Chapter Twenty-Five

The End of the Beginning

 

By the time Roger had almost finished his pupillage he had certainly acquired a good deal of knowledge and experience and his confidence was correspondingly increased. He had earned the magnificent sum of sixty guineas. (It had, of course, cost his mother one hundred and ten guineas to enable him to do so.) He had opened his mouth sufficiently often in Court that he had long since ceased to hear his voice echoing above him. Although he still felt intensely nervous when left, or about to be left, by Mr Grimes to do part of a case in the High Court and although, as Henry had prophesied, he was still quite unfit to conduct a whole case there, he was in a very different condition from that in which he had started. He had learned a great deal from Mr Grimes and almost as much from Henry.

In a Magistrate’s Court or a County Court he started to feel fairly comfortable and, although likely to be defeated there by more experienced advocates, he did not make nearly as many mistakes as most beginners make. He had taken Henry’s and Charles’ experiences to heart. A few days before his time was up Henry said to him: ‘I’m sure that Grimeyboy will ask you to stay on here, if you want to. You’re going to be very useful to him.’

‘D’you really think so?’

‘I’ve no doubt about it. There’s another side to the question, though. How useful will he be to you? Well, you’ll get a lot of experience and plenty of work. But unfortunately all his work is in the High Court and what you want is somewhere where there’s plenty of smaller stuff about. Alec, no doubt, would do his best for you, but to get a County Court practice going in chambers where there isn’t any small work is a pretty tough proposition. I think you’d do it in the end, but it’ll be slow.’

‘Then, what’s your suggestion?’

‘Well,’ said Henry, ‘something phenomenal has happened. I’m going to move.’

‘You?’

‘Yes. I’ve suddenly decided to try and do a bit more work. Sally’s behind it, of course. I don’t suppose it will last long. But she’s persuaded me I ought to get out of this rut.’

‘Where are you going?’

‘Well, I know Mountview pretty well and his chambers are simply bursting with work. He said he’d like to have me there if I’d come. And I’m going.’

‘I shall miss you,’ said Roger. ‘Can I come across and ask you anything when I want to?’

‘You can come across altogether, if you want.’

‘Move with you, d’you mean?’

‘I do. I suppose you’ll ask me what I advise. Well–’ began Henry.

‘I’m not going to do anything of the sort. If that’s a firm offer, I’ll accept. I know a good thing when I see it, even at my stage.’

He thought for a moment.

‘It is good of you,’ he added. ‘D’you think Grimeyboy will mind?’

‘Grimeyboy never minds anything,’ said Henry. ‘He takes everything as it comes. He’s always been the same and always will be. Dear, dear, dear. I don’t know what things are coming to. They will do these things, my dear fellow, they will do these things.’

On the day on which his pupillage ended, Roger and Henry and Sally dined together. Roger was in high spirits.

‘I don’t know where I should be but for you two,’ he said. ‘Floating in the Thames, I should imagine, if I hadn’t been picked up by now. D’you know I actually addressed the LCJ the other day?’

‘What did you say?’ asked Sally.

‘Well,’ said Roger, ‘as a matter of fact it was – “if your Lordship pleases.”’

‘I hope he took it well,’ said Henry.

‘He said, “So be it,”’ said Roger. ‘I thought that was very decent of him. Now let’s have a drink. And what shall we drink to? The future? Everyone’s future, that is. I know what I want mine to be.’

‘And I know mine,’ said Henry.

‘Me, too,’ said Sally.

‘I wonder,’ said Roger, ‘whether any of us will get what we want.’

‘We shall see, my dear fellow, we shall see,’ said Henry.