Joshua and Spencer trotted through Brunswick Park and down Walsall Road to the Judge’s large house in Wood Green and they were invited in, being asked how well they were doing raising the money for the new courthouse.
‘We are here on another matter, Judge,’ Joshua said as they all sat down in the living room.
‘I see,’ Judge Stanhope stood to get himself a drink, holding the bottle out to his visitors. Joshua and Spencer shook their heads as the Judge shrugged his shoulders and returned to his seat with a full glass of brandy in his hand. ‘What is this other matter I can help you with?’
‘We need you to retire from office,’ Spencer said simply.
Spluttering his drink, Stanhope brushed the brandy from his clothes as he barked, ‘You what?’
‘Retire, Judge… losing your hearing?’ Spencer said his voice calm as he watched disbelief shadow the Judge’s face.
‘What the…? Now you listen to me…’
‘No Judge. You listen to me!’ Maintaining his calmness, Spencer allowed an underlying hint of menace into his voice. Leaning forward, he went on, ‘You are not fit to hold the office of judge. You proved that by what you said about the women of this town and by how you let a man out of jail for a case of brandy!’
‘That was a gift!’ the Judge shouted.
‘It was a bribe!’ Spencer spat back, anger lacing his words. ‘How many others have bribed you to let them go free?’
‘That is slander!’ the Judge retorted, his jowls shaking with anger.
‘You call it slander – I call it truth!’
‘Call it what you will,’ the Judge laughed, suddenly full of bravado, ‘but you can’t make me retire!’ Emptying his glass in one swallow, he looked at Spencer with arrogant triumph in his eyes.
Trumping his triumph with his own, Spencer said, ‘All right, have it your way, but we’ll see what the people of the town have to say when they know you have a lover… a male lover!’
The light in the Judge’s eyes instantly died and his mouth hung open. ‘How did…?’ Realising his mistake of almost admitting to this truth, Stanhope clamped his jaws shut.
‘The Wednesbury Wives have been on your case, Judge Stanhope. Now, have we reached an agreement?’
They watched the thoughts of the impending shame, not to mention his breaking of the law, travel through the Judge’s mind as he nodded, his jowls shaking again.
‘Good man,’ Spencer said as he and his father stood to leave, ‘we’ll expect to hear the news of your retirement in the next few days, if not… you and the man you are seeing will be exposed for all Wednesbury to see. Good evening Judge Stanhope.’
The two men left the Judge drinking brandy like it was the last he would ever taste.
*
Sure enough, the next couple of days saw Judge Stanhope announce his retirement and a younger man, reputedly as straight as a die, take his place.
The Herald made a big song and dance about Stanhope standing down from office and Joshua and Spencer watched the ceremony as the Mayor presented the Judge with a gold fob watch in honour of his past services to the town. The now retired Judge accepted the gift graciously, a forced smile on his face, which turned to a grimace as he saw Joshua and Spencer shake hands with each other.
‘Another job well done, lad,’ Joshua said amid the applause ringing out as the Judge smiled awkwardly.
‘Indeed Father, but I can’t help feeling he deserved much more. He’s being given a hero’s exit here.’ Spencer said as his eyes turned once more to Stanhope. As their eyes locked, Spencer winked and the ‘Judge’ scowled.
“Aye lad, but at least he’s out of our hair now.” Joshua said noting the Judge’s bad tempered expression.
As the congratulatory noise died down, the Mayor spoke again. He explained that he was happy that his last act as Mayor was to have presented Stanhope with his gold watch. Holding his hands up to the gathered crowd, the Mayor announced he too was retiring from office. Glancing over at Joshua, he said a younger man was needed in the position of Mayor of Wednesbury.
The reporters dashed away from the Town Hall steps to write their columns for the next edition of the Herald.
*
Over tea in the kitchen of Gittins Lodge, Violet urged her father-in-law to stand for election of Mayor.
‘I saw the look the Mayor gave you when he announced he was retiring,’ Spencer said to his father, ‘even he thinks you should stand.’
‘What about the factory?’ Joshua asked.
Giving her husband a smile, Kath said, ‘Joshua, you could do both, run the factory and run for Mayor.’
“I think Violet or yourself is more deserving of this than me,” Joshua said.
“Oh goodness!” Kath exclaimed. “A female Mayor? No Joshua, people are just coming round to the idea of women being in business so a woman standing for Mayor would be a step too far. We, I think, are more than happy with our roles in the Wednesbury Wives. It’s you who should stand for Mayor, don’t you agree Violet?”
Violet nodded, “You would make a fine job of it Joshua.”
Candidates for the position of Mayor were submitted, Joshua being one of them, and in no time at all he found himself accepting the Chain of Office from his predecessor. Joshua Gittins had become the Mayor of Wednesbury.
At the ceremony in the Town Hall, everyone was present including Molly and Young Jim. Kath linked her arm through Spencer’s as they watched the proceedings.
‘Your mother would have been very proud of him… as we all are,’ she whispered.
“It’s nice that we know the new Mayor,” Young Jim said as he stood beside Spencer.
“Is he our granddad now?” Molly asked.
“In a way,” Spencer said, “not legally but I’m sure he’d love it if you called him granddad.”
Violet added quietly, ‘And our new Mayor is to have another grandchild!’