carson was announcing Mr. Murray and Mr. Talbot. The Crawleys got up and Mary went to stand on Anna's other side. Mr. Murray advanced on Anna.
"Mrs. Bates, I have the pleasure to inform you that Scotland Yard has dropped all charges against you. The case has been not suspended, but abandoned."
Anna gasped. Mrs. Hughes and Mary, whose expressions mirrored the relief in Anna's face, clutched at her hands. Robert and Cora reached for each other. They were all delighted, but it was for Anna to take the lead and they all deferred to her.
"But what does that mean?"
Mr. Murray seemed to understood her bewilderment. "The officer in charge has been obliged to admit that the evidence that it has taken months to compile would never meet the standard of the court."
Anna frowned, deciphering this. "Then, they could reinstate the charges if they came up with something else."
Mary refused to let her diminish the victory. "Anna! You are not guilty! There is no evidence for them to find. You are free." She paused. "I only wish I could have seen Inspector Vyner's face when he conceded this."
"Me, too," Mrs. Hughes agreed fervently.
"And there is more," Murray added, unable to repress a smile. "The Yard is also prepared to waive prosecution for mischief against Mr. Bates for his fraudulent confession, as a gesture of goodwill."
"As though that cancels anything out," Mary said shortly, but she could not maintain her anger.
"Excellent news!" declared Robert. "We must undertake to get Bates back immediately!" He turned to Cora. "I have a telegram to send." He bolted for the door.
"Mr. Murray, Mr. Talbot, you'll stay to dinner?" Cora inquired.
The gentlemen were only too pleased to accept.
"Your ordeal is over, Anna," Mrs. Hughes said, her voice full of emotion. "And in no time at all, now, Mr. Bates will be back by your side where he belongs."
For the first time, in a very long time, Anna smiled.
Such was the elation all around that it was some time before Mary was able to draw Mr. Talbot off from the group.
"Congratulations, Mr. Talbot," she said smoothly. "I would say you've found yourself a place in all the hearts at Downton this day with your deft intervention."
He gave her a twisted smile. "I may have overshot the target."
"Let's move on," Mary said, pleased, but not won over quite so easily. "Can you tell me what happened? How, exactly, did Lord Carson change minds?"
"Unofficially he had a look at what Scotland Yard had to offer and suggested that a case brought to trial on such a fragile foundation of evidence would be a waste of Crown time and money, and might possibly warrant a censure from a judge as a frivolous prosecution."
"And that was sufficient to bring them to heel?"
"Well, informally, I think there was somewhat more to it."
Mary looked at him expectantly and Henry Talbot grinned. "I gather that Lord Carson tore a strip off the investigating officer for his conduct of the case. Motive? What motive? Mrs. Bates never reported the assault, no doctor can offer medical evidence of an assault, the police have no record of an assault, and the murdered man never confessed to having made such an assault."
"But it did happen!" Mary cried, immediately incensed on Anna's behalf.
"Yes, and no one doubts that. But there is no legal evidence of the crime. Everything else falls apart after that. The witnesses, such as they are, are weak, and may be expected to fall over with even the slightest push. The alleged pattern of a violent response to assault in the attack on her stepfather decades ago, another incident that doesn't exist in a legal reality. The circumstantial evidence is fragmentary to the point of non-existence – a visit to the crime scene, a mere presence in London. It is not for a suspect to prove they did not do something that a thousand other people might have done, but rather for the Crown to provide hard evidence that they have done it. Lord Carson reminded your chief inspector of that pertinent aspect of British justice and drew his superintendent's attention to it as well. And he suggested, in no uncertain terms, that the conduct of this investigation had strayed into the territory of abuse of police power. These are not light matters," he added.
"I should hope not. But I'm surprised Scotland Yard was brought round to it." Her mind strayed to the hateful Inspector Vyner. "Oh, to have been a fly on the wall," she murmured.
At this, Henry Talbot looked almost wistful. "I've known Lord Carson for years, but I never had the opportunity to see him in action in a courtroom, something I regret very much now. It was obvious to me, not less to Scotland Yard, that he would have destroyed their witnesses had they come up against him. It would have been a thing of beauty to see."
"Well, however entertaining that might have been, let us be grateful it didn't come to that."
"Am I well and truly forgiven, then?"
Henry Talbot's question caught Mary by surprise.
"For pushing in at Brancaster," he reminded her.
Mary made an impatient sound, though she wasn't at all annoyed. "Am I going to be hearing about that for the rest of my life?" she demanded, eyes sparkling.
A smouldering smile spread across his lips. "Would that be so bad?"
THE END
Historical Note. Lord Edward Carson is an historical figure and I hope that I have conveyed his life and career accurately in the sparse details I have included here. He was an Irish Protestant barrister and politician from Dublin. His legal career is a storied one and includes the cases I have mentioned (Wilde v. Queensberry; Cadbury Brothers Ltd. v The Standard Newspapers Limited; and the Archer-Shee case) among many others. He turned to politics and might have become Prime Minister of Britain but for his determination to defeat Home Rule for Ireland in a campaign which inadvertently led to the division of Ireland with the six northern counties – Northern Ireland - remaining within British jurisdiction when Ireland gained independence. I say "inadvertently" because division was not Carson's ambition.
My major source: Edward Marjoribanks and Ian Colvin. The Life of Lord Carson. Toronto: Macmillan, 1932-37. In 3 volumes.
I have done Lord Carson a disservice in depicting him as an intervenor, even unofficially, in Anna's case. In 1921, Sir Edward Carson was appointed to the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, effectively the Supreme Court of Britain, and it is highly unlikely he would review or offer an opinion on a case in which there was even a remote possibility of its ending up before his court. This being a work of fanfiction, I made the leap from historical reality to fantasy. I offer it as a diversion and as yet another alternative that Baron Fellowes of West Stafford might have pursued in lieu of the tortuous course he presented with this plotline in Downton Abbey, Seasons 4, 5, and 6…. The possibilities are really endless.