And for a price, did you offer other comforts? Objection. Thorne stood up. Relevance. It goes to character.
Your honor. The prosecutor smiled. A woman who sells herself will certainly sell a lie. The gallery laughed. The sound crashed over Clara like a wave.
She gripped the rail of the stand. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to sink into the floor. She looked at Eli. He was sitting in the front row.
He was not looking at the floor. He was looking at her. His eyes were fierce, filled with a love that saw past the dirt and the shame. He nodded. A tiny, almost imperceptible motion.
"Stand. " Clara took a breath. She stopped shaking. "I survived," Clara said clearly. The room went quiet. "I did what I had to do to eat.
I lived in a place where men like you, she looked at the prosecutor, came to do things they would not do in front of their wives. I saw their secrets. I saw their cruelty. She turned to the judge. I did not steal a brooch.
But I saw Haron Pike steal a life. I saw his men shoot a girl named Sarah because she found a ledger. I am not here to hide who I was. I am here to tell you who he is. The silence in the room was absolute.
Then Eli was called. He took the stand. He was awkward. His large frame too big for the chair. But when he spoke, his voice was clear.
"My wife is the bravest person I know. " Eli said to the jury, "She has worked my land until her hands bled. She has faced starvation and threats. She did not steal. This warrant is a lie to protect a thief who is stealing the water from every ranch in this county. " Judge Athetherton peered over his spectacles. He looked at the prosecutor, then at Clara.
The warrant for the brooch is suspicious. The judge rumbled. The evidence is thin. However, the accusation against Mister Pike is grave. You claim there is a ledger.
Yes, Clara said. Sarah found it. It lists the bribes. It lists the rebranded cattle. Where is this ledger?