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Antony Maitland #14
Past Praying For
The girl in the dock, Camilla Barnard, was almost beautiful; she was pale—she was accused of having killed her husband. A bride at nineteen, she had been married for seven years; she had a son six years old.
Antony Maitland was acting as junior to Bruce Halloran, Counsel for the Prosecution. It wasn’t the first time Antony had worked with Halloran, but usually for the defense.
“There can be no doubts about the facts of this unhappy case,” Halloran said.
But Mrs. Barnard insisted she was innocent. She and her husband had come back from a party: “We talked for a while—nothing important—then I went into the bedroom. Richard said he was going out. He wanted some fresh air. I closed the door and straightaway I heard a shot. It sounded dreadfully loud. Then I rushed out, but there was no one there. Only Richard.”
“Your husband was already dead when you came out of the bedroom?”
“Yes … oh, yes.”
In spite of her protests Camilla Barnard was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to prison for four years.
--
Seven years later Antony came home one evening and his wife asked him, “How often do you think a person is tried twice for murdering her husband?”
Antony said, “It can’t happen. I suppose you mean she was acquitted?”
“No, I don’t. This is her second husband.”
The lady was Camilla. Her second husband was her first husband’s cousin.
And Antony Maitland again found himself involved with Mrs. Barnard—this time for the defense!
Antony Maitland was acting as junior to Bruce Halloran, Counsel for the Prosecution. It wasn’t the first time Antony had worked with Halloran, but usually for the defense.
“There can be no doubts about the facts of this unhappy case,” Halloran said.
But Mrs. Barnard insisted she was innocent. She and her husband had come back from a party: “We talked for a while—nothing important—then I went into the bedroom. Richard said he was going out. He wanted some fresh air. I closed the door and straightaway I heard a shot. It sounded dreadfully loud. Then I rushed out, but there was no one there. Only Richard.”
“Your husband was already dead when you came out of the bedroom?”
“Yes … oh, yes.”
In spite of her protests Camilla Barnard was found guilty of manslaughter and sent to prison for four years.
--
Seven years later Antony came home one evening and his wife asked him, “How often do you think a person is tried twice for murdering her husband?”
Antony said, “It can’t happen. I suppose you mean she was acquitted?”
“No, I don’t. This is her second husband.”
The lady was Camilla. Her second husband was her first husband’s cousin.
And Antony Maitland again found himself involved with Mrs. Barnard—this time for the defense!
230 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1968
About the author
Sara Woods
121 books18 followers(Lana Hutton Bowen-Judd)
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek
Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.
Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
UK (1922 - 1986)
aka Anne Burton, Mary Challis, Margaret Leek
Born in England, she was educated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Filey, Yorkshire.
During the Second World War, she worked in a bank and as a solicitor's clerk in London. Here she gained much of the information later used in her novels. Lana married Anthony George Bowen-Judd on April 25, 1946. They ran a pig breeding farm between 1948 and 1954. In 1957 they moved to Nova Scotia, Canada. She worked as a registrar for St. Mary's University until 1964. In 1961 she wrote her first novel, Bloody Instructions, introducing the hero of forty-nine of her mysteries, Anthony Maitland, an English barrister.
Her last years she lived with her husband at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 19, 2007
PAST PRAYING FOR (Mystery/Suspense/England-Cont) – VG+
Templeton, Aline – 3rd book
Constable, 1996- UK Hardcover
Reverend Margaret Moon should have listened to her mother’s warning of “be careful what you wish for” when she wishes something would shake up the small town in which she is the newly appointed pastor of St. Mary’s. Women, in small Stretton Noble, are being terrorized and a local derelict killed in an arson fire. The question, in this tense story of a severely neglected child now grown, is who is behind it all.
*** I am reading this author somewhat back-to-front as I was introduced to her through her book “Cold in the Earth.” That I’ve gone back and found her back list should say it all. The lady knows how to write diverse, identifiable characters. Even her less pleasant characters are ones with whom you can empathize. She also really knows how to create atmosphere and tension. Her dialogue is excellent and there’s something about her writing that always strikes a memory chord for me. In this case, although I’ve not attended church for years, the excerpts of old hymns brought the tunes back to me in full. I highly recommend this author.
Templeton, Aline – 3rd book
Constable, 1996- UK Hardcover
Reverend Margaret Moon should have listened to her mother’s warning of “be careful what you wish for” when she wishes something would shake up the small town in which she is the newly appointed pastor of St. Mary’s. Women, in small Stretton Noble, are being terrorized and a local derelict killed in an arson fire. The question, in this tense story of a severely neglected child now grown, is who is behind it all.
*** I am reading this author somewhat back-to-front as I was introduced to her through her book “Cold in the Earth.” That I’ve gone back and found her back list should say it all. The lady knows how to write diverse, identifiable characters. Even her less pleasant characters are ones with whom you can empathize. She also really knows how to create atmosphere and tension. Her dialogue is excellent and there’s something about her writing that always strikes a memory chord for me. In this case, although I’ve not attended church for years, the excerpts of old hymns brought the tunes back to me in full. I highly recommend this author.
March 25, 2014
Points must be subtracted for the unnamed Napoleon of crime, living in luxury and dispensing death at a distance, “more influential than the gentleman in Downing Street”; but then add a couple of points for the first meeting between Uncle Nick and the future Lady Harding. Not Maitland’s best outing—but that’s still praising with faint damns.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews