‘He’s always like that, isn’t he?’
I watched as Jamie nodded sharply at the empty seats in the front row. Antonia stood up as though he’d yanked a string. Mouthing apologies at the dock, she scuttled forward until she was seated in the front row, where she sat, twisting her engagement ring nervously.
‘You must have seen that,’ I asked Kit, but he was fiddling with his watch, synchronising it with the court clock.
Jamie’s walk from the dock to the witness box was ten, maybe twelve paces. He was overly polite and co-operative, loudly thanking the usher who held the door open for him and saying, ‘Of course, of course, thank you,’ as he was shown into the witness box.
‘You may sit down, Mr Balcombe,’ said the judge.
‘Thank you, Your Honour,’ said Jamie, bowing his head, ‘But I prefer to stand.’
He was dressed in a different suit today. It was slightly oversized and made him look like a schoolboy on the first day of term, in a new blazer bought with growing room. As surreptitiously as I could, I looked sideways at the rest of them, immaculately dressed in the gallery next to me. It was hard to believe that Jamie’s ill-fitting suit was anything but a device to disarm the jurors. His eyes looked bluer than they had before; was he wearing lenses?
He swore on the Bible. Of course he did.
Fiona Price smiled warmly at her client.
‘Jamie, thank you,’ she said, as though he had a choice, as though he was doing us all a favour by gracing us with his presence. ‘Before we get to the night in question, I’d like you to tell me a bit about your education,’ she continued.
‘Thank you, Miss Price. I was educated at the Saxby Cathedral School, where I got four As at A level. I’m currently studying to be an architect. I got my Bachelor’s in Architectural Design at Bath University.’
His voice was like expensive honey, dripping off a silver spoon.
‘There are a further three years of study and work experience required before I’m eligible to join the Royal Institute of British Architects. I believe I’m right in saying that only veterinary surgeons train for longer than architects. After your BA, you spend a year working in the industry before returning to university for two years to complete a Diploma in Architecture, then more professional practice, more studying, more exams.’ He gave a little smile. ‘And after that you have to apply to RIBA and get a job. That’s when the hard work really starts.’
A male juror in a blazer nodded as the tattooed man curled his lip.
‘And how has this case affected your career?’
Jamie put a sag in his spine. ‘It’s destroyed it before it had a chance to get going, to be honest. I should be doing my year in industry now. I had a place with McPherson and Barr, the award-winning architectural firm. They were behind the new eco-estates being built on brownfield sites in the inner cities? It’s a very prestigious placement; they only take on one graduate per year. I was just about to start my placement when these allegations were made and unfortunately the firm found it necessary to suspend me pending a verdict. So I’m currently rather in limbo.’
The story fell out whole. I tried to catch Jamie’s eye. You can’t lie to me, I thought. I know you. I’ve seen your rotten heart.
This was too much for Fiona Price; for a few moments she hung her head in grief at a young man’s career derailed, before continuing. ‘Your father is a successful housebuilder, is he not? In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to say that he has an empire property, with new builds happening all the time. You don’t need letters after your name to make your mark. Why not simply go into the family business?’
Jamie gave a bright blue blink. ‘It’s important for me not to cruise on my father’s reputation. And besides, the future of the industry must be sustainable, responsible housing. That’s where my interest lies. I suppose you’d call it a vocation as much as a profession.’
The irony struck me that a man on trial for rape could be so seductive.
‘You are a young man with a very great deal to lose,’ said Price. ‘It must be very distressing, then, that your career is on hold.’
‘Your Honour,’ interrupted Polglase. ‘My learned friend is seeking to try the matter on consequences, not on the evidence.’
Price didn’t miss a beat. ‘In order to assess how my client might act in a given situation, one has to take into account how much he’d have to lose if he did so. Let us move on, Jamie, to how this case has affected your personal life.’
‘I’ve barely slept since they arrested me,’ he replied. ‘That’s a long time to be tired. Even now I can barely believe this is happening to me.’
Fiona Price straightened a pen on her desk, then changed her tone.
‘Are you married? Have children?’
‘I’m engaged to be married. My fiancée Antonia is here.’ He smiled at Antonia, who simpered in return. For the first time, it struck me; she had been in court since the first day of the trial, which means she couldn’t be appearing as a witness. Why hadn’t they called her? Why wouldn’t they call her?
‘Any children?’ said Price.
‘No children yet, I want to do things the right way round, but I’m very hopeful on that front.’
You could see the female members of the jury melting. Even I was struggling to superimpose the rapist’s sneer over the blinking schoolboy in the dock before me.