Social Graces by Wendy Soliman

Author:Wendy Soliman [Soliman, Wendy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-07-02T23:00:00+00:00

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Dinner was a grand yet informal affair. Sophia was determined to take it all in and enjoy being pampered. Regardless of whether or not the investigation bore fruit, she could not impose herself indefinitely on important people who had more pressing demands upon their time than acting as her nursemaid. It would not do to become reliant upon them or grow accustomed to a way of life to which she was not entitled. Olivia’s lovely silk gown rustled and swished as she moved, making it easier to understand how Connie must have felt whenever she stepped onto a stage, pretending to be someone else. Sophia would commit as much as possible about the evening to memory. Perhaps she would be able to use some of the things she saw and heard in an abstract way in one of her newspaper articles.

Despite her best endeavours, if asked afterwards she could not have said what she ate, or who said what to whom. Olivia teased her husband constantly, that much she did recall, and he tolerated her lively wit with an air of amused adoration. All three of them went out of their way to include her in the conversation, talking about things she would know something about rather than discussing their own friends who were strangers to her. The inherent good manners of the socially elite. Mr Milton was especially attentive and charming, cajoling her to taste just a little of every dish on offer and ensuring that her wine glass remained filled. He also made her laugh aloud with light-hearted stories from his days in the courtroom.

‘On the very first occasion when Isaac permitted me to question a witness,’ he said, ‘I was so nervous and asked such inane questions that I almost convinced the jury our clearly innocent client was guilty on all counts.’

‘What on earth did you do?’ Olivia asked.

Mr Milton chuckled. ‘I was questioning the police pathologist and asked if he was sure the victim was dead? Had he checked for a pulse?’

Everyone at the table laughed.

‘I wanted to crawl beneath a bench and stay there when I realised I’d asked him the question I had intended for the man who’d discovered the body,’ Mr Milton said. ‘Fortunately Isaac saw the funny side of it and we still managed to achieve an acquittal in a case that should never have been brought against our client.’ He took a sip of his wine and leaned back in his chair. ‘There was another occasion when we were defending the keeper of a house of ill-repute. She denied the claim and assured us that her house was a respectable one. When asked why so many men came and went at all hours of the day and night she claimed that gentlemen called to take tea and make polite conversation. Of course, the prosecutor tried to make the jury see how ridiculous that sounded, until the judge intervened. The lady then looked up at him from the witness box and said

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