Chapter 15

Allora and Savas walked into the barrister's office at exactly 10 am, Mr. Qwerly showed them to a seat "good, good, your on time, I have the witness's waiting in a guarded room at the court, the only one not able to appear is the night watchman, he was found deceased this morning from what appeared to be heart failure." Allora glanced at Savas but kept still as Mr. Qwerly stood up saying it was time to go, Lord Klerance didn't like to be kept waiting. Mr. Qwerly was pleased with Allora's appearance, he had been concerned that she would show up dressed as the tattered cabin boy which is how he had first seen her, now she was dressed in a simple light gray wool dress, a small touch of lace at the high neck and around the wrists of the long sleeves, simple black shoes on her feet, her face scrubbed clean looked fresh and young even though her high cheek bones were severely emphasized by how terribly thin she was, her short bobbed hair had a healthy shine to it. Rarely did he take cases on a small contingency fee with the rest to be paid later but he had been so struck by the girls story he had accepted the case, the more he delved into matters the more convinced he became that she was indeed Allora Montcliff. Lord Klerance frowned as he looked about the court, the gallery was rapidly filling with the elite of English society, when Alex Breeton, the Duke of Saxony sauntered in with his wife and son, accompanied by the Prince of Wales, Lord Klerance sighed he was not going to let his court be turned into a side show. Mutters arose as Charles Montcliff strolled in looking bored and annoyed at being up at such an ungodly hour, Lord Klerance frown turned even darker as Montcliff took a seat in the front row, this was a hearing to establish the girls identity not a trial but he supposed the man even though he disliked him intensely had a right to know if he was about to lose everything. The murmurings turned louder as Mr. Qwerly and Allora walked in, Savas stepped over and leaned against the wall well out of the way, Allora her head high, her shoulders back walked beside the elderly barrister to the table in front of the judge, Lord Klerance was impressed with the young woman's composure as she sat down, he also thought she looked very familiar but he couldn't place why, he had known Edward and Sharon Montcliff and the girl didn't really resemble either of them. Mr. Qwerly bowed slightly before Lord Klerance "I stand here before you today My Lord to prove without a doubt that the young woman sitting here at this table is the daughter of Edward and Sharon Montcliff, the lady Allora Montcliff, stolen from her warm bed in the small hours of the night, a little girl of eight years of age taken from her family by unknown villains, the first witness I call to the docket is one Karen Mayes." A side door was opened, a woman in her late forties, obviously dressed in her Sunday best and quite nervous came out, she didn't look at Allora only at Mr. Qwerty. He started with a series of questions asking Karen Mayes about the dates of her employment with the Montcliff's as a nanny, starting just prior to the birth of the son David Montcliff and ending after the death of the Montcliff's themselves. "It is my understanding Miss Mayes that you have in your possession several articles that belonged to the child Allora Montcliff" Karen nodded then said out loud "yes, don't know why I saved them all these years, perhaps because his Lordship and her Ladyship were so sure they were important in some way, after their death the new Lord come and took over, he wanted to burn them so I took them and hide them at my sister's home" the courtroom rustled leaning forward, "and these items were?" Mr. Qwerly asked. Karen opened up a small old bag and took out two items "this is the little stuffed bear the little Miss always slept with it was found on the ground next to this, the nightdress she was wearing the night she was stolen away" Mr. Qwarly walked over and held up the bear pointing out to Lord Klerance the missing arm off the bear, he then took the second item and held it up pointing out the slash marks and the old blood stains asking the Lord Judge to keep these in mind. Walking back to the table Mr. Qwerly picked something up, he walked over to Lord Klerance and picked up the bear again, in his other hand he held the arm of the bear, holding the two together they were a perfect match. The crowd in the gallery rustled and muttered. Allora said nothing just stared at the little brown bear for a moment, then looked down at her folded hands. Laurel whispered silently to Alex "seeing the bear has her close to tears, it was something very precious to the little girl she once was" Alex nodded with a sigh, "Do you recognize the woman sitting next to me Miss Mayes?" Mr. Qwerty asked, for the first time Karen since walking in Karen looked at Allora "I would like to say yes, she has the same brown hair and brown eyes but the child I remember was chubby and this woman is so thin it is hard to tell, sorry I am that I can't say yes for sure" Alex hands fisted for a moment as a sneer flashed across Montcliff's face, Laurel put her hand over his and gave a small squeeze. Mr. Qwerty thanked Karen and dismissed her, then smiled "I call to the docket John O'Malley" the door opened and Karen walked out and an elderly man came out cleaning his glasses, as he walked by he smiled at both Allora and Mr. Qwerty, once he was settled Mr. Qwerty asked him to identify himself and his relationship to the Montcliff's. "I am John O'Malley, I was the physician in attendance when both Montcliff children were born and remained the family physician until I was dismiss by the current Lord for not being able to cure a case of the french pox he contracted while on a trip to the delightful city of Paris" snickers rang out through the gallery until Lord Klerance banged his gavel and called for silence. Mr. Qwerty held up the stained nightdress "you have examined this and the scars on my client have you not?" Dr. O'Malley nodded "indeed I have and the scars on Miss Allora match the slashes in the night dress given allowances for age and growth, I with permission of yourself Mr. Qwerty and Miss Allora had two of my colleagues also do an examination and my conclusions were confirmed, I have their written statements right here" holding out several pieces of parchment which were handed over to Lord