Summary

Chapter 26 continues as Kate steadies herself to begin her cross-examination of James and establish an alternate narrative refuting his earlier claims. She suggests that although James might not consider his demonstrations of physical passion to be brutish, his size, strength and athleticism could have made it easy for him to rip Olivia’s underwear, stockings and blouse in assisting her with their removal. Kate proposes that James called Olivia a “prick tease” (285) because he knew she was withholding her consent to continue. Kate pounds away at his denials, rattling James’s composure and forcing him to concede that he might have used a similar term understood to be one of endearment.

Chapter 27 picks up with Kate on May 1st, the Monday after James’s testimony, as the jury is given their instructions before being sent out to deliberate. The hours pass until just...