by J A Scooter
The meeting resumed.
"Now, Madam Chair, to finalize this meeting, I propose that the Board holds a house-warming ball in the ballroom in three months. By that time, our Sydney friends will be able to join us, as will friends from Malaysia and Singapore. You and Peter are the hosts, but all expenses will be borne by Blake Pastoral, as this party will be strengthening our ties with all our guests.
"At the bottom of the pile of papers in front of you is the suggested guest list, the arrangements and the menu - everything is set out."
Then, forsaking his executive's attitude and looking towards Andrew, he concluded the proceedings. "I believe,” he said seriously, "There may be some announcements made at the ball."
It took Jennifer no time to slip back to her studies and into her work as the head of the legal department of the Sydney Branch of the insurance company.
However her legal mind demanded to know when all the plans had been set in motion, and she was amazed at the new direction for the company.
In fact, she wanted to know everything and did not rest until she found that Eric, Andrew and Elizabeth had been working full time while she and Peter had been overseas. The three of them had worked closely with both accountant and solicitor as they tried to bring some sort of order to their ideas.
It took much longer to adjust to having servants, amahs and cooks in the house, even though they were rather like ghosts - almost invisible.
She missed Peter when he was out in the paddocks with Andrew and Eric, but she missed him more when he flew to Sydney to check on things at the workshop and to meet with Ted. His daily phone calls to Ted discussing finance and Joe discussing the workshop and not been enough for him.
However, his return meant hours of passionate loving and at least one sleepless night spent in pleasuring each other, so she didn't complain too much about his absence.
When she flew to Sydney, she was always happy to have Peter's company, and was delighted to slip behind the wheel of her Mini once more. Their quayside penthouse became their haven with many nights spent wrapped in each other's embrace.
Jennifer marveled that their sex life was becoming more and more intense. That she needed him was a fact, and that he worshipped her was without question.
Nights at the opera, at concerts or just playing chess were treasured events, and she always looked forward to the end of the day when they were alone and could relax with each other.
During one of their quiet evenings together, a phone call came through from a very excited Bill to say that Susie had gone into labor and that he was calling from the hospital. Jennifer was full of questions none of which Bill was able to answer.
Bill cut her off mid sentence saying that a nurse had called him back into the delivery suite, as the moment was very near.
"We'll ring you as soon as the baby arrives."
Peter had difficulty restraining Jennifer from rushing to be with Susie.
"This is their moment, so just be patient,” Peter reassured her as he eased her onto the lounge close to the phone, trying to make her relax.
Two hours later the call came from Susie. Although she sounded exhausted, she was shouting with joy.
"It's a boy! Jennifer, I can't wait to introduce James William to you and Peter."
It was impossible for Peter to contain Jennifer's enthusiasm any further. Her description of the baby was incoherent.
It wasn't until both of them were standing at the nursery window that they saw just how gorgeous this little bundle was, with his shock of dark hair. He was vigorously squirming as if trying to escape from the confines of the bunny rug enclosing him.
Day after day, Jennifer visited Susie and James until it was time for her and Peter to make a trip back to their home on the property.
Susie and Bill were delighted when Jennifer and Peter accepted the honor of being James' Godparents. The Christening was to be a family-only celebration in six weeks.
Back at Rocky Springs, the week of the housewarming party eventually arrived and they had returned to their country home to find that the family had been busy.
Jennifer was delighted to welcome Peter's four sisters and their husbands. No motel for them. They stayed at Rocky Springs.
Their Sydney friends arrived. Ted and Bob shared one room while Karen and Ruth shared another at Deep Springs.
The Commander, Susie and baby James stayed with Peter and Jennifer.
Baby James was lucky that the young daughters of the RSM became his constant babysitters. Susie complained that often they would not allow her back in the room except to feed him. Bill's laughing comment, "Half his luck to have all these pretty girls tending to his every need,” brought a loving slap from Susie.
Elizabeth had a full house, Jennifer had a full house and the Shearing Shed Motel was full.
The Tourist Coach had been meeting planes for days and cars had been dashing hither and thither. Blue, Tiny, Andrew, Peter and Eric had been either collecting guests or conducting tours around the two properties under the watchful eyes of the security.
Two tables were set in the dining room and the buffet was ready as the first guests arrived for the party. People sat on the verandahs with their meal and their Thai and Tamil guests were impressed with the heat of the food. The Australian guests seemed more inclined to eat the baked lamb and the steak while the Chinese dipped into everything.
Peter offered to share his chilies with everyone but they politely declined.
Amongst the happy crowd, the servants threaded their way to tend to everyone's needs and seemed to know instinctively what the guests desired. In the background, the RSM kept a wary eye on proceedings. Eventually guests began to drift away as they left to change their clothes for the ball.
Peter's Indian sisters followed Elizabeth and Jennifer to a bedroom where they helped them don their saris. Only when bangles covered their arms and tinkling ankle bracelets enclosed their ankles, their foreheads showing the red bindi and they slung the ends of their saris over their right shoulders were they considered dressed.
All four of them, resplendent in their gold brocaded saris of various hues, made their way to the ballroom.
