any children?"
"No."
"So Master Potter?"
"Mine."
"How old is he?"
"Seven now. Nice
lad."
"Do you see him
much?"
"Not lately; not since I
was banned from driving. Can't get anywhere. When we opened the London office I
used to spend the weeks with Kate, and as I told you, come home at weekends.
"
The penny now dropped.
Brakespeare paused, not quite sure how to put things. "So you had a sort
of double life."
Brakespeare pulled a face.
"Well I suppose that's one way of looking at it."
“ Did your wife know?"
Newberry breathed in deeply
though his nose and out again.
"Don't know. We never
talked about it. She never asked any questions. As I said she has her life; I
have mine. "
"But why, if as you say
you haven't er. ... "
"Shagged her?"
"….For eighteen years,
why not separate?" Newberry looked at him.
"Do you have any
children?"
"Two"
"With your wife?"
"We're divorced."
"How old?"
"Six and four".
"When did you
separate?"
"Just after the youngest
was born. "
Newberry looked in front
again."
"That's sad. You won't
have fully bonded, but my kids grew up with me. I suppose I feel guilty because
I married their mother, and so I decided that I had to stay with them. "
"Will you separate".
"I hope so, when this is
all over."
"Right."
There was another silence.
"So Master Potter is
really Master Newberry. Levy obviously knew?"
"Well, it was impossible
to hide it. He looks like me." He tugged at his ginger hair.
"And Levy accepted your
double life. "
"That’s the second time
you’ve used that expression I'm not sure that I like it. “
"Sorry, but really it
seems to me that until all this trouble blew up you lived your life to an
extent in separate compartments; Mr Newberry the first, the respectable family
man living in respectable Malvern, and Mr Newberry the second, the ‘in a
relationship’ man living in swinging London. "
“ Save that we didn't swing, I
won't disagree with you."
"Well it's very sad; I
don't know how you managed to do it."
"Perhaps, as you say, I
compartmentalised things. "
"Is that what you did
with Clearfield?"
"What do you mean."
"When you were a
surveyor, you forgot that you were or had been involved in the Company."
"Well yes, you must
compartmentalise yourself like that. Are you always Mr. Solicitor?"
“ No.”
“ Why not?”
"Well if you tell anyone
at a party what your job is, they either spend their time telling you of their
or their relatives bad experience with solicitors, or else want free legal
advice over a glass of red wine. I take your point. When I am acting
professionally I behave totally differently from the way I behave when I can
relax. For a start, professionally, I wear a business suit. It's my working
clothes."
"Well that's how I
operated .. "
"Do your children know
that they have a half brother?"
"No."
"They thought that Dad
was away, working in London?"
"Yes."
Brakespeare paused. He gazed
at Newberry who was looking ahead at the view.
"Is there anything else,
any other complication I need to know?" He dreaded what the answer might
be, but smiled what he hoped might be an amused smile. Fortunately he had
caught the right mood in Newberry.
"I'll work on it. Come
on, we'd better get back. Wouldn't fancy a spot of lunch in a pub would you.
"
"Thanks, but no thanks. I
need to get back to the office and sort out in my mind all out that you've told
me. I'll let you have a copy of the prosecution papers, well at least the
witness statements. The rest are mainly copy documents but we may need to go
through those together at some time."
"Suits me, but," and
he clutched Brakespeare's arm "Remember, I cannot have this go to trial.
Try and stop it somehow, or it will kill me.
"I think I've got that
particular message," Brakespeare said quietly.
“ How are you going to stop
it?”
“ I'll work on it.” said
Brakespeare.
chapter nine
"So how did it go"
asked Mortimer, coming into Brakespeare's office with Ridley at his heels.
"It was
"No."
"So Master Potter?"
"Mine."
"How old is he?"
"Seven now. Nice
lad."
"Do you see him
much?"
"Not lately; not since I
was banned from driving. Can't get anywhere. When we opened the London office I
used to spend the weeks with Kate, and as I told you, come home at weekends.
"
The penny now dropped.
Brakespeare paused, not quite sure how to put things. "So you had a sort
of double life."
Brakespeare pulled a face.
"Well I suppose that's one way of looking at it."
“ Did your wife know?"
Newberry breathed in deeply
though his nose and out again.
"Don't know. We never
talked about it. She never asked any questions. As I said she has her life; I
have mine. "
"But why, if as you say
you haven't er. ... "
"Shagged her?"
"….For eighteen years,
why not separate?" Newberry looked at him.
"Do you have any
children?"
"Two"
"With your wife?"
"We're divorced."
"How old?"
"Six and four".
"When did you
separate?"
"Just after the youngest
was born. "
Newberry looked in front
again."
"That's sad. You won't
have fully bonded, but my kids grew up with me. I suppose I feel guilty because
I married their mother, and so I decided that I had to stay with them. "
"Will you separate".
"I hope so, when this is
all over."
"Right."
There was another silence.
"So Master Potter is
really Master Newberry. Levy obviously knew?"
"Well, it was impossible
to hide it. He looks like me." He tugged at his ginger hair.
"And Levy accepted your
double life. "
"That’s the second time
you’ve used that expression I'm not sure that I like it. “
"Sorry, but really it
seems to me that until all this trouble blew up you lived your life to an
extent in separate compartments; Mr Newberry the first, the respectable family
man living in respectable Malvern, and Mr Newberry the second, the ‘in a
relationship’ man living in swinging London. "
“ Save that we didn't swing, I
won't disagree with you."
"Well it's very sad; I
don't know how you managed to do it."
"Perhaps, as you say, I
compartmentalised things. "
"Is that what you did
with Clearfield?"
"What do you mean."
"When you were a
surveyor, you forgot that you were or had been involved in the Company."
"Well yes, you must
compartmentalise yourself like that. Are you always Mr. Solicitor?"
“ No.”
“ Why not?”
"Well if you tell anyone
at a party what your job is, they either spend their time telling you of their
or their relatives bad experience with solicitors, or else want free legal
advice over a glass of red wine. I take your point. When I am acting
professionally I behave totally differently from the way I behave when I can
relax. For a start, professionally, I wear a business suit. It's my working
clothes."
"Well that's how I
operated .. "
"Do your children know
that they have a half brother?"
"No."
"They thought that Dad
was away, working in London?"
"Yes."
Brakespeare paused. He gazed
at Newberry who was looking ahead at the view.
"Is there anything else,
any other complication I need to know?" He dreaded what the answer might
be, but smiled what he hoped might be an amused smile. Fortunately he had
caught the right mood in Newberry.
"I'll work on it. Come
on, we'd better get back. Wouldn't fancy a spot of lunch in a pub would you.
"
"Thanks, but no thanks. I
need to get back to the office and sort out in my mind all out that you've told
me. I'll let you have a copy of the prosecution papers, well at least the
witness statements. The rest are mainly copy documents but we may need to go
through those together at some time."
"Suits me, but," and
he clutched Brakespeare's arm "Remember, I cannot have this go to trial.
Try and stop it somehow, or it will kill me.
"I think I've got that
particular message," Brakespeare said quietly.
“ How are you going to stop
it?”
“ I'll work on it.” said
Brakespeare.
chapter nine
"So how did it go"
asked Mortimer, coming into Brakespeare's office with Ridley at his heels.
"It was
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