Part One Hundred And Five
On the Friday morning, Yvonne, Cassie and Roisin again convened in the court building, waiting with rising stress levels for the verdict. Barbara was sequestered in a holding cell somewhere, with Gina and Dominic as escorts, and she too was beginning to feel the strain. Yvonne, Cassie and Roisin, joined by George and Jo, spent far too much of the morning drinking the court canteen's disgusting attempt at coffee, all of them slipping outside for cigarettes every now and then.
"I realise that juries are a law unto themselves," George commented around noon. "But this is ridiculous." "Let's just hope that all this deliberation will give us the verdict we want," Jo said quietly, but also feeling every ounce of George's frustration with the deciding body. Just then, Nikki and Karen arrived, having both found it almost impossible to concentrate on work for the entirety of the morning. "Are they still not out?" Nikki asked when they approached where the others were sitting. "No," George told them. "And if they take much longer, I think I'm going to internally combust."
As time dragged slowly by, others began to arrive, including Helen, Thomas, who received a raised eyebrow from Karen, and Crystal. But not long after Crystal's arrival, Gina came up to them looking worried. "Can one of you come and see Barbara?" She said, addressing Jo and George. "The waiting's driving her up the wall and I don't think being stuck in a holding cell is helping." "We'll both come," George said decisively, realising that the interminable waiting was probably aggravated by Barbara's tendency to claustrophobia. "She could probably do with some fresh air," Nikki told them as they moved away with Gina.
When they reached Barbara's cell, they found Dominic making every attempt to keep her calm, though noticeably having very little success. "Look who I've brought to see you," Gina said, trying to sound brighter than she felt. Barbara was visibly trembling and she had a wild look in her eyes that didn't bode well for mental or emotional stability. "Would you like to go outside for a while, Barbara?" Jo asked her gently. "That might help, yes," Barbara agreed. "Why don't you two go and get lunch or a coffee or something?" George said to Gina and Dominic. "We'll take care of Barbara." "Well, don't lose her," Gina said with a smile. "Or you'll get me sacked." Tucking Barbara's arm through hers, Jo led the way along the corridor towards one of the side doors that led out of the building. "But what about the judge?" Barbara asked as George walked alongside them. "He surely wouldn't allow an unaccompanied prisoner to take the air whilst waiting for a verdict." "Oh, don't worry about that," George said confidently. "We can handle him." "Is that right, Ms Channing?" Came John's voice as he rounded the corner of the passage, clearly having heard her assertion. "Of course, My Lord," She said just as confidently. "Because you're not going to deny a woman the right to a temporary cure for claustrophobia, are you," She said, emphasising the last two words. "Not at all, Ms Channing," He said, seeing that she had him somewhat over a barrel. But as he passed her, he put his lips next to George's ear and said extremely quietly though with the threat clearly just below the surface, "Don't you dare lose her." Having heard what he'd said, Barbara smiled at him. "I've come this far, My Lord, so I'm not about to duck out now." "I'm relieved to hear it," John said as he walked away from them. When they reached the outside, Barbara took in great lungfuls of the icy cold air surrounding them. "Is that better?" George asked her. "Much," Barbara replied gratefully.
They'd only been outside for about five minutes when Yvonne and Nikki appeared. "The judge told us where you were," Yvonne explained. "How're you doing?" "Not brilliantly," Barbara replied dully. "I feel as though I'm in limbo." "You are in a way," Jo told her. "But you've got a lot of people here to support you." "Yeah," Yvonne agreed. "There's Karen, Thomas, Helen, Crystal, Cassie, Roisin, you name it." "You've all been wonderful to me," Barbara said, a few tears rising to her eyes. "Do you seriously think any of us would be anywhere else at a time like this?" Nikki asked her fondly. "We haven't come this far just to let you go through it alone."