Peter's eyes glowed in appreciation as he stood at the door welcoming their guests, and Jennifer could feel the heat of his love as she clung to his arm. He didn't need to say a word. She could sense how beautiful she was to his eyes.
It was only when Marissa, on the arm of Tiny, and Nicolette, on the arm of her brother, arrived that she found herself wondering... When a third dainty girl arrived on the arm of Blue, Peter mentioned she was also a ballerina from Sydney. Jennifer became suspicious, remembering her brother's statement that he was considering taking the plunge.
It was towards midnight and everyone held a glass of champagne when Ted stepped into the limelight demanding silence and attention.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Jennifer and Peter! Thank you for your attendance and for making this housewarming a happy occasion but...” The guests held their breath wondering what was to come.
Ted walked a few slow paces towards the center of the floor and turned slowly to gaze around the room.
Peter wondered why Ted hadn't joined a dramatic society; such was his flair for handling the crowd.
"But...” again he paused until a voice rang out.
"Get on with it!"
Ted gave Andrew a wry look.
"I have great pleasure,” he continued, "in announcing the engagements of Nicolette and Andrew, Marissa and Tiny, Margarita and Blue."
Pandemonium broke out as Jennifer flew across the room into her brother's arms, hugging both him and Nicolette. Cheering and clapping interspersed with "For they are jolly good fellows” drowned all other noises.
The dancing continued until the early hours of the morning and the kookaburras had begun their laughing welcome to the new day before the last of the revelers found their beds.
Days of showing their guests around the property followed. The Board Members outlined th
eir plans that had now been in place long enough to start showing signs of coming to fruition.
Dinners in Deep Springs and dinners at Rocky Springs helped make time fly.
Finally, the guests left.
They were alone and the day-to-day routine became settled. Parties of students stayed at the Shearing Shed Motel and Jennifer had learned the names of the workers, their wives and their children.
Elizabeth took pride in noting all birthdays, and there was always something special from the company on special days.
-Christmas Eve was busier than ever before. The Christmas Service at the church was even more wonderful than ever as Jennifer walked up the aisle on Peter's arm.
Christmas Day was just as joyous, but the family gathered around the Christmas Tree included two new men, Blue and Tiny, their fiancées, and of course, Nicolette. Jennifer marveled at how her mother managed to control her extended brood, especially after driving Santa around the workers' homes with his bag full of presents for the children and their parents.
Chapter 15 The Prophecy is Fulfilled
'Friends of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra request the pleasure of Mr. & Mrs. P. O'Brien…' The invitation had arrived weeks earlier and reluctantly Peter had accepted.
Immediately after Christmas, they flew to Sydney and Jennifer went shopping for an evening gown by herself. She adamantly refused to tell Peter what she had purchased or to model it for him.
He tried to entice her to reveal her secret as he stood with her on the balcony with his hands slowly massaging her neck and shoulders, pleading that he really needed to know.
WEEK 1
That Fateful Sunday Night
Peter had at last mastered the art of dressing in his white tie and tails as he waited for Jennifer. He stared out over the Opera House sails, musing that in his whole life he had never before dressed himself in such formal wear. Even for the night he had danced with Jennifer on the stage at Die Fledermaus a tailor had dressed him, fussing over him making certain Peter was a walking advertisement for his business. Then a polite cough interrupted his thoughts.
"Well?"
As he spun to look, Peter's quick reaction was, "Wow! Turn around."
Jennifer could feel his eyes roaming over her as she turned and displayed her new gown. Peter's breathing became more and more ragged as she preened herself like some human female version of a peacock.
The subdued dark gold gown with its triangular handkerchief-shaped, plain bodice with absolutely no back hung from a diamond-studded dog collar to drape down the sides of her breasts clearly revealing she was wearing no bra. The skirt began low at her hips, flowing from a soft gathering of fabric to flare at her ankles, joining the bodice at the front and leaving her back bare of any straps.
Open- toed gold sandals with diamante straps and stiletto heels accentuated her dainty feet and her red painted toenails.
"I sure hope the Hollywood tape is strong enough to hold everything in place,” Peter commented with frivolous amusement, "or should I follow you around all night with my hands supporting everything. That would be my pleasure. Can I practice now?"
Jennifer responded with a giggle as she whirled about to make her way to the elevator. She turned to speak to her husband and was surprised to notice that Peter was still standing there, staring at her.
He was having second thoughts of his wife flaunting her charms in public. "Jennifer, don't you consider you are showing too much flesh and the men might genuinely believe you are hunting or available?"
Obviously, he was worried and jealously wanted to protect his wife.
Jennifer walked to her husband and lifted his hands to her lips. She kissed each hand.
"Peter I'm yours and I was once called 'The Ice Maiden'. Well any man who tried anything funny would find this iceberg would sink his Titanic."
"I'm yours and yours alone and I am dressed like this for you only."
Smiling she stood on her tiptoes to reach up and kiss his cheek. "Your worry makes me feel proud of you as my loving loyal mate. Come my love, enjoy tonight and don't be jealous. I'm yours forever."
The chauffeur-driven limousine halted at the entrance gate of the Hunter's Hill Mansion.
