expert witnesses.’
Murray paced silently for a moment, then he nodded. ‘Fine. Let’s give him a go. He’s in the same chambers as Anthony Cross, anyway, so that helps. Give his clerk a ring.’
At that moment the door opened, and Mr Rothwell, the senior partner, looked in. ‘Thought I’d just tell you two that Rachel Dean – rather, Rachel Davies – will be rejoining us in a couple of weeks’ time.’
Murray raised his eyebrows. ‘Return of the Ice Maiden, eh? Funnily enough, we were just talking about her husband. Ellwood’s had to drop out of the Lloyd’s litigation, and Fred was suggesting Leo Davies as a replacement.’
‘You could do a lot worse. I’m sorry to hear Ellwood’s been dropped. What’s all that about?’
‘Conflict of interest,’ said Fred.
Rothwell shook his head. ‘Shame. Anyway, thought I’d pass on the news about Rachel.’
When the door had closed, Fred remarked, ‘That’s a bit of a surprise. I mean, she had the baby only a few months ago. You wouldn’t have thought she’d bother coming back to work, given the amount of money her husband must be coining.’
‘A very chauvinistic attitude,’ replied Murray with a grin. ‘She wants her own career – doesn’t want to waste away as a bored rich housewife. And very creditable. She’s an excellent lawyer.’
‘Oh, granted,’ said Fred. ‘She just always struck me as the type who’d be happy at home with her babies.’
‘Who knows about women, Fred?’ said Murray, seating himself at his desk again. ‘Anyway, you’d better get on to Leo Davies’ clerk before someone else does.’
‘Mr Davies will want a brief fee of two hundred and fifty thousand, and a refresher of two thousand a day,’ said Felicity crisply.
At the other end of the phone, Fred Fenton sighed. It was pure extortion, the amount these silks demanded. ‘Look, this isn’t some multinational corporation here. These Names can’t just chuck it about. Call it two hundred thousand for the brief fee, and a daily refresher of a thousand.’
Felicity smiled. She never thought of it as money – it was just big numbers, and a bit of difference splitting. ‘You can’t get the best for peanuts,’ she reminded Fred, then thought for a few seconds. ‘Tell you what – two hundred and thirty thousand and twelve hundred refresher.’
Fred hesitated. He hoped Davies would be worth it. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘You’d better contact Ellwood’s chambers and ask them to send the papers over.’
‘Right ho,’ said Felicity cheerfully, and put the phone down. At that moment Leo came into the clerks’ room in his shirtsleeves and dropped some letters in the outgoing mail tray.
‘What are you smiling about?’ he asked morosely. ‘You’re always smiling.’
‘I just like to brighten your day up, Mr Davies. Actually, that was Nichols and Co asking if you’d like to be instructed as leader in the Capstall case. Godfrey Ellwood’s had to stand down. And I checked your diary and said you’d love to. How about that?’
Leo regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Mmm. Well, now. That’s rather interesting, isn’t it?’ His manner was casual, but Leo felt an inner excitement such as he had not felt in a long time.To replace someone like Godfrey Ellwood in a case of this magnitude was something of a challenge. He’d had plenty of decent work since becoming a QC, but this could be landmark litigation. This could make his name in a very big way.
‘I’ll ring Brick Court and ask them to send the papers round, shall I?’
‘Yes, you do that. Though I imagine Anthony’s got any amount of stuff – we don’t want to duplicate too much.’
As he made his way upstairs, Leo reflected on Anthony’s likely reaction to this news. Given the way he’d been actively avoiding Leo’s company for the past few months, he might not exactly relish having Leo as his leader. They would necessarily be spending a lot of time together from now on. Leo suddenly
Murray paced silently for a moment, then he nodded. ‘Fine. Let’s give him a go. He’s in the same chambers as Anthony Cross, anyway, so that helps. Give his clerk a ring.’
At that moment the door opened, and Mr Rothwell, the senior partner, looked in. ‘Thought I’d just tell you two that Rachel Dean – rather, Rachel Davies – will be rejoining us in a couple of weeks’ time.’
Murray raised his eyebrows. ‘Return of the Ice Maiden, eh? Funnily enough, we were just talking about her husband. Ellwood’s had to drop out of the Lloyd’s litigation, and Fred was suggesting Leo Davies as a replacement.’
‘You could do a lot worse. I’m sorry to hear Ellwood’s been dropped. What’s all that about?’
‘Conflict of interest,’ said Fred.
Rothwell shook his head. ‘Shame. Anyway, thought I’d pass on the news about Rachel.’
When the door had closed, Fred remarked, ‘That’s a bit of a surprise. I mean, she had the baby only a few months ago. You wouldn’t have thought she’d bother coming back to work, given the amount of money her husband must be coining.’
‘A very chauvinistic attitude,’ replied Murray with a grin. ‘She wants her own career – doesn’t want to waste away as a bored rich housewife. And very creditable. She’s an excellent lawyer.’
‘Oh, granted,’ said Fred. ‘She just always struck me as the type who’d be happy at home with her babies.’
‘Who knows about women, Fred?’ said Murray, seating himself at his desk again. ‘Anyway, you’d better get on to Leo Davies’ clerk before someone else does.’
‘Mr Davies will want a brief fee of two hundred and fifty thousand, and a refresher of two thousand a day,’ said Felicity crisply.
At the other end of the phone, Fred Fenton sighed. It was pure extortion, the amount these silks demanded. ‘Look, this isn’t some multinational corporation here. These Names can’t just chuck it about. Call it two hundred thousand for the brief fee, and a daily refresher of a thousand.’
Felicity smiled. She never thought of it as money – it was just big numbers, and a bit of difference splitting. ‘You can’t get the best for peanuts,’ she reminded Fred, then thought for a few seconds. ‘Tell you what – two hundred and thirty thousand and twelve hundred refresher.’
Fred hesitated. He hoped Davies would be worth it. ‘All right,’ he said. ‘You’d better contact Ellwood’s chambers and ask them to send the papers over.’
‘Right ho,’ said Felicity cheerfully, and put the phone down. At that moment Leo came into the clerks’ room in his shirtsleeves and dropped some letters in the outgoing mail tray.
‘What are you smiling about?’ he asked morosely. ‘You’re always smiling.’
‘I just like to brighten your day up, Mr Davies. Actually, that was Nichols and Co asking if you’d like to be instructed as leader in the Capstall case. Godfrey Ellwood’s had to stand down. And I checked your diary and said you’d love to. How about that?’
Leo regarded her thoughtfully. ‘Mmm. Well, now. That’s rather interesting, isn’t it?’ His manner was casual, but Leo felt an inner excitement such as he had not felt in a long time.To replace someone like Godfrey Ellwood in a case of this magnitude was something of a challenge. He’d had plenty of decent work since becoming a QC, but this could be landmark litigation. This could make his name in a very big way.
‘I’ll ring Brick Court and ask them to send the papers round, shall I?’
‘Yes, you do that. Though I imagine Anthony’s got any amount of stuff – we don’t want to duplicate too much.’
As he made his way upstairs, Leo reflected on Anthony’s likely reaction to this news. Given the way he’d been actively avoiding Leo’s company for the past few months, he might not exactly relish having Leo as his leader. They would necessarily be spending a lot of time together from now on. Leo suddenly
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