When Yvonne, Nikki, Jo and George returned to the group in the canteen, after returning Barbara to her cell, they saw an unexpected sight moving towards them. Tom, Zubin, Kay, and believe it or not, Connie were approaching their by now large group of supporters. "Some of us are on call," Tom explained. "So we don't know how long we'll be able to be here." "Thank you for coming," Jo told them with a smile. But most of the eyes in the assembled group were focused unerringly on Connie. She had spoken for the prosecution, and many of the Larkhall hackles were rising at her presence. Connie could feel their growing antipathy towards her and she momentarily doubted her wisdom in coming to court with the others. Moving forward slightly, she took a deep breath, and took the step she had been meaning to since deciding to be here for the verdict. "Before any of you say a word," She said, sounding sincere but wary. "I've had a change of heart. We are all capable of making mistakes, especially professional ones, and this time, I did what was previously unthinkable to me and got it wrong." After a short pause, where each and every one of the Larkhall women examined her for any hint of insincerity, Yvonne rose from her chair, and rounding the table where they were sat, shook Connie's hand. "It's nice to see a witness who isn't afraid of changing her mind." This was a vote of acceptance from all of them, and Connie offered a tentative smile of thanks, feeling the depth of feeling that bound all of them in the same quest for Barbara's freedom. As conversation broke out again amongst the assembled group, Connie slipped into a chair beside George. "That was a little unexpected," George said quietly to her. "A little overdue though, don't you think?" Connie replied thoughtfully. "As long as it's sincere, the acknowledgement of a mistaken belief is always welcome," George told her. "What made you reconsider?" "You were absolutely right to persuade me to come and listen to Barbara's evidence," Connie told her with a rueful smile. "I think you knew it would change my mind, didn't you." "I thought it was possible," George admitted. "Nothing else would have done it." "I'm glad you made me do it," Connie said a little more quietly so that the others wouldn't hear her. "Yes," George agreed. "So am I." Sitting on the other side of George, Jo intermittently heard bits of this conversation, and couldn't help wondering at the undercurrent she could feel between these two, up until now, opposing women.
"Will all participants in the case of the Crown versus Mills, please make their way back to court two for the verdict." Once the announcement had been heard, most of them felt that their hearts were in their mouths. "Come on," George said, getting to her feet. "This is what we've all been waiting for." As everyone else made their way up to the gallery, Jo and George made their way towards the barristers' entrance to the court. But halfway across the foyer, George saw that her father was walking in through the heavy swing doors. "Daddy," She called. "You're just in time. The jury's back with the verdict." "About time," Joe Channing replied, making his way towards the stairs. Up in the gallery, the members of Barbara's support group had taken up places on the first three rows on the left-hand side. Catching sight of Joe, Karen waved to him. When he sat down beside her, Karen said, "I didn't expect to see you here." "And I didn't ever expect one of our orchestra to be on trial for murder," Joe replied sadly. "It felt only right to be here for the verdict." They were then joined by Grayling who sat down on the other side of Joe. "Has Alison Warner let you off the leash for the afternoon?" Karen asked him, trying to slightly lighten the tension rising up in them all. "She can go hang if she's got a problem with me being here," Neil said darkly, making Joe laugh surreptitiously. Glancing around them, Karen saw that quite a number of their orchestra for 'The Creation' had turned up, no doubt wanting to know what would happen to someone who had been one of them. The gallery was almost full by the time the clerk of the court called out "All Rise," and Karen wondered what their combined reaction would be to the verdict.
"Foreman of the jury, please step forward," The clerk intoned once the two judges were seated. "Have you reached a verdict on which you are all agreed?" "Yes," The foreman answered. "Do you find Mrs. Barbara Mills guilty or not guilty on the charge of murder?" "Not guilty." One down, one to go, Karen thought to herself, realising that she had been gripping Joe's hand without even knowing it. "In the alternative," Continued the clerk. "Do you find Mrs. Barbara Mills guilty or not guilty of the charge of manslaughter?" So many members of the gallery seemed to hold their breath as they waited for that all-important answer. "Not guilty," Said the foreman, who was then drowned out by the cheer that seemed to fill the courtroom with noise. "Sorry," Karen said sheepishly, letting go of Joe's hand. "Feel free," Joe replied with a broad smile. Looking over at John, both Karen and Joe saw just how relieved both he and Monty looked. They didn't have to sentence Barbara, they didn't have to condemn her to years of what would be nothing more than a living death to her. When the cheering had eventually calmed down, John looked over at Barbara and smiled. "Mrs. Mills, it gives me great pleasure to tell you that you are without doubt free to go."