Page 38 of Private Lives

The judge knew the form; injunction matters were private. He nodded towards the court usher, who made sure the room was empty except for those directly involved.

As they shuffled out, Anna turned her attention to the pretty girl sitting next to her solicitor on the other side of the courtroom. Katie Grey, I presume, she thought, surprised. She had imagined a busty blonde, someone who had overpowered Sam with her overt sexuality, but this girl looked like a redhead version of Grace Kelly: glacial and elegant in a grey dress, hair tucked back behind her ears like a choir-girl. And she was certainly beautiful, she noted with a pang of disappointment.

‘Well, here we are again,’ said Judge Baker, peering at them over his half-moon glasses. It was Friday afternoon and he looked as if he’d had enough. By five o’clock he’d be on the golf course in Surrey.

Nigel Keyes rose to his feet and cleared his throat.

‘My lord, we are here today to request that the injunction against Blake Stanhope and Katie Grey be continued on the grounds of privacy on the terms pursuant to the temporary injunction granted last week.’

Anna wondered where Sam would take her for lunch. She hoped it would be somewhere discreet. Then again, maybe somewhere press-friendly – the Ivy, Le Caprice – was a more obvious statement that this was a business meeting. She forced her thoughts to stop drifting as Martin Bond stood up.

‘This injunction has been sought on the grounds of privacy, m’lord. And yet it strikes me that if Mr Charles was so concerned with his private life, he wouldn’t have had sexual intercourse with Miss Grey in the first place.’

Arrogant shit, thought Anna, watching Martin smile smarmily at the judge.

‘This case isn’t about intrusion of privacy,’ he continued. ‘This injunction is about preserving Mr Charles’s popularity and therefore his commercial worth. His sexual encounter with Miss Grey, which, may I add, involved him taking large amounts of alcohol, will not play well with the public, especially Mr Charles’s substantial fan base in conservative parts of the United States. Mr Charles clearly wants to do everything in his considerable power to keep the Hollywood studios happy and to preserve his boy-next-door popularity. He is the face of Guillaume Riche aftershave, Sputnik vodka and Asgill’s anti-ageing men’s skincare range, to name but three. This isn’t about privacy. It’s about business, and the temporary injunction should be overturned on those very grounds.’

Bond was putting his case forward strongly, but Anna wasn’t overly concerned. It was definitely a long shot. Judge Baker would have considered all this before he granted the temporary injunction. The judge waved his hand impatiently to indicate that he had heard enough, and Bond reluctantly sat down.

Nigel Keyes rose to his feet once more. Now it really was a formality. The barrister merely needed to mention a few cases where the same argument of privacy had been successfully used, which would establish precedent; it was a done deal.

Behind her the heavy courtroom door opened and closed with a bang. Turning, she watched a young man approach Blake Stanhope’s solicitor with a look of nervous determination. He whispered into Martin Bond’s ear while Judge Baker looked unimpressed by the intrusion.

‘Can I remind our new arrival that this is a private session?’

Martin Bond raised his hand.

‘Apologies, m’lord. It’s one of our team with an urgent message.’

‘Get on with it,’ snapped the judge.

Anna felt her senses prickle as the young messenger handed Bond a bundle of documents that the barrister speed-read with ruthless efficiency. Then he looked up at her, a gleeful expression on his face. What the hell’s he got? she wondered anxiously.

Bond turned his attention to the judge. ‘Your lordship, I hardly need to remind you or my esteemed legal colleagues that an injunction obtained on the grounds of privacy is null and void if the facts of the injunction are no longer private.’

Nigel shot Anna an urgent look. Bond walked over to the bench and handed Judge Baker the bundle.

‘I’d like to submit these documents – a printout of a news story that has broken in the last twenty minutes on the Scandalhound website and the Daily News Internet pages.’

He turned to Anna and Keyes with a flourish.

‘The facts your client is trying to hide are now public.’

The judge had read enough. He looked apologetic as he addressed Nigel Keyes.

‘I take it, Mr Keyes, that you have not yet seen this?’

‘No, your honour,’ said Nigel, looking unusually flustered as the usher handed him the file. ‘If we could just have a few brief moments to confirm these facts?’

Anna rushed out into the corridor, turned on her iPhone and scrolled to the News and Scandalhound websites. Sure enough, there it was: ‘Sam Charles Caught With Hooker: Exclusive Pictures’. Bile rose in her throat as she saw it was the lead splash on both sites. It was impossible to tell which one had got the exclusive as they both appeared to have posted within minutes of each other, although the News had published the mobile photograph of Sam and Katie in bed together.

I don’t believe it – how? She felt her hands tremble as she turned the phone off again. I’m totally screwed.

She went back into court and nodded grimly towards Nigel.

Bond’s expression was triumphant.

‘Would you like me to read the story out for the benefit of the opposing counsel?’ he crowed. ‘“Sam Nooky With Porno-Looky” is the headline on one.’