The Quality of Mercy - By Barry Unsworth Page 0,67

Dillen, and the two associates that had accompanied him. When he was again seated, Kemp became intensely aware of her presence there, not far away, and of the fact that he would be seeing her the following evening at Bateson’s house. Press of business had prevented him from inquiring whether the Ashtons had accepted the invitation, but even had he been less occupied he would hardly have thought it necessary to ask; he knew beyond question that they—she—would be there. Their destinies were linked; he had seen her face, lit up by the shower of gold, smiling upon his enterprise, just minutes after Spenton had replied so favorably to his proposal for the lease. A blessing, no less. So strong was this feeling, as it returned to him now, that for some minutes he ceased to follow the proceedings of the court and so missed Barton’s opening words, which of course did not much matter, as they had agreed together on the ship returning to England as to what the mate’s evidence should be.

Barton had dressed for the occasion with all the elegance he could summon on straitened means, in a fustian coat with broad lapels, a short wig and a high stock that kept his head upright and restricted his usual loose-necked, peering way of looking about him. He took the oath with aplomb but then made the mistake—the kind of mistake he would always be prone to—of leaning forward and resting his elbows on the rail, in an effort, as it seemed, to convey a sense of ease and a confidence in his own veracity, only to be told by the clerk of the court, in no uncertain terms, to stand upright and bear himself properly, instructions he obeyed with comical alacrity.

“The capt’n put it to us,” he said. “Capt’n Thurso that was. We was hassembled below in the capt’n’s cabin an’ he put it to us fair an’ square, hunnerd percent.”

“Will you tell us who was present at that meeting, in addition to Captain Thurso?” Waters asked.

“There was myself, the bosun, the carpenter—”

“The ship’s officers, in other words.”

“That is right, sir, yes.”

“The men who represented responsibility and authority on board the ship. And you decided, taking counsel together, that the cargo would have to be jettisoned. Is that so?”

“Hunnerd percent, sir.”

“Fellow, what is this way of answering?” Justice Blundell said, red-faced and irritable in his heavy wig. “You must answer yes or no.”

“Yes, sir, beggin’ yer pardon.”

“A collective decision taken by the responsible members of the crew,” Waters said, addressing himself to the jury. “And on what grounds was this decision taken? It was taken on grounds of dire necessity. The witness will relate the circumstances.”

“We was short of water, sir. There had been stormy weather an’ one of the casks was holed, unbeknown to us, an’ the water had leaked away.”

“So there was insufficient water to go round among the crew and the slaves?”

“Hunnerd per—yes, sir, right in hevery detail. We ’ad no choice, sir, we was still ten days off Jamaica, we ’ad to throw ’em over so as to be sure there was water enough for the crew.”

“No choice, Your Worship, those are the key words. It was a question of life or death for the crew. And if the crew perished, who was to manage the ship? That constitutes lawful jettison and that is the contention of the ship’s owner, Mr. Erasmus Kemp, whom I have the honor of representing in this court today.”

Barber, the ship’s carpenter, was brought, still in chains, from the yard outside. His evidence substantiated that of Barton, though with one significant difference. Ashton’s words had had an effect, but not the one he had wished for. Conferring together after his visit, the men had decided that the best course was to deny having made any judgment whatever as to the amount of water on the ship.

“We was informed by Capt’n Thurso that there was not water enough,” he said. “We took it on trust. On a ship you takes the word of the capt’n.”

“Are you seriously asking us to believe,” said Price, with significant glances at the jury, “that there was a lack of water urgent enough to justify the throwing overboard of those men and women while the breath of life was still in them, and that you weren’t aware of this urgency until the captain told you of it? Are you seriously asking us to believe that a damaged water cask would not be noticed by