The Glass House by Ashley Gardner Read Free Book Online Page B

wit's
end what to do with. The pupils spoke to us readily enough. They
eyed Bartholomew with either awe at his size or with a spark of
mischief as they debated how to make fun of him.
    We received much jovial advice on which
barristers to avoid, but no one mentioned Chapman. I had to inquire
about him directly and was directed to a tall, lanky young man who
was taking a turn about the gardens.
    Mr. Gower was about twenty summers, very
tall, very thin, and with a crop of bright red hair. He had
freckles all over his face and throat and the bony wrists that
protruded from the ends of his gown. He had a serious expression,
but when I asked him about Chapman, he rolled his light blue
eyes.
    "Dull," he said.
    I raised my brows. "Dull?"
    "Deadly. I was his pupil all Michaelmas term
and now I've Hilary term to get through. I'm almost dead from
yawning."
    "Sounds the perfect man for the lad, here." I
jerked my thumb at Bartholomew.
    Mr. Gower gave me a look that said he didn't
think much of my senses. "Not what I'd wish on my nephew. Chapman
passes up the most interesting cases and sticks with what's safe
and only needs two words to the judge to get a conviction. No
style, no verve. But alas, one has to put up with it if one wants
to become a barrister. Someone in my family must make a
living."
    "Mr. Chapman is married, I believe," I said.
"Perhaps that makes him wish to choose cases that are safe."
    Mr. Gower snorted. "You'd never think he was
married. He never talks about his wife, never goes home. Just has
me sifting through dull books all night. I hear she is a damned
pretty woman. I'll not feel sorry for her, though, always being
alone at home. It would be duller for her with him there."
    I found it interesting that Chapman seemed
not to have told his pupil of his wife's death or of his journey to
Bow Street to identify her. Doubtless Mr. Gower would be
disheartened to learn he'd missed the only bit of excitement in
Chapman's chambers all term.
    "Do you dine with him?" I asked.
    "Every day in the hall." The lad gestured to
the square brick edifice behind us. "I sit with the students, of
course. We debate a case most days. Thank God he doesn't
choose them. He dines with the other barristers, but not the silks.
Not that he don't want to." Mr. Gower winked.
    A silk, as I understood it, denoted a King's
Counsel, a senior barrister--a most distinguished achievement.
    "Did he dine Monday?" When young Gower looked
a question, I added. "I called, but he was not in his chambers. I
wondered if I’d chosen a bad time."
    "Oh, yes, he was there. Dozing over his
pudding as usual. Saving up his waking hours to plague me with his
dull books. I say." He brightened. "Would you like to slip away for
a tankard? It's early, he won't miss me for a while."
    I resisted the urge to join him. Gower's easy
manner was infectious, but I could not keep up the charade over a
tall tankard of ale, nor could Bartholomew. I declined and thanked
him for his time. He shrugged and departed, walking away down the
lane, back straight, arms swinging, whistling a tune.
    I envied him. His young shoulders had borne
no hardships; his only grief was nodding off over the pages of the
tedious cases Chapman assigned him to read.
    Bartholomew and I walked the opposite
direction, down to the Temple Gardens. The peaceful setting of
green and trees was soothing, even in the winter cold. Young men in
black gowns walked hurriedly, heads down, gowns flapping, like
crows scuttling along the green. Older barristers hobbled in their
wakes. All moved purposefully to and from the Inns and other
buildings, seeming to ignore the gardens laid out for their
pleasure.
    A set of stairs led from the gardens to the
Thames. The steps to the water had existed since the time that
these Inns had been the demesne of the Knights Templar; the stairs
had led to barges when the Thames had been the most sensible route
for traversing London.
    "He couldn't have done her, then,"
Bartholomew said as soon as we