Chapter 15

Part 14: The Balance of Proof

The date is set for the court hearing of Cora’s complaint. Amelia is still uncertain of how she will contest it.

...

Brinswark Hall
Nr. Eyam
Derbyshire
11/08/03

Dear Zinawe, Thank you for your concerns. Yes, things are quite difficult at the moment with all the worries of the court case. We now have a date for the hearing although I do not know what the outcome will be. I do not know what I would do if were to be parted from James. I venture to speak for him in saying that he would feel the same way. We have made our lives together and I am certain that we could not be parted.

All I can do is to hope that the barrister Miss Jones has retained can convince the court that the accusations are groundless. She seems very encouraging and, if the to cost she charges per hour is anything to go by, very competent.

I have been trying to divert myself with work on the estate and my new business venture but I still seem to be drawn to melancholic speculations about the future.

At least Anna is still my stalwart supporter. Her cheery optimism is a tonic. James is always a comfort and your letters and Monique’s have cheered me too. How wonderful it is to have such good friends.

I shall keep my head up and press on.

Your friend.

Amelia.

...

Brinswark Hall
Nr. Eyam
Derbyshire

12/08/03

Dear Miss Jones,
You said that I should write to you if I discovered anything further that could affect the case.

I believe that I now have documentary evidence that will demonstrate conclusively my parentage and that of James sufficient to have Cora Jefferson’s complaint dismissed.

It would be very helpful if you could call at Brinswark at your earliest convenience so that I can go through the material with you and you can give me your opinion on it.

Yours sincerely, Lady Amelia Jefferson.

...

Brinswark Hall
Nr. Eyam
Derbyshire

13/08/03

Dear Lucy,
Wonderful news! Cora Jefferson’s plot has been routed, the clouds have been rolled away and, best of all, I have my beloved James to thank for our deliverance. He has discovered the evidence I believe that I needed. It just goes to show that men may not all be quite as useless as popular opinion here in England would have you believe.

Do you remember how I said that Mama had told me of how she believed that had conceived me at one of Lady Julia’s parties? She assured me that there was no question that my marriage was anything other than valid. Although I could not doubt her, I did not feel this would be enough to convince anyone else. It was obvious to me that Amanda Jones felt the same way and that any attempt to depend on that assertion in court would be doomed to failure.

I was at a loss to know where I might find evidence. Nothing Julia’s husband might say is of any use, since, even were he to be believed, no court would consider a man to be a reliable interpreter of the situation. Amanda Jones believed she would be able to demonstrate that Beckworth was paid for the information she gave Cora, but that did not mean that a jury would think it untrue apparently.

I must confess that I was getting quite despondent and that even James most devoted attentions could not raise my mood.

One of Julia’s friends suggested that I should consult a psychic and attempt to contact Julia for her assurances but I fear I do not believe in such things and besides, as Amanda Jones remarked, the courts would view such evidence as hearsay, even if they could be convinced of its reality. There is some suggestion that a microscopic examination of blood samples might demonstrate the presence or absence of a filial relationship but it seems an entirely unproven technique. Another “scientist” has come forward claiming to be able to read James’s and my brain waves using a sort of helmet that fits over the head and detects the brain’s electrical activity. She could not, however, suggest how this might help solve our problem. The woman seems a complete charlatan.

Thankfully, I have been delivered from these mountebanks, fools and knaves.

After all this James has turned out to be the hero of the hour. He has discovered the evidence that was needed and it supports Mama’s story, although it seems she was rather economical with the truth.

Just yesterday morning James was searching in the library for a book of practical medical remedies (Sadly, the boy’s cock cage had caused him some chaffing as a result of over-excitement during our bedroom games last night and he was hoping to find some way of gaining relief, without bothering me for the use of his key). Alongside a number of dusty volumes he found a series of leather bound notebooks which turned out to be his mother’s journals from her youth. I don’t think he realised their significance, poor boy, but at least he had the sense to bring them to me, “in case there is anything interesting in them”, he said.

Well, there certainly was. Lady Julia had kept notes of all her many parties and sexual adventures, detailing the scandalous goings on at Brinswark Hall in the early days of her marriage. I had known her as a sensible and seemingly straight-laced woman, so to read these tales of excess and debauchery was shocking. Amongst it all, though, was the evidence that will confound Cora’s case.

Reading the journals, at first I was worried. There were passages describing a party at which her “new friend from Holland” had been given Julia’s husband, Howard, as a sex slave and how the poor girl had become pregnant as a result. This was obviously a reference to Mama, although she has never spoken of it. From the dates in the journal this pregnancy must have been me. I was horrified at this for it seemed that then James was indeed my brother and our marriage would be ended. I could see how Cora’s objections had come about and I could not understand how Mama could have reassured me.

