Chapter 30: The Old Bailey

The court room at The Old Bailey was packed with spectators, but the Tremaynes found seating with Sir Archibald opposite from Mr. Barstow's group that consisted of Barstow, his secretary, and two police detectives. Also included with them was Sir Hamilton and Miss Wharton, the latter two serving as the Crown's chief witnesses.

Priscilla had to stand alone in the dock. Her bruises had faded completely, and she looked every bit the virtuous young lady in her new charcoal grey dress. So much indeed that Mr. Barstow felt doubt about her guilt encroaching again. He frequently looked at her, but he also saw how her husband was shooting her angry looks, too. Miss Wharton was careful not to show any emotion. She, too, looked splendid in her dress of creme coloured cloth that was obviously as new as that of Lady Crewes.

They all rose from their seats when the Common Serjeant of London, Mr. Thomas Chambers, with four more justices entered the court room, all wearing purple robes and long powdered wigs. The bailiff banged his staff.

"All stand to attention! The Common Serjeant of London is in court!"

When the Serjeant and the justices were seated, he nodded to those present.

"Be seated. Will the parties make their pleas now!"

Barstow cleared his throat and rose again.

"For the Crown, John Barstow, Esq. Milord, I bring charge against the woman known as Lady Crewes, formerly Mrs. Marsden-Smith, née Bywater. The charge is murder by poison."

The Serjeant nodded to Sir Archibald who also rose.

"Milord, Sir Archibald Pendrake for the Accused. We deny the charge, and we shall present compelling proof of her innocence."

"Very well. Lady Crewes, do you declare yourself innocent of murder or the attempt thereof?"

Priscilla would be standing all through the trial as there was no chair in her box. She stood even more straight during her answer.

"I deny the accusations and declare myself innocent, Milord!"

The Serjeant nodded. "So recorded. Mr. Barstow, the Crown can plead its case."

Sir Archibald sat and Barstow turned to his main witness.

"The Crown calls Sir Hamilton Crewes, the victim."

Crewes stood and was sworn in. With quick, precise questions Barstow made Crewes recount the evening in question. Crewes had been alone that evening, with his wife visiting at Lady Wilkes' house about the hospital charity. He had supped early on a chicken soup left over from the evening before. He ate little else and had only two glasses of port wine to help his digestion.

By eight o'clock he was feeling increasingly ill, with violent abdominal spasms, and he called his housekeeper for help. Fortunately, she had a milk soup prepared which she fed to him. His stomach cramps did not worsen, and when by ten o'clock his wife returned, he had a strong suspicion against her. He forbade her entry to his bedroom against her protests and relied on the care he received from his dedicated housekeeper.

On the next morning, he felt well enough to collect the leftovers from the evening, and suspecting the soup from the start, he performed a Marsh Test on it and on his own vomit. The arsenic sublimation showed on the glass tubes immediately, and at this point he felt compelled to call in the police.

Barstow then went over the important points, establishing that Sir Hamilton as an arsenic eater was partly immune against the poison and that his housekeeper was the only person to know of this fact. He also claimed that only his housekeeper – who would certainly use a higher dose or a different poison – and his wife had access to the food locker.

It was then Sir Archibald's turn to examine the witness.

"Sir Hamilton, you performed the Marsh Test in person?"

"Yes indeed."

"Did you afford the police with material to have the Marsh Test performed by a police doctor?"

"My word was accepted. I am myself knowledgeable."

"Are you a member of the Royal Society of Physicians, Sir?"

"No, and there is no need for that for such a simple test. I have performed the test many times."

"In what capacity, pray?"

"For my own purposes. I have studied the effects of arsenic for quite some time."

"This is somewhat of an obsession for you?"

"Not an obsession, but a favourite study object."

"Might I assume that you felt quite justified in your interest by the recent events?"

"You assume correctly. Had it not been for my regimen of hardening myself against the poison I should have suffered a fatal poisoning at my wife's hands."

