Charlene was on her feet that instant, trying to get from her seat to the witness box.

"WHAT?" Charlene screamed. "YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Whack! Whack! Whack!

"I wasn't gonna marry her. I mean look at her! She's a freak!"

Just as Charlene almost got to Nat and was in midair diving for his throat, the burly deputy grabbed her, stabilized her and held her arms behind her back.

"YOU BASTARD!" Charlene spit and washed Nat's ugly face.

"That's it. Charlene Johnson? You're in contempt of court!" Shelby turned to the deputy and said, "Get her out of here!"

"I HOPE SHE GETS YOUR LAST PENNY!"

Whack! Whack! Whack!

"This court is adjourned for the day! I want to see counsel and their clients in my chambers! Now!"

If anger was tangible matter and Judge Shelby had possessed the power to paint the air with it, all of us would have succumbed to fits of spasm from its electrical shock beginning at the doorway to the places where we stood around her desk. Shelby was beyond furious.

"This case is a disgrace," she said, "and never should've seen a courtroom. Never! This is an appalling waste of my time and the taxpayers' money. Mr. Albright? You knew the nature of your client's behavior, his lies, and yet you allowed this display? Shame on you! I'm going to file a recommendation with the South Carolina Bar Association that you be censured! And you! Mr. Simms? Running around? Porn sites? And even skimming the family business? That's a matter for another court, but you may be sure that I will inform the IRS of your criminal behavior. I have heard enough nonsense from both of you! Mr. Simms? You can't stop trumping up charges against your wife? You can't settle? Fine! Then I'm going to settle it for you. I'm going to make this decision tonight and read it in the morning and, by golly, you'll comply, Mr. Simms or you'll find yourself behind bars. Do either of you need any clarification? We reconvene at ten. Good day!"

Harry Albright and Nat Simms slithered out of her chambers like the snakes they were. We watched him go, listened to the solid clunk of the door behind them and then turned to each other.

"Thank you, Judge Shelby," I said. "Would you like us to leave as well?"

"Of course you can go, but I thought you might like a moment to let them disappear and let the media disperse. Whew! This has been some day."

"It was horrible," Rebecca said. "I never even got a chance to tell my side."

It was true. All the filthy garbage was rolling down the streets in a windstorm of gossip's delight and Rebecca felt tainted by it.

"Rebecca? Listen, I trust Judge Shelby to adjudicate this fairly. I really do. If I trust her, you should too."

"It's going to be all right, Mrs. Simms. Go get a good night's sleep."

The courtroom was empty as Rebecca and I passed through it. I imagined that Claudia, Huey and the others had probably gone back to the hotel. I hadn't seen Julian since the morning. He was probably lost in the crowd. I couldn't wait to tell him what had gone on and to hear what he had to say.

From the lobby we could see there was a commotion on the courthouse steps. A crowd was gathered and the police were trying to restore order.

"Maybe we should take another exit," I said.

"Wait! Oh, my God! It's Jeff! Abigail! Hurry!"

"Mahoney? What in the world? You wait here! There's press everywhere."

I pushed open the doors just in time to see the arresting officer slap handcuffs on Nat Simms and Jeff Mahoney.

"Okay!" the police officer said. "Show's over! Everybody go home!"

Albright was picking up his briefcase and his papers that were scattered everywhere. I don't know why, but I went over to help him. I guess I felt a little sorry for him.

"What happened?"

He looked at me in utter disgust and said, "Nat didn't appreciate Mahoney's testimony and suggested they settle their differences in manly tradition."

"Good grief! And Mahoney took him up on it?"

"He didn't have much of a choice. Self-defense. Guess we had better go bail them out?"

"I'm gonna take Rebecca back to the hotel and then I'll meet you down at the pokey."

"Let me go see if I can get the police to let them go. They're probably still here because they'd have to get their patrol cars out of the parking garage and all."

"Thanks, Albright, I owe you one."

"Help me find some decent clients and we'll call it a day."

I couldn't believe it, but when Harry Albright smiled, he didn't look like the scum of the earth. Like we say in the Lowcountry, if you lived long enough, you'd see everything.

TWENTY-TWO.

PEANUT GALLERY.

REBECCA and I walked the short distance back to the Governor's House Inn. Huey was waiting in the lobby.

"Oh! Rebecca! Abigail! What a day! What a day!" Huey was very excited. "We're all meeting on the porch of the Kitchen House. If I had known divorce could be so invigorating, I might have dabbled in the law myself! My goodness, y'all must be exhausted!"

My cell phone rang. It was Harry Albright. "Don't worry about Nat and Mahoney. I was able to get all the charges dropped."

"That's great news. Thanks, Harry."

"Yeah, well, I'm gonna go have a stiff scotch. Maybe two. See you tomorrow."

I looked at my cell phone and thought, well, if I'd realized before today that he was a mammal, I would have told him to go get toasted and send me the receipts.

"Who was that?" Huey said.

"Harry Albright. Nat and Jeff Mahoney got into a scuffle on the courthouse steps and Albright got them off the hook. I think I might like a glass of wine."

"Did I miss something?" Huey said. "The courthouse steps? My dear, Rebecca, you are so much better off!"

"I know," Rebecca said.

She seemed a little down, and while I understood why, I wished she would cheer up. The day had been a decisive victory, and now it was all over except for the actual reading of the will. My patience was hovering around empty.

We passed the reception desk and the manager stopped us. He was a small, hairless man, and despite the fact that he was no doubt at the top of his class in hotel and hospitality training, he was very overexcited and stuttering a little.

