His aim had been to convince Mrs Bartlett to testify to Margaret Mallory’s mistreatment towards Elizabeth. Mr Bartlett, however, refused to allow his wife to speak on Elizabeth’s behalf. That, he told him, would not be appropriate given his position in the government. The slave, Charles, still being detained, had also shocked Jacob with his blatantly false statement, claiming that Mrs Mallory had been a kind and exemplary mistress. He would not be allowed to take the witness stand, of course, but nonetheless, his statement would be read out and admitted into evidence. Jacob was at an impasse. He had heard from the defence lawyer only two days ago that not one person had offered to come forward to defame du Pont’s character. Jacob had requested that he be allowed to testify to du Pont’s brutality as a whore mistress. He was also amenable to making known the events on the night of the Liverpool mansion’s fire. He was not above degrading his reputation as a damn whore mongrel if it would help Elizabeth’s case.
