Read Online The Accused (Modern Plays) by Jeffrey Archer - Free Book Online
Authors: Jeffrey Archer
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statement was because your father, Councillor Mitchell, had warned you that if you didn’t, you might well be implicated yourself. And correct me if I’m wrong, you didn’t make that statement until after Chief Inspector Payne had contacted you some weeks later?
Mitchell I volunteered a statement immediately he contacted me.
Barrington Yes, but why didn’t you contact the police immediately following Mrs Sherwood’s death? Why leave it until Inspector Payne had got in touch with you?
Mitchell (
voice rising
) Because I didn’t have any proof. It would only have been my word against his.
Barrington At last we come down to the reality of this case - you didn’t have any proof. It’s simply your word against his. The truth is, Ms Mitchell, that your word isn’t worth the Usher’s pad it’s written on because there never was any relationship between you and the defendant.
Mitchell (
breaking down sobbing
) Yes, there was. We were lovers and he even asked me to be his wife.
Barrington Did you accept his proposal?
Mitchell Yes, I did.
Barrington So you must have been in love with him at the time?
Mitchell Yes, I was at the time.
Barrington So how do you feel about him now, Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell I loathe him.
Barrington You loathe him?
Mitchell (
voice rising
) Yes, I loathe him. When he needed me, nothing was too much trouble for him, but once I’d served my purpose he dumped me as if I had never existed.
Barrington Try not to raise your voice too much, Ms Mitchell. Otherwise the jury might begin to suspect that…
Mitchell (
still sobbing
) I don’t care what they …
Kersley My Lord, I must object. Do these attacks on Ms Mitchell have any real purpose other than to intimidate?
Judge Do they, Sir James?
Barrington They most certainly do, My Lord, their purpose is to ensure that an innocent man doesn’t have to spend the rest of his life in gaol on the evidence of a jealous, vindictive woman who couldn’t get her own way. Ms Mitchell, if you are going to persist in claiming that Mr Sherwood seduced you, I must remind you, before you answer my next question, that you are still under oath. (
He pauses
.) Was Mr Sherwood the first person you had an affair with at St George’s? ( Jarvis
hands him blank sheet of paper that the audience can see is blank
.)
Mitchell (
hesitates
) There may have been one other.
Barrington (
stares down at blank sheet
) Only one other, Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell Well, over a period of five years, perhaps two.
Barrington (
continues to stare at sheet
) Two?
Mitchell (
she hesitates
) Possibly three.
Barrington (
slowly
) Or four, or five, or …
Mitchell No - three.
Barrington And were any or all three of these paramours also doctors or surgeons, by any chance?
Mitchell Yes, but the first one was years ago and didn’t last that long.
Barrington Are you certain, of that Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell Yes, I am, but then I feel sure even you can remember when you lost your virginity, Sir James.
Barrington (
continues to stare at the blank sheet of paper
) But your second and third affairs lasted a considerably longer time, didn’t they?
Mitchell Yes, but they were over long before Patrick began courting me.
Barrington (
voice rising
) But isn’t it the truth, Ms Mitchell, that having failed to snare one doctor, you were willing to go to any lengths to catch another?
Mitchell No, that is not the truth. The truth is that Patrick told me that he loved me and asked me to be his wife, and I can prove it.
Barrington Like you can prove he gave you prescriptions only on a Friday evening, like you can prove that he showered you with presents that no longer exist, like you can prove which restaurants he took you to, but you can’t remember their names, like you can prove which theatres you attended, but can’t recall the titles of the plays, like you can prove he telephoned you again and again, but there’s no trace of any calls, like you can prove …
Mitchell That he made me
Mitchell I volunteered a statement immediately he contacted me.
Barrington Yes, but why didn’t you contact the police immediately following Mrs Sherwood’s death? Why leave it until Inspector Payne had got in touch with you?
Mitchell (
voice rising
) Because I didn’t have any proof. It would only have been my word against his.
Barrington At last we come down to the reality of this case - you didn’t have any proof. It’s simply your word against his. The truth is, Ms Mitchell, that your word isn’t worth the Usher’s pad it’s written on because there never was any relationship between you and the defendant.
Mitchell (
breaking down sobbing
) Yes, there was. We were lovers and he even asked me to be his wife.
Barrington Did you accept his proposal?
Mitchell Yes, I did.
Barrington So you must have been in love with him at the time?
Mitchell Yes, I was at the time.
Barrington So how do you feel about him now, Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell I loathe him.
Barrington You loathe him?
Mitchell (
voice rising
) Yes, I loathe him. When he needed me, nothing was too much trouble for him, but once I’d served my purpose he dumped me as if I had never existed.
Barrington Try not to raise your voice too much, Ms Mitchell. Otherwise the jury might begin to suspect that…
Mitchell (
still sobbing
) I don’t care what they …
Kersley My Lord, I must object. Do these attacks on Ms Mitchell have any real purpose other than to intimidate?
Judge Do they, Sir James?
Barrington They most certainly do, My Lord, their purpose is to ensure that an innocent man doesn’t have to spend the rest of his life in gaol on the evidence of a jealous, vindictive woman who couldn’t get her own way. Ms Mitchell, if you are going to persist in claiming that Mr Sherwood seduced you, I must remind you, before you answer my next question, that you are still under oath. (
He pauses
.) Was Mr Sherwood the first person you had an affair with at St George’s? ( Jarvis
hands him blank sheet of paper that the audience can see is blank
.)
Mitchell (
hesitates
) There may have been one other.
Barrington (
stares down at blank sheet
) Only one other, Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell Well, over a period of five years, perhaps two.
Barrington (
continues to stare at sheet
) Two?
Mitchell (
she hesitates
) Possibly three.
Barrington (
slowly
) Or four, or five, or …
Mitchell No - three.
Barrington And were any or all three of these paramours also doctors or surgeons, by any chance?
Mitchell Yes, but the first one was years ago and didn’t last that long.
Barrington Are you certain, of that Ms Mitchell?
Mitchell Yes, I am, but then I feel sure even you can remember when you lost your virginity, Sir James.
Barrington (
continues to stare at the blank sheet of paper
) But your second and third affairs lasted a considerably longer time, didn’t they?
Mitchell Yes, but they were over long before Patrick began courting me.
Barrington (
voice rising
) But isn’t it the truth, Ms Mitchell, that having failed to snare one doctor, you were willing to go to any lengths to catch another?
Mitchell No, that is not the truth. The truth is that Patrick told me that he loved me and asked me to be his wife, and I can prove it.
Barrington Like you can prove he gave you prescriptions only on a Friday evening, like you can prove that he showered you with presents that no longer exist, like you can prove which restaurants he took you to, but you can’t remember their names, like you can prove which theatres you attended, but can’t recall the titles of the plays, like you can prove he telephoned you again and again, but there’s no trace of any calls, like you can prove …
Mitchell That he made me
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