The Crown had put Auleen Thurgood on theirwitness-list but only as insurance against some failure in herhusband’s testimony. Thurgood, however, had done well and Auleenmight not fare as well as he under the defense’s cross, and so shewas, for the time being, passed over in favour of Dora Cobb, theCrown’s “objective” witness to the naming of the father.
Cambridge was well aware from the record ofCobb’s interview with his wife that Dora had some differing andless useful interpretation of Betsy’s last words, but he neededsomeone besides Mom and Dad to nail down the naming of thedefendant. So he treaded carefully. He led Dora through hernight-ride to the Thurgoods and her professional efforts to savethe girl’s life. He wanted the jury to respect and admire her. Andthey appeared to, not a few of them having benefited themselvesfrom her expertise in past years.
“Now, madam, we come to Betsy’s last momentson God’s earth. Did you hear Mrs. Thurgood ask her daughter whofathered her child?”
“I did, sir, even though I was busy swabbin’the girl’s loins to try and stanch the blood.”
“And did you hear, almost immediately, ananswer to the question?”
“Well, sir, her words come right after thequestion, if that’s what you mean?”
“It is, and thank you. Now try to recallthose exact words, if you will.”
“I don’t need to recollect them. I’ll neverferget them. She said, ‘Seamus . . please . . . Seamus’.”
“She pronounced ‘Seamus” twice?”
“She did. But real pleadin’ like, not – ”
“Please, just answer my questions, Mrs.Cobb.”
“But the girl – ”
“Mrs. Cobb, wait for the question. You arenot to do anything more than respond to queries put to you bycounsel,” said the judge.
“My apologies, Yer Lordship.”
“Did you know to whom she was referring?”
“No, I didn’t. I thought it might be one ofthe neighbourhood lads.”
“So you didn’t know that Betsy worked up atSpadina and was in daily contact with a Mr. Seamus Baldwin?”
“I ain’t ever been to Spadina, sir.”
Marc winced. Cambridge was indeed slick andsubtle. There was no way that Marc could object, but the prosecutorhad managed to refocus the jury’s attention on the defendant andthe “logical” inference about which particular Seamus was beingalluded to. Dora was now turned over to Marc.
“I’d like to go back to young Betsy’s lastwords. We heard earlier testimony that she did speak three words,and you have kindly given us the third one. It was ‘please’ setbetween the two ‘Seamuses,’ is that right?”
“It is.”
“Would you try and repeat the whole phrase asclose as you can to the pace and rhythm of Betsy’s own voice?”
“Milord!” Cambridge was up quickly, butwithout ruffling his silk gown. “What is the purpose of this bit ofcheap theatrics?”
“Mrs. Cobb was there, sir. It might be easierfor her to demonstrate than to describe, don’t you think?” thejudge said. “Go ahead, Mrs. Cobb.”
“I’ll try. She was somewhat delirious, so hervoice was slow and syrupy. She said ‘Seamus . . . please . . .Seamus’.”
“Did that sound like an accusation to you? Ora confession?”
Cambridge seethed – elegantly – but did notintervene.
“No, sir. I thought it sounded more like shewas pleadin’ with us. Perhaps to go and fetch Mr. Seamus.”
Marc knew how dangerous this remark mightprove to be, but he had to get the notion of a plea into the jury’sthinking. After all, he hoped, through Dr. Baldwin much later, toshow that Uncle Seamus was Betsy’s tutor and confidant, not herseducer.
“One final question, ma’am. How many Seamusesdo you know?”
“Milord – ”
The judge held up his right hand.
Dora paused to think. “Oh, at least six orseven. And most them is in Irishtown.”
Several jurors tittered.
“No more questions,” Marc said, and sat down,satisfied.
The Crown then called two gentlemen from thebetter part of town to testify about an August soirée at Spadina:Mr. Samuel Leigh, a banker and onetime Tory member of theLegislature, followed by Mr. Ralph Broadhead, a jeweller and closefriend of Bishop Strachan and other prominent persons of the Torypersuasion. The Baldwins, father and son, though passionatelypolitical, were not consumed by politics or personal power, nor didthey limit their friends and acquaintances to members of a singleparty. They were likewise generous with invitations to their grandhouse, Spadina.
So it happened that these gentlemen hadattended a dinner and evening’s entertainment on that great estatein late August. And part of the entertainment had been aventriloquist performance by Seamus Baldwin, in which he wascostumed like a leprechaun and the live dummy on his lap wasintended to be an Irish peasant girl, complete with ruffled skirtand low-cut peasant blouse. The only positive thing from Marc’spoint of view during this otherwise devastating testimony, was thatthe dummy had been Edie Barr, not Betsy Thurgood. But much damagewas done nevertheless. Both gentlemen were shocked at thespectacle. Seamus Baldwin had placed his right hand in the bun thatformed the back of the girl’s hair as if it were a string on adummy’s mouth, and while he tried unsuccessfully to keep his lipsfrom moving, Edie’s lower jaw dropped and rose – dummy-like – andappeared to engage in a putatively comic dialogue with theleprechaun. The “dummy,” without corsets or stockings, was perchedas plump as you please on the old fool’s lap.
Marc chose to cross-examine only the first ofthese two witnesses.
“Mr. Leigh, did you not laugh at theentertainment? Remember, sir, you are under oath.”
The question caught Leigh by surprise, but hesaid grudgingly, “Once or twice. It would’ve been comical if ithadn’t been improper.”
“Have you ever been to the theatre, sir?”
“Well, yes. Once or twice.”
“Ever see a comedy or a French farce?”
“One or two.”
“Ever see actors, male and female, doingthings on stage that you might in your own home consider a bitnaughty or ‘improper’ even?”
“Yes, but that was on a stage!”
“Were Mr. Baldwin and Miss Barr incostume?”
“Well, yes.”
“Were they on a platform in Dr. WilliamBaldwin’s drawing-room?”
“Well, yes, they were. Just a littleone.”
“Was each of them playing a role other thantheir own selves?”
“Well, yes – ”
“So what was improper, sir? You were beingentertained, were you not? By a pair of costumed actors? Mr.Seamus Baldwin was not fondling the girl, was he? The girldid not look distressed, did she? Or as if she were beingcoerced?”
Leigh had rocked back under this barrage, andCambridge had just reached his feet when the witness mumbled, “No,sir. None of those things.”
Sitting on the rear bench near the back doorsnext to the bailiff, Cobb felt the heat rise up through his collar.What on earth was Marc up to? Was he out to cut up every witness,every honest citizen who stepped up to the stand to do his duty?How far would his friend go to dismantle this airtight case?
Marc’s rapid-fire examination of Samuel Leighdid much to blunt the subsequent testimony of Ralph Broadhead. SoMarc declined to cross-examine.
The last witness of the morning was BethEdwards. She had watched several dramatic trials in the past twoyears, but she had never been on the witness-stand herself. She wasnervous but did her best to appear calm. She had not beeninterviewed by Neville Cambridge, but she was anticipating theworst. Few people in the room did not know she was the wife of thedefense attorney. If she had compelling testimony to offer theCrown, it would weigh mightily with the jury. Marc caught her eye,and she smiled grimly. Marc had studiously avoided discussing thepossible questions she might be asked, as she was an officialprosecution witness. Even so, she was better left to her owndevices, which were considerable.