Page 6 of Give Him a Chance
The boisterous crowd wasnotlistening, however, and one lady, at least old enough to be the sly prisoner’s mother, shouted louder than even Lucy’s impassioned speech, “Marry me, Mr. Dixon!”
Smirking, Mr. Dixon wriggled his fingers at her, the movement causing the chains on his handcuffs to jingle, and the crowd went wild.
“That’s it!” Judge Bonner snapped. “I want everyone out—everyoneout! Or I will have you all arrested for contempt of court! Bailiffs!”
The next few minutes were a jumble of noise as every bailiff except one standing beside the prisoner shepherded the entire gallery out to much protest.
“Notyou, Mr. Dixon!” snapped the judge as Mr. Dixon’s bailiff grabbed him by the shoulder.
The prisoner shrugged and winked at Lucy as she reluctantly made her way to the back of the crowd, trying not to let the image of his handsome, conceited face winking at her sear itself into her memories.
“And not you, either, Lady Lucy!”
Lucy turned around and was rather disconcerted to see the judge’s grin twist into something far more worrying.
“Release the prisoner,” he intoned, and Lucy’s spirits leapt.
Justice! It may only have been justice for one person, but it meant one less person pressganged into those dreadful ships to sail halfway round the world to work. It was a start! Perhaps she had been too quick to judge the old judge. Perhaps he had thought to get the crowd out so no one would question thelegality of his sentence, given even before the reading of the list of charges.
“Release the prisoner into Lady Lucy’s custody.”
Wait a moment. That wasn’t right.
Lucy blinked. The nearly-empty courtroom swam back into view: the gaping solicitor who had tried to keep her from speaking earlier, the rapid blinking of the bailiffs, the wicked—yes,wickedgrin on Mr. Bernard Dixon’s face…and the satisfied smug look on the face of the thin-lipped Judge Bonner.
“Thank you, my lady,” he said seriously, malevolence glittering in his eye, “for volunteering.”