Two burly guards with six guard dogs investigated them and their invitation, carefully shining their torches over them.
Jennifer shivered.
The guards paused in their inspection of her and this inspection was much more intense than their inspection of Peter. They were stripping her naked under their gaze.
Clinging to Peter's hand, she wished she had been conservative in her dressing. However, it was far too late for second thoughts as they stepped into the mansion.
Peter held Jennifer close to him, fending off the lecherous looks of other men, but as the night of partying progressed, the wife of the host dragged him away.
Jennifer watched a tall, willowy, incredibly beautiful Asian take Peter's arm.
She had no time for her jealousy to build as a handsome young man - addressed by one of the guards as Pretty Boy - immediately handed her a glass of punch and demanded she dance with him.
Pretty Boy became her constant companion never leaving her side, dancing with her and keeping her glass well filled.
Many drinks later, Jennifer was no longer wondering where Peter had gone. She offered no resistance to this handsome man, Pretty Boy, as he led her to the quiet surrounds of the swimming pool where they continued dancing. Seeming to be blissfully unaware that he was pulling her obscenely close to his body, she just moved to the music.
Jennifer didn't object when he made her wrap her arms around his neck while his hands wandered across her bare back and dived below the waistband of her dress.
Unaware of Pretty Boy's interest in Jennifer, Peter followed the hostess into the far reaches of the mansion where he suddenly realized that not all was what it had seemed. He stared at the Thai woman and suddenly his mind slipped back to his lessons in the brothel at Bukit Mertajam and he knew.
Her eyes confirmed his suspicion. This was no true woman but a Thai Katoey, a lady boy.
The Asian woman tried leading him into a bedroom.
Screaming, "No!” in perfect Thai, Peter threw her to the floor. He was not interested and the Thai Katoey looked strangely apprehensive as she struggled to rise.
Suddenly fearful that he had left Jennifer alone, Peter turned away. He became more and more perturbed as he thoroughly searched room after room to no avail. Distraught, his heart pounding, he feared what had happened when he left Jennifer alone.
Finally, he stepped outside into the pool area in his frenzied hunt.
Incredulous, he watched two figures dancing, his wife wrapped around Pretty Boy as if he were her beloved and Pretty Boy's hands sliding down inside her dress to cup her bare buttocks.
Peter, catlike, stalked his prey certain that his approach was silent, and Pretty Boy remained unaware of his presence.
His hands flashed before Pretty Boy's eyes to clutch him by the throat.
Gasping for air, Pretty Boy found himself flying high through the air to splash fully clothed into the deepest section of the pool. When he struggled back to the side, Peter's hand reached out to yank at his hair. No matter how hard he struggled, down he went until he believed that he was about to drown. Three times, he went down before Peter allowed him to breathe.
Staring into the hate-filled eyes of Peter, he heard the warning, "Touch my wife again and you're a dead man. Anyone who touches Jennifer is a dead man walking."
Peter gave a demonical laugh striking a chord of fear in Pretty Boy as he added viciously, "and he won't be walking long."
Only then, did Peter rise from his knees and turn to Jennifer who was just swaying to the music, staring into space, blissfully unaware of the commotion around her.
Laughing, Peter folded himself into her arms. "Sweetheart, you've had too much to drink.” Looking into her eyes, he recognized that drugs not alcohol affected her. He led her away, knowing it was us
eless to explain anything to her while she was in this state
"Now it's my turn to look after the drunk in the family,” he said, with a touch of wry amusement in his voice.
As they walked to their waiting limousine, Peter could feel tension, hatred and lust enveloping them within a thick cocoon of emotion. He had interrupted something evil and he didn't know what it was.
Mysteriously, guards and their dogs appeared to escort them, but the fierce glare in his eyes and his military bearing made them fall back. They sensed he wasn't the least intimidated by their attitude and presence, even though they were heavily armed.
In the car, Peter shuddered. A clear image of the old man of the jungle seemed to materialize in his mind, repeating, "The gods demand a payment and a harsh reckoning it will be!"
Shaking his head to clear his mind and yet feeling perturbed and apprehensive, he held Jennifer in the tight protection of his arms with his face in her hair.
Silently he prayed that the gods would give them the emotional resolution necessary for the payment that he sensed was about to be demanded.
Safely back home, he remembered his drunken binge before they had married. Carefully, Peter undressed Jennifer and disregarding his body's needs to love her put her to bed. Instead, he cuddled her and realized that she was asleep long before her head hit the pillow.
He wasn't prepared to tell her that 'Pretty Boy' had drugged her.
WEEK 1
That Fateful Monday
Work called and Jennifer watched Peter rise.
"My head is splitting!” she exclaimed. "Sweetheart, I believe I made a complete ass of myself, as I can't remember anything about last night.
"Yet I'm positive I had only one fruit punch. Everything's a complete blank after that first drink. That handsome young man demanded that I dance with him after you had gone off with that beautiful woman."
"That was no woman. That was a Thai lady boy.” Peter's lips curled in extreme distaste.
"But at least we're both safe. Now you'd better get to work, as you're due in court at 11. Are you okay, because I really have to rush?"