Page 59 of The Quarterlands (Dark Water #4)

Spoilt son of a spoilt family! one headline on a news site spat, seemingly having forgotten that Charles was the bona fide national hero they all adored.

When all this is over, George Tyler deserves our support and sympathy as he tries to rebuild a life destroyed by an arrogant, entitled family who never forgave him for besting them in business.

“We aren’t going to win, are we?” Alex asked quietly as they drove home.

“The trial isn’t over yet,” Josiah replied grimly, but he knew Alex was right; they weren’t going to win.

However, they still had a couple of good cards still to play, as Byrne called first Barney Bates and then Jabir Aldaba as witnesses for the prosecution.

Barney was overawed by the occasion, but he spoke up well, confirming he’d picked up Alex on the road and given him a lift and a warm meal during his escape attempt. Byrne linked the dates with Alex’s visit to his father in hospital.

Jabir was up next. He was a late addition to the prosecution case but the judge had approved his presence, even if the defence were angry about it.

They’d had a few days to prepare, but Josiah could see that Tyler was furious.

His eyes burned angrily as Jabir stepped onto the witness stand, but apart from that, his expression didn’t change, although he surely had to be worried, given Jabir’s proximity to the blackmail footage .

Alex’s reaction was equally interesting. He turned to him in surprise.

“Jabir?” he whispered urgently. Josiah shrugged and turned his attention back to the witness stand.

He didn’t feel bad about not warning Alex in advance.

Alex hadn’t exactly lied to him about his relationship with Tyler, but he hadn’t told him the full truth, either.

He wasn’t surprised that Alex looked so uneasy.

Byrne introduced Jabir to the court and had him explain who he was, then got down to business.

“Mr Aldaba, can you describe the nature of Mr Tyler’s relationship with Alexander Lytton during the time you witnessed them in Spain?”

“They were lovers,” Jabir said. A buzz went around the court at this new revelation.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. They shared a bedroom, and I often saw them kissing and holding hands.”

“Was it a happy relationship?”

“I do not think so,” Jabir replied. “Mr Alexander had many bruises on his body.”

More shock waves went around the court. This cast doubt on Tyler’s version of events.

HMS gave Jabir a harder time. “Did you ever see Mr Tyler hitting Alexander?” he asked sternly.

“No, I never saw that,” Jabir replied. “But who else could it be? I heard raised voices, and Alexander was always bruised when Mr Tyler was in residence, and never when he wasn’t.”

HMS asked him many questions about whether Tyler was a good and decent employer, and Jabir admitted that he was.

Josiah could see the jury and press wondering what the hell was going on.

It all seemed so contradictory. Jabir’s evidence was compelling, but Josiah wasn’t sure it was enough to sway the jury.

As they left the courtroom at the end of the day, Alex made a beeline for Jabir’s tall, elegant frame.

“Jabir!”

“Mr Alexander.” Jabir whirled around to greet him .

Alex ran straight into his arms for a heartfelt hug that Jabir returned with real feeling. Then he put his hands on Alex’s shoulders and gazed at him with tears in his eyes. “It’s good to see you looking so well. I’ve been worried about you since you left the hacienda so suddenly.”

“I’m fine.” Alex waved an impatient arm. “But what about Maura, Razin, Zayd, and all the other kids, and Alexander the kitten?” he asked excitedly. “How are they?”

“They are well, thank you for asking, Mr Alexander, and the little kitten is now a huge, lazy cat.”

“I hope you have pictures of them all, and please, will you call me Alex now?”

“I will try.” Jabir laughed.

Josiah invited Jabir for coffee so they could catch up properly. There was something so endearing about Alex when he was with Jabir. He was oddly childlike and vulnerable, and Josiah sensed they’d shared a particular time in Alex’s life when he’d felt precisely that way.

“Jabir used to give me these amazing foot rubs,” Alex told him over coffee. “You were so kind to me, Jabir.”

“I didn’t do enough. It has always weighed on my conscience. I hope you forgive me, Mr—Alex, for not doing more.”

“There’s nothing to forgive.”

“Maura and I often wondered what had happened to you. I hoped you were well, but in my darkest moments, I worried that you were no longer with us,” Jabir admitted. “You were such a lost, fragile soul, Alex. I wanted to help you far more than you would allow.”

“I was terrified that Tyler would hurt you or your family,” Alex told him.

“I couldn’t tell you about Solange because Tyler listened to everything I said, and I was afraid that if he thought we were close, he’d hurt you, or Maura, or the children – or even the kitten.

So I pushed you away. But I want you to know how much your friendship meant to me.

I was in a very dark place during that time, mentally and emotionally. I wouldn’t have survived without you.”

“I’m glad I was of some use.” Jabir gave a gentle smile. “Although it felt to be not enough at the time.”

