She was less than four minutes into the rant when everyone started to pray for another gagging order.
Surely Heather Mills couldnât drag out much longer a simple statement to convey her joy that the case was over and that she was more than ÂŁ24million richer?
Oh yes she could. She was centre stage now and she wasnât going to let the moment pass.
In a remarkable performance on the steps of the High Court, she gave a triumphant wave for the cameras - and delivered her account of the settlement with barely concealed venom for the way it had come about.
It brought to a close the secretive and acrimonious wrangling over their broken marriage and Heatherâs financial future.
Or rather it would have done, had not the 40-year-old ex-model announced her determination to appeal today against the judgeâs decision to make details of the case public.
So her obvious anger was directed mostly at that, and not at the amount of money she managed to cream from the Macca fortune for herself and their daughter Beatrice.
But good grief, it took her long enough to say it.
Across the marble floor of the High Court came the Fab One, down the front steps with a catwalk wiggle and a flick of her hair.
She wore a blood-red blouse and a satisfied smile. She was pleased the case was over and she had secured âan incredible resultâ. But she was clearly furious at the way details of the judgement were being released.
Poor old Heather. Here she was with a mere ÂŁ24million settlement, probably enough to buy only a few streets in her native Tyne and Wear.
Who could blame the girl if she felt bitter? But no. She was âvery, very happyâ with the financial settlement, she told us - even though it emerged that she had sought nearly ÂŁ125million, and that her former husband had offered ÂŁ15.8million.
From the Heather Mills manual of marriage guidance came this advice: couples should always do their best to resolve their problems instantly.
âAnybody wanting to go through a divorce, try your hardest, man or woman, to settle it immediately.
âAnd if youâre in an impossible situation - which anybody listening will know that, people donât see eye to eye, things get out of hand - you can be a litigant in person.â
âThe power of oneâ was how she described it. She labelled herself as âa campaigning girlâ and urged others not to be frightened to represent themselves in court, even though, she insisted, the legal system didnât approve of it.
Two years preparing for this day had made her impressively fluent in legal-speak (albeit with a Geordie twang that made the word âlitigantâ delightfully difficult to distinguish).
On and on she went. On the TV screens, only reporters and policemen could be seen in the background.
It made it look at first as if she was alone, a fitting image for her unrepresented battle against the McCartney might and millions.
In fact she was there with her sister Fiona - whom she introduced as a tireless supporter of her crusade - plus a minder and that essential chaperone for anyone contemplating a similar court battle, her personal trainer.
It was Fiona, at her side, who prompted her from time to time when Heather appeared to leave out some of the tastier titbits from the settlement.
The judge had found no evidence that McCartney was worth more than ÂŁ400million, for example, even though âeveryone knowsâ heâs been worth twice that for the last 15 years, Heather asserted.
The payout? That would be used to secure her own and her daughterâs future, she said.
She also planned to âmake a differenceâ with some of the charities she supported. It took her only 33 words before she mentioned that.
Later she suggested the ÂŁ600,000 she saved in legal fees might easily have gone to charity, although she didnât specify one.
Particular poison was reserved for Sir Paulâs lawyer, Fiona Shackleton. Miss Mills spoke her name with the same kind of disgust that an estranged wife normally reserves for the other woman.
âFiona Shackleton has very sadly handled this in the worst manner you could ever, ever imagine. She has called me many, many names before even meeting me when I was in a wheelchair.â
Of course, the world would never have heard any of this had the judgement remained private.
âI wouldnât even be standing here,â Heather insisted, because there was a gagging order on her not to reveal marital confidences.
Well all right then. Maybe just a little one from post-separation days. âI wasnât allowed to look at what we spent,â Heather told us.
âI was locked out of every home. I wonât go into all the horrific details of what has happened because Iâm just glad itâs over.â
And so was everyone else. She had already delivered something approaching 2,000 words.
More is to follow. Today she begins her battle to suppress the court ruling, or at least try to keep some of the personal detail out of the public domain. And after that?
âI really hope now that me and my daughter can have a life and not be followed every single day. Thatâs why Iâve come out - to give it closure.â
Somehow, you got the feeling the Heather Mills story might not be closed quite yet.
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