The Luminaries

find fault with his assertion that grievous assault is the close cousin of homicide; however, and as my case will shortly demonstrate, Miss Wetherell is innocent of all three crimes. She has not committed forgery; she has attempted in no way to assault Mr. Emery Staines; and her collapse on the afternoon of the twentieth of March could hardly be called disorderly, any more than the lady who was escorted from this very courtroom ten minutes ago could be accused of the same. I have not the slightest doubt that the testimony of witnesses will demonstrate my client’s innocence, and that they will do so in very short order. In anticipation of this happy outcome, Mr. Justice, esteemed members of the court, ladies and gentlemen, I do not hesitate to place the matter in the good hands of the law.’
    Moody sat, his heart thumping. He looked up at the justice, hoping for some token of affirmation, but Justice Kemp was bent over his ledger, taking notes. Broham was looking down the bench at Moody, a very nasty expression on his face. Fellowes, sitting next to him, leaned over to whisper something in his ear, and after a moment he smiled, and whispered something back.
    ‘Thank you, Mr. Moody,’ the justice said at last, underlining what he had written with a flourish, and putting down his pen. ‘The defendant will now rise. Mr. Broham, you have the floor.’
    Broham stood, and thanked the justice a second time.
    ‘Miss Wetherell,’ he said, turning to her. ‘Until the night of the fourteenth of January, how did you make your living?’
    ‘Mr. Broham!’ snapped the justice at once. ‘What did I just say? Miss Wetherell is a member of the old profession. Let that suffice.’
    ‘Yes, sir,’ said Broham. He began again. ‘Miss Wetherell. On the night of the fourteenth of January you made a decision regarding your former employment, is that correct?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘What was it?’
    ‘I quit.’
    ‘What do you mean when you say that you “quit”?’
    ‘I quit whoring.’
    The justice sighed. ‘Continue,’ he said, with a tone of resignation .
    ‘Did you take up alternative employment at once?’ Broham said, moving on.
    ‘Not at once,’ Anna said. ‘But when Mrs. Wells arrived in town she took me in at the Wayfarer’s Fortune. I started learning the Tarot, and astral charts, with the idea that I might assist her in telling fortunes. I thought I might earn a living as her assistant.’
    ‘At the time that you quit your former employment, did you have this future purpose in mind?’
    ‘No,’ said Anna. ‘I didn’t know that Mrs. Wells was coming before she arrived.’
    ‘In the period before Mrs. Wells arrived in Hokitika, how then did you expect that you would support yourself?’
    ‘I didn’t have a plan,’ Anna said.
    ‘No plan at all?’
    ‘No, sir.’
    ‘You did not have a nest egg, perhaps? Or another form of surety?’
    ‘No, sir.’
    ‘In that case, you made a radical step,’ said Broham, pleasantly.
    ‘Mr. Broham!’ snapped the justice.
    ‘Yes, sir?’
    ‘Make your point.’
    ‘Certainly. This deed of gift’—Broham produced it—‘names you, Miss Wetherell, as the lucky inheritor of
two thousand
pounds. It is dated October eleventh of last year. The donor, Mr. Emery Staines, disappeared without a trace upon the fourteenth of January—the very same day that you, as the fortunate recipient of this extraordinary sum, decided to quit walking the streets and mend your ways, a decision made
without
provocation, and
without
a plan for the future. Now—’
    ‘I object,’ said Moody, rising. ‘Mr. Broham has not establishedthat Miss Wetherell had no provocation to change her circumstances of employment.’
    The justice allowed this, and Broham, looking peeved, was obliged to put the question to Anna: ‘Did you have provocation, Miss Wetherell, in making the decision to cease prostituting yourself ?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Anna. She looked at Moody again. He nodded slightly, encouraging her to speak. She drew a breath, and said, ‘I fell in love. With Mr. Staines. The night of the fourteenth of January was the first night we spent together, and—well, I didn’t want to keep whoring after that.’
    Broham was frowning. ‘That was the very same night you were arrested for attempted suicide, was it not?’
    ‘Yes,’ Anna said. ‘I thought he didn’t love me—that he couldn’t love me—and I couldn’t bear it—and I did a terrible thing.’
    ‘Do you then admit you made an