Best Kept Secret (The Clifton Chronicles, #3)(36)

‘Yes, m’lud. I call Mr Desmond Siddons.’

Siddons entered the courtroom as if it was his front parlour, and delivered the oath like a seasoned professional.

‘Would you please state your name and occupation?’

‘My name is Desmond Siddons. I am the senior partner of Marshall, Baker and Siddons, and I have been the Barrington family’s solicitor for the past twenty-three years.’

‘Let me begin by asking you, Mr Siddons, if you were responsible for executing the earlier will, which Sir Giles contends was in fact Lady Barrington’s final testament.’

‘I was, sir.’

‘And how long ago was that?’

‘Just over a year before Lady Barrington’s death.’

‘And did Lady Barrington later get in touch to let you know that she wished to write a new will?’

‘She did indeed, sir. Just a few days before she died.’

‘And how did the latest will, the one that is the subject of this dispute, differ from the one executed by you just over a year before?’

‘All the bequests to charities, her staff, her grandchildren and her friends remained unaltered. In fact there was only one significant change in the whole document.’

‘And what was that, Mr Siddons?’

‘That the bulk of the Harvey estate was no longer to be passed to her son, Sir Giles Barrington, but to her two daughters, Mrs Harold Clifton and Miss Grace Barrington.’

‘Let me be absolutely clear about this,’ said Mr Todd. ‘With the exception of the one change, a significant change I concede, the earlier document remained intact?’

‘That is correct.’

‘What state of mind was Lady Barrington in when she asked you to make this one significant change to her will?’

‘M’lud, I must object,’ said Sir Cuthbert, leaping up from his place. ‘How can Mr Siddons give a judgement on Lady Barrington’s state of mind? He’s a solicitor, not a psychiatrist.’

‘I agree,’ said the judge, ‘but as Mr Siddons had known the lady for twenty-three years, I would be interested to hear his opinion.’

‘She was very tired,’ said Siddons, ‘and she took more time than usual to express herself. However, she made it clear that she wished a new will to be prepared expeditiously.’

‘Expeditiously – your word or hers?’ asked the judge.

‘Hers, m’lud. She often chastised me for writing a paragraph when a sentence would have done.’

‘So you prepared the new will expeditiously?’

‘I most certainly did, as I was aware that time was against us.’

‘Were you present when the will was witnessed?’

‘Yes. It was witnessed by Mr Langbourne and the matron on the wing, a Miss Rumbold.’

‘And it remains your submission that Lady Barrington knew exactly what she was signing?’

‘Most certainly,’ said Siddons firmly. ‘Otherwise I would not have been willing to go ahead with the procedure.’

‘Quite so. No more questions, m’lud,’ said Mr Todd.

‘Your witness, Sir Cuthbert.’

‘Thank you, m’lud. Mr Siddons, you told the court that you were under considerable pressure to get the new will completed and signed, and for that reason you prepared it expeditiously, to use your own word.’

‘Yes. I had been warned by Mr Langbourne that Lady Barrington didn’t have long to live.’

‘So, understandably, you did everything in your power to speed things up.’

‘I didn’t have much choice.’

‘I don’t doubt it, Mr Siddons. Can I ask how long it took you to execute the earlier will, the one that my client contends is Lady Barrington’s authentic testament?’

Siddons hesitated for a moment before saying, ‘Three, possibly four months.’

‘With regular consultations with Lady Barrington, no doubt?’

‘Yes, she was a stickler for detail.’

‘I’m sure she was. But she wasn’t given much time to consider the details of her later will. Five days to be precise.’

‘Yes, but don’t forget—’

‘And on the final day, she only just managed to sign the will in the nick of time. Isn’t that correct?’

‘Yes, I suppose you could put it that way.’

Sir Cuthbert turned to the clerk of the court. ‘Would you be kind enough to pass Mr Siddons Lady Barrington’s two wills?’

Sir Cuthbert waited until the two documents had been handed to the witness, before he continued his cross-examination.

‘Would you agree with me, Mr Siddons, that the signature on the earlier will is much bolder and more assured than that on the “nick of time” will? In fact, it’s hard to believe they were signed by the same person.’

‘Sir Cuthbert, are you suggesting that Lady Barrington didn’t sign the second will?’ asked the judge.

‘Certainly not, m’lud, but I am suggesting she had no idea what she was signing.’

‘Mr Siddons,’ Sir Cuthbert continued, turning back to the solicitor, who was now gripping the edge of the witness box with both hands, ‘once you’d completed the new rushed will, did you take your client through it clause by clause?’