Sir Archibald looked expectantly at the Serjeant who nodded.

"The witness will refrain from any such accusations. It is for this court to establish the guilt of the accused."

"Thank you, Milord! Sir Hamilton, your housekeeper, Miss Wharton, took care of you in your distress. I take it from your testimony that you trust her implicitly?"

"Absolutely!"

"Was she not very disappointed when you announced your engagement to Lady Crewes?"

"She accepted it and ... What do you mean by that, Sir?"

"She had been your paramour, had she not?"

"Decidedly not!"

"I see. I have no further questions." Then he turned back to Sir Hamilton. "Did you allow Miss Wharton to wear your wife's dresses?"

Crewes' mouth opened and closed twice. "I ... aah ... allowed it. I supposed my wife will have no further use for them."

"I see. Your loyalty and adherence to your wedding vows is indeed touching."

Barstow jumped up but the Serjeant quieted him giving Sir Archibald a glare.

"My apologies," the barrister said glibly. "In truth, the witness' conduct is of course deplorable."

"No tomfooleries, no play-acting for the spectators' benches, if you please!" the Serjeant said sharply.

Bowing, Sir Archibald sat down.

Next, Mr. Barstow called Miss Wharton. She was questioned much about the handling of the food in her kitchen, about the key to the food locker, about the times when she had been absent from the kitchen and even from the house that day. She answered all the questions with a nervous undertone to her voice. Her whole appearance bespoke uneasiness.

When it was Sir Archibald's turn with her, he started his questioning slowly.

"Miss Wharton, you are to be commended for the aid that you rendered to Sir Hamilton."

She blushed nicely. "Thank you, Sir!"

"Not at all. To think that you had the perfect antidote prepared, the milk soup, before you could even know of the poisoning. What foresight!"

She shot back an angry glare. "I prepared the soup for myself. I quite enjoy it."

"A perfect explanation!" Sir Archibald beamed. "Now for the household. Your employer, Sir Hamilton, is an arsenic eater as you know?"

"Yes indeed. I don't like it much. He always feels so sick on those days."

"Do you prepare those doses for his immunisation?"

"No. Sir Hamilton prepares the doses himself. He is a learned man, and I am but the housekeeper."

"Where is the arsenic stock stored then?"

"In Sir Hamilton's study. In a safe. Only he has the key to it."

"Are there any other stocks of arsenic in the house?"

"Of course not!"

"You have no rat infestation to fight?"

"Decidedly not!"

"So, am I correct assuming that there is no plausible reason for anybody to keep around arsenic, except for Sir Hamilton?"

"Yes," came the curt answer.

"And you never had the key to Sir Hamilton's safe?"

"No!"

"Not even back when you were his paramour?"

"No, not even then!"

"Thank you. I am quite satisfied," Sir Archibald closed with a smug smile.

Barstow was already standing. "I object, Milord!"

The Serjeant eyed him wearily. "Your reasons, Sir?"

"The witness was misled by the Defence, Milord."

The Serjeant shook his head. "I cannot see how she was misled. The questioning was concise and to the point, and no false impression was made. I overrule your protest."

Barstow sat down with a sinking feeling. He did not doubt for a moment that Pendrake had extracted the truth from Wharton. She and the victim must have had an affair, and Pendrake had neatly tricked her into confessing it. Well, there was still Inspector Mellard and his discoveries.

"Milord, the Crown calls as witness Inspector Mellard of the Detective Branch of the Metropolitan Police."

Mellard was sworn in quickly and sat in the witness box. Barstow asked but a few questions to establish Mellard's investigations and his arrest of Lady Crewes, the latter based on the accusations levied against her by her husband. The final piece of evidence was left until the end of Mellard's testimony.

"Inspector, what else did you discover?"

"A vial with a residual white powder was found between Lady Crewes' stockings in her chest of drawers."

"Had you that powder tested, Inspector?"

