by Herb Hamlet
“Yes,” Henry snarled. “And just as well it seems.”
“You slut!” He turned to Elaine who’d slumped against a wall, shivering. “You’re on with him.”
“No, she’s not, shithead,” Henry growled. “I’m just here to give her some legal tutoring, and as I said before, it’s lucky I am.”
Slater looked ominous. There was something deadly about his stillness, before he suddenly lunged for Henry’s throat.
Henry stepped to one side to deliver hard rips to his solar plexus. He doubled over, gasping for breath, and Henry delivered a vicious uppercut, the coup de grace. Slater fell backward to the floor where he continued to moan. Henry leaned over and grabbed him by the shirt front, drawing him to a sitting position. “You might be a big man physically, Slater, but you have to be tough to feed a blast furnace, and I did that for six long bloody years when I was a young fellow.” His lips narrowed. “At that time, you were no doubt still a student at some private high school, you elitist prick. You’re a coward and a bully, now get out of here, before I throw you down the bloody stairs. And don’t come back again, because if you do, you’ll be bloody sorry, I promise.”
Still breathing heavily, Slater struggled to his feet. At the door, he swung back to them, snarling. “I’ll get you, Flanagan.” His tone lowered to a guttural rasp. “If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll get you. And you too, you bloody whore.” He indicated to Elaine who remained in a state of shock.
Henry slammed the door in his face and turned to her. “Are you all right, Elaine?” He took her arm, gently leading her to the sofa.
“I think so.” She squeezed his hand and swallowed hard. “I didn’t lock the security screen door after you arrived and he was able to push his way in. Thank you, Henry.”
“Do you want to do this some other time?”
“No.” Her soft features grew surprisingly stern. “That would mean he’d had a victory of sorts. I can’t let that happen.”
“Alright then, let’s get moving. What’s the subject for tonight?” They moved back to the dining table.
“Arguing precedents.” Still shaking, she opened her notebook, her pen held at the ready.
“Ah, a subject very close to my heart.” He methodically took her though a number of winning cases where he’d used precedents to develop and argue a winning case in court.
After taking copious notes, she placed the pen down in front of her, shaking her head from side to side. She beamed at him. “I feel like I’m almost cheating, having one of the nation’s leading barristers giving me personal tuition.”
“As I said before.” Henry rose to his feet and stretched his arms, yawning. “It’s my practice that will benefit.”
She also stood and he looked into her beautiful face. All Henry’s resolve crumbled away. Tentatively, he gently reached out and held her by the waist. Although he accepted the move to be ethically wrong, he couldn’t help himself, had no control over the feelings building up inside. She is so beautiful and I want her so much. In response, Elaine’s arms slowly, haltingly, went up and rested on his broad shoulders. Her hands cupped his face and she stared deeply into his blue eyes. He became lost in the grey depths of hers. He hesitatingly brought his lips to hers, the touch at first soft and gentle. Her lips parted and she pressed her body against his. At the same time, her arms circled his neck tightly. Although starting warm and gentle, the kiss slowly graduated to urgent and demanding. She trembled and a shiver quivered through her body. Breathlessly pulling her lips from his, she buried her face into his shoulder, holding him in a possessive embrace. Arms entwined, they slowly made their way to the bedroom and the truth came crashing down as her eyes filled with doubt.
“H, Henry, I, I, don’t think I can do this,” she stammered, lowering her head. A tear escaped and slowly trickled down her cheek. He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. “That’s all right, Elaine,” he assured her. “I wouldn’t want you to think you were making a mistake.”
She sat on the bed and looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. “No, it’s not like that, Henry. I want you so much, but after what I suffered with Keith...I’m just frightened, that’s all.” There were no nuances or shadings in her voice, and the long pauses between words made it clear she spoke with tremendous effort.
He frowned, growling, “What the bloody hell did that bastard do to you?”
“I can’t tell you. I’m too embarrassed.” She lowered her head and began to weep. He sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, holding her close. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
She took a deep shuddering breath. “You have no idea how I have wanted to unburden this shame that has weighed me down for so long.” She hesitated. “You see, I’ve never told anyone about this, not even my sister, Bev.” She turned to him. “Please, don’t look at me while I’m telling you this.”
With eyes downcast, she proceeded to tell him of her humiliating degradation at the hands of her deviant husband. The abuse started three years into their marriage when he began to do cruel things to her during sexual intercourse. He’d viciously pinch her with his fingers or grab handfuls of her hair and pull hard. Hearing her cry out or seeing her in pain brought him to a new level of sexual excitement. She desperately wanted the marriage to work and silently suffered the perversion and pain in the hope her husband would ultimately change his behavior. “When I mustered courage to broach the subject of counseling, Keith exploded. He said he was a leading barrister and called me a stupid bitch.” Her pulse quickened at the memory. “He told me not to mention it again then slapped my face so hard, my ears were still ringing when I closed my eyes that night.”
Henry couldn’t help turning to her, his emotion too much. “The big brave bastard.” His right hand contracted into a fist. “The hypocrite. How I hate that excuse for a man. To do that to you, you who are so wonderful.”
