A Hallowed Place

by Caro Fraser

  ‘I’m just going for some tea. Coming?’ he asked. Leo glanced at his watch. ‘Yes, why not?’ But at that moment Felicity, who had just answered the phone, said to him, ‘Call for you, Mr Davies.’

  ‘Who is it?’

  ‘A Miss Angelicos. Says it’s personal.’

  Leo caught Anthony’s eye and grimaced, then said to Felicity, ‘I’ll take it in my room. I’ll see you in the common room in a minute,’ he added to Anthony. There was no point in putting her off, thought Leo as he went upstairs. She’d only call again. Best to get it over with.

  ‘Hello, Leo?’ The affected huskiness of her voice, so effective on television, instantly annoyed Leo. Its tone suggested an intimacy which he by no means felt.

  ‘Melissa,’ he replied, trying to sound brisk, ‘what can I do for you?’

  ‘Actually, I’m calling for some professional advice. I have something of a legal problem.’

  Good, at least he could deal with this on a business footing. ‘I’m afraid,’ he replied, ‘that I can’t take instructions directly from you on the phone. If you need my help, you’ll have to go through a solicitor first.’

  ‘Oh, no. No, I didn’t mean that I need you to act for me. Nothing like that. No, I thought you might be able to put me in touch with someone who can help me. You see, my sister and I have been left some property in Italy under the will of an uncle of ours, and the lawyer who’s handling the estate out there is simply disastrous. The whole thing is going to take for ever to sort out unless we do something on our own initiative. I was wondering if you could give me the name of a good Italian lawyer.’

  ‘I see. Yes - yes, of course I can. Hold on a moment.’ Leo reached out for his address book. Thank God it was something straightforward. He didn’t mind helping the woman out. ‘Where is the estate being handled?’

  ‘Genoa.’

  ‘Right, let’s see …’ Leo leafed through the pages and gave her a name and number. Melissa noted them down.

  ‘That’s wonderful. Very kind of you.’ She hesitated. ‘Why don’t you let me repay the favour by buying you a drink one evening this week?’

  Oh, no, thought Leo. He wasn’t going to be caught in that way. ‘I’m sorry,’ he replied, ‘but I seem to be busy every evening this week.’

  ‘Oh … Well, I’ll see you at the next trustees meeting, in that case.’

  ‘Yes. Anyway, glad I could be of help. Goodbye.’

  Leo put the phone down. Had that just been a device, something to lead round to the suggestion of going for a drink? He had no idea. But it seemed on the evidence that she wasn’t someone who gave up easily. He left his room and went to the common room to join Anthony for tea.

  ‘Why on earth is Melissa Angelicos ringing you in chambers?’ asked Anthony, as Leo pulled up a chair.

  ‘She needed the name of a Genoese lawyer. Some problem with family property. I gave her Carlo Cigolini’s details.’

  ‘I didn’t realise you and she were quite that chummy.’

  ‘We’re not. Although I rather think she’d like us to be. She’s been coming on rather strong ever since that trustees meeting.’

  ‘Ah, you’ve been exercising that fabulous charm of yours in an indiscriminate fashion. That’s the problem. Try to keep it in check.’

  ‘First of all she inveigled me into driving her home, then she invited me in for supper - which I declined, by the way and last weekend she called my home and left several messages about some dinner party she wanted me to go to.’ Leo drank some of his tea. ‘I didn’t, of course. But I’d like to know how she got my home number.’

  ‘Probably from Chay.’

  ‘You think?’ Leo mused on this. ‘I suppose that’s possible.’

  There was a silence of a few seconds, then Anthony said, ‘You seem to have recovered your spirits recently. Things going well?’

  ‘Excellently,’ replied Leo. ‘You know that breach of contract case I told you about? The one where some Americans were meant to be supplying pipelines for an oil refinery and didn’t?’ Anthony nodded. ‘Well, against insurmountable odds, I managed to persuade Langley this morning to stay the action in favour of Libyan jurisdiction.’ Leo chuckled.

  ‘Good God. The Americans must be apoplectic. They’re not going to get very far in a Libyan court.’

  ‘Well, quite. I do regard it as something of a triumph.’ Leo suddenly thought of Joshua, and was instantly filled with an expansive happiness and the urge to tell someone about it. Anthony could be confided in. He would understand. ‘Actually, it’s not the only good thing that’s happened recently—’ Leo hesitated.

