If Tessa’s behavior at the mercantile and in the courtroom could change the sheriff’s first impression, there was hope for the jury. She wasn’t a murderess. She didn’t act like a murderess or a woman of loose character. She looked delicate and fragile and every inch a proper lady. She would impress the jury. David knew that firsthand. She’d already impressed the hell out of him.
But if the jury appeared to doubt Tessa’s story, he would have to rely on Coalie.
Tessa wasn’t going to like it. She’d fight tooth and nail to keep Coalie from testifying if it came to that, but David didn’t plan to give her a choice. Not when he was fighting for her freedom and her life. He’d simply present her with a fait accompli.
With that thought in mind, David exited the courthouse through the rear door and walked down the street. He stopped first at the jeweler’s, then continued on to the telegraph office to send for Coalie.
Chapter Twenty
“You can’t!” Tessa whispered furiously. They stood outside the courtroom, waiting for the townspeople and the reporters to disperse before they made their way to the rented buggy. “I won’t let you do this.”
“Tessa, you’ve got no choice.”
“You promised,” she accused. “I should have known better than to put faith in your promises.”
“I promised I wouldn’t go get him,” David corrected. “And I won’t. Mary will bring him here tomorrow morning.”
The day-long session of court had ended. Finally. At five in the afternoon, the jury had handed down an indictment of Miss Tessa Mary Catherine Roarke on a charge of the murder of Arnie Mason. Judge Emory called the attorneys into his chambers and announced that Tessa Roarke was to be released into David’s custody once again, but for her safety, that bit of information would remain confidential. As far as the crowds of reporters were concerned, Miss Roarke was being held at the Peaceable jail. The trial would begin at ten the following morning.
“You gave me your word,” Tessa reminded him.
David ground his teeth in frustration; a muscle jumped in his jaw. He’d expected Tessa to be angry and perhaps a bit disappointed in him when he told her he’d sent for Coalie, but he’d also expected her to understand why he did it.
“It’s just a precaution, Tessa. I don’t know how things will go. Jury trials are unpredictable.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Damn, I’d hoped this wouldn’t be necessary, but I’m not taking any chances.”
“Coalie’s a little boy,” Tessa reminded him. “He shouldn’t be exposed to this.” She turned her full anger on David. “I thought you cared about him. How can you expose him to this…this circus?”
“I do care about Coalie. I care very much,” David told her. But I care about you more. The thought popped into his head and wouldn’t go away. Once the trial was over, he intended to show her just how much he cared for both of them. “I wouldn’t have had to do this if the trial hadn’t turned into a circus,” David explained. “Don’t you see, Tessa? You’re the first woman in this county to be indicted for murder. The first to stand trial. The first to face a jury of your peers made up of both men and women. This is news. And unfortunately we’re caught up in the middle of it.”
“But I didn’t kill Arnie Mason,” Tessa said.
“At this point it doesn’t matter whether you did or not. He’s dead, and the citizens of Peaceable want a killer to stand trial. The newspapers want to sell papers. And the county attorney and the judge want to make a name for themselves in a precedent-setting case.”
“What do you want?” Tessa’s gaze was penetrating, direct.
“I want your freedom.”
“Wouldn’t you like to make a name for yourself as well? To go back to Washington a winner?” Tessa lashed out at him. She wanted him to admit he cared for her, that he wanted her, even loved her a little. But she knew better. David Alexander would rather run from his feelings and suffer in silence than admit he needed her. “Is that why you took my case?”
Nothing could have been further from the truth. It hurt to know she thought him capable of using her to advance his career. He didn’t give a damn about Washington or even about his career. He knew what was important in life now. He knew what he wanted. He wanted Tessa. Damn her! Couldn’t she love him? Just a little bit?
David gripped her elbow harder than he intended and propelled her toward the buggy. “I’ve spent the past year trying to escape notoriety,” he told her. “I’ve separated myself from my family and most of my friends so I wouldn’t have to face them day in and day out, wouldn’t have to see the doubt on their faces. I came to Peaceable to escape scandal.” He lifted her up into the buggy, then climbed in beside her and gathered the reins. “I don’t need this. I don’t want this.” He looked at her. “I never wanted my privacy invaded or my name splashed across the front pages of any more newspapers. If I’d known things were going to happen this way, I never would have taken your case!”
“What are you going to do?” Tessa taunted. “Foist me off on another attorney? One who doesn’t mind making a name for himself?” She meant to wound him just as he’d wounded her, and she knew where to strike. “Or do you intend to run away again? Abandon me and Coalie to the wolves the way you abandoned Caroline Millen and her baby?”
David whitened. The bronze color left his face. He recoiled as if she’d landed a mighty blow. A mortal blow. Icy contempt filled his dark brown eyes.
“No, contessa.” The title was a sneer and the tone of his voice a mockery of politeness. “I plan to win this damned case. I plan to hand you your freedom on a silver platter so you can leave Peaceable and get the hell out of my life once and for all.” David met her gaze. Her blue eyes filled with emotion and became a deeper, darker shade until they reminded him of bruises against her white face. David tried to stop the flow of words that rolled off his tongue, but he couldn’t help himself. He thought of Coalie and what she’d said, and he couldn’t prevent himself from issuing a warning.
“You asked me what I want. Well, Tessa, I’ll tell you. I want freedom. Yours and mine. I want my apartment and my office and my cat. I want my life the way it was before you turned it upside down. I want to get back to normal.”
David saw the look on her face and knew he’d hurt her. But he’d meant to hurt her. He’d wanted her to feel the same heart-rending pain he felt. “And I’m going to use whatever means necessary to get what I want.”
* * *
By the time they arrived at his office, an uneasy truce had been declared. Tessa shed her coat at the front door and slipped into the routine she and David had established. She prepared a supper neither one of them wanted to eat.
David cleaned up the dishes afterward while Tessa put on a kettle of water for tea.