“Thank you, Henry.” she said quietly. “Looking back, the following years are now memories of physical and mental abuse, an almost everyday occurrence in my life. Most of the time I managed to hide my bruises under clothing and make up. When I couldn’t disguise them, I didn’t venture out of the house. I considered leaving him on countless occasions; however I thought I loved him. That’s the only reason I stayed. He seemed to be intoxicated by the power he held over me. After assaulting me, he would rape me.” Elaine shuddered under Henry’s touch. “I could never ever describe the experience as making love. Love didn’t exist, only pain and degradation. I craved a child, Henry, someone who would love me unconditionally. But how could I bring a small child into an abusive household? It wouldn’t be fair. And Keith had made it abundantly clear he didn’t want children,” she explained, in a voice choked with pain. “Now it’s too late for me to have any.”
“Why?”
“Because my body clock is running down.” She shrugged, a sad smile curving her lips. “I’ve started the change of life, so my doctor informs me.”
“Oh!” He didn’t know what to say.
Elaine returned to the subject of her marriage. “When Keith thought I might be on the brink of leaving him, he would take delight in threatening me. He said, if I ever left him, he would track me down and drag me back, screaming if he had to. And he claimed he could use police to carry out the threat. He said no one would ever have me but him. He was the law in Queensland and I had nowhere to go. When I threatened to report him, he just laughed. I remember his words clearly. He said, ‘I’m the Chief Justice of the State. Who would believe you, you stupid bitch?’”
Henry had felt the slight trembling as she spoke. He knew Slater to be insufferably obnoxious and universally disliked in the legal world. That he could stoop to physical and mental abuse surprised Henry who’d been in his courtroom and had heard his condemnation and castigation of others charged with abuse and violence. What a bloody hypocrit
e! He started speaking to her in soft reassuring tones. “You should feel no shame over what that despicable bastard did to you, Elaine.” He placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. “You’re a beautiful, wonderful human being, who deserves so much out of life, especially love.” He paused. “Don’t let him spoil every pleasure for you. That way, he is the one who wins. We’re not all like him, you know.”
“I know.” She lifted a tissue to her eyes.
Henry jumped to his feet. “I’ll get you a glass of water.”
“No, don’t go.” She rose from the bed and stood before him, gazing up at him with warmth. He sighed and reached out to hold her by the waist. Her arms hesitatingly went to his shoulders and she blushed as she slowly brought her lips to his, the touch soft and meaningful. Her lips parted and their bodies came together just as they did before. She could feel the warmth spreading through her stomach.
All Elaine’s reservations evaporated. She had to restrain herself from ripping Henry’s shirt from his body while he attempted to disrobe her, until finally they were together, naked in the soft dimness of her bedroom. She felt like an inexperienced teenager falling in love for the first time. He kissed her again, this time tenderly. Lying back on the bed, a new found tingling enveloped Elaine’s whole being. In her entire life, she’d never felt like this. She kissed him back, uplifted by his tenderness and threw her arms around his neck, drawing him even closer.
He cupped her breasts and his thumbs softly massaged her nipples, drawing them to harden in response. He lowered his head to kiss them and she moaned with delight. She knew what was coming next and at last, she knew she was ready. Henry rolled on top of her and as she burned beneath him she spread her legs. She tentatively guided him in and moaned softly at the feel of him inside her, so tender, so sensuous. And no pain. Moving slowly, she matched his rhythm, moving with him, savoring this new delight. To her surprise, Henry rolled her on top of him, so she could take control of her own experience, new territory for her. In rapture, she moved against him. Her alluring breasts so close to his face, Henry took one of her nipples into his mouth, tenderly kissing, teasing with his tongue, then took the other. Elaine sighed, groaning as her pleasure mounted to a stage she thought she would explode, the exhilaration incredible, like nothing she’d ever experienced. He again rolled her beneath him, thrusting harder, until coming to a final climax that left them both gasping for breath.
As Elaine lay comfortably in his arms, sometimes dozing, she attempted to examine the mixed feelings and emotions that had overtaken her in such a short period of time. In all her troubled years with Keith, she’d never once experienced the fulfillment of sexual satisfaction. Now she had and it was wonderful. I can’t believe it! Sex with her husband had been sordid and painful, something to be avoided if possible. There was something about Henry that instilled in her feelings she’d never previously experienced. Unable to disguise her delight, her eyes twinkled. Henry Flanagan, my resolve not to get involved has completely dissipated. Right from their first meeting, when Henry interviewed her for the position in his legal practice, she’d felt a strong attraction to him. Then in the following weeks, as they worked in close proximity, she’d noticed a certain chemistry start to develop between them. She knew the attraction to be mutual. She grinned. Women’s intuition.
It was approaching dawn when Elaine awoke from a dreamless sleep. She yawned, slowly stretched then continued to laze in his arms. She couldn’t help wondering what the future held for them. Marriage perhaps. I know I love him. Turning her face toward him, any lingering doubts disappeared. She could tell he still slept by the steady rise and fall of his chest.
