Page 27 of A Shop Girl’s Christmas (Pennington’s Department Store #3)

Cornelia’s knees ever so slightly trembled as the judge took the bench, the courtroom’s dimness and dark wall-to-wall wooden panelling unsettling. The tension was palpable, and she clenched her hands a little tighter in her lap. Tipping her gaze to the ivory ceiling, she focused on the ornate cornices of entwined vines and fruit. Anything to avoid looking at David, where he sat with not one, but two lawyers on the table across the aisle which separated them.

Her heart beat so loudly, Mr Hartford’s voice sounded far, far away even though he stood right beside her. She blinked and forced herself to concentrate on what was being said.

‘Mrs Parker is a law-abiding, moral and attentive mother to Mr and Mrs Parker’s children and, until their relationship could no longer be salvaged, a good and devoted wife to her husband. The first and foremost reason she petitioned for these proceedings was to end a marriage that had become increasingly difficult to bear. A marriage that she had done her best over and over again to protect. Mrs Parker is not seeking this divorce for a life she had planned or premediated, Your Honour. Her plan had always been to only stay married to her husband. Unfortunately, Mr Parker’s actions and behaviour have made that wish an impossibility.’

The judge peered at Mr Hartford over the rim of his half-spectacles, before he briefly glanced at David. Cornelia followed his gaze and barely resisted flinching. David stared directly at her, his eyes cold and full of malice. His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. She quickly turned to the judge, anger bubbling inside of her, only inflamed by Sophie Hughes sitting primly upright in one of the seats behind her husband-to-be.

Almost certainly, her presence was just another knife with which David sought to hurt Cornelia. Well, he had failed. Today, would be her biggest triumph.

The judge cleared his throat and addressed David’s lawyer. ‘Does Mr Parker seek to contest the divorce, Mr Hamilton?’

‘No, my Lord. Mr Parker is more than happy to give Mrs Parker a divorce.’ The tall, skinny lawyer pushed his fallen blond hair from his eyes and glanced at Cornelia. ‘It is their sons, Alfred and Francis Parker, that Mr Parker is unwilling to abandon as his wife would like. He has been a good father to his children, despite the alleged failures as a husband claimed by Mrs Parker.’

Cornelia barely resisted laughing. A good father? Was his absence from the family home in favour of gentleman’s clubs representation of a good father? Was raising his hand, shouting and calling his sons’ mother abusive names the acts of a good father? Was—

‘Mr Hartford, would you like to respond on behalf of Mrs Parker to her husband’s claims of his paternal record? I wish to have all the information from both sides so that I can make a decision about the divorce before we proceed to the custody of the children.’

Cornelia clenched her hands in her lap, her hands clammy as Mr Hartford came out from behind their table to pace a few steps in front of the judge’s high seat.

‘I agree with Mr Parker’s counsel…’

Cornelia froze, her eyes wide as she stared at Mr Hartford in horror. What on God’s earth was he saying? Had he not believed her words about David? Had he sat in his office and allowed her to talk when all the while—

‘That their client has been a good father in as far as being able to gain enough self-control to not inflict on his sons what he has his wife. My lord…’ Mr Hartford clasped his hands behind his back as he continued to pace, his wily gaze moving from the judge to David and back again. ‘Mr Parker has hit his wife several times over a number of months. Has been conducting an illicit affair for a number of years. An extramarital liaison he promised Mrs Parker was over, and for which she forgave him, on the understanding it was over.

‘Mr Parker lied, Your Honour. He lied and continued to see this woman… a woman who sits in this courtroom today… and betray Mrs Parker time and time again. He reacted to her request for a divorce with violence and deplorable language. He waited until the children were away from his home before physically assaulting his wife, I admit, but I am not sure any man should be given credit for such premeditated abuse.’

Sickness coated Cornelia’s throat and her hands trembled. She could feel Lawrence’s stare boring into the back of her head, his anger almost tangible. There wasn’t a need to turn in her seat to see the rage that would be on his face, or the shock on Elizabeth and Amelia’s. Unwanted shame writhed inside Cornelia until every part of her wanted to flee from the room, but she held fast. She had to hold on…

Mr Hamilton leapt to his feet. ‘Your Honour, Mr Parker unequivocally denies these unsubstantiated charges. He confesses to heated arguments between himself and Mrs Parker, but those altercations never once turned physical.’

Cornelia slowly raised her head and turned to David, a fury like she’d never known heating her entire body. Words battled on her tongue. Her heart raced. How dare he deny what he had done to her? How dare he sit there, his face impervious and his shoulders pulled back, as though affronted by the very notion.

She moved to stand when Mr Hartford shot her a clear look of warning and she lowered to her seat.

Her lawyer faced the judge, his cheeks mottled. ‘These allegations were not given to me lightly, Your Honour. Mrs Parker withheld the personal details of her and Mr Parker’s relationship until the bitter end. I believe she would have taken her husband’s mistreatment of her to the grave, had he not sought to remove their sons from her care. These are the desperate actions of a mother. A woman so besieged by grief and pain that she might be separated from the boys she holds as her very reason for living.

‘I implore you, sir, to take Mr Parker’s continued denial and deceit into account when making your decision about custody of Mr and Mrs Parker’s children. Added to what we have already heard here today, I would like you also to consider that Mr Parker became engaged to the woman he was conducting an affair with without this divorce even being finalised. His clear desire for a hasty second marriage such as this does not speak of a family man, sir. At least, not in my opinion.’

Cornelia dragged her gaze from Mr Hartford as he resumed his seat beside her and turned to the judge. His gaze bored into hers before he turned to David. ‘Mr Parker…’

She closed her eyes and waited for the judge’s verdict.