"Mrs. Sim-uh, Simms?"

Rebecca said, "Yes?"

"Mrs. Simms, there have been a number, I mean, quite a few phone calls for-for-fuh you-Diane Sawyer from G-g-g-good Morning America, Katie Couric from the Ta-ta-Taday Show and Paula Za-Za-Zahn from CNN. Kim Hubu-bu-bard Hubbard called from People magazine. Bruce Smith from the Associated Press. Oh, my! Is there something the hotel can do to help you?"

Rebecca took the messages from him and looked at me.

"Maybe," I said. "We'll let you know. Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Huey, who had walked ahead of us and was waiting at the door to the garden, hotfooted it right back to our sides.

"What in the world?" Rebecca said. She looked bewildered.

"Wire services. It's the miracle of technology. You'd better brace yourself."

"What's happened, Abigail?" Huey said.

"Rebecca is about to have her fifteen minutes of fame."

"No, I'm not," Rebecca said, and during the short walk to Huey's rooms she said over and over, "I'm not calling these people back. I just want to be left alone."

Miss Olivia and Claudia were waiting for us on Huey's porch. When we told them about the calls from the networks and magazines, the conversation changed gears from courtroom drama to media drama. I looked up to see Julian crossing the courtyard.

"Good evening!" I was so happy to see him, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Miss Olivia perk up. She was sweet on Julian. He kissed my cheek and shook everyone's hand, and Byron poured him a glass of red wine. "Congratulations on today, Abigail. And, Rebecca. Now why all the long faces? What are we all so serious about?"

When we told him what had happened, all he said was, You're pulling my leg, right?

"These reporters are just gonna dog Rebecca until they get their story," Claudia said.

"Claudia's probably right," I said.

Byron was passing peeled shrimp that were so sweet they must've been swimming that morning.

"These shrimp are incredible, Byron."

"I drove over to Simmon's this afternoon. Right off the boat."

"Have you spoken to your sister, Daphne?"

"No, do you need me to call her?"

"Well, if you're talking to her, maybe you could ask her to tape the news for me."

"No problem."

"She's wonderful, you know."

"She's a rascal."

Byron smiled, and I thought to myself that he must love being here and included in everything. And why not? He was practically family, except for the obvious.

"Oh! Wait!" Huey said to Rebecca. "I'll call Frances DuBose from London Hair! She'll come for me if I beg her, and she can do your makeup too. She's fab-u-lous!"

"Hold on, everybody," Rebecca said. "I don't want all this, this intrusion. Wasn't today bad enough?"

Miss Olivia, who until then had been very quiet, spoke up. "Now you listen to me, Rebecca. I've got something to say..."

"Can I get you something, Mother?" Huey said.

"Yes, you can give me two minutes of your attention, that's what." Everyone got quiet. "But a little more sherry might be nice." She held her glass in Huey's general direction, but her eyes were honed on Rebecca's face. "Sometimes notoriety comes to us whether we like it or not. And that's what has happened to you today. You have uninvited attention. I can understand why you wish it would all go away-that's testament to your refined nature. You're too young to remember the Watergate trials, but I can assure you that Sam Ervin no more wanted to be in front of all those television cameras than Judge Shelby wanted all that nonsense in her courtroom today. Notoriety doesn't make you any less dignified, young lady. It all depends on how gracefully you manage to handle it." Huey handed her glass of sherry to her. She looked up at him sweetly. "Thank you, son."

Once again, Miss Olivia had put things in perspective.

"You know, Rebecca," I said, "you really do have an opportunity here. Think about it. Just a couple of hours ago, you were disappointed that you didn't get to tell your side of things. Now, suddenly, without warning, you could have two hundred million people listening to whatever your little heart wants to say. So if they're gonna torment you until they get their story, what's the story you'd like to tell?"

"It surely sounds worthy of consideration, Rebecca," Julian said.

I could see the wheels in Rebecca's mind start to turn as she stood and walked to the porch railing. She picked a sprig of confederate jasmine and twirled it between her fingers.

It was true enough that the trial had been a distasteful experience, and there was no doubt that in the least case the story would be carried in the local media. At last there was something for them to talk about besides the weather. True, there was another tropical depression stirring around in the Caribbean, but it wouldn't make landfall for another week. And this was Rebecca's window of opportunity to talk about morality, if she chose to do so, or about the perils of plastic surgery. What would she choose?

"Whatcha thinking?" Claudia said to her.

"I'm thinking that maybe if I had paid closer attention to Nat's antics when they began, that maybe I could've pulled him back into the marriage."

"I don't think that's so for a minute!" Huey said. "What are you going to wear tomorrow? Does anyone know what time Saks closes? You can't go in there tomorrow looking like, I don't know, like a teacher!"

"Yes, I can, Huey, and I will! What's the matter with looking like a teacher? This is how I dress!"

"We're getting off topic here, my friends," I said. I wanted to pinch Huey until he was black and blue and he knew it. "So, you think if you'd acted earlier on, insisted on counseling or something, things may have played out differently?"

"Maybe. But I didn't because I couldn't. I mean, look, y'all, if there's one thing I've learned through all of this it's that having friends like all of you saved me. That's what was always wrong in my life with Nat. I had no other family around to support me."

"Well," Miss Olivia said, "there's your message! You get on those cameras and tell American women just that!"

"She's right, Rebecca!" Claudia said. "Isolation is a dangerous thing!"

"No man is an island!" Huey said and pointed his finger to the porch ceiling.

Everyone looked around and gave Huey a little heat. "Oh, puhleeze!"