  ‘What?’

  Leo leant forward in his chair, clasping his hands together. ‘There’s nobody else I could tell this to, without feeling and sounding incredibly foolish … I’ve met someone. A young man. His name’s Joshua.’

  Anthony nodded, not quite sure how to respond to this, uncertain of what his own feelings were. On one level he was happy for Leo. Leo needed love like everybody else, and if he’d found it, good luck to him. But a relationship with any young man was bound to be precarious and he didn’t want Leo to get hurt, or to make a fool of himself. And there was something more - he felt a tender little tension within him, something like jealousy, at the idea that Leo should love someone the way he had once loved Anthony. ‘I’m glad,’ said Anthony at last. ‘You seem to be happy.’

  ‘Yes, I’m very happy. He’s staying with me. After all the wretched business with Rachel, and all the hell of these last few months, I can’t tell you how much it means to me.’

  ‘How’s it going? The divorce, I mean.’ Anthony wanted to deflect the conversation away from Leo’s new love. It was something he didn’t want to contemplate.

  Leo sat back. ‘On the whole it’s fairly amicable. But we’re having something of a disagreement over my access to Oliver. I want to have him every other weekend and Rachel’s completely opposed to the idea. Says he’s too young.’

  ‘What does your solicitor say?’

  ‘She thinks it’s perfectly reasonable that I should have him on that basis. He’s not going to be eighteen months old for ever. It’s just a question of getting a court to see it that way. She’s lodged an application on my behalf for a defined residence order.’

  ‘What does that involve? I didn’t study much family law.’

  ‘Oh, the court welfare officers come and interview me, take a look at the flat, see that it’s a decent place for Oliver to stay. I don’t anticipate much of a problem.’

  ‘What about this new boyfriend of yours? I thought you said he was living with you. That might not go down too well.’

  ‘Don’t worry. I’ll make sure he’s not there when they come round.’

  ‘But there’s more to it than that, isn’t there? I mean—’ Anthony hesitated. Perhaps his interference was unwarranted. Leo could be pretty touchy. But as a friend, he had to say it. ‘Well, it’s more than just a question of appearances, surely? You have to ask yourself whether it’s going to do Oliver any good, seeing his father living with whichever young man happens to be—’

  ‘Anthony,’ interrupted Leo, ‘Joshua is not one of a string of lovers. I hope he’s here to stay. And despite what you may think, I do have Oliver’s best interests at heart.’

  There was a brief, uncomfortable silence. ‘How old is he?’ asked Anthony at last. ‘This Joshua.’

  ‘Twenty.’

  ‘Twenty.’

  ‘For Christ’s sake, Anthony,’ said Leo abruptly, ‘don’t try to sit in judgment on me. You know nothing of the situation. His age doesn’t matter.’ Leo stood up. His manner had become chilly. ‘I have to be getting back.’

  After Leo had left, Anthony sat in the common room and stared at his hands. Did Leo really think he was going to find permanence with some twenty-year-old pick-up? Still, it wasn’t any of his business. And maybe Leo was right. You shouldn’t judge a situation you knew nothing about. He himself had been a mere twenty-two when he had fallen in love
with Leo, and he had been as sure and devoted in his feelings as anyone could be. But he hadn’t been prepared to become what Leo wanted. That was the difference. Maybe Joshua was what Leo needed and wanted, and vice versa. Somehow Anthony doubted it. He finished his tea and strolled back to chambers, wondering whether Camilla would ring that night. He had begun to find the evenings lonely and dull.

  He met Sarah as he came into chambers.

  ‘I asked David if I could sit in on that case you mentioned and he says it’s fine.’

  ‘Good,’ said Anthony. ‘I’ll see you in the morning.’

  Sarah sped lightly upstairs to her room. Things were about to become rather enjoyable.

  When Leo got home that evening the flat was empty.

  ‘Joshua?’ Leo slung his coat over a chair and went quickly into Joshua’s room. The little coil of tension within him eased. Joshua’s belongings were still there. Leo loosened his tie and went into the kitchen to fix himself a drink. He sat with the evening paper for half an hour, waiting, finding it hard to keep his attention fixed on what he was reading.

  Joshua came in just after half past seven. He was wearing the Hermes jacket which Leo had bought him on Saturday, and his golden-brown hair was, for once, brushed, the tumble of curls pulled back in waves. It made the soft lines of his handsome face harder and more mature.

