and set it out properly? He remembered what Julia had said, and remembered Julia. He hadn’t thought about her since he left the Temple, and now the recollection surged pleasurably back. He thought about her for a while, and then he thought about Bridget. There could be no question of his going to live with her. But what about his father’s furniture? Maybe she’d agree to store it for him, anyway. Not very likely. Oh, God, he would have to see her this weekend and they would have to talk about – about ‘things’, as Bridget called them. Things. Well, no good putting off the inevitable. He put Bridget out of his mind and began to think about Julia again as he cleared the papers up and headed for bed.
Edward spent all of the following morning in the library with Anthony’s rough notes, trying to put the work into a finished state. At lunchtime he caught up with Anthony just outside chambers.
‘Look, thanks a million for doing that stuff. I’ve worked it up a bit and I wondered if you’d just cast your eye over it. I mean, see that it’s—’
‘No,’ said Anthony firmly. ‘I didn’t mind helping you out this once, but it’s your pigeon now. I can’t do it twice.’
‘No, well, I suppose not. Anyway, thanks.’
When Edward showed the work to Leo, he was gratified by its reception; so much so that he quite forgot that he hadn’t done it on his own.
‘That’s really very good,’ said Leo. ‘You’ve quite got the grasp of it. I didn’t think you’d pick up on joining the insurance company as third defendant.’
‘Oh, well,’ shrugged Edward, ‘it only occurred to me later on, actually.’
‘Yes, I suppose it was only when you really grasped the point about the indemnity.’
‘Quite,’ replied Edward easily, wondering what on earth Leo was talking about. Still, it was good that it was going down so well.
Later that day, Leo mentioned Edward’s work in conversation with Michael and Cameron Renshaw, one of the older tenants and a man fiercely keen to ensure that the good reputation of 5 Caper Court remained untarnished. He had initially been against Edward joining them as a pupil (a view expressed privately, of course), partly because he disliked the idea of someone being taken on just becausehe was Sir Basil’s nephew, and partly because of his bias against anyone who didn’t have a first-class honours degree.
‘Your doubts about the old man’s protégé may have been misplaced,’ said Leo. ‘I gave him some pleadings to do yesterday and he acquitted himself quite well. Very well, in fact. A bit ragged round the edges, but he’d grasped all the essentials. So maybe we won’t have to worry about a great chambers debate over him. I imagine he’d do very well.’
‘There’s always Cross,’ said Michael. ‘He’s really very good, too, you know.’ Michael was fond of Anthony and, although the subject had not been discussed between them as yet, he knew that Anthony was hopeful of a tenancy at the end of the year.
‘And he’s got a first from Bristol, hasn’t he?’ remarked Renshaw.
‘Well, of course, I don’t know,’ said Leo. ‘Seems a nice lad. But when pitch comes to toss, you wouldn’t seriously want to set someone up against a perfectly competent pupil, who just happens to be Sir Basil’s nephew, just on a point of principle, would you?’
‘The principle being that nepotism isn’t a good thing,’ responded Michael dryly.
‘On the other hand,’ said Cameron Renshaw, lifting his large frame from one of Leo’s chairs and hitching his braces, ‘Edward Choke’s a Cambridge man. Good thing, that. We’re all Oxbridge men. Don’t want too many new influences.’
‘What rubbish!’ burst out Michael with a laugh. ‘I wouldn’t call Bristol University a “new influence”. We’re not a club, you know.’
‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ rejoined Renshaw, somewhat irked by the conversation. ‘Nothing against your lad Cross, Michael, but is he
Edward spent all of the following morning in the library with Anthony’s rough notes, trying to put the work into a finished state. At lunchtime he caught up with Anthony just outside chambers.
‘Look, thanks a million for doing that stuff. I’ve worked it up a bit and I wondered if you’d just cast your eye over it. I mean, see that it’s—’
‘No,’ said Anthony firmly. ‘I didn’t mind helping you out this once, but it’s your pigeon now. I can’t do it twice.’
‘No, well, I suppose not. Anyway, thanks.’
When Edward showed the work to Leo, he was gratified by its reception; so much so that he quite forgot that he hadn’t done it on his own.
‘That’s really very good,’ said Leo. ‘You’ve quite got the grasp of it. I didn’t think you’d pick up on joining the insurance company as third defendant.’
‘Oh, well,’ shrugged Edward, ‘it only occurred to me later on, actually.’
‘Yes, I suppose it was only when you really grasped the point about the indemnity.’
‘Quite,’ replied Edward easily, wondering what on earth Leo was talking about. Still, it was good that it was going down so well.
Later that day, Leo mentioned Edward’s work in conversation with Michael and Cameron Renshaw, one of the older tenants and a man fiercely keen to ensure that the good reputation of 5 Caper Court remained untarnished. He had initially been against Edward joining them as a pupil (a view expressed privately, of course), partly because he disliked the idea of someone being taken on just becausehe was Sir Basil’s nephew, and partly because of his bias against anyone who didn’t have a first-class honours degree.
‘Your doubts about the old man’s protégé may have been misplaced,’ said Leo. ‘I gave him some pleadings to do yesterday and he acquitted himself quite well. Very well, in fact. A bit ragged round the edges, but he’d grasped all the essentials. So maybe we won’t have to worry about a great chambers debate over him. I imagine he’d do very well.’
‘There’s always Cross,’ said Michael. ‘He’s really very good, too, you know.’ Michael was fond of Anthony and, although the subject had not been discussed between them as yet, he knew that Anthony was hopeful of a tenancy at the end of the year.
‘And he’s got a first from Bristol, hasn’t he?’ remarked Renshaw.
‘Well, of course, I don’t know,’ said Leo. ‘Seems a nice lad. But when pitch comes to toss, you wouldn’t seriously want to set someone up against a perfectly competent pupil, who just happens to be Sir Basil’s nephew, just on a point of principle, would you?’
‘The principle being that nepotism isn’t a good thing,’ responded Michael dryly.
‘On the other hand,’ said Cameron Renshaw, lifting his large frame from one of Leo’s chairs and hitching his braces, ‘Edward Choke’s a Cambridge man. Good thing, that. We’re all Oxbridge men. Don’t want too many new influences.’
‘What rubbish!’ burst out Michael with a laugh. ‘I wouldn’t call Bristol University a “new influence”. We’re not a club, you know.’
‘That’s not what I meant at all,’ rejoined Renshaw, somewhat irked by the conversation. ‘Nothing against your lad Cross, Michael, but is he
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