Part 41 (1/2)

”Yes.”

”Did William tell you that he feared she was having an affair with the very doctor who said she was going through a phase?”

”No,” Papa said. He looked stonily at me. ”He said nothing of the kind.”

When Millie came to the stand, she supported Papa's contentions. I had been a frail child with an intense imagination; I carried things too far; I made myself ill with my yearnings.

”She fairly threw herself into things,” she said. The peac.o.c.k feathers in her bright blue hat bobbed against her cheekbone. ”For example, when she began decorating for their new house, she had the clerks at Goupil's in a frenzy.”

”Their new house? The same new house she didn't care for?” Howe's expression was exaggeratedly puzzled.

”Yes, at first that was true,” Millie said. ”We were all surprised she didn't seem to be excited about it. But then that changed. She was intent on finding the right things for it.”

”Why do you suppose that is?”

”Because William asked her to,” she said. ”And she was determined to please him.”

”Was this usual for Mrs. Carelton? Did she often attend to her husband's desires so wholeheartedly?”

Millie hesitated. ”In most cases. She did long for William's approval.”

”Were you at Newport this summer, the same time Mrs. Carelton was there?”

”Yes,” Millie said.

”Did you observe her with Dr. Seth?”

Millie was holding a blue beaded bag. She fidgeted with the clasp. ”Yes. I did.”

”Did it seem innocent to you?”

”No.”

”What did you believe was their relations.h.i.+p?”

”In the beginning I a.s.sumed they were having an affair.” Millie reddened. ”But then I talked to Lucy about it, and she confessed that he was her doctor and had come to attend her during the summer.”

”Did you believe that?”

”I wanted to.”

”Did you have any evidence otherwise?”

”No,” she said.

”Did you think that Mrs. Carelton was better under Dr. Seth's care?”

”Yes,” she said. ”She seemed much better.”

”Mrs. Wallace, did you think that Mrs. Carelton was happy?”

Millie frowned at him. ”Happy?”

”Yes, happy. Was she happy with her husband? With her life?”

Millie looked at me, her eyes expressionless. ”I think Lucy tried to be happy,” she said slowly. ”But I don't think she was. I don't think she ever was.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when Millie was done, when it seemed that there would be no real surprises after all. The courtroom was quite warm; I was reaching for a handkerchief to wipe my brow when Howe went to the front of the courtroom. With a flourish of pure showmans.h.i.+p, he said, ”Your Honor, I call Mrs. Wilhelm Brock to the stand.”

I abandoned the handkerchief in sudden wariness. Mrs. Wilhelm Brock? I'd never heard the name before; I had no idea who it could be.

I turned when the audience did, as the doors at the back of the courtroom opened. A woman clothed in black came inside. She wore a small hat with a dark veil that hid her face. She was compact-an older woman, I thought, though she walked with steady purpose. I watched curiously as Howe helped her into the witness chair. I sent him a questioning glance, but he only smiled. He leaned down, whispering something to the witness, and she reached up and lifted her veil.

I gasped.

I was looking at a woman with William's face.

Chapter 33.

She stared at me as if trying to memorize me. I felt the jury's gazes riveted to us.

Howe was still smiling. ”Mrs. Brock, do you recognize the defendant?”

Mrs. Brock shook her head. ”I don't.”

”Do you know who she is?”

”I've heard of her,” she said. Her voice was light and melodious. ”She's Mrs. William Carelton.”

”How do you know this?”

”You told me who she was,” she said. ”And I've read the papers.”

”What relations.h.i.+p do you have with Mrs. Carelton, Mrs. Brock?”

She hesitated. I did not know what she would say, or who she was, and I was angry at Howe for surprising me this way.

She looked right at me when she said, ”I'm her mother-in-law.”

I felt the blood leave my face. The audience broke into surprised whispers; there was a whoop from a reporter; even the jury began talking among themselves. Mr. Scott rose from the prosecution table, calling, ”Your Honor, please.”

Judge Hammond slammed his gavel. ”I will have silence in this courtroom. Mr. Scott, sit down. Mr. Howe, proceed.”