“It was everything,” Alex said in a heartfelt tone. “What brought you here to testify, Jabir? ”

Jabir exchanged a glance with Josiah. They’d agreed that they wouldn’t tell Alex about the nanodrives in case they turned out to be a dead end. Josiah was always anxious about Alex’s mental state, and the trial was difficult enough for him to navigate without throwing in that rollercoaster.

“I read about the trial, and I felt I must seek out Mr Raine and tell him what I knew of your relationship with Mr Tyler, hoping it would have some bearing on the outcome.”

“Tyler won’t be happy about it,” Alex warned.

“He has already terminated my employment, but Maura and I knew he would do that.” Jabir shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It was the right thing.”

“But what will you do for work?” Alex asked anxiously. He looked unhappy about the Aldaba family suffering any hardship on his account, but Jabir waved his concern aside.

“Please don’t worry about that. We aren’t extravagant people, and Mr Tyler paid well. We’ve saved. I will find another job.”

On the drive home, Josiah was aware that Alex was shooting him little glances, and he knew why.

Alex had always been very reticent about what, precisely, had taken place between himself and Tyler.

Jabir had testified in no uncertain terms that they were lovers, and Alex was concerned about his reaction.

“Do you have any questions?” Alex asked when they reached the house. “About what Jabir said on the stand today.”

Josiah sighed. “I have a thousand questions, if I’m honest, but I won’t ask any of them because I’m not sure I’ll hear the truth from you on this subject, Alex.”

“I haven’t lied to you about any of it,” Alex said defensively.

“Maybe, but you also haven’t told me the whole truth.”

“I’m not even sure I know what the truth is where this particular relationship was concerned. It’s not that simple, Joe.”

Josiah shot him a hard glance. “I think you know more than you want me to know.” He left it at that. He was in no mood to hear more of Alex’s half-truths .

The next day, HMS called Tyler back to the witness stand.

“Yesterday, you heard Mr Aldaba state that you and Mr Lytton were lovers. Is that true?”

“Briefly, yes.” Tyler sighed. “Alexander can be very single-minded in pursuit of what he wants, and he definitely wanted me.”

“Why didn’t you mention this before?” HMS pressed.

“Why didn’t he ?” Tyler challenged, coming out fighting.

“I didn’t want to stoop so low as to imply Alexander’s vendetta against me is a result of me ending our affair, because I’m sure that’s only part of his motivation in pursuing me.

He seduced me because he wanted me to end his contract and free him from his indentured servitude.

He made me believe he loved me. He broke my heart. ”

Josiah glanced at Alex, who looked devastated by this new turn of events. It had been a risk putting Jabir on the witness stand. Josiah had anticipated that Tyler would respond like this. But Jabir had spoken of Tyler’s mistreatment of Alex, and they needed to keep drumming that home to the jury.

“Did you physically harm him during your relationship?”

“No, although we were very passionate. That is where the bruises came from.”

“So, you’re saying you were in love with Alexander, but he was just using you?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s see some smartwall footage of that time, shall we?”

Josiah felt as if he’d been punched in the gut as he watched Alex pressing himself against Tyler in an elevator, hungrily searching for kisses.

There could be no denying the heat between them.

He turned to Alex, his eyes flashing angrily.

So this was the truth he hadn’t wanted him to know.

He’d asked Alex if he’d told him all he needed to know, and he’d never once admitted that he and Tyler had been engaged in a full-blown affair – because this was clearly more than just sex.

There was shot after shot of the two of them together: dining alone in Tyler’s apartment; talking, with their heads pressed close together; laughing and kissing as they walked hand in hand.

Even cuddled up on the sofa, like a loving, cosy couple.

He remembered Tyler’s words of warning to him on the day of his arrest. It took me a long time to get over him…

He hadn’t wanted to believe him, but now he did.

George Tyler had been well and truly head over heels in love with Alex.

Bile rose in the back of his throat. Did he know Alex at all?

He turned slowly and shot him a look of wordless betrayal.

Alex’s expression said it all; guilt, panic, and abject misery were writ large on his features.

Josiah remembered how Alex had tried to seduce him when he’d first taken him home.

Had it all been a lie? Had Alex ever really cared for him, or had he been using him the entire time, the way he’d used Tyler?

He felt an overwhelming need to escape. He couldn’t stay here in this stifling courtroom a second longer; he needed some air. He clambered past the row of people next to him and then strode towards the door, aware of Tyler’s amused gaze as he watched him from the witness stand.

The little rustle of noise from the press and the turned heads of the jury made it clear that his departure hadn’t gone unnoticed by them, either. He knew it didn’t look good for the case, and he knew the press would report on it, but he didn’t care. He just knew he had to get out of there.