Chapter 10 of 22 · 4'51"
A QC floats a tenancy among top silks. The honour thrills her, then the cost will not sit right. That night a new dress, sake and gelato take her and Julian home. "I rush to the loo, just make it." Romance was the plan. Her body, full of red wine and ice cream, ends it on the bathroom floor.
❝ Monologue · 12 lines A QC Floats a Tenancy
She Swoons Over Pro Bono
She Just Makes the Loo
She packs her wig, robes and Monday's brief. A QC in the square praises her work and mentions a tenancy among top silks. She nods, unsure she could justify the cost. Julian meets her at a Japanese place. They hide from people they know, Uber to hers, share wine and gelato, and end up in bed. She runs to the loo, just makes it, and he carries her back.
The night is told as a success that keeps snagging. A silk is impressed, a better chambers seems possible, and "What a compliment!" lands before she can enjoy it. Money and Julian follow at once: "You can't be a couple in the same chambers." At dinner, people they know sit at the other end, so the pair giggle and duck rather than be seen. At hers, Coldplay, gelato, his pro bono work and a barrister father ("Of course.") keep things glossy. Sex feels "nice, smooth, different from the time in chambers," so this is not their first time, and work is still the measure. The gloss fails in her body. She pushes him off, vomits, and turns her face away: "I must smell dreadful." She blames red wine and ice cream. He asks if she is OK and carries her back to bed.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“I am not sure I could ever justify the cost of the new chambers.”
Ever turns a passing money worry into a standing doubt that she could never defend what the new chambers would cost.
Neutral
“You can't be a couple in the same chambers.”
It is a workplace rule stated so flatly that the relationship has nowhere to sit.
Neutral
“It's nice, smooth, different from the time in chambers.”
The mild words step aside so the comparison can do the real work.
Informal
“I push him off me. I rush to the loo, just make it.”
The short actions sprint, and just make it is the tiny relief at the door.
Informal
“I keep my face away. I must smell dreadful.”
Turning the face away does the shame; the smell line only confirms it.
Informal
I run into a QC in the square outside. He says he was very impressed with the work I've been doing. It feels great. What a compliment! He asks if I'm interested in a tenancy that's become available in his chambers. It's a prestigious chambers with top-level silks. I'm speechless. It's a huge honour. He suggests I come by and grab coffee with him. I... I dare to nod. [NERVOUS LAUGH] I am not sure I could ever justify the cost of the new chambers. But, I mean, it gets me thinking, you know... I mean if things with Julian go well, maybe moving eventually might be a good idea. You can't be a couple in the same chambers.
Up next · 11legal truthThe scene: Tessa Asks for the Police StationA QC in the square is impressed and asks whether she wants a tenancy in his prestigious chambers. She is speechless and calls it a huge honour, but she is not sure she could ever justify the cost. She also links a move to Julian: if things go well, someone may have to leave, since you can't be a couple in the same chambers.
A few people they know are sitting at the other end of the restaurant. The two of them giggle, duck their heads, and leave. The gesture is about not being seen together while they are out.
Silk is barrister jargon for a senior advocate, the QC sort she has just bumped into outside. She uses it for the prestigious chambers with a tenancy available: a set known for those senior silks, not a junior room.
Red wine and gelato have been mixed with kissing. An overwhelming need to vomit hits, she pushes him off, and she just makes the loo. She puts it down to the wine mixed with the ice cream, feels crap, and cannot move, so Julian carries her back to bed.
