bet
you
found them, though,’ she said. ‘
Is
he guilty, sir? Mr O’Kane?’
‘Yes, he is. He’s a traitor.’
‘Oh yes, sir.’ She paused. ‘They’re saying – the warders – that you’re worried someone might try to get him out before tomorrow.’
‘Are they, indeed? Well, you can tell them I’m not worried in the least. No one will get into Calvary tonight.’
‘Mightn’t Mr O’Kane have had his reasons for doing what he did, sir?’
‘I can’t think of any good reasons for anything he did,’ said Lewis a bit sharply.
‘I s’pose not.’ She looked at him steadily. Unusually for a fair-haired girl she had quite dark blue eyes with black lashes. Beautiful, thought Lewis, staring at her. Eyes you
could drown in. With the thought came a throb of sexual desire, which he instantly tried to repress. He reached for a sheaf of papers at random, thinking he would appear to be immersed in work, and
she would go away. He did not trust himself to look directly at her again. Had she sensed that sudden shiver of physical awareness? Yes, of course she had.
Belinda said, ‘Sorry, sir, I’m forgetting who you are and who I am.’ The words were correct, but the tone was not – Lewis recognized a note of parody. I know my place.
Like one of those saucy music-hall performers around the turn of the century, burlesquing pert maids out to seduce the master. He looked up involuntarily, and she grinned at him like an urchin. The
tension lightened at once.
‘I’ll leave you to your tea, sir.’
Despite his resolve, Lewis watched her go out, and had to repress a desire to follow her. He drank his tea, and saw that it was half past four and O’Kane had just over fifteen hours of
life left.
‘The weight’s worked out to a whisker, Sir Lewis,’ said Thomas Pierrepoint in his down-to-earth manner. Lewis had heard people say that Pierrepoint’s
manner was indicative of insensitivity, and that you could not be an executioner and have many of the finer feelings left to you. He did not agree with this; he believed Pierrepoint’s
matter-of-fact air was simply the countryman’s calm acceptance of life and death.
‘Everything’s in place,’ Pierrepoint was saying. ‘I’ll go along presently and try out the sandbags as usual. But I’ve not bungled one yet, as you know,
sir.’
‘Have you seen O’Kane? asked Lewis.
‘Aye, I’ve seen him. I saw him when they exercised him in the yard earlier on. Reckless look he has. If it’s agreeable to you, sir, we’ll hood him before we take him in,
just to be sure he doesn’t try to jump at the last minute.’
Lewis was aware of revulsion at the thought of O’Kane led like a blinded animal to his death. It’s because he’s attractive and young, he thought, that’s all. It’s
nothing to do with his fleeting resemblance to Cas – that way he has of tilting his head as if he’s challenging every authority there is. Cas did that the last time I saw him, but the
challenge then was for the Kaiser’s armies. Nicholas O’Kane’s challenge was with this country.
He said, ‘By all means put on the hood early, Mr Pierrepoint.’
‘These idealistic young men, sir, they sometimes like to make that last reckless gesture, you see,’ said Pierrepoint, almost as if he was apologizing. ‘As if they want to show
they aren’t afraid. So they try to leap down into the trap and meet death halfway, as they call it. Still, we’ve seen a lot of that these last three years. Young men going off to meet
death, thinking it’s a glorious thing.’
‘Yes, we have,’ said Lewis expressionlessly. ‘Mr Pierrepoint, I’m staying here tonight, of course, and they’ll bring me in some supper at about nine o’clock.
You’ll be very welcome to join me. And your assistant, of course.’
‘Thanking you kindly, Sir Lewis, but I can never relish a meal in company on the night before a hanging. I’m not a fanciful man, well, I wouldn’t be doing this work if I
you
found them, though,’ she said. ‘
Is
he guilty, sir? Mr O’Kane?’
‘Yes, he is. He’s a traitor.’
‘Oh yes, sir.’ She paused. ‘They’re saying – the warders – that you’re worried someone might try to get him out before tomorrow.’
‘Are they, indeed? Well, you can tell them I’m not worried in the least. No one will get into Calvary tonight.’
‘Mightn’t Mr O’Kane have had his reasons for doing what he did, sir?’
‘I can’t think of any good reasons for anything he did,’ said Lewis a bit sharply.
‘I s’pose not.’ She looked at him steadily. Unusually for a fair-haired girl she had quite dark blue eyes with black lashes. Beautiful, thought Lewis, staring at her. Eyes you
could drown in. With the thought came a throb of sexual desire, which he instantly tried to repress. He reached for a sheaf of papers at random, thinking he would appear to be immersed in work, and
she would go away. He did not trust himself to look directly at her again. Had she sensed that sudden shiver of physical awareness? Yes, of course she had.
Belinda said, ‘Sorry, sir, I’m forgetting who you are and who I am.’ The words were correct, but the tone was not – Lewis recognized a note of parody. I know my place.
Like one of those saucy music-hall performers around the turn of the century, burlesquing pert maids out to seduce the master. He looked up involuntarily, and she grinned at him like an urchin. The
tension lightened at once.
‘I’ll leave you to your tea, sir.’
Despite his resolve, Lewis watched her go out, and had to repress a desire to follow her. He drank his tea, and saw that it was half past four and O’Kane had just over fifteen hours of
life left.
‘The weight’s worked out to a whisker, Sir Lewis,’ said Thomas Pierrepoint in his down-to-earth manner. Lewis had heard people say that Pierrepoint’s
manner was indicative of insensitivity, and that you could not be an executioner and have many of the finer feelings left to you. He did not agree with this; he believed Pierrepoint’s
matter-of-fact air was simply the countryman’s calm acceptance of life and death.
‘Everything’s in place,’ Pierrepoint was saying. ‘I’ll go along presently and try out the sandbags as usual. But I’ve not bungled one yet, as you know,
sir.’
‘Have you seen O’Kane? asked Lewis.
‘Aye, I’ve seen him. I saw him when they exercised him in the yard earlier on. Reckless look he has. If it’s agreeable to you, sir, we’ll hood him before we take him in,
just to be sure he doesn’t try to jump at the last minute.’
Lewis was aware of revulsion at the thought of O’Kane led like a blinded animal to his death. It’s because he’s attractive and young, he thought, that’s all. It’s
nothing to do with his fleeting resemblance to Cas – that way he has of tilting his head as if he’s challenging every authority there is. Cas did that the last time I saw him, but the
challenge then was for the Kaiser’s armies. Nicholas O’Kane’s challenge was with this country.
He said, ‘By all means put on the hood early, Mr Pierrepoint.’
‘These idealistic young men, sir, they sometimes like to make that last reckless gesture, you see,’ said Pierrepoint, almost as if he was apologizing. ‘As if they want to show
they aren’t afraid. So they try to leap down into the trap and meet death halfway, as they call it. Still, we’ve seen a lot of that these last three years. Young men going off to meet
death, thinking it’s a glorious thing.’
‘Yes, we have,’ said Lewis expressionlessly. ‘Mr Pierrepoint, I’m staying here tonight, of course, and they’ll bring me in some supper at about nine o’clock.
You’ll be very welcome to join me. And your assistant, of course.’
‘Thanking you kindly, Sir Lewis, but I can never relish a meal in company on the night before a hanging. I’m not a fanciful man, well, I wouldn’t be doing this work if I
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