Then I read on. “Perhaps I should not have given up on Howard so soon,” Lady Jefferson wrote. “I had not thought that he had it in him. I can only assume that he learned something kneeling at the foot of my bed while I enjoyed that boy from the village. Still, it hardly matters that he is not the father of the child I carry within me. He is probably too stupid to ever realise it in any case and besides, everyone knows that a child receives all its best traits from its mother.”

So, it appears that while I am (as Cora accuses) the daughter of Lady Julia’s husband, he is not James’s father. So, James is not my brother. Amanda Jones considers that it is ample evidence to prevent Cora’s case ever coming to court. Poor Mama had obviously tried to protect her friend from rumour though I wish she had been able to tell me the truth.

The only risk is that Cora may still take her chance in the courts. I do not think it likely though. She will know that I have no fear that the family name will be brought into disgrace – mainly because so one would think it particularly disgraceful. It is after all, no more than Princess Victoria Louise is reputed to get up to.

Amanda Jones says this is ideal evidence and quite uncontrovertible. I shall not give Cora’s unpleasantness another thought.

I was so happy with the discovery that I thought James should have a little reward for his wonderful find. With my belly swollen as it is with my unborn child, it was not really practical to wear my corsets to bed but I did put on a pair of black patent boots with the spikiest of heels and it was a great joy to see James so wide-eyed with delight.

I had worried what James’s reaction would be to the news that he was conceived on the wrong side of the covers, so to speak, but of course I need not have been concerned. He sees the whole thing as a rather romantic episode and now takes pride that some of his blood comes from beyond the closed circles of aristocratic families. He has even tried writing poetry using some of the vernacular expressions of the local working men (including using the obvious and coarse rhyme for the local expression of greeting: “M’duck”) but I fear that is taking things a little too far.

Still, it is good that our worries have been removed.

Your much relieved friend, Amelia.

... The Connaught Hotel
Belgrave Square
London W1

12/08/1903
Dear Zinawe,
I am writing this after last night’s splendid event!

Firstly many thanks for inviting me to the Awards Ceremony. Your nomination was well-earned and your triumph as Best Newcomer in a Mutoscope Presentation entirely justified. I was so happy to be able to share your success in person. And it was wonderful to see Monique once again for we have not spoken for a while.

The whole event was all a great contrast to the quiet life we enjoy in Derbyshire. How do you cope with all the attention? I would find it most disturbing to have to rely on a squad of policewomen to clear the doting men from my path as you needed outside the theatre. It would certainly try my patience to be as tolerant of their adoration as you are, although I suppose it must be gratifying to see the impact that your work has.

The New Mutoscope Theatre was the ideal venue to view your latest presentation. The comfortable seating with the Mutoscope machines able to be swivelled into place for the viewers comfort was so much grander than the venue where I first experienced a presentation. I must admit I thought the show was beautifully presented. How much work here must be in hand colouring each of the Mutoscope images. I can imagine that whoever keeps the team of men working on that task must be as great a slave driver as the woman that you portrayed!

Goodness, Miss Mifton did an amazing job in fashioning your outfit. I thought you outshone all the other award nominees as you walked in. I was astonished by how your Malay-Tex gown looked and so, I think, were your followers. The gasp as you threw off your cloak just as you entered the theatre must have been heard all the way to Trafalgar Square! If James had not been on a short leash I suspect he would have thrown himself at your feet. (He is very faithful to me but he does have such a weakness for women with a powerful appearance and I think I understand him well enough to know what effect the way you looked would have had on him!) I had no idea that Mutoscope shows were so popular as to employ so many actresses. It is obviously a thriving industry and you must be gratified to have your part in it recognised.

It was a shame that I had to leave early but I fear with the baby due so soon I sometimes get tired and cannot party in the way I would wish to. You must come up to Brinswark to see the baby when she (or he) arrives.

Congratulations, once again.

Your friend, Amelia.

...

Brinswark Hall
Nr. Eyam
Derbyshire

16/08/03

Dear Miss Mifton,
I must congratulate you. I heard this morning that you had been granted a Royal Warrant by Princess Victoria Louise. It must be so gratifying to have your talents recognised and I am certain that it will prove a great boost for your business. I am sure that many women will want to be dressed by the woman that dresses the heir to the throne, although it seems a shame to me that such publicity is needed. I was sure from the moment I saw the garments you made for me that you had a great skill in the construction of clothes that “intimidate, tantalise and arouse”.