Brothers In Law by Henry Cecil

Author:Henry Cecil
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Brother’s in Law
ISBN: 9780755128938
Publisher: House of Stratus
Published: 2012-12-24T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Conference with Mr Merivale

The next day Mr Merivale himself made an appointment to see Roger.

‘Good morning, young man,’ he said after they had been introduced. ‘I’m very grateful to you for all the work you’ve put into this rather troublesome little case of Newent.’

‘Oh, thank you, Mr Merivale. I haven’t done much good at present, I’m afraid.’

‘Well,’ said Mr Merivale, ‘he’s a difficult judge, she’s a difficult client and it’s not as simple a matter as I once thought. That’s my fault, not yours. Quite frankly, young man, I think it was unfair of me to ask you to take the responsibility.’

‘Oh, not at all. It was very good of you to send me the brief. I’m sorry I haven’t done better with it. I imagine you’d like to give it to someone else now.’

‘By no means,’ said Mr Merivale, ‘by no manner of means at all. I cannot think what could have put such an idea into your head.’ He hesitated a moment and then said: ‘You didn’t see my clerk after the first hearing, I suppose?’

‘No, I’m afraid I left in rather a hurry. Mrs Newent was rather offensive to me.’

‘Well, that’s all right then – I mean, I suppose she was a bit excited, but she shouldn’t have been rude. But that’s quite all right now. She quite understands the position and of course she wants you to go on with the case, of course she does. Be a fool if she didn’t. I hear from my clerk that you put up a very stout performance – “for the ashes of your fathers and the temples of your gods.”’

‘I beg your pardon?’ said Roger.

‘Horatius, my boy. “And how can man die better than facing fearful odds – for the ashes of his fathers, etc, etc.” Not that I’m suggesting you died, my boy. Far from it. Put up an excellent performance, excellent. Wish I’d been there to see it myself. I’ll come next time, though, I really will.’

‘I’m glad Mr Smith was pleased,’ said Roger.

‘Mr Smith was very pleased indeed,’ said Mr Merivale. ‘And I may tell you, young man, that Mr Smith is not a man who is easily pleased. Far, from it. Far from it. Particularly where counsel are concerned. No, I had a long talk with Mr Smith about you and I hope that in consequence we’re going to see a lot more of you, my boy. We need young men like you these days. Fighters, that’s what we want. Like your Mr Grimes, for instance. There are not many of them today. And there’s a fighter for you. Never knows when he’s beaten. D’you know, I’ve seen that man stand up in the Court of Appeal with the whole Court against him – all three of them – and battle with them for days. Another man would have sat down the first day.’

‘And did he win, Mr Merivale?’

‘No, my boy, I can’t say that he won that particular case. But he went on three days and no one could have done more.

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