honourable and strictly impartial, it strikes me as unlikely that one pillar ofthe establishment – namely the judiciary – would willingly bring about the downfall of another. Then the whole edifice gets a bit rocky. Not that I imagine it will ever come to that.’ They reached the door of Leo’s room. ‘Now, I’ve got phone calls to make and some papers to read. I’ll see you back in court at two.’
Fred strolled along to Rachel’s office later that afternoon. ‘Right, that’s fixed. Leo’s taking the case.’
Rachel’s face betrayed nothing. She nodded. ‘That’s good. I’ll give him a ring tomorrow and get the papers over to him.’ She sighed. ‘Several van loads. Is it my imagination, or is litigation generating more paperwork these days?’
‘The changing face of advocacy. At least the judges work a bit harder.’
‘Hmm. Anyway, thanks for letting me know.’ She smiled. ‘I do appreciate these personal visits. Makes a nice change from interminable emails.’
‘I’m a great believer in keeping the tide of emails down,’ said Fred. ‘See you later.’
When he had gone, Rachel put her face in her hands. When Fred had told her about Leo taking the case, she had felt an instant ripple of pleasure and excitement. She shouldn’t let herself feel that way, live in anticipation of seeing him and speaking to him. He was her ex-husband. Their marriage was over. Hadn’t he hurt, humiliated and betrayed her? When she was pregnant with Oliver he had been seeing another man, and only last year he had had some teenager to live with him, someone he picked up more or less off the streets. He was abominable, utterly amoral.How could she still love him in the face of all that? But the truth was, she did, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was like a wound that would never heal.
Compared to Leo, Charles was a paragon. Sweet, decent, loving and reliable. What diabolical law ordained that one could love hopelessly without any effort, but find it so hard to return total adoration? It was perverse.
Still, it was no use thinking about it. She was happy with Charles, and there was no way that she and Leo would ever have worked. She must approach Leo’s involvement in this Lloyd’s case with complete equanimity and professionalism. She would call him tomorrow, and try to take no special pleasure in it.
The court rose at five. By the time Leo had finished discussing the case with his instructing solicitor and reviewing the timetable of events for the following day, it was quarter to six.
‘How do you feel it’s going?’ asked Sarah, as they crossed to the Temple from the Law Courts. Dusk had already fallen, and the twinkling lights of rush hour traffic stretched the length of the Strand.
‘Hard to tell. We should win, but I expect the other side to make a meal out of the fact that our clients’ P&I club didn’t tell their clients’ club that they were going to pursue an indemnity claim against the owners.’ He glanced at Sarah. ‘What do you think? You’ve been a pupil for six months now. Should be able to make some sort of an assessment.’
Sarah gave him a cool little smile. ‘The trouble is, whenever the great Leo Davies is on his feet and talking, it’shard to see how the other side can possibly win.’
‘Do I detect a note of irony? Remember, at my time of life I require flattery to be delivered with some modicum of sincerity.’ At the gateway to Middle Temple Lane, Leo stopped. ‘Do you know, the last thing I feel like doing is going back to chambers. There’ll just be a stack of telephone notes and other things to deal with. Why don’t we go for a drink until all the solicitors have safely shut up shop?’
Sarah nodded. ‘Suits me.’
They walked back along Fleet Street to Bouverie Street, then down to an out-of-the-way pub at the end of an alleyway, once busy with the rumble of printers’ lorries, now, since the defection of the newspapers from Fleet Street, silent
Fred strolled along to Rachel’s office later that afternoon. ‘Right, that’s fixed. Leo’s taking the case.’
Rachel’s face betrayed nothing. She nodded. ‘That’s good. I’ll give him a ring tomorrow and get the papers over to him.’ She sighed. ‘Several van loads. Is it my imagination, or is litigation generating more paperwork these days?’
‘The changing face of advocacy. At least the judges work a bit harder.’
‘Hmm. Anyway, thanks for letting me know.’ She smiled. ‘I do appreciate these personal visits. Makes a nice change from interminable emails.’
‘I’m a great believer in keeping the tide of emails down,’ said Fred. ‘See you later.’
When he had gone, Rachel put her face in her hands. When Fred had told her about Leo taking the case, she had felt an instant ripple of pleasure and excitement. She shouldn’t let herself feel that way, live in anticipation of seeing him and speaking to him. He was her ex-husband. Their marriage was over. Hadn’t he hurt, humiliated and betrayed her? When she was pregnant with Oliver he had been seeing another man, and only last year he had had some teenager to live with him, someone he picked up more or less off the streets. He was abominable, utterly amoral.How could she still love him in the face of all that? But the truth was, she did, and there was nothing she could do about it. It was like a wound that would never heal.
Compared to Leo, Charles was a paragon. Sweet, decent, loving and reliable. What diabolical law ordained that one could love hopelessly without any effort, but find it so hard to return total adoration? It was perverse.
Still, it was no use thinking about it. She was happy with Charles, and there was no way that she and Leo would ever have worked. She must approach Leo’s involvement in this Lloyd’s case with complete equanimity and professionalism. She would call him tomorrow, and try to take no special pleasure in it.
The court rose at five. By the time Leo had finished discussing the case with his instructing solicitor and reviewing the timetable of events for the following day, it was quarter to six.
‘How do you feel it’s going?’ asked Sarah, as they crossed to the Temple from the Law Courts. Dusk had already fallen, and the twinkling lights of rush hour traffic stretched the length of the Strand.
‘Hard to tell. We should win, but I expect the other side to make a meal out of the fact that our clients’ P&I club didn’t tell their clients’ club that they were going to pursue an indemnity claim against the owners.’ He glanced at Sarah. ‘What do you think? You’ve been a pupil for six months now. Should be able to make some sort of an assessment.’
Sarah gave him a cool little smile. ‘The trouble is, whenever the great Leo Davies is on his feet and talking, it’shard to see how the other side can possibly win.’
‘Do I detect a note of irony? Remember, at my time of life I require flattery to be delivered with some modicum of sincerity.’ At the gateway to Middle Temple Lane, Leo stopped. ‘Do you know, the last thing I feel like doing is going back to chambers. There’ll just be a stack of telephone notes and other things to deal with. Why don’t we go for a drink until all the solicitors have safely shut up shop?’
Sarah nodded. ‘Suits me.’
They walked back along Fleet Street to Bouverie Street, then down to an out-of-the-way pub at the end of an alleyway, once busy with the rumble of printers’ lorries, now, since the defection of the newspapers from Fleet Street, silent
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