  ‘Hi,’ said Joshua. ‘Been home long?’

  ‘Half an hour,’ said Leo. He felt tense. He realised that if Joshua had stayed out all evening, he would have been reduced to a miserable wreck. But it was not so for Joshua. The casualness of his tone when he spoke was completely unaffected. He couldn’t really have cared one way or another whether Leo was in when he got back. It was in small moments like this that the balance of the relationship was clearly discernible, and Leo hated it. He wanted Joshua to care as much as he did and that was impossible.

  Then he glanced across at the set of keys which Joshua had dropped on the work surface before opening the fridge to get himself a beer. They were the keys to the garage and to the Aston Martin.

  ‘Where have you been?’ Leo tried to keep his tone light.

  ‘Just out and about.’ Joshua cracked open his can of beer.

  ‘In my car?’

  Joshua turned to look directly at him. ‘D’you mind?’

  ‘Yes,’ replied Leo quietly. ‘As a matter of fact—’ He took a deep breath, trying to contain his anger. ‘Apart from the fact that it is a very expensive car, you’re not insured to drive it. Didn’t that cross your mind?’

  ‘Sorry. Didn’t realise it was such a big deal. Anyway, I was very careful, don’t worry.’

  ‘That’s not the point!’ Leo was about to give full rein to his anger, but he stopped. It was pointless. Joshua’s thoughts and actions were those of a child. Leo could tell from the way Joshua had come in, from his very attitude, the new clothes he had on, that he’d been swarming around town, showing off. Pretending that the car was his, feeling big, amusing himself. Well, he was young. Young people did that kind of thing. They were selfish and heedless. He would just have to make sure it didn’t happen again.

  ‘In future, you don’t touch the Aston Martin. Understand? If you need a car to get about, I’ll buy you one. Something more practical.’

  ‘Christ, you’re so patronising!’ burst out Joshua. ‘“Treat everything here as though it’s yours”’, you said. But when it comes to your car - that’s off limits. Joshua’s too young to be trusted. Why can’t you just get me added on to the insurance?’

  Leo sighed. The boy simply didn’t get it. ‘Joshua—’ Leo put out a hand, but Joshua shrugged it off and stood up.

  ‘I don’t want to be treated like a child, Leo. I don’t want to be here if it’s not going to be on equal terms. I think I might as well just go and put my things together now.’

  Leo’s heart suddenly flooded with fear. This was the first time there had been any kind of altercation between them. This was a new side to Joshua. He hadn’t realised that he could fly off the handle so easily, that his cheerful, easygoing nature masked this aspect of his personality, sullen and volatile all at once. ‘Don’t be stupid. Joshua—’ Leo got up and went to him. ‘This is absurd. I don’t want to argue with you about a car, for God’s sake. I can see you might need one. I just thought you might want something easier to handle, more practical.’ Joshua looked at him woodenly. ‘But don’t talk about leaving. I need you. That’s more important than anything.’

  Joshua relented. It was too easy to make Leo afraid. He didn’t really like doing it. Anyway, if there was a car in it … ‘Okay. I’m sorry.’ Joshua put his arms round Leo and held him.

  On Tuesday morning, as he put together his papers before going over to court, Anthony felt mildly depressed. Camilla had called last night, but for some reason the conversation had been stilted, disappointing. It was hard to be affectionate at a distance, he supposed. But Camilla hadn’t wanted to talk for as long as he did, was impatient to get away. How was it going to be when she got back?

  Sarah put her head round the door and said cheerfully, ‘Morning. Are you ready?’

  ‘Yes,’ said Anthony. ‘I think I’ve got everything. Let’s go.’

  As the day in court progressed, Anthony’s spirits began to lift and, in concentrating on the case, he forgot entirely about Camilla. He hadn’t initially entertained much hope of this appeal succeeding but, to his surprise, the three Appeal Court judges seemed favourably disposed towards his argument.

  ‘I must say I tend to agree with you in that respect, Mr Cross,’ said Lord Justice Hazel. ‘I don’t see that the fact that there were additional underwriters involved in the 1995/6 year affects the right of set-off of the individual underwriters in respect of claim and counterclaim.’ He glanced in mild enquiry at his fellow Lords of Appeal and Anthony was gratified to see Lord Justice Youell give a little shake of his head. Lord Justice Mildon looked slightly more thoughtful.