"Indeed, I had, Sir. The police surgeon, Mr. Howard, attended to it."

"And pray, Inspector, what were his findings?"

"The powder was white arsenic, Sir. The vial itself was labelled so too."

"And it was found among the Lady Crewes' stockings?"

"Indeed, Sir."

There was some nodding and shaking of heads among the jurors, and Barstow sat back down, feeling a mixture of satisfaction and regret. This testimony would surely condemn the woman.

Sir Archibald rose with deliberate slowness, and with the same slowness he approached the witness box.

"Inspector, is it not true that the evidence against Lady Crewes is circumstantial at best?"

"She is the only possible suspect in our view, Sir."

"I see. It is your belief then that a person is guilty if you cannot think of another suspect?"

"No, Sir. You are welcome to present other suspects," Mellard answered huffily.

"Oh, I shall do that in due time. Let us turn our attention to the poison vial. When was it detected?"

"Wednesday last, Sir."

"In the stockings drawer of Lady Crewes?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Was it hidden under the stockings or inside a stocking?"

"Under the stockings, I should think."

"You should think? Did you make the discovery yourself?"

"No, Sir. Sir Hamilton found it and called on me to hand it over."

Barstow jumped up, but then he could not think of a reason for an objection. He sank back down on his chair, his mind whirling with the implications. He had naturally assumed that Mellard had made the discovery in person. Now it would seem that even this key piece of evidence was questionable.

"How very accommodating of him," Sir Archibald grated in the meanwhile. "Am I correct to assume that there is no way to ascertain where that vial came from except through Sir Hamilton's testimony?"

"I cannot see why he would lie, Sir. He's a gentleman."

"I see. To summarise, you accepted the accusations by Sir Hamilton at face value and did his bidding to arrest his wife, the Lady Crewes. Following that, you accepted a piece of evidence from him without any attempts to verify its authenticity. Is that the gist of your police work, Inspector?"

"You make it sound as if I had been slack in executing my duties, Sir!" Mellard protested.

Sir Archibald rolled his eyes. "I congratulate you on this unexpected show of astuteness."

This time, Mr. Barstow rose for redirection.

"Inspector, when I instructed you to search Sir Hamilton's house for evidence, did you execute that order?"

"Not on the same day, Sir. And then Sir Hamilton came forward with the poison vial, and there was no real need for it anymore."

It was Mr. Barstow's turn to roll his eyes.

"No further questions, Milord."

The Common Serjeant looked at the large wall mounted clock.

"Was this your last witness, Mr. Barstow?"

"Yes, Milord."

"Let us break for an hour."

The courtroom emptied and Barstow thought about his options. That he could secure a conviction seemed out of the question now. There was not sufficient evidence, and what evidence existed was tainted to some degree. The jury would return an acquittal based on insuffcient evidence, and everybody would lose. He and Mellard would be painted as being sloppy, but Lady Crewes would stay tainted for the rest of her life after a second-class acquittal. The pendulum had swung back again, and Barstow could not believe in her guilt anymore. He made up his mind.

"Sir Archibald, a word if you please?" he asked his opponent who was talking to Lady Crewes. She had been released from the stand and Barstow gave her a polite bow. "Lady Crewes."

"Yes, Mr. Barstow?" Sir Archibald asked while Lady Crewes looked at him curiously.

"Given this morning's testimonies I feel inclined to ask the jury for an acquittal."

There. He'd said it. Sir Archibald raised his eyebrows.

"That is kind of you."

"Yet, I feel that doing so I might do a disservice to Lady Crewes."

"How so?"

"An acquittal now, even following my recommendation, will likely leave Lady Crewes reputation tarnished. If, however, you have witnesses or evidence to establish her innocence, I should hate to interfere."

"Would that not make you look worse, Mr. Barstow?" Lady Crewes asked curiously.

Barstow smirked. "Not much. I fear that this trial will not be numbered among my better efforts."