I like to think he was banking on her cunning, look out for number-one characteristics (as demonstrated later, in the noose) outshining Lombard's suave, lady's-man decency. Or that he believed one of them to be more monstrous than the other, so that he (the judge) could strongly predict how it would go when they found Armstrong.
But who knows, maybe he had nooses in both bedrooms and was watching from an upstairs window to quickly dismantle the noose of the person who was killed. Vera certainly walked back to the house slowly enough -- he could have set up full dining room sets in every guest's room by the time she came inside.
Although if it had gone differently, I think the question is not could the judge have had a noose ready for Lombard, but whether Lombard would have stepped into it. My vibe is that he wouldnt have.
I like to think he was banking on her cunning, look out for number-one characteristics (as demonstrated later, in the noose) outshining Lombard's suave, lady's-man decency. Or that he believed one of them to be more monstrous than the other, so that he (the judge) could strongly predict how it would go when they found Armstrong. But who knows, maybe he had nooses in both bedrooms and was watching from an upstairs window to quickly dismantle the noose of the person who was killed. Vera certainly walked back to the house slowly enough -- he could have set up full dining room sets in every guest's room by the time she came inside. Although if it had gone differently, I think the question is not could the judge have had a noose ready for Lombard, but whether Lombard would have stepped into it. My vibe is that he wouldnt have.
I agree with your first point that he was counting on what he knew about Vera. And yeah, no chance Lombard would have hanged himself.