  Sarah glanced up at Anthony, noting the expression of satisfaction which crossed his face. He was easy to read. His manner held a directness which was almost naive. Leo was not dissimilar. Perhaps it was a result of living in this hothouse world of the Temple, this unique and claustrophobic little society. Barristers were loud in proclaiming that they lived in the real world, just like other people, but Sarah somehow doubted it. Shopping at Tesco’s and going to the children’s sports days did not amount to the real world. There was something exclusive and stultifying about the Inns of Court, something which drew you in, timeless, artificial, indescribable. To live and work in that world day after day was what shaped people like Anthony, regardless of what they might do in their spare time. This was their life.

  And from the couple of months she had spent at 5 Caper Court, Sarah wasn’t sure that it was a life which she wished to lead. Still, she would wait out her six months and then see what happened. In the meantime, she could while away the time in considering how to play her hand this evening. If she got the chance, that was.

  By four o’clock, Anthony had still not completed his submissions and Lord Justice Youell interrupted him to confabulate briefly with his brethren. ‘Mr Cross,’ he said at last, ‘I think we are all agreed that it would be desirable to dispose of this matter within two days, if possible, as Lord Justice Mildon has other commitments on Thursday. You are, as I take it, close to completing your submissions. May I suggest then, if everyone is agreeable, that we sit late this afternoon - say, until five o’clock, so that you may finish and we may then hear Mrs Shepherd first thing tomorrow morning?’

  There was a general murmuring of agreement and Anthony ploughed on. Excellent, thought Sarah. More chance of having a drink with Anthony than if they were to finish at four, as usual.

  By the end of the afternoon, as he gathered up his papers, Anthony felt exhausted. He had been on his feet for most of the day, but at least he had finished his submissions. Tomorrow he could just sit back and listen.

  ‘Well done,’ said Sarah. ‘I thin
k you deserve a drink after all that hard work. Let me buy you one.’

  Anthony hesitated, glancing at his watch. There probably wasn’t much point in going back to chambers now. ‘All right. I’ll see you downstairs in ten minutes.’

  The wine bar in Chancery Lane was still relatively empty when they got there. Sarah, despite Anthony’s gentlemanly protests, insisted on buying the wine. ‘Let’s sit in here,’ she said, indicating a snug booth. ‘It’s going to be busy in half an hour and we won’t be able to hear ourselves talk if we sit at a table.’

  Anthony poured them each a glass of wine. Sarah unfastened her hair and gave her head a little shake to let it fall free around her shoulders. Then she took off her dark jacket and put it to one side, and began to unbutton the top few buttons of her high-necked blouse. She did all these things in the leisurely, detached fashion of someone merely relaxing after a long day, but the sensuality of every little movement was not lost on Anthony. He handed Sarah her glass, and she sighed and pushed her collar back, rubbing her fingers gently across her throat, aware that Anthony was watching as she did this.

  ‘God, I hate this uniform. Anyway - cheers.’ She took a sip of wine. ‘Here’s to victory in the Court of Appeal.’

  ‘Yes - well, it went better than I’d expected.’ Anthony drank his wine, wondering why he felt faintly awkward with Sarah. He couldn’t really think of anything to talk about. There was something about sitting in this booth with her which reminded him of the first time they had gone out together, and recollections of that evening seemed to be crowding into his mind. He decided the safest topic was the case and so they talked about that for a while, then gossiped briefly about other members of chambers.

  ‘How’s Camilla getting on in Bermuda?’ asked Sarah eventually.

  ‘Fine, I think,’ replied Anthony. ‘I spoke to her last night. Though I suspect she’s finding it quite stressful. But, then, working in foreign surroundings must be.’

  ‘Mm she’s very good, isn’t she? Seems to get tons of work. I’m sure she’ll do very well. She was always very conscientious when we were at Oxford together, as I recall. I was one of those people who spent all their time at parties, not turning up for tutorials, handing essays in late, but Camilla wasn’t like that. She was very studious and it’s paid off.’ There was a pause, then Sarah added reflectively, ‘I’m glad you’re seeing one another. I mean, you and she are so well suited. You’re the same kind of people.’ She laughed, finished her wine and poured them both some more. ‘Unlike you and I - God, we were disastrous!’