Read Always Have Hope (Emerson Book 3) for Free Online Page A

with us in our room. If
he’s too disruptive we can arrange for a different suite for you.”
    “I slept quite soundly, thank you.”
    “No doubt the result of a full meal and complete
exhaustion.”
    “Perhaps,” said Win, who believed it was because it
had been the first night of safety she’d known since her marriage began.
    “James and Irene are downstairs meeting with a
solicitor. James didn’t think you’d be up to meeting with Mr. Olson today, but
I thought I’d pass on the information, just in case.”
    “Thank you. I’d like to meet with him. I’m still a
bit hazy about the events of last night, but it sounded like the Crown was
rather intent on convicting me. I should like to do something about that.”
    Half an hour later, Win carefully descended the stairs
of the elegant home then entered the sitting room.
    James and Irene were there, as well as the duke and
duchess and Ned Kellington. They were meeting with the solicitor, Geoffrey
Olson. In appearance, he was quite unassuming. He was in his mid-thirties, with
thinning fair hair. He was shorter than average and dressed like a man who had
run into a spell of bad fortune.
    He was quiet, but from the way he studied her when she
entered the room, Win had the impression he was a shrewd observer.
    Everyone rose upon her entry. James was immediately
by her side. He unsuccessfully tried to school his expression when he saw her
bruises. Perhaps she shouldn’t have come down today.
    He took her hand. “Good morning, love,” he said, as
he carefully kissed her cheek.
    Just the simple act of being with her brother warmed
her. It also gave her strength for the battle she was facing.
    “We are meeting with our solicitor, Mr. Olson,” said
James.
    The man bowed to her. “It is a pleasure to meet you,
Lady Winifred.”
    “How do you do, Mr. Olson? Thank you for coming.”
    Win took a seat next to James, gingerly lowering
herself onto the settee.
    “Are you sure you’re well enough to do this?” asked
James.
    “I think it is imperative we start the process of my
defense.”
    “I believe Lady Winifred has the right of it, my
lord,” said Olson. “Mr. Pierce’s death was on the front page of every broadsheet
in the city this morning and even the more respectable publications did not
shrink from posting vile speculation.”
    “I did not kill my husband, Mr. Olson.”
    “No one in this house thinks you did, my lady. But it
is not just lurid gossip which is feeding the press frenzy. I believe someone
is determined to see you convicted of the crime.”
    “What makes you say that?” asked Lynwood.
    “Because I sent an associate to Bow Street to learn
what I could. I didn’t think there would be much so soon after Pierce’s
death. But my source told me the case file is almost complete and will be
handed over to the Crown’s barrister today.”
    “But how could they get so much information so
quickly?” asked Irene.
    “That is a very good question. And one I would like
to learn the answer to. Even more troublesome is they’ve given the case to
Alexander Lewis, one of the Crown’s most formidable barristers. His success in
court is quite enviable. However, we are fortunate in one respect. He is an
honorable man, known for his fairness and honesty – traits not always found in
my field of work.”
    “We want you to represent Win,” said James. “Please.
We will pay anything.”
    “Thank you for your vote of confidence, Lord James. But
it is not money that determines the nature of my participation. As you know,
the ordained procedure is to employ a solicitor who gathers all the particulars
of a case and then finds a barrister to argue it in court.”
    “Do you know of a good barrister?” asked James.
    “A few. But I would rather get the particulars before
I decide which one to use.” He looked at Win. “I do not need to tell you the
stakes are life and death,” he said quietly. “Do you have any idea who might
have killed your