Rolling onto her side and supporting her head with the palm of her hand, she examined every detail of the rugged distinguished looking face of Henry Flanagan. Stroking the damp hair resting on his temples, she smiled to herself. He had a strong angular face, a scar on his cheek she hadn’t noticed before, and his nose was a little large. She couldn’t help chuckling. A nose with character. She took note of his well-muscled upper arms, broad shoulders and deep chest. Even though it had been many years since he’d fed the Newcastle blast furnaces, his upper arms were a testimony to the back-breaking work of his youth. Henry yawned as he came awake.
Taking in his surroundings, a bewildered smile lit up his face as he met her gaze.
“What on earth are you looking at?”
“Just you, Henry,” she answered lightly.
Lying together like young lovers, Elaine traced her fingers over his lips. Her face was above his, her breasts innocently pressing against his bare chest. With the excitement of a new relationship, she once again felt like a teenager. Elaine had never experienced such tenderness in a man. She breathed a deep sigh of pleasure, her lips curving in a contented smile of peace and well-being. Her eyelids fluttered, before closing.
It was then Henry’s turn to roll over and tenderly touch her face. He gently kissed both her eyes.
***
While she lay sleeping lightly, Henry pulled back the top sheet to admire the sleekness of her trim feminine body highlighted by the early morning sun streaming through the slatted timber Venetian blinds - the nape of her neck, the smooth tanned skin of her back and her shapely legs. Her skin fair and unblemished. As he thought about her, he appreciated the fact she had a mind of her own, a mind that was always inquiring and fascinated by what was taking place around her. He knew Elaine possessed a warmth and gentleness that would make any time away from her seem like an eternity. He heard her sigh as she turned back toward him. Coming awake, she fell into his arms, her fingers digging lightly into his shoulders as he pulled her closer. Everything was forgotten as she melted into the strength of his embrace. They made love gently, tenderly. His mouth was warm and eager, his hands gentle and caring as he stroked and explored her willing body and a little cry of pleasure escaped her lips as he took her once more.
Spent, resting her head on his shoulder after making love, he brushed a hair from her cheek. She felt on top of the world.
Chapter Eight
Judy Rankin, sitting in the visitor’s room at Pukka Correctional centre, waiting to see her husband, was beset with feelings of dread. Had she done the right thing - taken the right action? Apprehension and uncertainty made her tremble. While she still burned with fury at the contemptible, degrading assault against her husband, she couldn’t help but worry if she’d made things worse for him by this legal action. What would he say when she told him what she’d done?
As soon as Jim entered the room, she honed in on his gaunt, downtrodden appearance. She rose from her chair to hug him tightly. A closer look revealed something more disturbing about her husband. An almost eerie sense of remoteness filled his eyes, a look of pathos. It was as if he’d retreated deep within himself to a different place, a different time, far away from the cold, sterile atmosphere of the prison. In spite her own feelings of dismay, Judy tried to put on a brave face. “How are you, darling?” It seemed such a trite thing to say.
“I’m all right, love.”
She noticed the bruises on his face had almost disappeared. Something positive at least. “Have you seen the doctor again?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, once.”
“What did he say?” She held her breath.
“The tests came back negative.” He lowered his eyes.
“Thank God.” She exhaled sharply, again examining her husband’s features. He was losing it. She had to do something. “Look sweetheart, it’s over now. You’ve got to snap out of it. There’s nothing you can do.”
“I know that, Judy, I know,” he answered a little sharply. “It’s just that I feel so ashamed, frustrated and angry. All at once.” His eyes returned to life for the moment, a glint of raw emotion.
“I went to see that chap, Weston.” Judy screwed up her nose. “What a dreadful man. He virtually admitted that these despica
ble acts were simply a normal part of prison routine.”
“He’s an arsehole.”
“I also contacted the Minister for Corrective Services and the departmental head, but received no satisfaction. I even wrote to the state Premier, but didn’t receive any acknowledgment of my letter.” She hesitated for a moment before blurting it out. “I hope you won’t be upset, Jim, but I was angry and desperate, so I went to see a barrister named Henry Flanagan who’s agreed to take our case.”
Jim looked up, puzzled. “Case! What bloody case?”
“He says we can sue the Department of Corrective Services and the organisation running this place for what he called, duty of care,” she explained. “He says people are imprisoned for punishment and rehabilitation. They’re not put in places like this to be bashed and raped. And it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure these things don’t happen.”
“But we can’t afford...” he began.
“We don’t have to pay him until we win,” she interrupted.
“You can’t beat the bloody government, Judy. Everyone knows that.” He shot her an irritated glance.
“Jim, Mr. Flanagan thinks we can win the case.” She glanced away, unable to meet his eyes. “When I first went to see him, I was very upset. I’m afraid I never thought much about your position in here, your vulnerability.” She looked back at him. “What if authorities or other inmates carry out some form of vendetta against you over the proposed legal action? I’ll blame myself if anything more happens to you.”
Jim looked into the face of the woman he loved more than anything in the world. She needed his approval. “Don’t worry about me, love,” he assured her. “Just do what you need to do, all right?” The more he thought about it, the more the legal action appealed to him. Someone might be called to account for what happened to him. For the first time since the attack, he felt his mind clearing - the fog of despair was lifting.