“I’ve got one thing going for me,” said Seb. “We have something in common.”

*   *   *

“If I were a betting man, Mrs. Clifton, the answer to your question would be even money, but the one imponderable in any trial is how people perform once they’re in the witness box.”

“Perform? But shouldn’t one just be oneself, and tell the truth?”

“Yes, of course,” said Mr. Trelford. “However, I don’t want the jury to feel they are members of a committee that’s being chaired by you.”

“But that’s what I do,” said Emma.

“Not while you’re in the witness box you don’t. I want all the men on the jury to fall in love with you, and, if possible, the judge as well.”

“And the women?”

“They must feel you had to struggle to achieve your amazing success.”

“Well, at least that’s true. Do you think Sir Edward will be giving Virginia the same advice?”

“Undoubtedly. He’ll want to portray her as a damsel in distress, lost in the cruel world of commerce and finance, and trodden on by a bully who’s used to having her own way.”

“But that couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“I think we’ll have to leave the twelve jurors to decide what the truth is, Mrs. Clifton. But for now, let’s look at the facts in the cold light of day. The first part of your response to Lady Virginia’s question at a well-attended public meeting, and as recorded in the company’s minutes, we will plead as justification. We will point out that Major Fisher was not only Lady Virginia’s chosen vessel on the board, but that it was his inside knowledge as a director of the company that made it possible for her to buy and sell shares to her advantage. Sir Edward will find that hard to refute, and will pass over it as quickly as possible and concentrate on what you added as she was leaving the hall: ‘If it was your intention to bring the company down, Lady Virginia, then you have failed, and failed lamentably, because you were defeated by decent ordinary people who want the company to be a success.’ ‘Decent ordinary people’ is our problem, because that’s how the jury will see themselves, and Sir Edward will claim that not only is his client a decent, ordinary person, but that the reason she continued to buy Barrington shares was that she had faith in the company, and the last thing she would have wanted was to bring it down.”

“But every time Virginia sold her shares she made a vast profit and put the stability of the company at risk.”