Klerance, once again the gallery rustled and leaned forward. Mr. Qwerty smiled "and is there anything else that would lead you to believe this is indeed the Lady Allora Montcliff?" Dr. O'Malley smiled "certainly, at the time of her birth, she had a birth mark on the small of her back, a very unique birthmark, on either side at the base of her spine were what appears to be two small wings colored in the skin, her mother the Lady Sharon used to smile and say god had seen an angel and sent her to them to grace their lives, the young woman sitting here today has that same birthmark, I also had my colleagues check this and confirm that it is indeed a genuine birth mark. She also had a small scar on her forehead at the hairline from a fall out of an apple tree when she was six, this young woman also has the same scar. There is no doubt in my mind that this young woman is Allora Montcliff" Mr. Qwerty thanked the Doctor and told him he could step down, the mutterings and rustlings in the room and gallery became louder, Lord Klerance had to pound his gavel repeatedly and threaten to clear the gallery before it was quiet once again. Mr. Qwerty called Kevin Beaker to the stand, once again the door opened and Dr. O'Malley walked out and an older man in his sixties came into the room, Laurel whispered to Alex "Montcliff is almost beside himself with rage, he didn't know about the birthmark, he also thought the nightdress had been burnt at his orders, he has no idea what this Beaker plans to say and is close to frothing at the mouth" Alex grinned at Laurel and whispered back "good let the world see what a mad dog he really is." Allora gripped her hands together trying not to fidget as the silence filled the room while the man walked to the stand, she blinked to see a green ribbon in her hands, glancing over her shoulder she saw Connor smile, she quickly turned back as she heard Mr. Qwerty start to speak. Mr. Qwerty smiled "you are Kevin Beaker and you have been an employee at the Montcliff estate for 47 years is that correct?" Kevin Beaker nodded "aye 47 years, started out as a pot boy in the kitchens and worked my way up to butler, until the new Lord took over then I was demoted to working as a footmen for objecting to his striking a young housemaid" Mr. Qwerty smiled again "and what brought you here today? Mr. Beaker" Beaker smiled at Allora "when Miss Karen Mayes wrote to me telling me about a young woman who had come forward claiming to be the Lady Allora and how she had gotten a peek at the young miss the last time she visited Mr. Qwerty, she mentioned the young woman's brown hair and brown eyes and she felt confused because both of the Montcliff's had blonde hair and yet everything else seemed to point to her being the Lady Allora, Miss Karen had never met Lord Edward's mother the Lady Suzanna Montcliff. The new Lord had ordered all the family portraits put up in the attic, I took the liberty of bringing here today a small portrait of the Lady Suzanna" reaching in his inside pocket Beaker took out a small framed portrait and handed it to Mr. Qwerty who handed it to Lord Klerance. Looking closely at the portrait Lord Klerance glanced at Allora then back at the portrait, he smiled to himself no wonder the girl seemed so familiar she was the spitting image of her grandmother except for the thin gauntness of her face, which is why he had probably not seen the resemblance as soon as she had walked into the court, as a very young wild youth he had been deeply in love with the beautiful Lady Suzanna, he had never forgotten her gentle kindness as she put his love where it belonged on the shelf as a first wild crush of an embarrassed young man for an older married woman, they had remained good friends until her death several years after her husbands. Lord Klerance banged his gavel several times then cleared his throat "it is the decision of this court that the young woman standing here before us is indeed the Lady Allora Montcliff, heiress to the Montcliff estates and all properties as set forth by the high court of England in accordance with the late Edward Montcliff's last will and testament and the accompanying documents established therein." Lord Montcliff stood up with a snarl "you bitch, you should have been dead a dozen times over just like the rest of your family" everyone froze as he pulled out a dueling pistol and pointed it at Allora's chest. What happened next was a matter of gossip and wild speculation for many years to come around the London gossip circles, Allora standing straight and tall pointed a finger that had a green bow tied around it at Montcliff her voice rang out through the room "you killed my brother and my parents but you forgot one thing you son of a bitch, even little girls fight back and I am my father's daughter" in horror everyone watched as the gun seemed to turn on it's own, the barrel pressed beneath Montcliff's chin the trigger was pulled and a second later he lay dead on the floor, as women screamed hysterically and men rushed forward Nedra purred to Alex, Connor and Allora "it is a fitting end for one such as he, yes this Nedra knows and has seen too." Allora calmly walked over and looked down at the dead body, kneeling down she reached out and took off her father's signet ring from Montcliff's finger, then she reached out and took her grandfathers pocket watch and watch fob from his pocket "you never deserved these you bastard" she said, then stood up and walked back to Mr. Qwerty who was wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, those around them watched in amazement at the young woman's coolness considering all that had just happened. People quickly moved as the Prince Regent walked towards Allora, smiling he took her hand and bowed over it "we would like to welcome you once again to England and your place among us Lady Allora Montcliff" Allora knew she was supposed to do some major deep curtsy and managed a slight one then whispered something to the Prince, who laughed loudly as she quickly left the room, Lord Klerance glanced at the Prince a look of inquiry on his face, "she said she would curtsy better the next time we met but she needed to go find the jax and puke up her guts right now, the bastards stench had finally gotten to her" Lord Klerance laughed with the Prince commenting he had the feeling that London's social life was about to become very lively and interesting with the Lady Allora in town.